The 14 Libra Lunar Eclipse

A crop circle as photographed by Sphoenixee in April 2007 here stands in to image

Sabian symbol number 195 (for 14 Libra) which describes this influence as 'Circular Paths,'

a reference to life's cycles and - perhaps more important to the emotionality of a lunar

eclipse - the issue described by astrologer/philosopher Dane Rudhyar with regards to

how life's cycles can either be boring or peaceful depending on where we are in our own

life and whether our lives are being lived openly and honestly not just with others, but

with and within our Self.

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Lunar eclipses promote and elicit our feelings. They mark times when things happen to lift our hearts and dash our hopes, depending on where they are presented in a chart.

Your chart, that would be.

And yet eclipses have their own nature - which with this eclipse begins with the idea that the ‘Moon side’ of this dynamic is occurring in Libra a sign all about how we feel about others and how they feel about us, and what that may mean about us or the fact that we even know them.

That this is a lunar eclipse also says that it’s a specialized Full Moon (just as a solar eclipse is a specialized form of a New Moon) - an idea which tells us that something is being “fully highlighted” with a special sort of ‘eclipse nuance’ which may highlight someone else, may highlight some act or attitude we have taken (or are thinking of taking with regards to others), or which may put some sort of emotion-promoting spotlight on something which is either being offered or asked of us - as individuals or a group.

With this being a Full Moon and the Moon itself in Libra, the Sun is in Aries - at 14 Aries, to be precise. And 14 Aries, as a degree, is known for something of a ‘hands off’ perspective which may simply be the signature of an observer, the habit of a loner, the sign that someone either isn’t involved or doesn’t feel they can be involved ... or some other form of separation or being ‘walled off’ or split off from some whole which may be what is being emotionally responded to by the eclipse, or which may be part of how the eclipse itself manifests - by separating, by putting up some sort of barrier which separates, defines or provides boundaries, by making it plain that being too close to something (or someone) is ... well, not always a positive.

Or maybe just not a place to be working from when we want to do things un-emotionally.

Lunar Eclipse at 14 Libra (glyph chart)

April 4, 2015 - 12 07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Lunar Eclipse at 14 Libra (text chart)

April 4, 2015 - 12 07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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But to count the signs and signals here, just to have a lunar eclipse speaks to a relationship, whether that’s between our Self and a job, a person, our finances, that squirrel which won’t let your garden alone or some life challenge ... it is our relationships to that which is the essence of the lunar eclipse because eclipses are a function of the nodes.

And then we add the ‘Libra’ note, making our heightened lunar eclipse relationship to ‘it’ a Libra thing, that being what makes this eclipse more or less about our relationship to relationships... and whatever (or whether) our situation is vis-à-vis relationships and our ability to relate, our style of relating and how that is working for (or against) us in this moment ... to which we add the specific 14 Libra ‘flavoring,’ which in this case has to do with whether we are or aren’t separated in/from others in how we relate to people in general, or maybe just in one relationship or in how the world views relationships and the need or issue of relating to one another - and whether we have the capacity to know anyone at all ... ever ... and what that may say about us.

A diagram showing the positions of Sun, Moon and Earth

during solar and lunar eclipses, respectively

(diagram credit: Tomruen)

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All this comes to us through a lunar eclipse - which as shown above is the ‘opposite’ of a solar eclipse in that with the solar eclipse the Moon comes between the Earth and Sun, where with a lunar eclipse it’s the Earth which stands between Sun and Moon, casting an ‘Earthly’ shadow on all things lunar.

And that’s the point. Where with a solar eclipse something in or about (the Moon) everyday life is eliminated or ‘blacks out’ something which we have held as part of our (Sun) life or conception of life. Solar eclipses force us to look at life a different way because we aren’t seeing ... or can’t see as much of it as we did, or we’re seeing something totally differently than we did only a short time ago.

That process - the solar eclipse process - speaks to a long-term evolution of our life which evolves from the moment of the eclipse: something changes, and we reorient our lives to account for those changes.

But with a lunar eclipse, it is Earth - us - which is ‘casting a shadow’ on something (Moon) personal and feeling oriented. Being that this lunar eclipse is occurring in Libra, that ‘personal’ thing may involve any of the “Moon things” (women, memory, money, home, childhood, culture) ... and then again, it may involve any of the Libra qualities of being about relationships or manifesting through a relationship, and by ‘relationship’ we mean any kind of relationship - that you have with a lover, a parent, a co-worker, your dog, your homework, your car, your ambitions, your relationships to time, life and even Divinity. Where an actual other person is involved, we tend to think the lunar eclipse is about ‘them,’ but it seldom is - it’s our eclipse and therefore the issue is our feelings ... how we feel about them, or what they’re going through, what they’ve said or done to us, with regards to us - or something like that. And then there’s the fact that some of us (a good number of us) will be coming into this lunar eclipse with some kind of strange-feeling matter already knocking about in the back rooms of our psyche due to the solar eclipse which just blew through a few Piscean circuits as of March 20th.

- link to post -

Solar Eclipse Scheat:

Flight against Insight

So a lot of us are all stirred up right now. We probably won’t be admitting it openly, or wearing our uncertainties on our sleeves (as it’s said), but our world and each one of us living in it (which is to say on it) is coming to this week already very much in feeling mode.

And then comes the eclipse, a lunar eclipse which has the shadow of the Earth - our shadow - being cast on the Moon, that thing which metaphysically symbolizes and manifests as all those things which matter so much: family, home, traditions, feelings, memories, values ... and yes, that thing we associate so much with that list, money.

A map of the shadow being cast by the April 4, 2015

lunar eclipse (diagram credit: NASA-JPL) 

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The Moon represents money - in particular, business money: the money which cycles through business and which is used to build businesses - money as a resource and the measure of the flow (or lack thereof) of success ... that success being defined by each one of us individually through our feelings.

You know, the astrological Moon.

But here - with the image of the lunar eclipse, we are given to know that the Moon ... our feelings ... are under a bit of current stress which astrologers would refer to as a t-square.

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The difficulty here - and thus what those of us who run into problems or challenges now may well encounter - is the idea that there is something (represented here by Pluto/Vega) which is challenging us, standing in our way or existing as an issue we have to get over (past, around, etc.).

If we don’t get past it, given how t-squares work, then we’re going to end up back where we started - in that feeling puddle of ours, or that puddle of feelings we really were wanting to put to good use (or possibly put behind).

And why would we be going through anything - what’s the ‘object’ here? As imaged by the t-square’s end point (Uranus, Sun, Alpheratz and Psyche at 14 Aries) we want to ‘be alone’ ... or possibly be left alone to do what we need/want/intend to do ... or considering 14 Libra as Aries in its emotionally determined/determinative mode, there’s something which we want to be free to be or get done, whether for our own sake, its own sake, or for the sake of someone else.

So what is the problem? The ‘hurdle’ here being presented as Pluto-Vega, the Pluto part of the equation points to some change or transformative quality which has already had some sort of effect, which is part of that which is holding us back or as a reference to something which needs to happen. Pluto is doing the transiting, which on one level makes Pluto’s energetic (and that of transformation) the quality which is being applied to that which already exists (that being the Vega quotient) - and let us not forget how obsessive and controlling Pluto energies often tend to be.

Will we be obsessed with something we believe - or something about others? Or some goal we think entirely necessary?

Is what we are so obsessed with even real?

And if our issue is control or controlling others, is that sensible to ask - or even possible? Is the control we think so necessary about protecting others, or do they refer to some feeling we feel threatened by to the degree that we can’t even deal with our Self, resorting instead to trying to control others so we don’t have to be responsible for our own feelings and fears?

Plus when we get to Vega, then we’re talking about a fixed star which has long stood for all which holds appeal, that which holds sway through loyalty, allegiance or respect and all which exudes charisma, which persuades or is persuasive.

