Equinox is the mid-point between summer and winter solstice, the point of full change from the outward cycle of growth in the light into the internal cycle of growth in the dark….
And both light and dark must be honoured in your life. If nothing else, you have to embrace the fact that without the dark, there would be no way to see the light.
And, of course, without the light there is no way to see the dark. Both are needed in our lives… at all times.
But some people just do not like the dark and think it is a bad thing. It just is… and it is the thoughts and judgements you have about the dark – in all its many forms – that make it good or bad. Without being held safely in the earth – in the dark – the seed never germinates and it cannot appear in the spring full of new life and new possibilities at the start of the next outward cycle of growth. We need the dark… so maybe it is time for you to start changing your attitude towards it.
Here is a meditation you can use to bring night and day into your energy system – the physical representations of light and dark. You can use a crystal if you want to – any base chakra stone, placed on this part of your energy system will be fine. Or if you want to change your perception of the dark, you can always place a stone at the brow chakra. The best stone would always be sodalite – the stone of inspiration.
- Ground firmly, and, if you want, call in helpers and guides to support you as you work.
- Find a rhythm with your breath. A good thing to do it breathe in for four, pause. Breathe out for six, pause. Making your out breath longer than your in breath is a physiological trigger for the body. It helps your body relax.
- So now set the intention that you want to breathe in the energy of the night. Visualise the night, starting at dusk. See the way the light changes, gradually fading away from dusk to full night. Hear creatures leaving, or arriving if they embrace the night – badger is always a good totem for any night journey. You may want to call him in.
- Whatever you do – feel the stillness and the peacefulness that always comes at the end of the day, though you are probably usually way too busy or way too tired to appreciate it. You may not even notice because electricity has taken away this precious time of day. There is no transition from dusk to night any more, no light fading into warm, welcoming darkness. The light changes in the blink of an eye from light to dark when you flick a switch. Your body has no time to prepare for the change. It is simply plunged from one into the other. Maybe it’s time for you to honour the dark and the fact that it is the appropriate time for your body to rest and recuperate. Embrace it – give your body what it needs at this time… breathe in the night.
- Fill your body with this energy and, once your body is overflowing with this energy, start to breathe it in to the base chakra until that if full as well.
- Stay in this energy for as long as you want to.
- Now focus on the darkness in your base chakra… dark always turns to light. Night and day represent this. It is shown to you every single day. You probably never even think about it but it always happens. It has to! So now intend to turn the dark in your base chakra and your body into light. Do what the Earth does every single day, release the dark and let it transmute into light, let it become light. That’s what it does… every day… right in front of you!
- Set the intention to release the darkness you have taken in as well as release any dark energy you have stored in your body and your chakra system. Do it on your out breath and let it float away – with ease and grace. Also watch how the dark turns to light and send this transformed energy out into the world as a blessing to any who are in need of a blessing at this time.
- When all the dark energy has been released, it is time to breathe in the light… and breathe it into your crown chakra to balance your energy system after breathing into the base.
- Visualise the day, starting at dawn and see the light gradually returning until it is blindingly bright. See the way the light changes, growing and growing. Hear creatures leaving, or arriving if they embrace the day. Feel the energy of new beginnings, new possibilities that always comes at sunrise, though, of course, you are probably still way too busy or way too tired to appreciate it, even before your busy day starts.
- Just breathe the energy in, allowing it to replenish you on all levels. Let it fill you, flowing down to your solar plexus, which is the place where you hold the energy of fire… solar power and the energy of the sun live here because of that. Breathe it in and let it energise you, flowing to every part of your body.
- After a while, let the endless cycle continue and see or sense the light fading again, bringing darkness and greet it happily, honour it for what it does in your life, for the comfort it can bring and let it go down into your base chakra as before.
- Then repeat the process of breathing the darkness out once it has transformed into light as many times as you like.
If you discover any parts of your Four Body System that are holding darkness in a detrimental way, a way that limits you, or stunts your spiritual growth for any reason, pause in the cycle shown above and just breathe light in to the place where you found the blockage and breathe out the dark, the negativity. Just continue until you feel the blockage has cleared and go back to the cycle of breath allowing you to shift effortlessly between the light and the dark.
And don’t forget to honour all the things you judge as dark or bad in your life. They have made you what you are today.
Seriously, all the horrible experiences you have had throughout your many, many lifetimes (and that is not a typo – I really do mean lifetimes!) have allowed you to grow, to release a less than consciousness and embrace a more than consciousness. They have helped you to let go of hate and fear and embrace love – which is, after all, the greatest healing modality of all.
Without the dark, you simply would not be you. You would not have been able to discover all your gifts and talents, your strengths and, of course, your many weakness. We all have them!
And I want you to be very clear on this – embracing your vulnerabilities, not to mention all the things that make you feel vulnerable, is a powerful thing to do and it makes you a blessing to all on the earthplane. You show other people that it is a powerful thing to do, not a weak thing, and it allows them to do it as well. It enables them to grow and reach their full potential. This is a huge gift, and you are giving it away simply by moving forward on your journey. You hold the next level of wholeness for all the people behind you, allowing them access to it, and there will be someone ahead of you, doing exactly the same for you. How fab is that? Time to be proud and grateful…
So, find some time this weekend to welcome the light and the dark at equinox time, embracing both… and get ready to move fully into the inward cycle of growth ahead of us. At winter solstice you should be planting the seeds you want to germinate at springtime. What will that be for you… time to start thinking about it now! What do you want to magically appear in your life at Imbolc? Nothing will grow if you don’t plant that seed…
Bright Blessings
Gailx