At Mabon, the harvest high season, the fields and our summer labors yield the bounty that will sustain us through the long winter months. There is satisfaction in enjoying the tangible and literal fruits of our hard work, lining the pantry shelves with canning jars full of colorful vegetables. There is a pleasing symmetry to concluding the cycle that began at the Ostara planting season.
Mabon begins at the Autumn Equinox, the day when the Sun moves into Libra (at precisely 10:21 am, September 22, EDT), the sign of balance and partnership. The Sun in Libra is conjoined extravagant Jupiter now, and Venus is sextile Mars; together, they symbolize that this harvest season’s greatest bounty lies in the rich joy of relationship. Venus in opposition to Uranus suggests that the recent past has brought a culling of relational dead wood. The people who remain in your life are the ones who have earned the right to be there.
The Disseminating Moon in Gemini is locked in a powerful configuration with Mercury (newly direct after its recent retrograde period), Saturn, and Neptune. Perhaps you have been overanalyzing your feelings, feeling emotionally blocked and a bit lonely or sad. The time is coming to speak from your heart.
Pluto turns direct on September 26, after six long months in his retrograde, underground kingdom. Vast reserves of emotional power are released, and things don’t really return to steadiness until after the Sun squares Pluto on October 7; be gentle with yourself and with others.
Mars in Capricorn
Mars enters Capricorn, one of its strongest signs, on September 27. The path to direct and productive action is cleared, though there will be lessons about the limits of power and control when Mars conjoins Pluto (October 19).
While Mars was in Sagittarius, it was time to explore, to try new things without committing to any particular course of action. With Mars in Capricorn, however, we are ready to decide upon a plan and begin slowly, steadily, and methodically working toward our goals.
Mars is considered to be “exalted” in Capricorn, meaning it works particularly well in this sign. Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is the sign of discipline and structure. It is a sign that gives form and direction to Mars’ energy without extinguishing its fiery drive.
Through November 8, Mars in Capricorn will be like a graduate course in business and management—in particular, the business of managing our lives. It’s an especially good transit for the self-employed and for those who manage others for a living, but anyone can reap its benefits. We can all benefit from setting realistic goals for ourselves and pursuing them diligently, resourcefully, and persistently.
New Moon in Libra – September 30, 2016
This is the most powerful New Moon of the year for setting intentions concerning relationships—finding them, mending them, releasing them. At this New Moon, the Sun, Moon, and Jupiter are conjoined in Libra, a happy and beneficial message that we are growing through our relationships. They are approaching a square with Mars and Pluto, however, so while the road to a deeply satisfying relationship is opening up, reaching your destination requires that you assert yourself, insist upon the truth, and abandon any hope of completely controlling the situation. Venus in passionate, determined Scorpio makes sextiles to Mars and Pluto and a nearly exact trine to romantic Neptune, so attracting a compelling relationship is entirely possible. But it’s important that your New Moon rituals call not for a specific person to respond to you in a particular way, but rather for all relationship situations to work out for the higher good of all.
Summoning Love
Years ago, after a series of disappointing relationships, I decided I was truly ready to find a partner. So I composed a ritual. It began with a step I think was the most powerful—creating a list of the five essential qualities I wanted in a mate. That took some doing; it’s probably the first time I had stopped to really think about what I wanted rather than what I didn’t want. I folded up my list and tucked it under a dish with a pink (Venus’s color) candle on it. In a small pink handkerchief, I wrapped a tiny cloth doll that I had picked up at a fair years before. “This is my mate,” I declared. I lit the candle, sealed the cloth with some of the wax, and left it on my altar until the candle burned all the way down.
The next day I stowed the little figure and the list in a box and completely forgot about them—until about a year later, when my soon-to-be husband and I were packing up my apartment just before we were married!
Full Moon in Aries – October 15, 2016
This is an explosive Full Moon in Aries conjunct unpredictable Uranus, with the Sun and Moon square Mars and Pluto. The Sabian Symbol for this Full Moon degree is, “An open window and a net curtain blowing into the shape of a cornucopia.” When you leave a window open in your life, all sorts of things can come your way, often at great speed and from an unpredictable direction. If you have laid your Mabon groundwork carefully and consciously, and have centered yourself emotionally, this can be an opportunity to release yourself from a variety of difficult entanglements and leave room for fresh bounty.
New Moon in Scorpio – October 30, 2016
Coming just before Samhain, this Scorpio New Moon is trine enchanting Neptune. After the turbulence of the Full Moon in Aries, this lunation calls for tranquility and reflection. Relationships that began with much promise at the Libra New Moon are now at a moment of stasis. They are not necessarily over, but with Venus and Mars conjoined Saturn and Pluto, greater forces are intervening in the affairs of mere mortals.
Scorpio is considered one of the financial signs, and this is one of the most powerful New Moons of the year for rituals related to money and general prosperity. This New Moon is especially favorable for this work with Jupiter, the most benefic planet, in a dynamic aspect to Pluto, who in myth was the wealthiest of the gods. With Venus conjoined Saturn and square Neptune, there is a need to be extremely realistic about the behaviors and beliefs that have created your current financial situation and make a pledge to face it all, forgive yourself for past mistakes, and allow yourself a new vision of prosperity.