Together, these symbols stand for things which need to change, things long respected which we may have lost respect for, things loved with that love now lost ... and on a somewhat different trajectory, that which we either hold out to others (or) adopt as our own because they seem so attractive and charismatic ... or because they seem to hold or embody a promise of appealing changes yet to come. And when we add in what lore says about the degree this conjunction is occurring in (15 Capricorn), then we get a picture of something or someone (or perhaps some group, organization or other entity) which has ... or which has had (which may be the issue now)... a distinct leaning towards softness or passivity - and how that may be what is now changing.

Or which has already changed.

Or which needs to change.

The quality of Vega means some will resist change because they found what came before so pleasant. 

But was it really pleasant? Or was it pleasant on one side because the cost (responsibility, effort, ignorance, fear(s), etcetera) of such pleasant things were unkindly ... even unfairly shifted onto others?

However this works, some fleck or nuance of this eclipse will color every life. But that doesn’t mean we’re all going to be feeling this eclipse to the same degree (no pun intended!). With the lunar eclipse occurring at 14 Libra, some of us will be affected and some won’t be affected - just as some of us have been more-rather-than-less affected by what the 29 Pisces solar eclipse may have revealed about some rather unacceptable lack(s) of clarity we have on our Self.

How did we get there? We’ve been so careful, and yet somehow we have ended up not wanting to know how unrealistic and ultimately unkind to our Self or our own cause we have ended up being.

(Oh yes - and if you’re over say ... age twenty, that may be ‘... we have ended up being again.’)

This eclipse (like any eclipse) occurs in all charts. But it isn’t going to necessarily be focal in every chart, just as the recent solar eclipse hit some like a gentle raindrop and others like a tsunami. Some of us will have been born with charts which are sensitive to the solar eclipse, some to the lunar eclipse, and some to both - which bespeaks the greatest sensitivity of all.

But I probably don’t need to tell you that. If your chart answers closely to both eclipses, life is already on the move, whether your body and psyche are keeping up with it (yet) or not...  

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... and with the eclipse occurring this Saturday, we would also be quite reasonable to think the whole of this week is likely to be one when we feel our own sensitivity more acutely than other times.

Again, ‘they’ (or ‘that’) may promote, provoke, support or be asking or prompting us to let our feelings out, most of all so that we can learn what those feelings are and learn from our feelings as they stand.

Why do we feel the way we do? Where do our feelings come from? Why do we hold the (Moon/lunar) values that we hold and do they reflect us as (Moon/Sun) individuals, or are we saying what we’re saying or feeling what we’re feeling because we think our (lunar nodes) society or family or culture requires of us ... or even urges us <wink> to think or act or be a given way.

Neither one is bad, mind you - it’s just evidently important that we know what is what and where things come from, for reasons which are individual to you and your life.

But understanding and knowing do figure large at this time, as do ethics and the ability or availability or willingness to learn, teach and share ideas - all of which reflects the fact that Jupiter (symbol of enlargement, expansion) is already on station at 12 Leo, having taken up temporary residence in said degree on March 24th, bringing much about the stations of this past couple of weeks into big, bold, bas relief sort of focus - which would fit a Jupiterian 'bigger, grander ... even to the point of being aggrandized' sort of theme.

-link to post-

Nemesis, Ixion, Sisyphus, Pholus

 - link to post -

Niobe Direct

The combination produced much which was obviously overblown and some things which deserved being enlarged upon or ‘made bigger’ so that they could be looked at in detail. And that quality of ‘making things larger,’ whether that’s a benefit or negative, that basic ‘Jupiter essence’ will continue to and through Jupiter’s station-direct moment on April 8th.

And that means things may well become VERY emotional over the weekend of April 4th, since that would have lunar eclipse effects overlaying and combining with the standard Jupiter manifestation, that being one of ‘enlarging’ which - given the lunar eclipse - could get out of hand. This can be a wonderful and joyous combination. Then again, it could represent the toppling of not just some personal house of cards, but things which we have been working towards for many a moon.

Plus there’s also Mars and Venus in Taurus against Mercury in Aries to think about. Mercury in Aries is thought and communication sitting in the oppositional sign to the nexus of all the emotional hoo-ha of the moment.

Is that helpful? Does this mean that as the lunar eclipse moves through the Jupiter quotient is going to help us see (read: learn) something we didn’t see - or maybe didn’t want to know or see, but will benefit from in the long run? Is this the moment when some opportunity we have dreamed of (or even better, which has been beyond our wildest dreams) suddenly reveals itself as possible? Or is this a moment when life breaks out in rashes, rash arguments and other forms of arguably irritating things?

That Venus and Mars are themselves not in aspect to the eclipse makes this less intimately personal. And with Mercury at 8 Aries, Mercury isn’t quite in opposition to the eclipse itself (the heart of the matter). Yet because the lunar nodes (which are part of eclipse mechanics) are at 10 Aries and 10 Libra, Mercury at 10 Aries does conjunct the South Node which in turn is conjunct the Sun.

Mercury-South Node is wanting to keep one’s opinion or position ... and/or the fact that not changing or not ‘caring’ about input (or whatever else) is easier to opt for than other options.

It does not, however, guarantee success. The ‘should’ side of the lunar nodes is the North (not South) Node, and the North Node is positioned at 10 Libra, a degree which speaks of a kind of individuality, ‘aloneness’ or distinction/differentiation (from other things or people) which more often than not follows a difficult path for reasons which are not always apparent. From this comes a subjective perspective based on those difficulties, and that perspective, if not corrected, may well become a motivation for, or means of limitation either on the part of the native (the individual) or someone else.

That all of this is happening just in advance of Jupiter’s station also suggests that this ‘nesting’ of events is a form of double-play. In other words, while the lunar eclipse is setting up the circumstances we will take into Jupiter’s station, Jupiter’s moving towards/into that station represents all of those life forces which are bringing so many things to light, some of which we are responding, acting on or reacting to with the ‘high water’ energy timed by the eclipse.

And let’s also remember how things which happen going into a station (we’re talking about Jupiter here) are things which are yet to happen - which with Jupiter could be a lot of things, especially if your natal chart ‘answers’ to the degree 12 Leo.

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Just to run through the basics, an eclipse (or planetary station, if you’re also thinking about Jupiter) which conjuncts your chart generally manifests as feeling totally involved with the matters described by the eclipse on a personal basis. This is you having to decide something about your life.

If the eclipse (or station) is in opposition to something in your chart, the qualities or area(s) of life described by that natal object as it appears in your chart in a given house ...something about such matters will into focus in such a way as to create a sense of challenge - or perhaps reward.

Squares and lunar eclipses seldom mix well, as what results may be exciting, if also frustrating (to some degree) at the very same time. Maintaining the balance and proper sense of determination which squares requires of us isn’t going to be the easiest thing to do at the time of any lunar eclipse, and one which is ‘backed’ (or influenced) by Jupiter will make it that much easier (or more likely) to go overboard or to think too positively or too negatively.

The inconjunct and semi-sextile are likely to follow this pattern to a certain degree, though inconjuncts are aspects which ask us to adjust something - be it our outlook, methodology, timing, perspective ... and semi-sextiles are aspects which test our ability to get past our own ego about something even if we don’t want to.

And for those with some axis point, planet, node or dwarf planet in semi-sextile aspect to the lunar eclipse, no - you probably don’t want to!

That would be the given. Figuring out whether you need to get past that and change ... or whether you need to simply get past your annoyance and remain classy and cool ... that’s another thing.

Eclipses (or stations) which trine positions in your natal chart generally refer to things which are already in progress, or which you may want to think about changing (or building on) but which aren’t yet at a place where you can make some move. Sometimes this can be problematic, particularly where the effect of the trine means you can’t cut and run on some unproductive situation. But the other side holds true as well, so if you’re in a good place doing what you know you should be doing in life, a trine from a lunar eclipse - uproar or no uproar - will generally end with little if anything changed.

