Welcome to Libra season and hello autumn! Unless you live in Richmond where it is humid as hell, and we appear to be in second summer hopefully heading into actual fall. We had that tease not too long ago. Mother Nature is probably just pissed off at the way we have been treating her. Either that, or I just live in a swamp.
Libra season runs from September 23 to October 22, making this my sun sign. (My birthday is on October 19.) It is considered one of the four cardinal signs, meaning it kicks off the beginning of a brand new season. The autumnal equinox is on September 22 this year. Fun fact: We call it “fall” because it’s when the sun’s power is diminished, resulting in shorter days and longer nights.
The Libra archetype is one of balance, equanimity, and equality, which is symbolized in the day of Autumn Equinox holding an equal measure of daylight, and nightfall.
www.astrology.com
I suppose I should make a note that this only applies to people who are living in the northern hemisphere. Those who live in the southern hemisphere are experiencing their spring equinox, which is still a wonderfully, magical time where new seeds get planted. And there is that whole equal day and night thing there as well, so the balancing of the scales aspect still applies.
Mantra: I relate
Libra is the sign of Partnership, with the Self and with others. There a quality of flow that is present is air signs, a back and forth if you will. It’s all an energy state. I’ve been trying to really understand how all of this works on an emotional level. I spent so much of my time giving all of my energy to others, working in the restaurant industry, that I had nothing left for myself by the time the day was over. It’s that whole “put the oxygen mask on yourself first” thing. Well I don’t spend much time in airplanes, especially these days. Oh! You mean that applies to life in general. Yeah. I didn’t get that part.
Working in the restaurant industry, especially in management, I hardly ever had any time off. There was that 2 weeks where the owner told the rest of the staff not to contact me, so that I could get married in peace. Gee thanks. Every other day I would get calls at all hours of the day and night, from the staff to the stupid alarm company. Having absolutely no time for myself made my anxiety soar through the roof. I never learned how to set boundaries, and that is something that I am currently working on. Sometimes walking away is saving yourself. Sometimes the answer is to burn that bridge, especially if you know that bridge is one that you absolutely cannot go down again.
We can use Labradorite to deflect unwanted energies and to prevent our own energies from leaking out all over the place. One could easily replace ‘energies’ with ’emotions’ in that sentence, because we know that is what I am all about. We don’t have much control in this world, I have come to understand. By learning about what the point of emotions are, and what it is they are trying to tell us, our responses can become less dramatic. They control us less. It puts us back into the driver’s seat of our own lives.
The Good & The Bad
October’s gemstone is the Opal, which interestingly enough was considered to be bad luck. It’s actually the stone of karma, which we as a culture have sort of morphed into a ‘bad’ thing with phrases like “karma is a bitch.” It’s only a bitch if you are being an ass. If you are being a decent human being, then decent things will come back to you. Some people call this the Law of Attraction. It doesn’t matter. The point remains: Don’t be a dick.
The Greek goddess Themis, ruled over justice and the law. She is who you typically see depicted as the representation of Libra. Themis directly translates to “Divine law,” the laws that govern over all of us, even the gods and goddesses themselves. I am talking about basic human rights here. What was that golden rule again? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We have forgotten what that means, it appears.
Balancing Act
As we move from Virgo season into Libra season, we leave the Hermit card and shift into the Justice card. Justice is all about balance, but what does that even mean these days? I hear work-life balance is something that I am supposed to strive for, but that seems to be so enmeshed these days. And I obviously suck at that. (See above.) There is no longer that moment where you can clock out of your job, and totally check out. I know very few people who actually work 9-5 jobs. Does that even exist anymore?
Tantra is the oracle for the month, and I am not talking about pretzelling yourself into some weirdo sex position. (That’s not a word, but we are going to go with it, because who really cares?) That is not actually what tantra is. It is a balancing of the masculine and the feminine energies, the black and white thinking. It’s embracing the both/and mentality. One of the greatest lessons in therapy was when this question was posed: Can’t it be both? Can’t two things be true at the same time? I literally sat there with my mouth hanging open.
Gebo fits Libra season quite excellently. “For true partnership is only achieved by separate and whole beings who retain their uniqueness even as they unite.” (Ralph Blum, The Book of Runes) This rune has no reversal, represented by an X. Think of the image of the yin and the yang. There is a little bit of the black in the white, and a little bit of white in the black. Learning to cultivate a partnership with the Self is just as important, if not more, than cultivating relationships with others. I mean, we need both in our lives. Don’t get me wrong. If we mix the two together, we make grey. That’s the space I am learning to live in, the grey area.
Mad love, Jenna
Please enjoy my Love Yourself First Spotify playlist featuring artists such as Hailee Steinfeld, the Pixies, and Kendrick Lamar. This Lifestealer is here to remind us to not give up are energies so easily to outside sources. Tag me on Instagram to show me your creations!
