Lunar Eclipse June 26, 2010

Lunar Eclipse June 26, 2010


On June 26 the Lunar Eclipse brings the Moon in Capricorn into a tight conjunction with intense/powerful Pluto. This Full Moon eclipse is forming a Grand Square with the Sun and others planets. Think of a square box. The Sun and Mercury (in Cancer) are one point on the box. Saturn (in late Pisces) is another point. Jupiter and Uranus (conjunct in Aries) the third point. The Moon exactly conjunct Pluto is the fourth point. We are sitting inside a big heavenly box with tons of pressure and it feels like we can’t get out of it. Fortunately Jupiter and Uranus moved into energetic Aries a few weeks ago. We can get out of this enclosure. The trick is to be innovative and to think out of the box. It helps to be willing to be courageous. Some people will just punch a hole in the thing and jump free. We can talk about all the points of this configuration but that might take a while. Let’s just focus on the Full Moon sitting at the exact same degree with Pluto during this eclipse. Pluto is pressuring us to deal with our internal complexes and our external projections. We will be in the dark, but Pluto (the dark one sitting with that Full Moon) is stirring up the deeps recesses of the soul. Keep in mind that an eclipse is not a one-day event. This energy has been building for several months and it continues for several months. The activities and pressures in your life have been building up to this week.

When the world was dived up, Zeus gave himself the seeable realm and gave other parts to his brothers. Poseidon (Neptune) got the mysterious ocean. Hades (Pluto) got the scary underworld. Pluto didn’t like being relegated to the dark below. His job was to manage death and transformation. However, Pluto got something very big: the riches buried deep in the earth. There are riches in everyone’s underworld. Our riches may not be tangible ore or diamonds. Symbolically the underworld holds our intangible gold: resourcefulness. We have talents and abilities, insights and realizations. We have strength, empowerment, and confidence buried inside.

Astrologers do not name planets and other celestial bodies when they are discovered. Astronomers (The International Astrological Union) give the names and astrologers tell the stories. Traditionally astronomers have used western mythology as their guidebook for naming discoveries. Pluto is far from the Sun so it orbits in perpetual darkness. Perhaps this is why astronomers gave that small cold body the name, Pluto. Pluto rules the underworld where darkness and mystery reside. For astrologers Pluto is also the unconscious, that which is hard to access (it’s way out there or it’s way in there). Have you wondered why Pluto was demoted from its planetoid status? There are scientific reasons to astronomers. However, astronomers had already named this distant body in our solar system. It is not so easy to remove the energy that was set in motion when Pluto was discovered in 1930. Maybe those astronomers who voted against Pluto’s planetary status were reflecting our resistance to digging into the dark psyche of the collective. Pluto is the depth of the psyche. Individuals who have the Moon conjunct Pluto in their charts are considered emotionally intense. They may hold deep secrets. They may be powerful healers. They may be powerful manipulators. It may be hard to unravel a Moon/Pluto unconscious. It might be a lifetime chore to discard the toxicity acquired early in life (or in past lives). Pluto is small but heavy. This weekend we all have Pluto sitting with the Full Moon.

Pluto, from the Greek word, plutos, means wealth. Hidden in each of us, there are riches sitting latent and ready to be uncovered and brought to the surface. If we don’t find the wealth, it just sits there, idle. We miss life opportunities. When we do find it, we rejoice. We have more resources to work with. To get to our treasures we have to get dirty and dig. Sometimes we have to get rid of stuff, like too many clothes or a bad attitude. Pluto is also associated with elimination. If we toss out what we no longer need, then we make space for the uncovering. We allow the wealth to surface and we begin to create something new. Pluto is also the ruler of death. When we die, we don’t take our coins with us. We go empty and alone into the underworld. Sometimes we have living experiences that are traumatic and it feels like we have been thrown into the underworld. When we return to the living, we ponder the gifts of that journey.

Pluto has a lot to do with the collective unconscious. As a group, we now have the opportunity to become more informed, thoughtful, wise and intelligent about life on Planet Earth. Fortunately we seem to be sticking the shovel down to uncover the corruption of wealth and power. We are looking for the treasure that will make life better here, but before finding it, the dirt has to be cleared away. Whether it’s our personal issue, a national issue or a global issue, we are struggling to expose the hidden stuff during this eclipse period. Living in an age of technology with instant information, we have the opportunity to explore the depths of our inner selves as well as the depths of our collective operations. The shenanigans of some of the powerful and the wealthy are being exposed. We are excavating our collective manure and it isn’t pretty. That is how Pluto works. First we experience the toxicity then we examine it, then we expose it, then we react to it, then we transform it.

Plutonium: a powerful, but very toxic substance and a little bit goes a very long way. It can be used for good. It can be used for destruction. This eclipse energy is highly concentrated. It is contained in a tight box that is ready to either collapse or explode. An eclipse like this reminds us that the gods are powerful when they command that we must transform. Let us remember to have compassion for the people who are undergoing profound changes that are life shattering. Pluto’s transformation can be tragic, confusing and without explanation. If we are standing and walking, if we have shelter and food, if we have family and friends supporting us, then we are blessed and lucky. The mystery of Pluto’s powerful hand has passed us by for a little while longer.

Finally, don’t forget that Jupiter and Uranus have moved into independent Aries. This energy will help all of us dig up our riches and get out of the box.