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With all of that said and mused over, there’s one other ‘message’ which comes with this eclipse, that being simply the astronomical notice that as the Moon reaches Full (at the lunar eclipse) the first phase of the March 20th solar eclipse is now closed out. That doesn’t mean that ‘the worst is over’ or anything quite as definite as that as the 29 Pisces solar eclipse - being in Pisces - operates basically on an internal, super-personal (not to mention individual) level in opening us to ourselves so we can let go of that which is truly no longer appropriate (or perhaps necessary) in favor of becoming who we are supposed to be at this point in our life so as to stay on track with who we were ultimately born to be.

Solar eclipses evolve over a full three years, often starting off with very intense periods riddled with various events, few of which ultimately have any direct bearing on where we will end up going, or who we are destined to become. Lunar eclipses on the other hand, tend to be very immediate, prompt and timely, with events of the moment - though emotionally important - being more ‘situational’ than intrinsically personal, if you will.

And maybe even more importantly, the evolution of lunar eclipses is swift. This one - the events or situations which are associated with it, in other words - may ‘spill over’ into other things of lengthier duration because of this 14 Libra eclipse’s proximity to Jupiter’s station, but most lunar eclipses mark events and moments which after a space of just three months become part of the fabric of our memory.

Still, they can be exciting. And this one - in particular - would seem to hold the potential for great inner personal discovery.

Will we like what we find?
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Mercury in Libra

A field of ripening barley in Palouse, USA

(photo credit: Victor Szalvay, June 2006)

There’s a strong human tendency to make things simply personal...or not personal...according to personal preference.

Surely you’ve noticed?

Yes, any number of us will make the good ‘ours’ and simply reject whatever we don’t like, disowning it lock, stock and responsibility - even when we’re plainly in the mix. So strong is this habit that even when we think about metaphysics, again we tend to divide our charts: the Aries “I Am” of life we stand for and take hold of.

But when it gets to Libra, so often we opt for blanket ‘thou’s, projecting and separating ourselves from things in our own chart.

In other words, in our own life - and we’re not talking about the live being lived in your town, city or state, we’re talking about every moment of that life which has us breathing or holding our breath.

It’s our chart. Libra is in every chart and is a precept in every life. So why do we project? We want a good life, surely. But how can we live a good life if we’re not willing to admit that the life we’re living (inclusive of who we attract, how others feel about us and how our work or efforts are received) how to live that  good life while abdicating the power we hold in our hands (and minds) to empower said life?

There’s a difference between not knowing and not liking, after all. Both can be equally valid in a well-balanced Libra-like world, which is why the difference between Libra’s positives and negatives can both be typified by one simple metaphysical statement: what we put out comes back to us.  

Sometimes we don’t recognize it...and sometimes we don’t want to recognize it.

Pointing at ‘them’ is relatively easy. Dealing with our Self, particularly when that Self is in the middle of wanting (yearning, longing, etc.) to feel better about the life that Self is living...that’s hard. 

Sometimes it’s purely annoying.

And still, after all the projecting is done, there we still are with whatever problems, refusals to see (think, hear, etc.) we came in with...which is a whole other issue. After all, those among us who don’t want to deal with their issues are surely not going to be a cheerfully jazzed to know that they not only still have to deal with things, but that their ‘problem child’ is looking at them from the mirror.

No one likes that. (But it is terribly Libra.) Yes, Libra is about everything we encounter in life because it’s our life. Such things inform us. They test us to see if we really know what we think we know. The Libra Principle becomes active in our life, so that we will learn what works...and what doesn’t work...which isn’t ‘about’ them, but rather about our experience of them or something in our wide-ranging world...or their experience of us or what we do.

By those reactions and responses we learn more about our Self - what parts of it work or don’t work and why.

Dealing with all those ideas, from the ‘what’ to the ‘what happens’ (complete to everything between), that’s Libran too.

It’s to think about. And lucky for us, Mercury (symbol of thought, communication and mentality) is about to enter Libra.

So once Mercury enters Libra on September 2nd at 5:39 in the morning (UT/+0) time, feel free to think up, folks. Think hardy, think thoroughly, give things some thought or think nothing of it - whatever be your personal choice.

You know, a personal choice you’ll make which will then affect others who will let you know if your idea works in their Libra framework and thus in their equally individual Self-driven world? As Mercury enters Libra we are symbolically being told that our communications, our thinking, our experience and estimation of today and tomorrow (and all they may contain) will be moving from a personal orientation to a more worldly one....how what we do, what we are doing will become more visible to others and more apt to be commented on or responded to.

We are also coming to a moment when our thoughts may well change as Mercury moves through Libra’s earliest degrees, that being the position of giant black hole M87. Being that Mercury moves very quickly (its ‘fleet-footed’ orbit around the Sun takes a mere 87.9 days) this contact will be felt rather immediately, raising alternate views (and viewpoint) from September 2nd through 6th, when Mercury exits M87’s orb of influence.

Some of us will be inspired by thoughts and events which occur during these days. Some of us will recognize how we may have been too short-sighted about something - or how we didn’t know, see or listen to something which may at first blink not have been our taste...but which is in reality seriously important to our aims short term and long.

That Mercury is coming into Libra aspect-free and  on its own speaks to a free-wheeling quality in thought and conversation which though perhaps not overly obvious is there to enjoy...and to employ. However, please be advised: the farther into September we get, the less options we’re likely to have as things seem to acquire a life and momentum of their own. Still, many will be likely to be ‘in their head’ or ‘lost in thought’ or simply preoccupied (mildly or otherwise) for at least some part of this transit. For them, Libra’s interactive quality will reflect in consideration of how to exist with others, among others, in this world or at some other level which has to do with ‘getting along’ in life, though Mercury in Libra by itself isn’t the kind of indicator we would think of as defining times good, bad or indifferent.

What this transit says is that our thoughts will be about others. Or situations others are connected to, or that we (or they) may need to discuss with someone - and because Mercury will be going retrograde come October 4th (September 14th being the date Mercury crosses into its retrograde shadow) the latter part of September is likely to be filled with our feeling pressured and frustrated as we try to get something done with life (and people in that life) resisting, not getting things done as they focus on how annoyed they are with others or whatever is getting in their way or being otherwise entirely unsatisfying.

(Yes, its that projection thing again. We’re not happy, so it or they must be to blame, right?)

(No, not right - but as an example of human nature in function, often accurate.)

More to the point, as Mercury moves into the shadow of its upcoming retrograde Jupiter is just reaching 13 Leo, setting up a sextile. And since Mercury retrogrades (inclusive of their pre-and-post retrograde shadow periods) are periods which will have us catching up with ourselves and sorting things out (or tending to re/organizing of various mental or mentally-governed [Mercury] factors)...to have Mercury sextiling Jupiter as we trip the light-footed fantastic into Mercury’s pre-retrograde zone?

Well...that would seem to be a positive sort of note.

Mind you, just as sextiles offer opportunities, sextiles require work. And after we accept that much, then we add the concept that retrogrades require going through whatever it is we need to go through to get us into position with our Self to take life on come retrograde’s end, when (oh, incidentally...) things - or at least our perspective or thinking about things - takes a turn.

In Libra, this is all going to be about, in conjunction with, and concerning things we experience at the level of interaction - which is to say, they affect our thoughts about who we are (and aren’t) and what we’re doing or why we’re doing it and how that affects our place in the world, just as it’s affecting everyone else in the world at the very same time.

We will all be thinking. And given the Libra effect, we may be more focused on the Other than our Self, but why we would do that would be part of the Mercury in Libra process. Why we care, why we don’t care, why we pay any mind or don’t mind ignoring others if or when they don’t suit what we want to think about our Self...that would be part of the Libran process.

