This past weekend I spent a beautiful day at a Nordic spa, with outdoor heated pools, hammocks, hot springs, saunas, and an underground cave with a saltwater pool, where one falls into the weightlessness and floats wholebodily. Once you enter the underground cave pool, filled with salts reminiscent of the Dead Sea, your legs and arms and entire body rise slowly, and in an instant, you float weightlessly on top of the water. Light is dim, only candles all around.
During that time when I was there, the Sun was transiting the second decan of Tropical Libra, and in the sky, you will find the warm early October Sun move along the left arm of the celestial woman within the Virgo constellation; I call her the woman of earth and faith, the bridge between soil and heavens, the spiritual and the physical.
In this part of the sky, whenever I see someone has their natal planets here, I always speak of surrender and the power of faith and trust. Through the lens of Vedic astrology, we find the Sun enter the lunar mansion, or nakshatra, called Hasta. Ruled by the Moon, this part of the sky deals with the power of intuition, creativity and water. The dharma of Hasta is a beautiful one, and it gently speaks, inviting us: with knowledge in our hands may we give, not to control, but to uplift.
Indeed, Hasta rules hands, and with Tropical Libra, we find that love isn’t just about speaking it, it is about moving it, becoming it, embodying it, because these are Venusian skies after all.
Love isn’t a thing that sweeps us away like an ocean always. Instead, I believe it actually gathers us into the body of the present moment so deeply, so wholly, that almost all of our explanations or reasonings fall away. In such a moment, so deep into the present, the ordinary comes alive in the most beautiful ways, and timelessness takes us. The ordinary, in all of its plain and simple, begins to shine, becomes luminous, alive. Everything awakes. Every facet of our world awakes, and you within it.
Love asks us to become her hands – to hold one another, to hug, to give. Love desires us to become her lips, her tongue – to speak beauty into the world, to speak love, to speak kindness. Love desires us to become her walking, her rhythm – to become kindness and patience of rhythm, to move in grace, to move in harmony.
Love is to have the eyes of love – to be able to hold someone’s tears, sadness, grief with compassion and tenderness; while also being able to hold them in a vision of goodness and joy, health and wellness, so that when they share their dreams and hopes and their most vulnerable parts of themselves, you hold it all with love, not doubt. It’s really important to have people in your life who are able to hold this space for you, and hold this vision for you, and to be mindful whom you share your deepest self with.
The second decan of Libra actually has Saturn as a co-ruler, and this is where we see that small steps matter. It isn’t about the big gestures, the big things – it is about how are we showing up for others right now. How can we bring more beauty, how can we be more compassionate, how can we support someone?
It’s been a difficult time lately for many people and in the collective, in our world. This time of year, with the hands of love, we are reminded that we are never alone, and that we aren’t meant to walk alone. But I know it may feel lonely sometimes. And I know that many have experienced a lot of sadness lately, we all have in our own ways. Things we thought would happen, perhaps didn’t; and now another summer behind us, a coolness in the air enters of dreams that perhaps didn’t happen yet.
And then there are other time, when we may lose sight, lose focus, get lost in things too far ahead or too far back. Sometimes we lose sight of what actually matters in our life, or get too anxious for the future. The hands of Libra love remind us to stay present. Little steps. Step by step. Do the best you can each day. Don’t be harsh on yourself and don’t impose impossibly high standards on yourself. Stay in compassion. Don’t punish yourself, don’t critisize yourself, just self reflect and perhaps tomorrow do better.
This part of the sky is a beautiful reminder that the little things matter, the present moment matters. It’s never too small a thing we can do in the present moment, so don’t stop yourself from doing something just because you may think it’s not yet enough. For example, and that’s a very simple yet common example, but often people don’t donate to causes or people because they think “oh, all I have is just a few dollars I may give, that would be embarrassing.” And so they don’t give anything. But can you image if everyone gave just a dollar?
Or, “oh, it’s just a smile, or a kind word or compliment I may give, what good would that do, they probably have so many others say nice things to them.” And so … nothing is said, and no one says anything, and no one feels supported. Can you imagine how perhaps that one kind word may make someone’s day better, fulfill them or perhaps even encourage them in the moment they felt discouraged? You never know how a seemingly small thing may turn out to be a big thing. And you never know how a little gesture may turn out to be a great love story. Big things happen often through the smallest of ways or gestures or movements or choices.
