According to western astrology, this year's full moon in September falls on 26th at 17:49 BST/27th at 00:49 HKT. It is the Harvest Moon, in the astrological sign of Aries. On the other hand, the Chinese calendar has the full moon calculated to fall on 25th instead. It is the 15th day of the lunar calendar, which is traditionally the day of the full moon (where the 1st day being the new moon). It is also the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. This discrepancy between the two systems prevented me from making the connection - that every year, the Mid-Autumn Festival's western counterpart is Full Moon in Aries (just like the first day of the Chinese New Year falls on the New Moon in Aquarius).
For the first time ever, I finally see the close (though not exact) connection between the two systems of the September full moons. I do often wonder why the two systems sometimes line up, sometimes don't. I would appreciate any input on that. For now, let's take a look at the story behind Mid-Autumn Festival and the link to Full Moon in Aries.
The Legend(s) Behind Mid-Autumn Festival
It all began when ten Suns appeared in the sky, drying up lives on earth. Hou Yi, a skilled archer, restored nature back to order by shooting down nine, leaving one behind - just enough to give us heat to sustain lives on earth. As a reward, the Queen Mother of the West gave him an elixir of immortality.
In the modern version, the one that I only discovered recently, one of Hou Yi's apprentices stole the elixir out of greed and jealousy. In order to protect the it, Chang'e, Hou Yi's wife, swallowed it so the elixir wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Chang'e instantly floated up to the moon and became the moon goddess, but separated from her husband forever. The subsequent moon worshipping on Mid-Autumn's full moon is to commemorate this story.
However, the original/older version puts Hou Yi in a more sinister role. In fact, I was amazed by the number of older versions. Hou Yi was crowned king by the people from his heroic act, but the power went to his head and he became tyrannical and asked for the elixir from the Queen Mother of the West. Why he was given it baffles me, wouldn't the Queen refuse it on grounds that he's getting tyrannical? Anyway, he was given it, and Chang'e, out of kindness and compassion for the people, stole the potion and drank it to prevent a tyrannical king ruling the kingdom for eternity. The version I was familiar with is that Chang'e drank the potion simply from greed, and as a punishment, she was sent to the moon for isolation, and not to become an immortal moon goddess.
Morals Behind the Tales
I was initially confused by all the different versions (I've only mentioned a few here), but then I noticed the Aries-Libra axis pattern. Whatever the story line, we have some kind of heroic deed being performed (Aries). The story is centered on the relationship between Hou Yi and Chang'e (Libra). It is a pull between selfishness (Aries) vs selflessness from a deep desire for harmony (Libra). Whether it was Hou Yi or his apprentice being the villain, we have Chang'e on the other side of the scale trying to redress the balance. Under the Full Moon in Aries, from the story of Hou Yi and Chang'e, we are reminded of the power to stop any selfish seeds from geminating. We have the freewill to nip it at the bud . We could look to the polar opposite - Libra, for help. Libra reminds us to build harmonious relationships, to consider from someone else's perspective. To reach a balance of acting with courage but benefiting everyone (including yourself).
Wishing Everyone a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Image: Canva Pro