And wherever Libra falls in our natal chart, that tells us what we will experience through that Libra process and how we will pursue our Libran experiences...all wrapped in Mercurial questions, answers, ideas and choices, many of which will prove either harder to make or harder to have work once Venus (ruler of Libra) moves into Virgo on September 5th (UT/+0 time).

Once Mercury enters its shadow (which it will do as Mars enters Sagittarius, heralding new efforts, new actions and new discoveries of every type as a result of actions taken) it will be just over a week until Pluto goes direct. During that time, will something trigger a change in our [Mercury] thinking - and if so, will that guide or control us?

One more thing to toss in the mental stock pot here: Mercury enters Libra on September 2nd, Ixion goes direct on September 3rd, Pholus goes direct on September 4th and Venus ends this cavalcade of shifting on September 5th with its own move from Leo into Virgo.

Yes, Ixion and Pholus went into retrograde together last March...and now they're going direct together in early September.

Is this a hint?

- link to -

Ixion and Pholus Station-Retrograde

From the Mercurial perspective, this would seem to be a recipe for situations which bring out some of our less caring aspects - and end up disliking the results.

Maybe in knowing that we can resist the lesser aspects of this passage? We can use this time to think about others and how to share our space, our ideas, our needs, desires and aims. We can use this time to improve our ability to relate to others and thus our relationships with others...and maybe more importantly (at least to us), their relationship to us.

But will we?
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The Libra New Moon: Taking a Stand, Fighting Our Self

It will be just 36 minutes after midnight on October 5th in the UT/+0 zone when the New Moon occurs. This will be the last New Moon before November’s solar eclipse and the beginning of the lunation which will set off the ‘revving up’ which will lead to a Lunar Eclipse on October 18th.

That lunar eclipse will occur at 25 Aries, which is one thing we should consider here because Libra-to-Aries is a direct opposition. So this cycle – or at least the first half of this lunation cycle – has a distinct “I/thou” quality. You may experience that in relationships…or how you relate to someone or something going on in the world or your world.

Or in how you conceive of your world and how it works. Because this New Moon begins this experience in Libra, we know the essence of the issue is ‘how to get the results I want to get?’ whether from others or some situation…which is pretty much offset by ‘who am I in this transaction?’ – be that a human transaction, a business transaction, an emotional, financial or experiential transaction.

Yes, we’re in the wonderful world of ‘cause-effect’…otherwise known as what you put out comes back to you. Some would immediately think of this as karma, though your local (or not-so-local, depending on where you are) metaphysician tends to think karma differs from cause-effect. Cause-effect is pretty ‘directional,’ if you will – I talk to you, you talk to me. The actor performs for the audience, the audience applauds or boos.

One of the interesting things about Libra which doesn’t get talked about much…(and which applies not only to whatever house Libra falls on in your chart but also as something of an ‘undercurrent’ with regards to the 7th house of any chart no matter what sign is on its cusp)…is also the idea that Libra is not just about peaceful relationships. Or loving relationships. One of the keywords in the long Libra list is ‘open enemies’…so plainly Libra is not just a sign of cupcakes and roses.

My point about karma is that karma – which is associated with Scorpio (not Libra) doesn’t necessarily come from the direction in which you’re headed. Or which you are addressing yourself to. Karma is the emotive, the energetic side of experience. So you may do good or nasty thing (Call it “Act A”) in one place and the energetic of that emotional intent …which in true Scorpio style you may be owning OR you may be choosing to be in denial about…that will just come around through something entirely different.

With that said, Libra-Scorpio-Sagittarius is the full spectrum of the 3rd zodiacal quadrant. And that tells us that Libra – an air sign – is where we get into the idea of the thing BEFORE we commit ourselves emotionally, or commit ourselves through any of many means which in meaning something to us (or which has meaning to us) creates an emotional relationship.

And that’s what really is so tricky about Scorpio…in Scorpio the emotional relationship is complex where in the theoretical ‘idea of it’ Libra realm, things are pretty simplistic. I have a friend with major placements in both Libra and Scorpio who is forever getting in trouble because they don’t WANT to deal with the fact that the natural progression of any process…be it human or business or whatever…goes from the (Libra) idea of the thing and the talking it through into the Scorpio realm of ‘things at stake’ which they get all kerfluffled up about.

But that’s the process. Trying to avoid part of the zodiacal process…any part of the zodiacal process…by definition is limiting yourself to only getting as far as you’re willing to go.

So this person (who is one of my many Scorpio Moon friends) has a TERRIBLE time with relationships. No, they don’t have to be intimate. Anything personal…and that can be business personal or personal-personal gets them into a quagmire – not so much with the other person as their ability or willingness to take on their own feelings on the subject. And because they choose the Scorpio denial route, they end up creating no end of hassles for themselves and in essence, bogging themselves down IN the very sign dynamic they want to get past.

This is all really important to us now as we move into this Libra New Moon and this Libra-Aries New-to-Full Moon process. Since Aries is the sign of ‘I am’ and all things consciously ourselves, these weeks ahead are going to be full of situations and experiences which bring home to us (that would be the Libra-TO-Aries process) what the ‘who we are being’ (our Libra presentation, our Libra choices of who to deal with or prioritize or listen to, etc.) is…and whether that’s working for us.

Or even if we really like ourselves being that person.

As I say that, let’s keep in that Libra/Scorpio difference in mind, however. Why? Because this Libra New Moon of October 5th (or 4th, for those in the Americas) is the start of the process which is going to carry our Libra concepts and conceptualizations into the wonderful if catabolic world of November’s Scorpio Solar Eclipse.

Solar eclipses are fascinating, no question. And the focus of any solar eclipse is of major astrological concern – again, no question. But the way that solar eclipses tend to function in real life and our real world life involves an ‘eclipse-flavored’ lead in (which I tend to refer to as the ‘breaking down’ period) which through testing us shows up the weaknesses or the fallacies – or yes, the denials – which we have bought into in our lives. What the solar eclipse does is force us to relinquish the false front, the cover-up, the ‘making do’ and the compromises of Self we’ve bought into in order to bring us closer to being who we were born to be to begin with.

You know, before parents and life styles and materialism and corporate advertising and our peer group pressures – before any of that got to us.

The incoming eclipse is Scorpionic. So it’s seriously emotional. It’s evocative and provocative and no doubt people in your world are stirring you up even as they feel stirred up and everybody is going stir crazy under the pressure.

Ultimately the question is all about self worth of a type which asks whether you would respect yourself if you met you. Or would you say ‘that guy has such potential, but he’s selling himself short’ or ‘that woman has every opportunity to do good in this world and instead she’s just thinking of herself.’

(Yes, these two examples have leapt to mind for a reason in my world…but they’re entirely valid, nonetheless!)

Scorpio exhibits itself through power games – so wherever you’re trying to grasp power or exert power over others, that’s the place to look first.

And the reason why I say ‘over others’ is because this month’s ‘phase in the eclipse breaking down process’ is colored by Libra. So we know this is about the idea of who we are being to others – which given the eclipse, they’re likely to be letting us have an earful about!

Another note worth touching on, before we move right along: Libra is the signature dynamic of Gen X (October 1971-April 1972; end of July 1972-early November 1983; late May 1984-late August 1984)…and Scorpio is the signature dynamic of Gen Y: early November 1983 through mid-May 1984 (plus) end of August 1984 through early November 1995.

Gen Y – as a whole – is under an enormous amount of ‘strip-down’ pressure which is aimed at trying to get this generation to get more ‘real’ in a universal sense. Gen Y is challenged by the need to balance their emotional knowing-of-self with knowing and honoring others at THEIR emotional levels. Gen Y was born to live a long and full life of not just ‘power brokering’ or negotiating for what they want, but a life which embraces the ability and willingness to be vulnerable to others on a level which engenders respect.

