2nd - New Moon in Virgo

16th - Mexican Independence Day

17th - Super Harvest Moon in Pisces/Partial lunar eclipse

22nd- Fall Equinox 

 

September begins with a New Moon in Virgo, denoting a new structured learning cycle in which we adapt our daily routines and habits to optimize personal growth. We are reminded that spiritual expansion requires us to first tend to our physical needs. The leaves turn red, orange, and yellow, further emphasizing that we must first build a strong foundation of the corresponding chakras–security, creativity, and confidence. The energy on the 16th encourages revolutionary independence achieved through sustained and multiple efforts, in which we wait for and recognize an advantageous moment to overthrow imperial forces. The Super Harvest Full Moon in Pisces with a partial lunar eclipse denotes the spiritual harvest we can collect as a result of structuring our everyday life to support the expression of our spiritual needs, lacks and wants. On the 22nd we experience Fall Equinox, a time when day and night reach the same length. In contrast to August, which focused on integrating our external and internal growth, in September we strike an equal balance between both to affect personal transformation. 

 

This month, we’ll be looking into the tarot forecast through the lens of The Star Road Map, a Mesoamerican inspired deck. The deck makes use of the major arcana, and replaces the minor arcana with Aztec concepts (of which we have the most record) based within a Mayan calendrical system. The Mayans keenly observed the Star Road (Milky Way) because they believed that a planetary shift corresponded with a shift in individual and collective consciousness. Instead of suites we have Days, Four Directions, Overworld cards (representing “the cyclical cosmic or spiritual influences” on physical reality), Underworld cards (representing the course of human evolution since amoebic conception, in relation to co-creation with Hunab K’u ie, the great Creator), and Intercession cards (representing Divine intervention). The six card spread below represents a single idea that examines a primary issue we will face in September. 

  

The Mesoamericans believed in an afterlife composed of 13 layers of heaven and 9 of the Underworld. In this deck, the heavenly layers are represented as Overworld cards. To determine the heart of the issue we will face in September, we will first examine the reverse Overworld card in the spread. The creators of this deck write that an Overworld card can be considered as the issue that lives in the day. The issue contains energy that impacts our consciousness, and works in tandem with our resulting Underworld response i.e., the soul’s evolution. Each Overworld card represents a level of understanding, and all 13 levels must be realized to progress through one of the 9 underworlds (a new age of soul consciousness).

  

[Im]balance - Reverse 8 Overworld 

Where the obsidian knives are creaking

The 8th layer of heaven is rife with storms. It is home to the god and goddess of death, rulers of the Underworld. From here, darkness comes. Here dwells the god of darkness, storms, disaster, and frost, as well as two gods of sacrifice. The last occupant is Tlaloc, god of rain, war, thunder and the earth. The creators of the deck have chosen to associate this card with Tlaloc specifically, perhaps because rain serves as a double-edged sword–it could come as a much needed blessing, a thunderous storm, or an overwhelming flood. When we view the Balance card in reverse, we see a horizontal line with three close circles hanging under it. This imagery could be likened to an uneven division, a hanging ellipses at risk of falling off, or upside down scales dropping their contents and failing to preserve the balance of fairness and justice. There are a few things we can consider in deducing this imagery: are we taking on too much or too little? Is too much being given or taken away? Has an expressed need been left unaddressed, and now we are left questioning if it will ever be fulfilled? Do we have an inherent bias, or are we being overly critical? Are we getting lured in by a deceitful illusion? Do we have honest motivations? These questions may cut like knives, but they call in the necessary awareness to instill personal balance, within and without.

  

In the Star Road Map, the underworld cards correspond to the 9 levels of the afterlife which most souls must undergo, before they can be freed from bodily suffering. The creators of the deck liken this to 9 levels of consciousness that humanity undergoes in advancing from amoebic form to a co-creative force with the great creator. When we shift from survival mode, we can recognize that our thoughts and perception of reality can affect the material. These cards are meant to reflect where our consciousness lies. Are we struggling to survive, learning how to manifest, or have we accepted that we are creative energy that is one with Source? 

  

Regional - 5 Underworld

The Regional card represents the point of human consciousness in which we develop complex language, culture, art, religion, and local identity. This version of consciousness can be channeled via regional organization, craftsmanship, abstract thought, and complex expression. Regional corresponds with the fifth level of the underworld, which translates as “the place where people fly and whirl like flags,” in which the dead were whipped around by the winds until they were released to the 6th level. There is potential here to get carried away by identity politics. An upright position signifies that we transcend beyond the limits of culture or religion and connect to a greater humanity. This card encourages that we instead get carried away into a creative flow state, through mediums such as art and writing, to access a greater reality that will serve our evolution. We are encouraged to step into our authenticity and work on our self expression. This will prime us to co-create with Source and work through the imbalance we experience above. 

  

The Star Road Map defines the Major Arcana as mental attitudes and fixed ideas that prevent us from evolving and influence our daily lives, which we will now apply to the month of September. Each is represented by an Aztec deity, which represent Mesoamerican beliefs around the concept.

