Deaths And Dawns

Every year there are two so-called 'eclipse seasons', in the course of which there will be one solar eclipse per season and usually one accompanying lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse this season occurs on 28th July (not visible everywhere on the planet, for example in the UK it occurs in the middle of the day), and the solar eclipse - the big one that everybody's talking about - on 11th August. The solar eclipse occurs in the middle of the day, and has a path of total visibility that stretches all the way from off the coast of New York, right across the southern tip of England, through Europe, through the Middle East and ends in India. One of the things about this pair of eclipses that makes it unique is that the whole line of visibility is a very densely populated area, which also contains a lot of movements and turmoil on the political front. Traditionally it's said that the most intense 'effects' of the eclipse occur under the paths of total visibility, which is where all those places are. It is the inner and spiritual dimension of those effects which I find most compelling.

Path of forthcoming solar eclipse

Symbolically, the configurations of the three main players in the eclipses -the Sun, Moon, and Earth - are deeply informative. The Sun is the centre of the solar system, and metaphorically it is the central light of birth; the Earth is the home of our embodied existence. As the Moon goes around us on Earth, so the lunar realm is like the realm of feeling, of imagination, a web of astral experience that is woven around our earthly existence. During a lunar eclipse, our shadow - the Earth's shadow - actually blots out the Moon. It is as if the Earth's personal shadow becomes projected onto the Moon, and typically in the text-book, any eclipse is said to be accompanied by irrational behaviour and is a time of great danger (the image of the dragon is used in many cultures to de-scribe eclipses). Translating that into psychological dynamics, what happens is that the density of our own personal projections goes out into life, into the world, into the collective, onto our partners and colleagues. A lunar or solar eclipse looks like an eye in the sky (which evokes a pun for the T of identity) and they are connected with the condition of metaphorical blindness - of being blindly taken over by emotion, being blindly driven. In the blind spot of an eclipse we can see what drives us blindly, what motivates us from behind which perhaps needs some attention. In other words, in that blind spot, if we pay attention we can see our own shadow very clearly. Eclipses are therefore about inner vision, about the process of some-thing being concealed up there in the sky in order that something can be revealed within ourselves. They are very powerful times for contemplation and for inner work.

It is the difference between truly individual, creative thinking and 'group-think', or just taking on the party line of the media or the 'authorities'.

Endings and beginnings

Because the Moon has a connection with continuity and the past, when it is blotted out the web that binds us in illusion is also disrupted. It is therefore a time for laying the intention of opening the window into one's own future, and for the conscious intention of allowing endings. All eclipses are to do with endings - we even use that word colloquially, something is 'eclipsed'. A lunar eclipse may well signal the end of something past; therefore it can be very energizing.

With the solar eclipse, we have a chance to actually experience the whole process of losing the light of the sun and then regaining it. Whereas lunar eclipses will always occur at the full moon, when the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the earth, a solar eclipse will al-ways occur at the new moon. It therefore carries the symbolism of beginnings, the beginning of a new cycle. The metaphor of losing and regaining the light is very strongly what the solar eclipse is about.

In the blind spot of the blackout of the light we get a chance to see precisely what it is from our own deep past, or our collective influences, our ancestral influences, what people call 'fate', that is actually intercepting our individual light.

This is where the imagery of the Dragon devouring the light, and all the attendant dangers, comes from. Because the whole mood of an eclipse season and the alignments that support it strongly favour activity and contemplative work, to an extent the energies generated by eclipse processes are dangerous, because they stir up the unconscious. But there's also enormous creative energy in that.

The exact Grand Cross

What is also significant about this eclipse pair, astrologically, is that it's accompanied by a very particular pattern, a Grand Cross. In itself this is not an unusual configuration, but the arms of this cross are rather exact, and there are several major aspects, which actually mature right around the time of the eclipse. An 'aspect' is formed between two planets when they line up in a geometrically even manner. There's a range within which an aspect can be said to be operating, but when it becomes exact then its themes are most precisely delineated. The themes of the configuration accompanying the eclipse are already constellating in May 1999; in fact, for weeks some of the major themes have been getting in place, both on a world level and also in-side the individual soul.