Really powerful people are vulnerable because real strength knows it can survive no matter what is thrown into their court. This doesn’t mean strong people don’t express themselves. This doesn’t mean the strong person doesn’t say ‘ugh!’ or ‘I’m not having anything CLOSE to a good time!’…in fact, quite the opposite.

Real emotional strength is only present when we are able to own, display and share our weaknesses…and that’s an important step in the process of being human.

This lunation is bringing home to us either the challenges or the things we need to work on…or maybe some new insights on how we’re getting in our own way because of our approach. Through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.

And yes, the easiest thing to do is to project and say ‘that’s their problem.’ That’s a classic Libra response – hardly anything is MORE classically Libra, as a matter of fact!

Let's be real here...‘they’ may indeed have a problem. In which case…what is stopping you from helping them understand that problem? That doesn’t mean yelling at them or walking out on them…that means exploring the (Libra) idea of the situation with them.

In the process, if you can get that far, you’re likely to learn a whole lot about yourself, too. That’s just the way things work – especially now. The fabric of time-space seems to draw particularly dense as we move through ‘eclipse season’ and because this season is about the combination of Scorpio-Aires (the Scorpio Solar Eclipse and the Aries Lunar Eclipse) these several months (September and October – leading into November) is all about the experiencing of the Self in a very vital, even primal way.

Or as a friend of mine puts it: profound…a word which strikes me as being the desire to be ‘pro-active’ about finding that thing which will make us feel ‘found.’

By whom? By our Self.

And back to that Gen X thing for a moment…above, I said this: through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.

In a nutshell, that’s pretty much the core of the Gen X thing. Gen X (Pluto in Libra) creates a massive attraction to others so that through others Gen X’ers can learn who they are…and aren’t. The Plutonic tendency (which goes with Pluto’s association with Scorpio) to ‘merge’ and be ‘part of the group’ is generally the way this instinct functions. But successful Gen X’ers (which is to say, Gen X people who are successful as being their own person) in time discover who they are supposed to be as distinct from the group or as an individual which is part of some group (or profession) but who has their own very individual way of doing things which has to do with who they are as an individual and what talents and resources they bring to being who they are….that’s the Gen X ‘object.’ As Gen X’ers develop, they may or may not drift away from old friends and ‘the old group’…but as surely as Scorpio follows Libra, the Gen X’er who comes to be their own person and secure in being the person they are will in time find a group which is aligned with their inner energetic – not the sexual one or the societal one, the human one.

Learning how to be human and who they are as an individual human is a seriously Gen X thing.

The Libra New Moon

Oct 5, 2013 - 00:34 a.m. (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location not Specific)

So with that all now toodled and noodled, we’ll wrap up with a few astro-technicals. The degree of this New Moon is 11 Libra, a degree which by “decanate definition” (i.e., which ten degrees of the sign it falls in) is emotional. So the ideas of the moment are fervent. Or maybe really ‘important feeling.’ With the overhanging solar eclipse energetic in the air, even the most theoretical thing is going to evoke more feeling (and feelings) at the moment – so we can all expect more frustration, more elation, more dancing off on a whim and more calling people on their…um…stuff. (Yeah, we’ll go with ‘stuff’ here as the generic.)

That said, this is not a degree known for consistency, constant anything or steadiness of effort, conviction or ‘the ability to transmit.’ This last is particularly important as this New Moon also takes place  in opposition to Uranus (in Aries) – so the nervous system and “fits of nerves” (anxieties, flare-ups, etc.) are to pay attention to.

Given the opposition (Libra to Aries) that ‘flaring up’ may also signal ‘something in the air’ either literally or on a more philosophical level. Being thrown ‘off’ by something sudden or some sudden change would also not be unexpected.

This degree (11 Libra) is known to have an association with physical activities – particularly those of a sports or athletic nature. This may serve to be the venue through which other events happen (or other facets of the degree come to light) or it may simply be an interest you run hot or cold on during this period.

Responsibility – a concept often associated with Libra as a facet of “honesty” (with one’s Self as part of this world) is also stressed by this degree and problems having to do with lack of responsibility may well surface. Being that this is an opposition to Uranus in Aries, this may be your irresponsibility which is focused on, or it may be your realizing that someone else is being irresponsible.

Or at least not responsive (as a sidebar conjugation of ‘responsible’) to others. This is, after all, Libra we’re talking about, so very little is going to happen in true isolation here. Someone else is involved or implied or associated with everything, whether they’re in the room or conversation or actively involved in any specific dynamic or not.

How we treat others is also up for grabs here. By itself, 11 Libra speaks to the polarity not so much between good and evil (that’s more emotional and therefore more Scorpio-ish) but between kindness and cruelty as stemming from our regard for how we interact with others.

For whatever reason, I happen to like the Sabian Symbol for this degree very much. (And no, it’s not highlighted in my natal horoscope, so go figger.) The symbol reads like this: MINERS ARE SURFACING FROM A DEEP COAL MINE and its keynote is ‘The need to carry on at ever deeper levels the quest for knowledge which keeps burning the fires of the collective mind of a society.’

As I type that, I can’t help but think about how exactly I’ve been led to this time to be publishing my favorite manuscript of all time. It’s called ‘Reality and Mind’ and I expect it to be out in…oh….maybe a month or so, give or take. It’s ‘high’ (quest) fantasy, which a lot of you love, and it will be coming out as a series of four books – much like ‘Lord of the Rings’ is published as three books.

Ebook publishing formats having not yet caught up with what this manuscript requires, it will be out in print only – at least for a while. But that’s okay…who doesn’t like curling up with an engrossing book?

No, it’s not precisely astrological. But if you think about who wrote it, what do you think the chances are that it doesn’t have in its weaving a goodly measure of metaphysical thought?

Just sayin’…and yes, that keynote and the Sabian does remind me of this work.

More on that, later – as I get more information on when it will be available initially through Amazon and shortly thereafter through any bookstore near you.

In any case, this Sabian Symbol is plainly about ‘things coming to light’ and ideas which we have ‘dug out of the darkness.’ And yet, even while this symbol speaks to going within and digging ever deeper, it also refers to ‘surfacing’ – which is not just bringing whatever ‘jewels’ we have found to the light but our own ‘coming up for air.’

And that's a very interesting idea, particularly here at a Libra New Moon under the auspices of a Scorpio Solar Eclipse. If we understand the idea of a solar eclipse as ‘peeling away’ those layers or that part of our daily life which has hidden or prevented us from being who we really are inside…underneath…within…then this symbol makes a good deal of sense as part of a far greater metaphysical process. Astrologer Dane Rudhyar, in writing about this image, uses the term ‘EXTRACTION’ and in a sense, that’s exactly what a solar eclipse does – particularly when it hits our charts (or more exactly, points in our charts) with any exactness.

The eclipse ‘extracts’ us from the surrounding matrix of life details as surely as the miner extracts the metal or gem and brings that out – as the miner (as a person) is also extracted from the mine.

There are many layers, many facets implied here…rather like one of those sets of Matroyshka dolls where one doll fits into the next.

 Matryoshka dolls

(photo credit: Jeff BelMonte, February 2007)

Last thought…the opposition is not the only figure imaged in this Libra New Moon. That the opposition seems so vital may just be me. Or it may just be the most personal side of the configuration. But that opposition is merely half of a grand square (or grand cross) which comes with the founding of this lunation cycle.

That the Sun/Moon part of this (at 11 Libra) is conjunct Diadem (“the crowning glory”) speaks to our aims, relationships we care about and how important it is to care about the nature and quality of interactions along with who we choose to interact with.

Nemesis on the Uranian side of this configuration says we may now choose to stand up and embody some deep conviction which isn’t particularly popular…or that something we have been told or warned about comes to pass.

Industria-Pluto-Facies in Capricorn is a collage of effort and boundaries and restrictions and needs which can either frustrate us or which we can take on as the guiding principle by which we reach our goals.

