In a foreign warzone, some of the trappings of a traditional Asatru holiday are forgone out of necessity.
There is no alcohol available, fires become a security concern as well as a highly regulated event when they are permitted at all, and feasting is limited to carry-out plates from the chow hall if you are fortunate and Meals Ready to Eat if you are not. Hard copies of Eddic Sagas and study materials take up too much space and weight where both are premium commodities, and the infrastructure (and safety) doesn't support portable options like smart-phones to use as the ever-present resource they have become back home.
Celebrate the inward journey Join Persephone as She descends Mother Earth turns toward Crone As we dance the last dance Half is Day, Half is night Harvest moon, orange sight Bless the dance, bless the rite Half is Day, Half is Night Spiral out, Spiral In Harvest, death, rebirth again Goddess-selves bless us all Who spiral out and spiral in
With the school term having started again, things are crazy-busy for me here. Still, I wanted to post something for the Fall Equinox, since it begins my absolute favorite time of year. This is a little something I wrote a couple of years ago. Enjoy, folks.
I adore this time of year. There’s a crispness in the air, the herald of colder, darker things to come. The leaves are just beginning to change into what, in my region of the US, will soon become a riotous panoply of color. I live in the belly of the mountains, in the Hudson River Valley and fall is something to be celebrated here for its beauty alone. It’s as if the lines of varied color show, for a few brief weeks, the very and varied musculature of the mountains, rippling, stretching and preparing for the long sleep of winter. It’s an awe-inspiring sight.
Ah the fermented grape. How many ways may I sing your praises? You age to sometimes sweet or paper dry perfection. So many different varietals, so little time. Since the days of ancient Greece, wine has been a heartily enjoyed fruit beverage of choice. Here's a little suggestion for the autumnal equinox: hold an old-fashioned Greek symposium. Invite a round table of your nearest and dearest and pick a good juicy topic of discussion. If you really want to get authentic, take a nod from Plato and get a spirited debate going about the different kinds of love.
Have everyone bring a different bottle of wine. Stick with the Greek theme. An excellent choice is always a fresh and sassy Roditis. Serve feta, Kalamata olives, grapes, pita bread, hummus and a couscous salad with fresh sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Shake up a dipping dressing of yogurt and honey on the side. When the discussion has waned and perhaps people are slurring their words a bit too much to continue to debate intelligently, make a toast to Dionysus, lusty god of wine and the dance.
The Autumn Equinox is coming up this weekend, so this is a good time to look ahead to the rest of the year, since (as you know if you’ve been reading this blog) charts of the solstices and equinoxes, also called cardinal ingress charts, are predictive for the quarter ahead.
The chart of the Autumn Equinox (Libra Ingress) speaks loudly of conflict, of the outward expression of strongly-held feelings, emphatic action, of resistance and of change. The important Ascendent and Midheaven rulers of the chart are our current starring couple, Uranus and Pluto, who are just about to form the fourth exact square of seven between the years of 2012 and 2015. This deeply transformative aspect will drive and demand change from each of us, and actively transformative energies will be particularly high during this quarter. (Astrology ahead: note that Mars is strongly activated in this chart — happily ensconced in a fire sign, strongly placed in the seventh house conjunct the Descendent, dispositing AS ruler Uranus, as well as Saturn and Venus. It co-rules the Scorpio MC, and is at the focal point of a T-square.There is a multiple T-square in the fixed signs involving the Ascendent, Mars, Moon, Venus, Saturn and the Moon’s Node.)
One of the primary aspects in the chart (the T-square) suggests that we are going to be seeing a lot of high-handed action, autocratic behavior and displays of ego (Mars in Leo) in the world around us over the next few months, and needless to say, we are also personally at risk of behaving in similar ways, or being victimized by such behavior. To avoid that, we’ll need to consciously choose to be aware of our mental and emotional states, actively work to stay balanced, and keep our personal boundaries strong. If you are going to take any possibly life-altering actions during this time, be sure to look carefully at all the ramifications, particularly emotional ramifications, and consider the opinions of others before making a fully thought out decision based on your personal values. Be canny and aware of the undercurrents in situations. You may want to play your cards close to your chest, but it’s important not to be in any way underhanded. You will also want to accurately assess whether or not you have the resources to do the things you want to do.
Casting a chart for the exact moment the Sun moves into 0 degrees of Libra — the Autumn Equinox — is part of a predictive method within astrology known as Solar Ingress. The 2 Equinoxes and 2 Solstices are considered to be points of inception in astrology, for this is when the Sun enters (ingresses) into one of the Cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Solar Ingress charts are cast for the moment of an ingress, at the capital of a country, and interpreted both as a single chart as well as in synastry with the chart of that country to predict events in the coming quarter-year. Solar ingress charts are commonly used in a branch of astrology that looks at world affairs, known as mundane astrology. The Libra Ingress chart cast for Washington, DC this year is powerful, and shows cause for hope as well as for concern.
The following is a brief first look at the Libra Ingress chart (click here to see it) and how it might play out on the national stage. I’ll be referring back to this chart as I explore other national events, like the upcoming election, in future posts. Later in this post, I’ll also look at how we each can approach the Uranus-Pluto square — essentially exact in the Libra Ingress chart — in a way that minimizes upheavals and problems and maximizes personal and community health and growth.
Note: I’m going to put most of the astrological heavy-lifting in italics, so readers who just want the interpretation can skip over the most arcane stuff.
Anthony Gresham
It's taken me a while to finish writing this, but I accept your challenge to write a new myth of my own. Here goes:Narfi & NariI write of Narfi and N...
Casting a chart for the exact moment the Sun moves into 0 degrees of Libra — the Autumn Equinox — is part of a predictive method within astrology known as Solar Ingress. The 2 Equinoxes and 2 Solstices are considered to be points of inception in astrology, for this is when the Sun enters (ingresses) into one of the Cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Solar Ingress charts are cast for the moment of an ingress, at the capital of a country, and interpreted both as a single chart as well as in synastry with the chart of that country to predict events in the coming quarter-year. Solar ingress charts are commonly used in a branch of astrology that looks at world affairs, known as mundane astrology. The Libra Ingress chart cast for Washington, DC this year is powerful, and shows cause for hope as well as for concern. 
