This Eclipse chart is highly active – it’s a splay chart (i.e. planets scattered all over) and it includes a Mystic Rectangle as well as three Fingers of God. These major configurations indicate that events taking place now are largely fated, rather than being the result of free will. Aspects like these keep us from wandering off course. If you’re not where you’re supposed to be, get ready for the Universe to pick you up by the scruff of your neck and set you down someplace new.
The Sun and Moon lie in the First and Seventh Houses of the Eclipse chart, when cast for Washington, DC. These are the “I” and “Thou” Houses, the hotspots where we investigate and understand our Self and the Other – where we create our identity both in concert with and in contrast to the world around us.
To thine own self be true. Know thyself. You don’t have to be just like everybody else, and you also don’t have to be the opposite of everybody else. Some people spend their whole lives trying to live up to their family’s expectations – and other people spend their whole lives rebelling against their family’s expectations. Either way, they are giving away their power!
This chart asks us to get in touch with a positive, active, truly independent sense of personal identity. Ask yourself (or remind yourself of) who and what you want to be – rather than focusing on who or what you see out there in the world, that you want *not* to be.
Of course, for those of us in the United States, Washington is our nation’s capital. In terms of the political news, therefore, we can expect these questions of identity – our national identity – to become more and more pressing as we head into the upcoming Eclipse (and election) season. What kind of America do we want to live in? Will we be content to define ourselves against what is “bad” in the rest of the world, or in people who are different? Or can we focus, positively, on creating a country, and a world, that we *do* want?
Today also marks the start of our autumn Eclipse season. We have two more coming up within the next month: a New Moon Eclipse on September 1st, and another Full Moon Eclipse on September 16th. Eclipse seasons often feature events that shock and stun us. So even if you *don’t* get picked up by the scruff of your neck and dropped into a new spot like a kitten – chances are good that there will be, at least, some big revelations in your life. Pay attention to your dreams, and consciously process the information contained there. You are ready now to see what you never saw before. Don’t shut your eyes to it.
This is a WONDERFUL opportunity to release what no longer serves you. Declutter your home, your physical body, your schedule, and so on. Some times are simply easier than others for letting go, and this is one of those easy times. You don’t have to stick with it just because. Give yourself the gift of starting fresh.
By the same token, do keep an eye on folks you know who have been ill or depressed. Eclipses are also opportune times for people to leave our planet, and this one in particular seems to suggest suicide. If they suddenly become cheerful after being depressed for a long time, it may be a warning sign. Follow up.
And finally, it is especially important right now to keep on doing whatever you need to do to get clear on your life’s work. The big Mars-Saturn conjunction that we’ve been looking forward to for months is now less than a week away!
When Mars and Saturn meet next Wednesday, August 24th, they will initiate a new cycle around work, structure, and how you take action, that runs for almost two years. What do you want to be doing with your time – and building in your life – till January 2018, when Saturn enters Capricorn? Hurry up and figure it out, if you have not done so already!
Is there a creative endeavor that you’ve been dreaming of, and keep putting off? Get the ball rolling before Mars and Saturn meet. There’s a Minor Grand Trine in Earth and Water in the sky right now, which is highly abundant and supportive especially for creative projects: art, family, home, garden. Pluto in Capricorn is trine to the North Node and Venus in Virgo, asking us to start working right away. There is divine support to be had, once you get started.
The Sabian image for the Sun’s current degree is: “As the light breaks through the clouds, a perfect rainbow forms.” What is the rainbow that you want to see in your life? How will you gently nudge the clouds out of the way?
Happy Full Moon to you, and keep on keeping on!
P.S. The painting above is The Rainbow by Robert Delaunay (1913).
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, This could be a very good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know this river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above water.
And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
(Anonymous, Hopi culture)