And then there’s Black Moon Lilith plus Alhena/Lachesis in Cancer, a combination which starts with Alhena-Lachesis as a ‘duration of purpose’ or maybe even ‘biding our time’ against which Black Moon Lilith is a denial mechanism on a scale which goes beyond our Self. We may be doing the denying of others or society itself…or society may be ignoring us, even if we have discovered the cure for the common cold.

The trick is to hold all these thoughts in your head at the same time and to utilize them with balance and measured applications. Grand squares (aka grand crosses) are notoriously difficult – which in this month of heading into a Scorpio solar eclipse probably isn’t news to anyone. That this particular grand square is in cardinal signs (indicating action) makes this sort of a ‘taking the plunge’ sort of vibe, but being that the degrees are both in 0-9 first decan degrees (indicating something personal that we do) AND in early ‘teen degrees (indicating our feelings on or about some subject, effort, person, relationship, etc.)…that says we’re moving ahead at least with harnessing or understanding our motivations.

And then we add in a few 'other' points…

Chiron-Vesta in opposition (trine Saturn) speaks to the need to keep our commitments to ourselves…but most of all at a level which we can live with emotionally. So there’s a hint of morality, a hint of the need to care thrown in here. (As if we needed any more reminders?) But maybe even more to the point, Saturn and Vesta are each sitting in signs to either side of this New Moon’s position in Libra. And that adds a whole new layer of…well, maybe frustration. Or feeling offended… criticized… unappreciated. The semi-sextile between Saturn and the New Moon is very much about calling our priorities or values into account and considering that Saturn is very much tied up with the incoming solar eclipse, that’s likely to refer to something which is pretty darn uncomfortable.

Solution: feel your discomfort, grumble if you must - then cope with the reality. The long term reality...which is to say, the one which matters to you (honestly/Libra) as a human. 

You know, a person.

The same goes for Vesta’s semi-sextile relationship to the New Moon. Practicality is great. But who or what are you prioritizing – and is that working for you sufficiently that it ‘works’ at a level you can live with emotionally at the ‘way deep down late at night’ sort of level…never mind what anybody else says.

It’s a complicated time. But then, life isn’t supposed to be simple. If it was, we’d all be cardboard cutouts.

And we’re not.
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Solar Eclipse (Part 2): Scorpio's Eclipsing Provocations

Ohverdamine (Sacrifice) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1909)

In yesterday’s blog, we discussed the idea of the November 2012 eclipse - specifically it's position at 21 Scorpio. 

Today’s thoughts are on what this eclipse may mean, depending on your chart.

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Kurklys (Scorpio) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

16 to 26 SCORPIO: Without question, solar eclipse conjunction effects out-rank all other aspects. If you have a major placement in Scorpio (a planet, node or Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven or natal Nadir/IC) being conjuncted by this eclipse it feels like something in your life is being taken away or changed or denied to you by forces you don't seem to control.

The first question to ask is why that is so important to you - and we aren’t talking the obvious here. This is about the emotional Scorpio quotient. Whatever the real-time or physical aspects of the issue may be, the eclipse is functioning at an emotional level, asking you to consider why you feel the way you feel.

So whether you feel invalidated, rejected, foolish, abandoned, perplexed or otherwise, the questions which need asking are about priorities and values.

Put simply, life is asking that you re-prioritize either how you feel...or what (or who) your feelings are aimed at, vested in or maybe even being hurt by.

This can be a trying, even seriously unpleasant...but still necessary passage. The object is an outlook which, in being sufficiently realistic, allows you to weather life's ups and downs.

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 Taurus by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

16 to 26 TAURUS: This is the opposition to the eclipse, so at some level you feel that life is opposing you or limiting you or telling you that you’re wrong.

Are you? Put most simply, the quandary here is likely to be the difference between ‘want’ and ‘should.’ And why you want what you want, where those two factors differ.

Since Scorpio represents the general societal and worldly way things are done, getting your Taurean preferences tinkered with (as described by whatever object is being aspected by the eclipse) feels awful. And the tighter the aspect (the closer to 21 that Taurus point is), the more personal this eclipse is going to feel.

Do you have to change who you are? Maybe yes, maybe no. What may need changing however, is how you go about getting where you want to go, and who you choose to invest in as part of your ‘plan.’

Adding in the Scorpio quotient, this period becomes very karmic - which is why it's the nature of your approach (more than the goal) which is key to personal reformulation and the redeveloping of personal momentum.

So as yourself why you do things the way you do them (or the way you've done them!). Is it because you were taught to do/be a certain way? Is it because you think that you'll like yourself better if you are seen a given way by others? Or if you accomplish some particular thing? Any part of life which is difficult now is asking you to understand why you feel hurt or vulnerable. What haven't you done? Or what have you done that you aren't proud of or happy with?

Oddly enough, this eclipse is really all about your becoming secure with yourself and within yourself. It may take some very odd turns in getting you there, but by the time you reach 2015 you'll have learned how in your life the genuine you is someone who combines the idea that quality isn't just about capability and the idea that because you 'can' doesn’t mean that in the long run you should want to!

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 Liutas (Leo) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

16 to 26 LEO: The square ‘behind’ the eclipse point (in zodiac order terms) represents a challenge to self development and goals. So things you have wanted to 'go for' may now become inaccessible. Or not as important as you had thought they were.

This is all about life asking you to create a lasting future for yourself based on what you can do, not what you can achieve. And the hardest part of that may be not seeing how that works right now. Right now you're just dealing with some sort of ‘bad fit.’ Something which you haven’t (or didn’t) take into account at some point in the past is being riled up or revealed by current events.

Whatever planet, node or axis point is being aspected by this eclipse (and its placement by house in your natal chart) represents the area of life which is being...maybe underutilized? Or maybe you're just connected to the wrong outlet or wrong 'group.'

The 'why' of all this probably goes back to your early years. Some hope, some yearning, some wanting things to be 'right' was instilled then as is playing out now. You're likely to feel vulnerable. But are you?

Probably not, providing you choose your forward path based on realities instead of hopes or temporary measures. A shift of priorities and re-balancing of effort is probably called for. Depending on the symbol in your chart being aspected, you will probably have to let go of that which isn't working and make a new plan.

That plan will probably take a full three years to come to fruition. And considering we have several Taurus and  Scorpio eclipses still coming down the pike, don't be surprised if your plans change along the way.

And yet...that very learning to flex, that learning to live in the reality of Now will stand you in great stead. If you can get to where you think of this moment as the door to a different future, you'll be on the right track. But yes, it may be hard.

But you can do it. Have faith in yourself. Solar eclipses often take away something we like, but they never eliminate things we really need. In that difference lies the answer to all your questions, so go ahead and ask them - and be sure to listen to your answers!

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 Vandenis (Aquarius) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

16 to 26 AQUARIUS: As the square ahead of the eclipse’s position, challenges are coming into your life from the Aquarian social/societal milieu. As such, you can’t ignore what people are doing. What they think. What you can do.

But then again, you can’t operate your life based on what people think of you (or your lifestyle) either.

Aquarius being a sign of two rulers (Saturn and Uranus) there's a challenge which is sort of about the difference between ‘fitting in’ and ‘standing out.’ In other words, you want to find your place, but you also want to excel through who you are and your many abilities.

Whatever help or lack of help you're getting from the group or society (that Sabian hunting party), it's important not to take their approval or lack of approval, their support or lack of support as the final word. You may have taken too many 'bad shots.' Or maybe they did.

In terms of the chart point being aspected, understanding how to develop and utilize those attributes in such a manner as to gain confidence in yourself and through that earn respect (in time) is the object of this eclipse. Just don't be surprised if you change 'groups' along the way. To have an Aquarian point aspected by this kind of an eclipse suggests big changes which may include a 'change of surroundings' or "scenery."