Spiritually, and through the lens of Shamanic astrology, the Libra Mystery School created the structures and traditions for sustainable long term relationships, including marriage, partnerships, agreements and commitments. The dharma is Tropical Libra has always been about finding harmony and balance, so that we may settle differences into peace. It is about interdependence, and the humility that we need to treasure, which is that we are all here together, not in isolation.
Through the lands of Venus and wisdom of Saturn, we see the rhythm, the nature of things, the ebbs and flow, the nuances and changing of leaves. We see the complexity of the human experience and emotions, and that there are many layers, which invite us to listen more intentionally to one another; to try to let go of judgments, assumptions, and categorizations.
As a spiritual astrologer I often describe Venus as our body when we sleep – the way it gently moves through the night to find itself in more comfort, more balance. Venus is that which puts into balance all that isn’t balanced yet. This also reminds us that balance is not static, it is dynamic and ever moving. It reminds us of the universal law of rhythm also.
The autumn equinox invites us to deepen into balance through nature’s rhythms. As the doorway of the seventh house of the otherness and relationships, we are reminded that life isn’t about absolutism – it is about relational understanding and holding.
The divine and the self, the chosen and the given, the destined and the unfolding. All are facets of the same jewel. Life doesn’t need to be forced into either one or the other; either “all is manifested by us” or “all is already written”. It can a dance that holds both and all simultaneously. It can be both a gentle flowing river and a vast sky without boundaries.
Both river and sky are of one, and of each other. One cannot be without the other. They are part of one canvas. Each needs the other to exist – for there will be no river if there are no clouds and space to rain; and what is a sky without the gift of water and being alive.
River and sky, giver and receiver, flow and source, each completes the other. Just as the calling completes the soul, and the soul completes the calling. The rain descends, the river carries, both returning to the sea, and then again, as all circles around back to its origin.
So there is union here, a dance often disguised as opposites; and this is the dharma of this time of year or our seventh house – to understand and deepen ourselves into the wisdom of the greater dance that happens of union – to understand that opposites too bend and hold hands, and river and sky of one cycle. Just as to understand anything in life, we need to understand its opposite – to understand the ascendant, we need to understand the descendant; to understand Libra we need to understand Aries, and so on.
As I write this today, around the 14th degree of Tropical Libra, the Sun is transiting the celestial Corvus constellation, where the Hasta nakshatra is found also. There are many Greek myths about Corvus, known as the raven or crow, but what I would love to bring forth to your attention today is that one of the most fascinating things we find as part of this constellation are the Antennae Galaxies.
The Antennae Galaxies are a well-known pair of interacting galaxies in Corvus – and what it actually looks like is two galaxies currently in their process of merging. Once they merge, they will become something similar to the Milky Way – an ocean of stars in marriage. The galactic collision of these galaxies is currently in the starburst stage, which essentially means that what it looks like now is a bit like chaos: clouds of gas are seen in bright pink and red, surrounding the bright flashes of blue star-forming regions – some of which are partially obscured by dark patches of dust.
The starburst phase is a period in which all of the gas within the galaxies is being used to form stars. This seeming chaos or colliding cannot last forever, as no chaos even on earth cannot last forever neither, as no relationship chaos lasts forever neither, and neither can the separate galaxies. Eventually the nuclei will coalesce, and the galaxies will begin their retirement together as one large elliptical galaxy. In relationships too, a phase comes where both individuals may face off each other’s individualities – but once they merge and settle, they will have formed their mutual relationship land, the soil upon which they may create and nourish their life together as one.
Perhaps even an embodiment of time itself. The left arm of the celestial woman holding the essence of the cross, the intersection of the here and now of the vertical or horizontal lines: the present moment. The surrender to her faith and the divine’s hands, while holding a branch of wheat with her connection to earth and to humanity, and her making of bread – her hands of all trust and feeding and making.
This part of the sky has always held a certain sense of humbleness and humility – with her dedication and daily efforts in the every day, in being connected to the world and humanity, and using her hands for others; while also keeping a strong spiritual core, in her surrender, faith and trust in her god. She is the bridge between the physical and spiritual, realizing both are of one.
And she feels nature within her, within her body. She knows that good things happen when we align our actions with what our body feels and needs, because our body often mirrors the movement of the seasons.