The main pattern of the Grand Cross occurs with the Sun and Moon in Leo, which will be opposite Uranus in Aquarius, and that axis is squaring another axis with Mars in Scorpio and Saturn in Taurus. The lunar eclipse is also in the Leo-Aquarius axis, which indicates a dialectic between the individual and the collective. This is the major theme, I believe, of this whole eclipse season, and apart from the obvious implications in terms of unfolding history and politics, it presents many challenges to the individual. At issue here is the recognition of individual power and its right use, the right use of individual choice. It is also about the difference between truly individual, creative thinking and what I call 'group-think', or just taking on the party line. There's a lot of that going on at the moment because everything's in such a flux and so many structures are breaking down. We're also in a process of transition now towards the Age of Aquarius, and because this is where the eclipse axis is, there's a considerable amount of activity in that sign.

So part of the opportunity presented here is to actually step back from the thought-forms, systems of belief, the prejudices and assumptions which form an imprisoning web at the mental level, and with the light of individual consciousness to see where we are not free, where our minds are in chains. The Leo-Aquarius axis is probably the most significant axis, constellating very strongly now as part of the general line-up for August 11th, emphasizing as it does separation from the past. As we separate from the past we do that by seeing it more clearly, which can be quite a bit of work, to take the time and witness, review and release with gratitude and compassion everything that we don't need anymore.

If we now add in the other axis. Mars opposite Saturn actually becomes exact on the very day of the eclipse.

Mars/Saturn is a very harsh energy in some ways. Harsh, if one is pushing to achieve what is actually not possible at this time (classically, this aspect has a pent-up quality of held energy which if you push against it is exhausting). There is an intense and frustrated quality to this Cross pattern overall, so timing becomes critical. This frustration stems from what it's not possible to externalise at the moment and therefore what may have to be released to be acted on at a later stage, or what has to be clarified first at the mental level before appropriate action can be taken. If one pushes into action too quickly, one is likely to meet with blocks and delays and other frustrating circumstances because there's an intention, a powerful intention that needs to constellate first. I see that as one of the major opportunities occurring around the eclipse time; if you use the time to go within it's very empowering on the inner level, inviting us to balance emotional power with what is manifested as a result of the direction that is created through emotion. As of now and up to slightly beyond the eclipse, it's a time for setting intentions that aren't necessarily about immediately doing, but they're about 'What is it that I really want to be portraying, expressing, incarnating, manifesting in my life? What qualities matter to me? What beliefs are important? What is my vision?' Rather than looking for answers, I prefer to think of planetary patterns in terms of 'What questions are being asked here?' And that's the image of the eclipse and the 'I' or eye: What is my vision?

'As above so below'

Regarding individual people's horoscopes, we can see that life themes accentuated in August may have already been active for over a year to eighteen months. This is because the run of eclipse seasons continuously emphasises an axis across the chart which shifts only gradually. The themes that will come to high watermark in August have therefore been building up even as far back as a year or 18 months. The theme of something pending, something being intercepted, something finishing is very strong. This can range from the obvious and external forms of life to very subtle things, like the ending of an old attitude, the ending of being eclipsed by an emotional pattern. If we use the alchemical or holistic maxim, 'As above, so below', then we get into some very interesting territory because things being eclipsed within us can sometimes be a metaphor for very strong healing processes: finally, we separate from something that has been eclipsed in us already - it's a homoeopathic metaphor, that by experiencing the eclipse of the light without we're also made aware of how we eclipse our light and life within.

In terms of what we will actually see, as the sun becomes eclipsed and the night sky appears, it's a segment of the sky that we wouldn't usually be seeing at that time It can be quite a bit of work, to take the time and witness, review and release with gratitude and compassion everything that we don't need anymore of the year, because usually the sun is blocking out the light of all the stars and the planets. Right overhead, we will actually see the planet Mercury, because Mercury travels very close to the sun normally and is hardly ever seen. We will also see Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. The so-called 'most elevated' planet around the time of the eclipse will be Mercury, messenger of the gods, concerned with communication and perception.

I believe that the symbolism of Mercury up there has to do with the necessity for individuals to actually think things through for themselves. We are in the so-called Information Age which I think of as the Age of Misinformation, because more and more, people are beginning to realize that what they thought were reliable sources of fact and information are not reliable, that they are all to one degree or another operating from bias, and so the Truth is not to be found in the places where people used to look for it. That can be very disturbing and disorientating at first, but it forces the issue of individual people having to think for themselves and thus define their own relationship with what I call 'the System' - which means politics, culture and the big frame of ideas which could include religions as well.