Or maybe you're just done hunting ducks? The Scorpio/karmic nature of this eclipse will move many of us from a 'trying to qualify’ into a ‘working quality’ mode. In other words, existing skills count. So identify it. Use it. Keep it honed and at the ready.

Lastly, ask yourself why you care about what you care about. Aquarius is a societal, all-encompassing, systemically universal sign. So while you may have, want or approve of boundaries, Aquarius doesn’t.  Lest you think money is the means here…it isn’t. Money is a form of metaphysical Aquarian ‘placeholder’ for the respect and regard others feel for what we do.

The combination of these factors is why you may be up against challenges. Life is asking you to let go of the definitions you have come into this time with so that you can grow into a bigger, more open and encompassing life. The emotions you feel when you grapple with this idea may not be gentle...but if you nurture yourself through the thought process and accept whatever degree of conflicts come along the way...in time you'll emerge with a different outlook on possibility and a willingness to be ever-more-mortal.

And that's the greater purpose.

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 Svarstykles (Libra) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

19 to 23 Libra: anything which in your chart falls within this range of degrees is categorized as being in an ‘approaching’ (heading towards) semi-sextile (30 degree) aspect to the eclipse.

The idea of ‘approaching’ has various interpretations, but no matter which way you go with it, the idea is you’re trying to get to a goal. You’re trying to hit some mark or achieve some aim.

To this we add the semi-sextile. Since each sign has 30 degrees, the 30-degree semi-sextile is an aspect which, in connecting adjoining signs connects signs of different values and modes of operation.

Libra is an air sign. So your symbol (whatever it may be, planet, axis, node, etc.) is coming into this time operating on the basis of an (airy) idea or theory of how things should work. Or what your (Libra) relationship should be to others. Or what the reaction should be to your doing (or saying) such-and-such.

Libra and Scorpio have an interesting relationship. Though we think of Libra as the sign of relationships and the ‘ability to relate’ which as a ‘doctrine’ or ‘agreement’ is sealed when we form a partnership or enter into a marriage (both of which, being structural and binding are not Libra but Capricorn entities)…it’s the Scorpio portion of the relationship (platonic or intimate) which always, always, ALWAYS proves the most challenging – and the ultimate make-or-break, rise-or-fall arena.

And what’s getting tested here? The reality of emotional values (Scorpio) versus the idea of how others (the partner or others in general) react (LIbra) to what we do/don’t do, say or like in terms of reactions.

Did you read the above on Aquarius? Remembering that Aquarius is the earning and acceptance and reward air sign, Libra is the ‘will they even deal with me’ air sign. Think of them as cause (Libra) and ultimate (Aquarian) effect.

Meanwhile, humans being humans, we all tend to try to get the most while risking the least. Yes, it’s back to that Taurus/Scorpio polarity. The Scorpio part of this eclipse thus tests and unsettles what is a difficult Libra-Scorpio path to negotiate under any circumstance.

Any semi-sextile can feel like an ego-bruise. This one? With the input being from a 3rd decan (public) eclipse…the closer to exact (read: the closer to 21 Libra) the point in your natal chart is, the more this period is going to feel like life punching you in what is already a sore point.

But that’s how life is. Plainly you’re sore because something isn’t going your way. Question: why do you need it to go that way in particular?

Libra is always about our hopes and who we hope to achieve being in life. The catch with Libra (which every Gen Xer Pluto-in-Libra person should be aware of!) is that trying to be what others will react to doesn’t always quite square with being who we are.

And Life? Life may let you try out being popular, but if it’s not for who you really are, you’re bound to take a fall.

So who are you – really? What do you stand for – really? Why do you like what you want, and what does that really say about you…and how you may or may not be happy with your Self?

The Self is Aries. The polarity to Aries is Libra. Through this polarity, wherever it lies in your chart (along with the 1st and 7th houses) we work on becoming someone…whoever that may be.

Into which comes this solar eclipse, as the first of the Taurus/Scorpio eclipses which will embrace the next couple of years. If who you are being is not true to who you really are in your Taurean soul, things are going to be difficult until you find the mismatches and go with who you are on the inside. This may require throwing off masks and your having taken on the expectations (or demands) of others. But if so, so be it! We don’t grow from the outside in, we grow from the inside out!

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Sautys (Sagittarius) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

19 to 23 Sagittarius: Sagittarius is the other semi-sextile to Scorpio. And basically, the same ego-bruising semi-sextile dynamics hold…except that the modes, means and time elements are different.

For one, while Scorpio is still Scorpio (read: testingly emotional), Sagittarius is not an airy sign of ideas and theories like Libra is. Sagittarius is a fire sign. Fire signs dream it up, get into the ‘how this could work’ then try to put their plans into action.

This fits with Sagittarius as the worldly side of the Gemini learn it, think about it, organize it, prioritize it, choose or discard it concept. What we develop through Gemini mentality we try out through the Sagittarian precept of trying to expand our world.

Into which comes this eclipse.

Scorpio being the sign behind Sagittarius (in zodiacal order terms) that means we are having trouble leaving something behind…or we are not well enough supported.

Is this a reality-based state? Or is this a purely emotional trial?

In part, the answer to that will depend on where Sagittarius falls in your chart and what particular object (planet, node, axis, etc.) is falling in this 19-to-23 Sagittarius district.

(It also depends on the condition of your natal Jupiter, as Jupiter rules Sagittarius AND is currently in the oppositional sign of Gemini. But hey…this is a blog – I can’t work full-on wonders here! If you need more information, hire an astrologer and get a consultation!)

But plainly, quandaries about where you are versus where you want to go are complicating matters. Sitting down and asking yourself what’s wrong, why you feel like it’s wrong and why that matters so much to you (i.e., exactly why it prompts the kind of emotional response in you it’s prompting) is the path to clarification.

And after clarification comes the dealing with the issue.

Oddly enough, this is the sort of eclipse relationship which may end up changing where you’re heading. You may not believe that now, but by the time you get through the next three years, things you could swear are all-important now may seem well nigh unto inconsequential.

Vesta sitting in an inconjunct to the eclipse’s position is part of this. Events which happen now may change your choices by altering your sense of what’s important and what’s worth spending your time and energy on.

At first that may seem terribly disappointing, inconvenient – even like an imposition. Yet underneath all that is a truism that if you alter your path because of some promise or commitment you have in life, that’s saying something positive about you – that you’re a person who lives up to the integrity of their beliefs.

Are you that person?

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 Avinas (Aries) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

19 to 23 Aries: This eclipse effect is obviously related to the Libra version as Aries and Libra are eternally in mutual polarity. But where Libra emphasizes the ‘what you’re doing, saying, being’ to and with others (or the response you’re getting from others or the effect you’re having on others)…to have a planet, node or axis point (etc.) in this Aries inconjunct-to-the-eclipse zone is either to feel like your whole life is going in the wrong direction…or to encounter some sort of physical drawback or limitation to what you’re trying to do.

Warning: this can be the indication of a health problem. Certainly if you have any major natal chart placement in this district (planet, axis, nodal point) and especially if that part of your life (or your body) is ‘acting up’ now, you need to attend to what that means about the whole of how you’re living your life. It could be as simple as eliminating something from your diet. Then again, it could be something deep seated and medical…or psycho-emotional (which may be manifesting physically, perhaps?).

Whatever is going on, you need to have it checked out. And don’t be surprised if, as you do that, you get some polarized/polarizing reaction. It may be ‘that’s nothing’ when your every instinct says something’s wrong. Then again, it could be ‘this is serious!’ about something you think is perfectly trivial. Even absolutely satisfactory.

The question is how and where and why you’re out of sync, be that with yourself, with others, with your life, with your body, with your lifestyle, aims or emotional psyche (and everything emotions get us into, keep us out of, or connect us to, or disconnect us from).

This is a very trying sort of aspect as there’s a lot of ‘is it me?’ versus ‘is it them?’ sort of stuff bound to be in the mix.