As the coolness of air comes, the constellation of Corvus rises in the early mornings, which is where Hasta and this degree of Tropical Libra are held. As Corvus rises in the beginning October skies, we tend to slow down, move our eyes inward, take care of our bodies. We need to focus on our wellbeing, on eating healthily, sleeping plenty, and doing some cleansing and cleaning, both in our physical space and homes, as well as our bodies.
In Navajo cosmology, Corvus is part of the greater constellation Hastiin Sik’aí’íí, translated as “The Man With His Legs Spread Apart”. This is a greater constellation, comprising not just Corvus, but in total 32 stars, including both Spica and stars from the Hydra and Crater constellations. Hastiin Sik’aí’íí is a symbol of the seasonal transition between summer and winter; and its appearance in early October, when the seasons change and we feels it in the winds, essentially also signals that the major winter ceremonies can begin for the Navajo people.
Hastiin Sik’aí’íí symbolizes the continuity of cycles, strength, and solidarity, marking the changing winds and weather from warmer to cooler. Portraying a man in a squatting position, or with his legs spread apart, Hastiin Sik’aí’íí is a leader in the sky, which is depicted in that three other constellations follow his trail in the sky; Átse Etsoh (First Great One), Átse Ats’oosí (First Slender One), & Dilyehe (Planting Stars).
His legs are spread apart, representing the changing or parting of seasons, and yet he stands strong on the ground, showing stability and his spiritual core and roots that will hold him through the changes and upcoming winter. This constellation reminds us of the wisdom of elders, and the importance of taking care of our body as well as physical spaces, and take care of our responsibilities also.
To me personally, it actually reminds me of the sacred knot of strength and surrender.
In esotericism, including both Eastern and Western, the soul is often described as feminine – tender, receptive, longing, surrendering, and offering itself to the Beloved, which depending on belief or religion may be referred to as God, the divine, the great creator etc. Across sacred writings we find that the path of the seeker is often portrayed through the feminine voice, because the soul itself stands before God as feminine before the masculine, submitting and surrendering in love.
In Sufism we find this throughout the writings and poetry, in Hinduism too we find that sacred union of Shiva and Shakti – a union which expresses the cosmic marriage of masculine and feminine, the union between power and stillness, intentional energy and awareness. In Christianity we see the beautiful Song of Songs, with “I am my Beloved, and my Beloved’s mine”, where the bride offers herself to her bridegroom, Christ.
Essentially, whether through songs, poetry or stories, what is unveiled are the spiritual and mystical teachings of the soul’s surrender. The beloved, often portrayed as a woman, is the soul, longing, breaking and refined, until she dissolves into the will of her beloved Lord. Parvati longing, until her meditation alchemizes her to realize she is one with Shiva; the maiden in the Song of Songs, and the many stories and poetry of deep longing and desire for union in Sufism.
For example, as Waris Shah wrote the epic of Heer Ranjha, he was not merely telling a tragic tale of lovers separated by society; he was unveiling the path of the soul and the essence, the feminine and the masculine, yearning for their union beyond the worldly barriers. Heer’s surrender, her wounds, her endurance, and her eventual alignment with love essentially mirror the soul’s submission or surrender to God.
In our modern world, we often face the challenges of materialism, ego, and worldly attachments, which disturb our inner alignment of union. This may make people feel lost, restless, and they may even describe their soul being fragmented or wounded. So often times, the healing balm becomes the mystical poetry, the remembering of surrender.
The remembering of surrender, which is the remembering of this softer feminine aspect of the soul is essentially about a certain kind of posture before the divine. A posture of humbleness, of compassion, of softness, receptivity, opening of palms. To come into this posture, or embrace it, means to let go of our arrogance and selfishness, and become clay in the hands of God or the Beloved. Only in surrender can our soul be fully embraced by his love.
This is why humility too is known as a bridge to God, bridge to love; and in love relationships, it is important to remain humble and open; because no matter how many years we’ve been with someone, there may always be something new to discover, learn, re-learn. In love we must remain humble in our every day; we must stay present, and listening.
In the weightlessness of underground cave pools, and the left arm of the woman holding the sun, we lean into a trust. And as we lean into the trust, we find that strength and surrender are not opposites, they are one.
Surrender pulls us into strength, because we need strength and courage to surrender, and strength itself exists because we have surrendered. It’s the secret knot.