  

Reverse Death

In this deck, reverse Death is depicted as Tzitzimitl, a set of four Aztec deities associated with the stars, fertility and birth. During solar eclipses, they were thought to attack the sun and devour humans. They were included in the New Fire Ceremony, which began a new calendar round. The proper offerings had to be made in this time, otherwise the sun would no longer rise, prompting eternal darkness. In Mesoamerican culture death can be imagined as birth in another form. We see this in the way that a snake emerges from the skirt of the Tzitzimitl, though in reverse position this may result in complicated labor. The snake represents the regenerative properties we may experience if we allow ourselves to cyclically shed old skins and become new. This process is enabled when we challenge old behaviors, habits, internal dialogue, thoughts, and what we consume. Our unhealthy ego, attached to its comfort zone, will work to prevent the necessary awareness to do so, to threaten or cajole us until we relent. This may manifest in our stubbornly convincing ourselves to keep doing things the same way while demanding the results we have yet to see. It will exhaust all our energy to remain in the old snake skin, depriving us of finding the motivation necessary to transform ourselves and our lives. We must overthrow this imperial force if we are to achieve true independence. 

 

Reverse Magus

The reverse Magus is depicted as Quetzalpapalotl, the butterfly god of transformation. He represents the deepest physical and spiritual metamorphosis–within, and without. Like so, in September we are encouraged to learn how to play freely between Underworld and Overworld energies, to affect our experience in the Middle World (Earth). A reverse position suggests we must reassess our daily routine and commitments to enhance the optimal awareness needed to maintain the balance between them. When both energies are used equally and we find ourselves aligned in body, mind, heart and spirit, true magic can take place. As the Magus, we can recognize that in any moment, we are an expression of the Creator. Our will is the only thing that could keep us in a caterpillar state, uncertain whether to unfold our wings or take flight. We may have a lot of resistance, thinking we need to acquire more knowledge, compile other opinions, better prepare and wait for a better moment or more resources. These fears come from the same egoic force we see in the reverse Death card, made to keep us locked into our comfort zone. We need to recognize our skills as valuable, whether or not they are recognized by society. It is important not to mute ourselves, lest we give greater credence to deceptively confident figures that may convince us out of our own will, out of recognizing our own magic potency. Yes, we need to take a realistic inventory of our flaws so we can better work with them, but we mustn't downplay our assets in the process. In truth, we already have the innate ability to sprout wings and take flight. Everything we need is within us–we are enough. 

  

Reverse Fortune

In the reverse Fortune card, we see the Earth portrayed as a tortoise shell, from which the Corn god emerges, with a son on each side of him–the Hero Twins. In the Popol Vuh, a sacred Mayan narrative text, the story begins with twins playing a loud ball game, which annoys Underworld gods. The Underworld gods invite the twins to play with them and rig the game so they can defeat the twins and collect their heads as prizes. One of the heads impregnates a daughter of the Underworld, who gives birth to the Hero Twins. These boys play a loud game, annoy the same Underworld gods, and get invited to a ball game as well. These boys learn all the deceptive tricks or the Underworld gods, and win the game. This story reminds us that we can fail, come back in a new form, and succeed. Failure is not a permanent state, nor is it a part of our character. If we feel powerless after defeat, we can pick a practical thing to work on for the month so that we can better reposition ourselves for a good outcome. After this, the Hero Twins are able to revive their father, who emerges from the Earth as a Corn god. The sons are elevated and turned into the Sun and Moon, signifying that we can generate abundance when we balance external and internal growth for personal transformation. The Corn God advises the other gods to make humans from white corn, corn being one of the most important forms of wealth and abundance in the Mayan economy. It sustained everything, and therefore human life could be considered the same. The reverse Fortune card challenges us to recognize that wealth extends far beyond capital–good health is the greatest form of abundance. September encourages us to adopt a revolutionary spirit, to cast off Imperialist notions that would have us feel impoverished and engage with the world with a scarcity mindset. This cycle can be broken by practicing gratitude and celebrating what we have. This mentality will help us nurture the abundance we seek. 

 

The day cards invoke the Tzolkin 260-day sacred calendar of the Maya. There are 13 cycles comprised of 20 days. Each of the 20 days works in tandem with the Overworld and Underworld cards, giving us an intersection point to help us understand the energies in action that impact our earthly experience. Maya time keeping differs from the Gregorian calendar in that it has a fixed but repetitive cycling of energies denoting birth, death and rebirth. 

 

Persistence - Day 9

East energy: associated with initiation with the power of creativity. 

This card corresponds to today’s challenge of balancing Virgo New Moon energies that help us to navigate the minutiae of every day living and Pisces Full Moon energies that motivate us to tend to emotional and spiritual needs. In September, particularly from the 9th, we will feel emotional, imaginative, and capricious. This capriciousness lends itself to struggles with impulse control, which we must learn to moderate. Negative perceptions such as those embodied in reverse Death, Magus, and Fortune will convince us to passively hold onto old way of being in which we give away our agency and devalue our personal will, so we must combat this by learning to watch for triggers for regretful behavior. As an agent of will we must take responsibility for our actions and behavior. We can cast off our Imperialist ego by developing persistence and consistency, through multiple effort is necessary, to be responsible for our part in everything. Persistence is the vehicle through which our soul will achieve true liberation.