You may well need to cut back on something at this point. If you’ve felt over-extended or seriously hassled during this past six-to-eight weeks, pay attention to that and sort through what’s really important to you…and why that’s important to you. If it’s about who you really are in the depths of your soul and carrying through on that in your life, you’re probably good to go after you carve off a bit of life fat, that is.

Life fat? What is life fat? It’s that extra stuff we all get involved in which don’t really have anything to do with us at all. Mind you, there are things we do for loved ones which aren’t ‘about us’ – and that’s fine. You’re doing that because as a person you are connected to someone and that relationship requires a give and take.

All fine.

But that which you do because you want to just impress folks? Or because ‘everyone’s doing it’? That gets back to that individuality thing, and when any point in Aries (the ‘I Am’ sign) is set off, hampered, inhibited or otherwise blocked from genuine expression, that doesn’t tend to go very well.

So take a life inventory in the department described by the symbol being ‘eclipsed by inconjunct.’ Ask yourself if you need to change and why.

Or why not.

Those value statements and how you feel about them is the Aries key to getting through this eclipse.

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 Gemini by Mikalojus Konstantina Ciurlionis (1907)

19 to 23 Gemini: From Gemini to Scorpio is a 6th harmonic inconjunct which speaks eloquently to how well your choices are working.

Or how well your choices aren’t working! That too!

In joining airy Gemini with Scorpio’s intense emotionalism, the native (some say naïve) Gemini tendency to think in first person doesn’t always go so well with the Scorpio requirement to consider everyone’s perspective. And now…in a moment when from Scorpio’s most uninhibited public sector comes the energy of a solar eclipse, that ‘my mind is an island’ concept proves unworkable.

Even unhealthy.

It’s a lesson all about learning how necessary it is to choose to think inclusively. How understanding the needs and values of others is not just a good idea, but a necessity since none of us live in a vacuum.

Not that this experience is likely to be a comfortable one. The closer to 21 Gemini your planet, node or axis (etc.) is, the closer you are to feeling the eclipse’s effects…specifically through the lens of fixed stars Bellatrix and Phact.

Together, these stars are about what we tend to call either personal conviction or personal choice – and the right to choose your own path through life, even if that involves choosing to make some mistake. There are those who suffer from ‘ahead of their time’ syndrome…and for such folks, a personal chart point in the Bellatrix/Phact district describes a difficulty with getting your point across which now – thanks to the eclipse – may well begin to change. IF you’ve been working at your goals, that is.

Bottom line, whether you’re someone who has been holding into some falsehood or someone living in a world not yet ready for your genius, this eclipse begins forcing your hand. Even those who have been working to make changes will feel an intensity of need…which because this is translating into Gemini air-sign terms will be discomfort and mental irritation. Maybe distraction.

The questions to ask here are what am I doing and why am I doing it? If your answer starts out with a personal(ized) aim, this Scorpio eclipse is all about teaching you how your aims need to take the values of others into account….and your difficulties are an example of how easy it is to shoot ourselves in the foot.
There is a Scorpio theory which says difficulties arising now reflect an unconscious acknowledgment of truth…so take that into account. What do you know is true about who you really are?

No one’s listening…be honest.

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Before this becomes the longest blog in blog history, there are two more items to consider.

The first concerns Saturn. Currently transiting Scorpio, Saturn’s presence in the sign of the eclipse emphasizes joint commitments, joint finances and emotional bonds of the intimate, platonic, business, pleasure, friendship or spiritual type. Saturn’s play here is of ‘raising the stakes’ so that we all know important steps are to be taken now.

Or not taken. Your choice.

There are risks to be taken no matter which way you go…so why not be true to who you really, truly are?
How many (Saturn) time do we have, after all? Were we to die tomorrow, what would we be most upset not to have done, not to have been, not to have fulfilled?

Last but certainly not least is the fact that with this eclipse comes a Yod: the astrological figure of fate.

 
Of the eleven objects noted in this diagram, two are the Sun and Moon. We’ve pretty much discussed those.

One (Tantalus) is an asteroid. Considering that asteroids represent attributes we learn about (and learn to manage) on our way to masterful understandings of how to live our life (Jupiter) and all the personal achievements which then flow from that (Saturn) what are temptations worth?

These temptations (Tantalus) are posed with exactitude as part of the eclipse. Considering that solar eclipses tend to expose that which we’ve done wrong (or counter to our claims) in life, this suggests that this eclipse is going to bring out a lot of bad acts on the part of a lot of people we haven’t known about.

With dwarf planet (and Plutino) Huya involved, there’s an emphasis on those who have undertaken to help others (in whatever capacity). Also, separately or as part of that help, those who have stooped (Tantalus) to self (Sun) negating (eclipse) acts in spite of knowing what damage they can wreak on (Scorpio) others or by negating (Scorpio) others…they’re in for a revelation.

All is not lost, but it will be forever changed.

Moving on, there are two dwarf planets in this diagram. One – Huya – we just outlined. The other being Eris (in retrograde) says that this is ‘emotional shake-up’ time.

Vesta may yet be reclassified as a dwarf planet. We won’t know until NASA’s spacecraft Dawn gets there in a couple of years.

 Vesta as photographed on September 11, 2012 by NASA's Dawn spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, 2012)

What we know in the interim on a metaphysical basis is that Vesta is about the promises we make in life – to ourselves and to others – and all it takes to uphold those promises…or all we go through when we break those promises.

Considering how important such things are in human life, it won’t surprise this astrologer if Vesta is declared a dwarf planet.

The other five objects in this diagram are all fixed stars – part of life’s operational backdrop. Two – Phact and Bellatrix – are part of the Yod, indicating the degree of struggle we’re all having with ourselves, at whatever level.

The other three are not directly involved in the Yod, but they do aspect the eclipse with great acuity. Castor and Pollux – the Gemini Twins – are the forces which drive us to be assertive and (at least on a mental level) bullies. But if you know the story of these two, the human strength of Castor is brought down by simple mortal frailty. Castor falls ill, and there’s nothing which can save him.

But when that happens, Castor’s twin – Pollux –proves the eternal strength of thinking things through and the power of choosing to bond with that which is more knowing, more eternal than any of us: the limitless truth of knowledge – the metaphysical Jupiter.

Through knowledge, through intellectual recognition of what the choice is, Pollux makes a mortal sacrifice, but ends up saving his brother by allowing his everyday life to be cut short in favor of turning them both into stars in our sky.

Currently in Cancer, Castor and Pollux are jointly trine the solar eclipse, telling us that life is forcing us to make some choices. Many will no doubt opt for that which seems demanded of them, that which is wholly mortal and expected.

Others will make a harder choice, choosing instead to make sacrifices and, in following a longer, leaner road, provide themselves – ultimately – with eternal solutions and blessings.

This isn’t going to be easy, but it is possible – that much is shown by Ras Alhague at 22 Sagittarius, in a semi-sextile to the eclipse which suggests that through pain, through uproar, through admitting mistakes, defeats…though all that comes the possibility for healing. Some will do all their pining and paining by themselves. Some will actively argue with others…loved ones, strangers, friends, relatives – whoever that may be.

This isn’t an easy time. These indicators are yet another crack in the ideals and images so many people got during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s while Pluto was in Sagittarius. The inspiration of that dream was real.

It’s just that life is not a fantasy. How often we humans try to convert motivation into reality, never recognizing that what we have is fine in all its mortal imperfection…and how the fantasy is, and will forever be denied.

It’s not that we can’t have it. It’s that it’s not real.

So…will you deal with the reality of how you feel now, or not? Will you deal with how others feel about you and how appropriate they are or aren’t to your life?

That’s for you to decide. The eclipse will come and go. Life will go on.

Our only choice is whether we want to buck the trends and truths or learn from them.

 Pasaulio Sutverimas II (Creation of the World II) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1906-1907)

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