Hello Everyone!
I wrote this piece several months ago during the summer and posted it on Facebook. I thought I might do a more formal edit and put it on this blog, but I never ended up doing that. However, I wanted to share it anyway. I am backdating this entry for the date it was originally posted — even though it’s technically “old news” I hope that it’s interesting/helpful to read, reflecting on the events of this past summer! Astrologically we had 3 eclipses and 6 retrogrades, so it was a seriously intense, super crazy summer!
Enjoy!
July 29, 2018 // Eclipse Reflections
The middle eclipse was Friday -- the big Total Lunar Eclipse that sits right in the center of the three-eclipse cycle we are currently under, and had a totality duration of a whopping 1 hour and 43 minutes (!) in the places where it was visible. It was extremely powerful, echoing in so many ways back to the Total Solar Eclipse last August. Tapping into the atmosphere of the people I serve, I can sense that it's been a challenging month for many, and that people are really going through it. For that reason, I wanted to take some time this weekend and share my observations.
For the past several evenings I've been watching the Moon & Mars slowly come into and out of conjunction. The red star seemed to be the only star visible, and I thought it was no wonder the ancients saw it was ominous.
For me, this eclipse period has been a time of beautiful breakthrough and positive alignment -- a stepping in to my spiritual responsibilities with less fear, and more clarity. Projects are starting to move forward and the nature of my role in spiritual community is starting to settle in. I feel more expanded than I ever have in my life, but confident in my ability to take on this growth. After years of grueling work, faith, and preparation, I have moved into the space of creation and vision. I can take off the coat of the past, and live in my spiritual present.
I see reflections of my experience in the experiences of those around me. That in general, we are all taking off some coat of the past. That we are moving from stagnant space into action -- and that action is directly derived from messages of "seeing our place in it all." When we can perceive our actual role in a broader level, it's easier for us to make adjustments in our lives where it previously seemed impossible. So much of this energy I wrote about in my Uranus in Taurus article I am seeing playing out under these eclipses more acutely -- as well as the issues that came up for all of us at the time of last August's solar eclipse coming into resolution, finality, or at least the 'next steps' now.
Eclipses represent doorways, endings and beginnings. They tend to amplify energies such that when there is an issue we have been ignoring playing for a long time in the background, suddenly that thing pops and we can't ignore it anymore! Relationship issues, health issues, life path, spiritual direction, emotional/mental issues -- eclipses will tend to bring these to the foreground in a demanding manner and they can be the moments that tip the scales towards "break up" or "break through." Any endings or new beginnings that have been delayed due to habit, inertia, indecision, etc -- come crashing down with the full force of sometimes exhilarating, sometimes dismal, clarity. Basically -- wherever we are stagnant, wherever we aren't looking closely enough or clearly enough, especially if our natal chart is the pathway of the eclipse -- suddenly we are awakened into a state of understanding about the situation that we can't go back from.
It can take months to years for the fullness of the events of an eclipse to play out. Sometimes the echoes of particularly potent eclipses will carry on for the duration of their 19 year cycle before the full karmic process is complete. They are power packed periods with an energetic quality and resonance that has the potential to deeply, and quite profoundly affect us.
I recently read in one of astrologer Michael Erlewine's essays on eclipses (Check those out here) that the Tibetan Buddhist perspective on new & full moons is that these are times of energetic potency during a month, when our inner channels are most open and chakras in natural alignment. This, of course, is amplified considerably during eclipse periods -- when the heavenly bodies themselves are also in very close, and sometimes very precise alignment! This is one of the reasons why many traditions across the world take the time of an eclipse for meditation and inner work.
This perspective makes absolute sense to me and aligns perfectly with my own experiential relationship with eclipses over the years. When we consider eclipses in this light, it certainly stands to reason that if we are in a period (consciously or unconsciously) of intensified alignment, of course we might feel struck with sudden enlightenment (pleasantly or unpleasantly) around where we are blocked and out of alignment! I feel this can also be understood as a time when our spirit and our physical body are the closest -- as the earth, sun & moon are also the closest -- and so our spirit has a chance to speak VERY LOUDLY into the momentum of our lives. No matter how painful or difficult it is for the ego to grasp at times, we often need these course corrections for some reason or another. Our higher spirit is always aspiring to help us move through our lessons and stay on track with what it is we are supposed to be accomplishing.
But eclipses are really not all doomy and scary. Sometimes the shifts that happen at eclipses are downright magical, even though they have a reputation for being the portents for disaster. At the end of the day, eclipse times are portals of expanded awareness and energy. And they are also opportunities for transformation. So no matter what is happening in your life at an eclipse -- if it is really heavy and hard, full of movement, unexpected, or boring and noneventful -- it is an incredibly potent time to surrender into the flow of spirit and allow the transmutation processes available to take place.
This eclipse energy in particular seems to be bringing up a lot of stuff around the role of relationships in spiritual process. I see relationships needing more fluidity, and recognition that whatever relationship situation one is in, there is a firing process that the two parties are agreeing to walk through by being involved with it. This applies most to close intimate relationships but with Aquarian energies at the forefront of the eclipse, this really is also about relationships with friends, relationships with community, and our function and role in society. I feel that the feminine energy of the Taurus/Uranus energy is calling for more tolerance and understanding in relationship dynamics, and more softness/heart awareness as a method for awakening and transformation. My favorite recent metaphor is seeing the old energies/attitudes/whatever in our society, personal social conditioning, etc, as being like a layer of burnt crud on a dish -- you have to soak it for a long time, have patience, and work it out gradually with all kinds of scrubbies and sponges to get it clean again. It's not an easy process, but one that is achievable -- and in the case of humanity on a spiritual level -- NECESSARY.
I see it as the YIN feminine essence coming to digest errant YANG rigid perceptions/false ingrained patterning through embracing, and slow transmutation/cleansing. Rather than through clashing. Yang energy, when purified, can become light again.
There is also some work I see regarding attunement to the physical body as a messenger, and people realizing they need to become more aware of their subtle bodies to get to the bottom of mysterious ailments.
All of the above is also contained within the idea that we must recognize that it is our PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to accept our role in spiritual process -- for the betterment of ourselves, our relationships, our community, the world, etc. And no matter what the place of our focus is -- even if it seems small -- it is important that we actively engage with our part in a conscious manner. Our engagement in our part is what influences the growth of the whole. So if we feel stuck somewhere or unhappy, it's our job to take a look at that and get unstuck. That, of course, is where listening to spirit comes in -- now's the time to listen, and act. And step in more fully through it.
Stay centered and trust.