Gateway Goddess
This Midsummer, be sure to invite all the fairies to your party.
And all parts of yourself as well.
I say this because not only is the sun entering sweet, nurturing Cancer—but so is Black Moon Lilith. If there’s a part of yourself that you’ve wanted to exile or ignore, well, good luck with that. Because trying to keep the shadow under wraps this summer might well have the same results as not inviting one of the fairies to a folk tale princess’s christening.
We all know what happens then. The uninvited fairy will show up anyway, with a curse on her lips instead of a blessing.
But for those who are willing to face the shadow, to do the difficult work of shining a light into the dark places we’d rather not acknowledge, Lilith helps us transform our weaknesses into strengths. Lilith can help us be strong where we think we are weak.
Lilith has survived being turned into a demon by Judeo-Christian folklore. Most of us have heard that she is credited as Adam’s first wife, who refused to lie beneath him and chose instead to leave Eden and mate with demons in a cave by the sea. There, she gave birth to thousands of monsters.
Such a rich psychological image. The woman who will not be subdued, who demands her own pleasure, who would rather leave paradise than submit. So many patriarchal fears wrapped in one seductive skin.
She also has been seen as the demon which flies into the nursery and snatches away the baby’s life in her owl’s claws. Such a handy thing to blame for frequent infant deaths: the demon Lilith, jealous of the perfectly formed child. Lilith, mother of demons and monsters, destroying what she cannot have.
This other Lilith has been in our collective unconscious for so long, that who is to say there is not a being that has been formed from those thoughts? But that is not the Lilith I know. The Lilith I know still awaits those who would seek her beneath the layers of defamation. Just as, for each of us, there is a treasure wrapped in the part of ourselves we would deny.
The Lilith who awaits is the old, old Goddess. She who was the handmaiden of Inanna. She who helped gather the lovers to their beds, who enjoyed sexuality for its own sake. She who also protected women in childbirth, and watched over the children they bore. She who can help each of us reclaim the power hidden in our own shadows.
The Sun (our ego self) and Lilith have a third astrological companion: they’re also conjunct Jupiter. Jupiter is usually seen as a planet of good fortune, but he also can magnify trouble spots. I think that the midsummer sun and Jupiter will help us make friends with those parts of ourselves that we find troublesome. The trio is one point of a helpful, supportive Grand Trine in Water. The other two points are sturdy Saturn in Scorpio (who’s also been busy digging around in the secret parts of our lives) and Neptune in Pisces, who’s been busy dissolving into the great psychic sea.
The Moon also is in Scorpio. With that placement, and the combination of planets in water signs, this is an ideal time for dream work. Keep a journal at your bedside to jot those half-remembered images as you wake. The water grand trine stays active through most of the summer, differing only in what planet is activating the Cancerian point. But the Saturn/Neptune combination of structuring dreams and ideas stays firm.
With this combination of energies, as well as some other placements that highlight secrets coming to light, and wounds being healed, this should be an interesting summer.
Just be sure that no matter how you celebrate, no one’s left off the invitation list.
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