Today is the Autumn Equinox, a magical day. It’s one of the two days during the year where the day and the night are exactly equal in length. The sun and the moon hang in a balance, neither one has power or dominion over the other. The Wheel of the Year is all about the dance between the light and dark. Old Timers used it to know when to plant and harvest and understood that there is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven. Back when we were agricultural our very lives depended on being able to move through the changing tides of the seasons. And we can still feel this deep tide turning, if we pay attention.
These days we just take out the fall decorations or swap out our seasonal wardrobes, but there is a deeper meaning here, a chance for magic to happen.
We are right on the brink of the tide tipping. Tomorrow, there will be more dark then light. We are going into the dark quarter of the year, and soon the sun will be setting at 4:30pm every day! The dark quarter has a comfort and mood all of it’s own, which is more about turning inward and finding wisdom. But here we stand today, poised in this bright moment, where the light and the dark are exactly equal in strength. Magical!
The magic is in seeing where you are in balance in yourself. And where are you out of balance. If you follow astrology, you know that today is also the day that the sun moves into the sign of Libra which is all about, you guessed it, BALANCE. Libra’s symbol is the scales and we Libras (yep that is me!) feel balance very acutely in our lives. I am constantly slipping in and out of balance in my life. I probably achieve ACTUAL balance for maybe a few hours at a time. It’s a process of sliding in and out of balance for me.
An easy way to think about this is to observe where you feel uncomfortable in your life. Any place of discomfort is a place where you are probably out of balance. It’s very hard in our modern and busy world to find a place where every part of you is getting what it needs. I tend to break this into four places in my life. My self, my work, my relationship with my husband and my family. These are my four balance points and when I spend too much time in any one of them or ignore one of them for too long, I lose my center.
What are your balance points? Mind, body, spirit? Your inner and outer life? Your light and your shadow? Work and home?
Some people use the four elements (Air, Fire, Water and Earth) to help find balance, each represents a different aspect of ourselves. Other people use the Chakra system (Body, emotions, will, relationships, creativity, thought and wisdom) there are so many different lenses to look through and they are all good.
I invite you to do a brief meditation today, to look inward and feel inside your heart, your gut and your mind and ask yourself a few questions.
What needs nurturing in you?
What needs healing and love?
What are some goals to achieve?
What needs expression?
Where is your balance point and when do you get out of balance?
Where is the magic in your life and how can you feed it?
See if you can find one thing to do today that will put you in balance at least for today. For me, it is taking my dog out for a walk in the woods on this gorgeous day and finding a place in the sun to do my meditations.
I wish you wonderful magic today, may you feel the balance point in you!