happy diwali!
today is the festival of lamps/light in the hindu spiritual tradition. i have been studying the astrology behind this date and wanted to share my understanding of it from both the tropical and actual living sky perspectives and compare it with what i understand from a sidereal perspective. vedic/sidereal astrology is not my tradition so i want to be clear that what i share is through my own studies and perspective.
my understanding of diwali is that it occurs on the 15th day of a month called a kartik- considered the holiest month- which starts on the full moon in pisces (sidereal), which was the full moon in aries (tropical) on october 10th in this year of 2022 (it changes each year). 15 days after the full moon is the next new moon- this year the new moon is a partial solar eclipse on october 25th.
this festival last 5 days- this year starting on october 22nd when you clean out your house, october 23rd when you get your lamps and light them and then october 24th is the actual festival of Light where you do puja and ceremony to worship lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth and fortune) and ganesha (the God of removing obstacles).
diwali is celebrated in the deepest part of the dark moon right before the new moon- so we call in the Light during the deepest darkness as we head into the dark of the sun (samhain) where we have the least amount of light, heading into the most darkness of our solar year (from the northern hemisphere perspective). as we make our way to winter solstice where the sun is reborn- we are in the Dark of the Sun and the Gate of Death & Final Descent (more on that in the Solar Gate Call for Solar Samhain that will be out november 4th).
i shared the post below in my private Star Family Community- where i post daily astrology updates (mon-fri) around 8am eastern time. i am not posting a ton on social media these days but i am posting regularly in my free private community. you can join this community here- https://divineharmony.com/community/
what is interesting is diwali happens right before or during the time we head into the via combusta (the fiery way)- traditionally considered to be 15 libra to 15 scorpio in tropical astrology (approximately 10/6 or 7 to 11/7). but i recently discovered as i was studying the living sky that the via combusta was based on sidereal astrology and due to tropical and sidereal being 24 degrees apart now- that area of the sky is NOT the true via combusta.
when you look at ACTUAL living sky astrology the via combusta actually runs from 10/31 (halloween) to 11/30 when the sun transits both actual libra and scorpio which used to be one constellation called scorpio (libra was only created in the 1st century BC). there are intense stars in this area of the sky that are connected to INITIATION through the mysteries of death and rebirth. this is a time to face the dark and shadows and moving through the fires of initiation like the phoenix (a scorpio symbol)- and when we come out on the other side we can rebirth ourselves like the phoenix does. our transformation is only equal to the depths we go and the the darkness/shadows we face- so using this time to dive deep, do shadow work and commit to our personal and collective transformation is key!
with this living sky awareness we can see diwali- which can happen anytime in late october or into november pending when the new moon falls- occurs just before we head into the via combusta or during the via combusta- and is a time to call in the Light during the deepest darkness so we can see, face and integrate the shadows.
read on below for more of my reflections on this holy-day.
blessed diwali and festival of Light to you!
~harmony
COME LEARN the Foundations of Astrology! my first live Foundations class in over 2 1/2 years starts 1/4/23. you can learn more about this 5 week online course here- https://divineharmony.com/foundations-of-astrology/
my LUNAR INSIGHT on the SOLAR ECLIPSE NEW MOON IN SCORPIO can be read here- https://divineharmony.com/lunar-insight/solar-eclipse-new-moon-in-scorpio-in-the-teeth-of-the-whirlwind-10-25-22/
my LUNAR GATE CALL for LUNAR SAMHAIN is up! LUNAR HOROSCOPES will be up by tomorrow and the SOLAR GATE CALL for SOLAR SAMHAIN on 11/7 will be up by 11/4.
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from my daily post on STAR FAMILY COMMUNITY…
…happy monday! there are no major aspects today and we have the DEEPEST part of the DARK MOON just before the SOLAR ECLIPSE NEW MOON IN SCORPIO which is also LUNAR SAMHAIN. this adds even more potency to the dark moon today- which is great for releasing, letting go, introspection, reflection, dreams and diving deep.
in the indian tradition today is DIWALI- the festival of Light- where they light lamps to call in the Victory of the Light over darkness. they start their lunar new year at this time- just like the ancient celtic people who also saw samhain as the beginning of the new solar season.
why do we start a new year in the deepest depths of the darkness? because as many ancient mystical traditions portray in their creation stories – everything was born out of the dark primordial waters of creation- including the Light. the Light comes from the darkness- not darkness meaning evil or bad- but darkness meaning fertile hidden ground where seeds are planted.
when we look at a tree- we see the trunk, branches and leaves above ground and visible in the light. but we cannot have a tree with out roots- and before the tree broke ground it was a seed buried in the dark soil. in this understanding dark does not mean evil- it represent the depths and primordial beginnings we come from. the VOID, the ABYSS, the waters of Nun, the dark Womb of the Great Primordial Mother.
what does it mean to have victory of good over evil? i think it’s important to discern the deeper meaning of this statement. if we are coming at this statement from polarity and splitting of right and wrong, good and bad- we are still coming from polarity consciousness. something/someone is good and something/someone is evil. we are right, they are wrong. this helps us project our fears and shadows externally- which keeps us split inside.
i personally prefer to use the tropical scorpio new moon (or sidereal end of virgo into libra new moon as it is for vedic astrology) as a time to integrate the dark and the shadows INTO THE SPACE OF THE HEART. we do not integrate it into our egos or our minds- both can be corrupted. but we bring it all back into the space of the heart where it DISSOLVES and merges with the All. shadow work is a journey of bringing all parts of self back into wholeness- and the dark moon before the new moon in scorpo/lunar samhain is an excellent time to do this work (as is the whole coming eclipse/samhain cycle!!!).
from this understanding the victory of Light over darkness happens because Light brings the dark in and merges with it- and when this is done from the space of the heart, Love infuses everything and Light is victorious!
we are heading into a DEEP DIVE SAMHAIN ECLIPSE PORTAL. honor the depths and honor the dark- while calling in and anchoring the Light of your Higher Self, the Universe and our Galactic Family of Stars.
‘both Light and shadow are the dance of Love’
~rumi
blessed be!
~harmony