Libra season is the second crucial, pivotal point of the year. Libra season runs from the date of the Autumn equinox September 23 to October 22. Just like at the spring equinox, we again reach equality of day and night hours. However, instead of the daylight hours getting longer, they are now getting shorter, and darkness takes over… (At least in the northern hemisphere.)
So now we become more introspective, and we look back at the year and what we have achieved, what we have lost and possibly reassess our relationships. Of course, Libra is the sign of the “other half”, and it represents balance for the very reason that it contains the Equinox.
Libra Season Meaning
Libra season gives us the opportunity to accept both the light and the dark in our lives. It is also the ideal moment to do shadow work. At the same time, we don’t want to get too dour! After all the hard work during Virgo season, it’s time for some good old Libra pampering. We can also let our hair down and socialise!
With the extra time on our hands after the hard slog of the past few weeks, our thoughts might veer towards romance. If we are single, we’ll crave a partner to be that other half for us. Libra season is not a time to be too independent for we will have a stronger than usual need urge to connect to other human beings. Relaxation and indulgence is easier when you have company. Otherwise, it’s too tempting to get back on the Virgo season treadmill out of boredom.
Where is my soulmate?
So how did our ancestors celebrate the Autumn equinox? The Celtic pagan festival at this juncture of the year is called Mabon, named after a Welsh god. Mabon was a child of light and son of the earth goddess Modron. So this is another Christ archetype.
In Christianity, the Autumn equinox represents the death of the Sun King and the crucifixion. The Sun’s power wanes, and tree sap returns to its roots. Because of this loss of moisture, the leaves now transform into fiery reds and golden oranges. Now we prepare for winter, where some of us go into hermit mode. (Up until the Christmas festivities force us out.) But wait, of course, we will not lock ourselves away immediately! Before we cocoon, we must party!
Freya Artwork by Marina Marchione at Heavenly & Holy
Mabon & Pagan Festivals
Mabon celebrates the second harvest and is a time of thanksgiving for the earth’s bounty. We can also light a candle for ourselves and our loved ones, thank spirit and feel gratitude for the good in our lives.
Mabon is about reaping what you have sown over the year. It is also a rest time as a reward for all the hard graft. We look back at how the seeds we planted in the spring have flourished (Or not) and revise our plans accordingly. It is a peaceful time of contemplation but also of FUN.
Leisure activities are most important, but more specifically with other people. Having an outdoor feast with family and friends would be perfect. Catch those last rays of Sun while your can. Symbols of Mabon are the Cornucopia which is the horn of plenty. It represents both the male and female since it is both phallic and hollow.
The Apple Of Venus & Freya
The Apple is also very symbolic of Libra season, and Mabon as apples ripen at this time. If you cut an apple sideways, it will reveal its hidden pentagram. The planet Venus which rules Libra, also makes the shape of a five-pointed star during its synodic cycle. Every eight years Venus returns to the same place in the sky as seen here. The pentagram of Venus. There is a lot of magic in the planet Venus! The darker days give us more time for sleeping and meditation making it easier to connect with other dimensions.
I have chosen Freya as my Libra season goddess because her day is Friday which is also Venus’s day. Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, shares many parallels with Freya, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and war. Both goddesses embody love and sensuality, representing romantic attraction and physical desire in their respective mythologies. Venus and Freya are also connected to fertility, often depicted as figures who have the power to grant abundance and prosperity.
Freya, like Venus, is known for her enchanting beauty and irresistible charm, often associated with jewelry and adornments, much like Venus’ symbolic connection to material luxury and allure. Additionally, Freya’s dual role as a goddess of war mirrors Venus’ less prominent but existent associations with warfare and the shadow. Venus has a dark side as the evening star Lucifer and in her Venus retrograde phase too. Both deities reflect a complex fusion of passion, fertility, and power in their mythological roles.
Michaelmass
In the Christian tradition, we have Michaelmass, celebrated close to the Autumn equinox on 29 September. Michaelmas is known as the feast of the angels. Archangel Michael is the greatest of all angels, famously for defeating the devil. So with Michaelmass we anthropomorphise the equalisation of day and night
Michaelmas marked the end of the farmer’s year and initiated the settling of accounts. Libra balances the books! Folklore suggests that Michaelmass is the last day that we can pick blackberries and again the devil makes an appearance.
It is said that when St Michael expelled Lucifer, the devil, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, stamped, spat and urinated on them so that they would be unfit for eating. So it is considered ill-advised to eat blackberries after 11 October ~ Wiki
Rudolf Steiner says Michaelmas is the second most important festival after Easter, so again you can see the parallels with astrology and the polarity with Aries and Libra. Remember, Aries, corresponds with the first house and the ascendant, while Libra is the seventh house and the descendant.
The ascendant/descendant axis is crucial to the natal chart. So I believe Steiner is right when he says, ” Easter being about Christ (“He is laid in the grave and He has risen”). Michaelmas is about man once he finds Christ (“He is risen, therefore he can be laid in the grave”), meaning man finds the Christ (risen); therefore he will be safe in death (laid in the grave with confidence) “
Christ & Creativity
So Libra season then is about finding Christ in whatever form it takes. Sometimes we will find ourselves through a battle with a partner who mirrors back to us our shadow. Another way we can make conscious what is unconscious is through creativity. Libra rules art, so put pen to paper to see what flows out of that magic wand.
Committing to an artistic project would be a fantastic way to pass the long nights of winter. Libra season asks us to be proactive and creative rather than just passively consuming the latest Netflix series. The devil makes work for idle hands as they say!
