But nature is always more subtle, more intricate, more elegant than what we are able to imagine.
~Carl Sagan
September is a subtle month. We only just notice summer becoming Fall. One morning we get up and there is a barely perceptible chill in the air; an unmistakable sign that Autumn has arrived. Nature quietly prepares for the arrival of Winter. Some trees and plants begin a cellular transformation that causes leaves to change color as the production of chlorophyll slows down. This occurs as days shorten; the usual signal for withdrawal. In some parts of the world this process is more obvious.
In northern climates the change of seasons is evident as temperatures drop with the waning light. In Southern California, one must be sensitive in order to experience the effects of seasonal transition. They also occur later, as September may often be hot and summer like. The evenings however, will be cooler. Certainly by the equinox on September 22nd signs of refinement are quite discernible. The Harvest Full Moon on the 19th is a standout in terms of the change we know is occurring. In the country, the Harvest Full Moon often illuminates fields of reaped fruit, dry cornstalks, dusty pale, against a golden sky. The process of dissolution begins as what remains is tilled back into the soil.
We gather our energy to inhabit a quieter space. What we have identified with disintegrates and we are left to gaze upon an empty vista. All things are possible as the creative process begins again. We naturally turn inward to seek ‘what is next’. What next do I wish to incorporate into my experience here? In youth, there is an abundance of want. As we get older the ‘been there done that’ expression leads one to a deeper search for the answer to the question of fulfillment. We wake up one chilly morning, just as the sun rises, to witness the wind carry memories away and after some time, realize that we have been observing, without thought of naming or describing anything that has been observed. No limitations to define experience. The quiet becomes more silent and the shadows elongate devouring doubt.
This September unfolds with a powerful trine between the Sun in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto ruler of the Underworld/Unconscious is the force that motivates disengagement from ego identification/thought patterns that tend to be the driver behind the wheel of habitual reaction. We are set up for a month that would create inner movement toward greater awareness that quietly unfolds as we deepen into shorter days and stiller waters. Stiller waters encourage less judgment in which case, that which I truly am speaks more loudly than that which I think I should be. Loving my self is impossible as long as I need to be something other than what I am. Loving our selves is the only possible thing we can do when aligned with the absolute.
This means, loving all things. Self = All. This is harmony, what is, and I no longer disagree with that.
Toward the middle of September, Venus, our desire nature/self values/self worth enters Scorpio and approaches Saturn. This is/will be a meeting of great understanding as Venus here seeks to understand self-worth in relation to patterns of habitual behavior that have limited growth and the ability to transform—soar beyond the cycle that defines humanity—birth, death, rebirth and regeneration. In the darkness, the depth, the emptiness that expresses aspects of the Scorpionic environment is a Truth to be realized that is Being, that which is beyond the cycle; that which is, always, and not determined or defined by what we perceive to be our experience here.
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Hermit[/caption]
In the tarot, the Hermit IX, stands on the threshold between outer experience and inner reflection (number 9 represents going back into one self 3x3) just as Saturn is the gateway from Earthly limitation to awareness. Because the Hermit realizes Self, he then has the potential of sharing Self with others. In September, quiet contemplation does not have a need to create anything. In fact nothing, that may be its output, is perfect. Without the need to produce, relaxation and rest can occur. This is a time of year in which nature rests and as nature, human beings need also to honor them selves by listening to what the structure naturally wants to experience.
If we attended to the snail’s pace in August, then we are prepared to wind down even further and observe a total absence of movement; nothing on the screen of awareness, and everything. And the I, within that, suspended briefly until complete immersion and absorption takes place.
In September we put on a sweater without a thought of being cold. Get up and out to work without the stress of alarm clock or a thought for being late. We live life and embrace what is—not right or wrong, not good or bad. Harmony is the word used to describe the result of acceptance and peace is the word used to describe the state of being that ensues. Then we quietly watch as leaves go through their transformation soon to be carried away by the wind knowing that our true nature is not subject to any cyclical process. Grace befalls us and whether it be September or March, I am “that”.
Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two life flows.
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
