On the heels of the autumn equinox, tonight’s full moon in the pioneering sign of Aries helps us step into the dark months equipped with a torch. This Harvest Moon is intrinsically linked to the change of seasons, to the last push of gathering crops before the winter (read more about that in my last post), to gratitude and to preparation. Something my friend Kate (@blackwelltarot on Instagram) wrote in her autumn equinox reading two days ago keeps ringing in my ears. She asked: Why not use the dark to start holding space for what gives you light?
As we move into the dark with the change of the seasons, the Aries moon is here to remind us of what sparks our fire, what brings us light. What excites you? What inspires you? What brings you joy? Underneath all the responsibility and duty and day-to-day, what are you doing all the work for? What passion? What hope?
In tarot, Aries is the Emperor: the archetype of the leader, the architect, the commander. The Emperor invites us to stand in our Truth, to take up space, to have confidence in our light. They want us to go for what we want, and to not apologize for wanting. With the Sun in relationship-oriented Libra, ruler of the Justice card, there’s a tension this moon between ourselves and the people around us, whether friends, coworkers, family, partners. Libra is “we”-centered, Aries “me”-centered. Just by putting it in those terms, Aries sounds selfish, right?
Wrong.
So many of us (femmes & women especially) are conditioned to believe that acting solely for ourselves is selfish. We’ve been taught to be self-sacrificing always. We smile and don’t step on any toes. We say “yes” to make other people happy, even if we truly want to assert a “no.” We expend so much of our energy on other people that, at the end of the day, we have nearly nothing left for ourselves. That thing, the one that sparks your fire and brings you light—have you had the time or energy to engage with that recently? Have you had enough time or energy?
The Aries full moon is here to teach us that wanting something is not selfish. Having an ambition or desire is not selfish. Considering yourself and your own feelings and saying NO is not selfish. Asking for space—demanding space—to engage with what you love, what lights you up, what keeps you going, what brings you joy, what recharges you, is not selfish.
That thing, that light—that’s essential. It may be something huge or it may be something small. Right now, for me, it’s working on my books. I was so close to finishing the minor arcana guide, but then I put it on the back burner in order to deal with all the other projects and demands of life. I’ve got other exciting things going on, certainly, but that’s the big thing. And without any space to work on it, the light’s been dying, my overall drive waning, my mood suffering. My other projects have suffered, too.
That thing that excites us the most, that brings us joy when we engage with it, THAT should be the last thing abandoned. THAT is what’s going to give us the fire to get through the winter. We owe it to ourselves and our energetic and emotional health to carve out space for that light. Even if we have to say “no” to other projects and requests, even if we have to decline dinner invitations and ignore text messages, even if we have to disappoint some people in the pursuit of satisfying, caring for, fulfilling ourselves.
In all the myriad services you perform for other people, whether out of love or necessity, you are allowed this thing. You are gifted this light in order to honor it, and you can honor it by clearing the space for it to shine.
Every day, the dark waxes more and more and the light wanes to less and less. But, in the dark, the fire shines brightest. As the weather cools and the leaves fall, we can choose to welcome that dark, to partner with it, to embrace it as a container—a cocoon, a wombspace—for tending to our own flame.
Why not allow the dark to make space for the light?
BONFIRE SPREAD
For using the dark to make space for the light.
THE FLAME: What brings you light.
THE NIGHT: How to make space for what brings you light.
THE FUEL: What feeds your light.
THE BELLOWS: How to nurture your light.
THE RING: Where to establish boundaries so you can shine.
THE OFFERING: What needs to be released to the flames.
THE SPARK: How to get started.
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