Surrender and strength are two ends of the same cord, or thread, or stretched like a rubber band sometimes. The giving away creates the tension, the tension creates the power. Without surrender, strength is brittle. Without strength, surrender dissolves into weakness. But together, they are resilience. This is the hidden alchemy: to bend without breaking, to yield while remaining unshaken. That is the soul’s true fortitude.
Wellness Notes ♥︎
With the movement from hot to cool, it is important to focus on your wellbeing. Get plenty of sleep, eat healthily, stay active with exercise whether yoga, strength training, swimming, and take care of the clutter at home. Now is the time to get things clean at home, get rid of what no longer serves you to refresh the energy.
Whether it is clothes, physical objects, or belief systems – now is the time, and a most perfect fertile time for that. Let go of it with gratitude always. It served you when you needed it go, but if there is no more place for it, it is time to give it to the rivers to take away. For its time when it was in your life, it was purposeful, whether it served as protection or nurturing or both or all, so release it with gratitude, and then, be grateful for what is yet to come.
In your every day, take care of your body – nourish it, nurture it, hydrate the skin, and make sure you eating, sleeping and exercising properly. It is important to keep the body nourished and strong as we are moving into the colder weather in our Northern Hemisphere.
Love Notes ♥︎
The dharma of the Libra season and October suns invites us into deepening of love and relationships, though it isn’t about the big gesture romantic things, as much as it is about the deepening of love and relationships through the small acts with great love kind of love.
It’s something our world needs profoundly. A kind word, a smile, a feeling like we are not alone; because often we walk on the street and rarely people give a smile, share eye contact, or give one another compliments. There is also a lot of separation in our world, a lot of difficulties people go through, and we all go through in our own ways, and this can be very burdensome – so how can we offer more beauty and warmth in our world today?
Beauty in words, beauty in movement, beauty in gesture, beauty in our perspectives and ideas. Beauty has a spiritual purpose, and I’ve written about this in depth before – but it is essentially an opening of heart, an awe with life and presence, and a softening of our body also. It’s about deepening our relationship to awe, to goodness, to people, to one another, to beauty, to ourselves.
Become a hunter of awe, hunter of beauty. Notice, witness and amplify awe. Let the warm sun touch your skin, let yourself fall into the scent of a rose that still gifts us with sweetness, fall into the weightlessness of a moment, a touch, a melody. Let the world touch your heart, let magic reveal itself to you.
Give a compliment to someone, see something beautiful and inspiring in them, and let people know when they have helped you or inspired you or soothed you in some way.
This is not just about making our own little corners of the world better, nor is it about making our own individual lives better – it ripples outward. This is how change is made, and how it is already made. Goodness doesn’t cost anything. Kindness doesn’t cost anything.
Beauty isn’t about shallowness – it is about the essence, the movement, the grace that becomes us and moves us forward, and it radiates through us and it inspires others also. When we amplify awe, we disrupt apathy; when we amplify beauty, we amplify togetherness. Beauty isn’t about aesthetics – it is about inherent geometry of togetherness and interconnection; about how we are in the world, and it of us.
This isn’t about “being nice”, it is about anchoring a vision of the kind of world we desire to live in and build, and contribute towards living in and building. It may sound subtle, or too little – a smile, a loving word, a kindness of movement when we walk on the street – but this is the soft power of the Libra Sun, of the hands of Venus.
The hands of Venus – a holding of the sacred knot of both strength and surrender, and realizing the process of moving winds and parting seasons – that all, and we in it, are in a process, ever moving, ever evolving, ever softening, and the beauty of the complexity of nuances; holding ebbs and flows, holding galaxies colliding, chaos merging only to make new stars, cycles within cycles and nature rhythms inside of us, yet always remembering, that like a moonhold, the waning is always held by the waxing, and in the Beloved’s hands.
Leo Tolstoy once said, “I don’t have everything I love, but I love everything I have,” and I love this – for it beautifully reflects the sentiment of gratitude and contentment. It gently reminds us to find love and appreciation for what we already have, rather than constantly fixating on what we don’t yet; to stay present, in gratitude and acceptance. Such wisdom is what Venus seeks us to understand about love – that it is about staying present and in acceptance of our current moment, and embodying love through our every day seemingly ordinary gestures.
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