The big news this week is the powerful Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, coming tomorrow afternoon – Friday, September 16th at 3:04 PM Eastern US time. This is the third and last of our autumn Eclipses, although the Eclipse season itself will continue for two more weeks, till the New Moon in Libra at the end of the month.
Change is afoot, and the energy is unstable. Eclipses in general tend to be like the girl in the nursery rhyme: when they are good, they are very good indeed, and when they are bad, they are horrid.
This Eclipse is particularly vigorous and volatile, inasmuch as it features not one but two tense T-Squares. We feel the planets poking and prodding at each other, pushing and pulling us to change.
On the one hand, we encounter opportunities to harvest our dreams: chances to gather up those newly-hatched projects, and send them out, off into the great, blue world. On the other, the Universe is STRONGLY suggesting that we release our grip on what no longer serves. Whatever it is, if it isn’t your path (or isn’t your path any more), be prepared to see it go ASAP.
This is an intervention or an invitation, or a maybe a little bit of both.
In the chart, the Virgo Sun and Pisces Moon oppose one another – and both square Mars, who is far out-of-bounds in Sagittarius. The Nodes of Fate *also* oppose one another on the Virgo/Pisces axis – with Neptune in Pisces floating next to the South Node – and THEY all square Saturn in Sadge.
Each of these two mutable T-Squares calls us to action. Time to turn the page, and begin the next chapter of your life. And if you choose not to turn the page for yourself, somebody else may do it for you.
The empty leg of each T-Square is in Gemini, suggesting that the new-chapter action will express itself in Gemini matters (write that book, Anne!) and/or that the energy will pour itself out into the Gemini house of your chart.
Mercury is, of course, still retrograde, inviting us to reconnect and heal with old friends or old flames. Take their calls, and answer their emails. Be willing to release the mental story that has caused you such pain.
There is a bit of sadness in the air. Aspects like these can drain us emotionally, so remember to practice good self care. These transits, too, shall pass!
Because the Nodes of Fate are so deeply involved, much of what happens right now is outside our control. As the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron says, “If you’re interested in security and certainty, you are on the wrong planet.” Sometimes we just have to roll with the punches.
The husband of a close friend of mine passed away on Wednesday. For the last 22 years (three-fourths of a Saturn cycle), he has lived with Parkinson’s disease – and she’s cared for him, with much of her life revolving around his needs, as he became increasingly debilitated. Now, in addition to losing a beloved partner, the whole structure of my friend’s life is changing. She has to grieve, and figure out what happens next.
Whatever leaves your life now, or within the last week, or the next two weeks, is gone for good. It’s an opportune time to kick bad, old habits. It’s a time to set yourself free. And years from now, you’ll look back on the fall of 2016 and say, “that was when everything changed.”
Many of us humans struggle with change. As Stevie Nicks sings, “Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life? I don’t know.”
The answer is, of course you can. Keep going, and enjoy the ride.
