A new project I want to explore this year is to enjoy the procession of the sun, moon and stars and find the stories, myths and symbolism behind them. I will preference the stories from the Bible and Hindu mythology since those interest me most.
Today is the Fall equinox and that means the sun is entering a time of increasing darkness. This one day is the day of equal balance and then for the next 3 months, the darkness increases a little bit each day.
The fall equinox is equivalent to being cast down into the darkness or into hell and the underworld. These are the general themes of the stories relating to the fall season.
At the fall equinox the sun then begins its descent into the lower regions of the sky. It increasingly falls in its path each day as it gets darker and darker. At the end of the summer, right at the fall equinox the sun is finishing its time in the constellation of Virgo, or the virgin. This could also be symbolic of Kali who is the Mother who brings down the soul from the realms of light, and sends it into the darkness of water and earth. Its what the sun looks like as it sets into the earth or the ocean.
Kali is the fierce aspect of the Great Mother Goddess. Kali means dark mother. She is known as the goddess of time, change, power, creation, preservation and destruction. Let’s look more about the aspect of Kali and birth into this mortal world. The human birth process certainly heralds a time of change.
Kali has a very fierce presentation and upon first glance looks to be quite evil and sinister. Her clothing and ornaments are made up of human arms and skulls. She is a feared warrior to be sure. The birth process even in a relatively calm setting is a fierce and violent process. There is blood, sweat and tears. Birth can feel like ripping, tearing, cutting, and moving thru the valley of death for the mother. That’s probably why some mothers choose to have a medically- sedated birth. But either way, the pregnancy and birth have killed the innocent maiden. Even mothers who do not experience birth are thrust into an enormous change of lifestyle and priorities. Kali destroys certain aspects of the previous physical body of a woman at the time of the creative birth process.
Let’s see about the descent of the spirit into matter. A soul comes from the realm of light and fire. This could be represent the summer season where the sun is high up in the sky for a longer period than the darkness. The spirit or soul is made of light or a faster, higher vibration.
At the moment of birth, the spirit descends and is enclosed in earth and water. The human body is made of elements of the earth and mostly water. But it is the spirit that animates and gives life to that body of earth and water.
