Autumn Equinox – Feast of St Michael or Michaelmas
The practice of celebrating Michaelmas on September 29 became official in the Middle Ages as a harvest festival. This feast honors the Archangel Michael who is a figure common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to the Waldorf tradition, He is a symbol of good triumphing over evil, courage over cowardice. The celebration of this holiday teaches the importance of facing fears and strengthening resolve.
In the Initiatic Tradition, it is one of the four Cardinal Feasts. It is the Archangel Michael who presides over the autumn equinox, hence the name of the Feast of St Michael. It is a time of separation, when fruit and nuts are ripe and fall to the ground; grains are sorted, consumed or stored for the next cycle of growth.
Hermes Trismegistus relates to this process when he spoke of “separating the subtle form the gross, gently and with great skill”. To separate the subtle from the gross is to separate the spiritual from the material. At this time of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere, the whole of nature undergoes this process of separation in preparation for the coming of new life.
Separation is a law of life. And what happens in nature also happens with us and within us. For example, on the material level, we know that with food we need to separate the good from the bad, the edible from the non-edible parts. On the spiritual level, this process of separation takes place when the soul leaves the body at the time of death. The body leaves its husk to the ground so the soul can experience a more subtle life as it travels and visits other dimensions.
Now is a good opportunity to visit our inner garden to sort out what habits and patterns have grown that we are willing to let go of.
Here is a simple exercise: write on a piece of paper what you want to separate yourself from and a wish to replace it with. Fold the paper and with great intent burn it while linking with the presence and power of Archangel Michael.
Happy Feast of St Michael.
Carmen
Coordinator of The Aquarian Team
The above article was inspired by Vol. 32The Fruits of the Tree of Life The Cabbalistic Traditionavailable at Prosveta Canadahttp://www.prosveta-canada.com/