Seeding intentions

On 26th July, a couple of days before the first lunar eclipse there's a conjunction with Mercury and the Sun, a time for the seeding of ideas. So that day, 25/26 July, is a very powerful time to be seeding intentions, but to do it in a receptive way, by seeing what is going on within the soul, and seeks to be spoken, intended and be given form. This is a very contemplative part of the cycle, and in general when Mercury is retrograde it's the right brain, intuitive, contemplative functioning that is favoured, not the rational, practical, organizational one. On this organizational level, classically, things tend to go wrong, but if you don't push it, it's not a problem.

The movement of Chiron, the 'wounded healer', in July is something of a herald. Chiron has been appearing to go backwards since the middle of March 1999, and on the 29 July, just after the lunar eclipse, it turns around to go direct again; we call this pause a 'station'. The seeds of what this one is about were sown in the middle of March, and there has already been going on quite a profound healing process that may well be-come more conscious around the time of the lunar eclipse, conscious in the sense that one may be able to walk away from something, to release oneself from some-thing. Now, on the very last day of this century, Chiron will make a conjunction with the planet Pluto in the sign of Sagittarius. And this movement begins on 29 July, when Chiron will be turning around and then starting to move up to the same degree of the zodiac as Pluto. The last time that happened was in the early 1940s. From the point of view of the individual journey this is a very strong metaphor of a healing process.

There will be another exciting change on 30 July, when Venus goes on station, turning retrograde. This is a very potent indicator of the goddess Venus; the goddess of Love embarks on a kind of underworld journey. On a personal level this is a clearing time for the heart charka. The stored-up confusions or negative emotions or pains in relationships are processed and relieved during the retrograde part of the Venus cycle. And therefore it's a time that augurs better for inner work than for outer relationships, except that it does tend to precipitate things into consciousness, so if there are things needing to be said, if there are issues needing to be aired, or emotions needing to be ex-pressed, they tend to come out during this retro-grade time for Venus. The pivot of that part of the Venus cycle is on 20 August, after the eclipses.

I think it's evident that the eclipse isn't just a kind of 'event' that occurs for a few minutes while the Sun is blotted out; it's part of a much longer process and in this particular one, the movement of Venus is extremely significant. Venus weaves a thread of remarkable continuity from the solar eclipse when she turns direct again in September. The position in the Zodiac where she will be is in exactly the same space as where the total solar eclipse happened. So whatever was occluded or eclipsed, or whatever hole or blind spot opened up, there is a continuation of the process of becoming conscious.

What is it that I really want to be portraying, expressing, incarnating, manifesting in my life? What is my vision?'

Here is a quotation concerning the eclipse image of the Dragon, which we might hold as guidance during this challenging and wonderful time. It is from the Sufi tradition: '……to the mystic, the Dragon symbolizes the place of encounter between the Sun and Moon within. The Dragon can either devour the Moon, seen symbolically as the mystic's spiritual heart, or it can serve as the place or container of conception. By entering the Dragon when the Sun is at the nodes [the eclipse season], the Moon or heart conceives. Thus, in full consciousness of the perils, one must enter the Dragon in order to awake the eclipse in its cosmic womb.' (1)

Endnotes

(1) Laleh Bakhtiar Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976, p45.

A guide to the astrological terms in this article:

Zodiacal Signs
Leo: Fixed Fire sign. Symbol: the Lion. Quality of nobility and kingship.
Aquarius: Fixed Air sign. Symbol: the Water Carrier. Quality of democracy and humanitarianism.
Taurus: Fixed Earth sign. Symbol: the Bull. Quality of sensuality, fertility and possessiveness.
Scorpio: Fixed Water sign. Symbol: the Scorpion. Quality of passion and regeneration.

Planets
Mars: animality, physicality, dynamism, personal will, desire and aggression.
Saturn: patience, security, limitation, structure, authority and material reality.
Uranus: revolution, the new, individuation, insight, sudden happenings
Chiron: shamanic consciousness, wounding and healing, transition, awakening.

Originally published in Caduceus Magazine Issue 44, summer 1999.
www.caduceus.info. Copyright Melanie Reinhart May 1999.