Solar Eclipse October 23, 2014

This Solar Eclipse will encourage us to seek a deeper relationship with our self, and from that place we will know the nature of our outer relationships.

Eclipses happen every six months and they occur in pairs (a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse).  The Lunar Eclipse on October 8 stimulated our passions and gave us a kick to free ourselves of obstacles holding us back.  Now the Solar Eclipse approaches on Thursday, October 23.  We are given additional energy to refine our life journey. 

You might say a Solar Eclipse is a powerful, impactful New Moon.  The Moon steps between the Earth and the Sun.  On a psychological level, this event blocks the ego (the Sun) and pushes us into moments of darkness where the psyche (the Moon) can intuitively grasp new awareness, awakening, direction and truth.  For a few moments the ego “blacks out” and forgets itself.  Something hidden, or something new is available.

This Solar Eclipse is partial, meaning that the Moon does not completely block out the Sun. Perhaps this means that the Sun (the ego part) and the Moon (the unconscious part) have a chance to unite or communicate in some way that cannot be missed. 

Be true to yourself and love yourself.

The Sun and Moon are just entering the sign of Scorpio for this New Moon Solar Eclipse on Thursday.  Planet Venus is sitting right with them at the same degree.  Venus speaks to us about our values (how we value ourselves as well as WHAT we value).  Venus also addresses relationships.  Basically, it seems that this New Moon Solar Eclipse is about being in relationship with oneself. The old adage, “to thine own self be true,” comes to mind.  If we are true to ourselves, then perhaps we can be in healthier relationships with others.  Repeat:  a Solar Eclipse is a New Moon with powerful impact.  This eclipse promises to affect our relationships and teach us about love.

Venus is “relational” so Venus with Sun and Moon is super-relational, charming and loving. The energy of the Sun, Moon and Venus is just slipping into Scorpio. What does that mean?  It means we are going deeper in our search to understand our relationships.  What are we getting from our relationship with our self and others?  Do we have enough self-understanding and self-appreciation? Do we have enough intimacy with others? Do we have enough sharing? Is there passion?  Is there equality in the relationship?  Is there deep love? 

Perhaps this eclipse will encourage us to seek a deeper relationship with our self and from that place, we will know the nature of our outer relationships. This eclipse will also support us in knowing our own truth and in speaking our truth.

The pairing of Mercury and Pluto can be blunt, but full of truth.

Planet Mercury (communication) and the North Node of the Moon (soul purpose energizer) are visiting the sign of Libra together and they are making a challenging connection with Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries. Don’t be surprised if you or someone else “speaks the truth” without even planning to do so.  The pairing of Mercury and Pluto can be blunt, but truthful.  Uranus in the mix contributes a surprise quality.  The truth will be helpful.  The Solar Eclipse trio—Sun, Moon, Venus—is hopefully kind and loving enough to understand and forgive any harshness.  Furthermore, the North Node stimulates us to develop whatever skills we need to move forward with our purpose here on Earth.  The honesty factor may come from within as an enormous wake-up call from life itself.

We are under the spell of any eclipse for six months.

Remember, we are under the spell of any eclipse three months prior and three month after the actual eclipse date.  The issues we are dealing with--whether relationship, career, money, health, children, or anything else--have been in the spotlight for a while.  This week is a peak moment for examining what is going on in our lives.  The next three months give us a time frame for action, release, resolution, and or creation of something new.  Enthusiasm, integrity . . . kindness and love can take us there.

THE SUN NEVER SAYS

by Hafiz (Persia, 14^th C)

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe

Me.”

Look

What happens

With a love like that,

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

(translation by Daniel Ladinsky)

Astro Tips for October Lunar Eclipse 2014

We are approaching the full moon lunar eclipse on Wednesday October 8.  This full moon in Aires will be lined up with (or conjunct) planet Uranus and squaring Pluto. This Uranus square Pluto configuration has been with us all year.  This eclipse period may be giving us a chance to grasp what the first part of 2014 was about. From January to July we were bombarded by continual intense energy.  Whiplash. Eggbeater brains. Mars hammering in the same sign for months. The long transit of Mars in Libra kept us saying “yes ma’am” when maybe we wanted to say something else.  Many of us buried uncomfortable “stuff” and hoped some problems would magically go away.  They didn’t of course. Now here we have the Lunar Eclipse to help us see in the darkness of our minds that what we feared has many names and issues.  However, Uranus in the mix, along with Pluto (and Venus as well), may help us blink our eyes and yell, “freedom”! If we have felt suppressed or silenced in some way, now is the time to stand up and breathe.  We can break free of things that we believed were holding us back.  Aries is the sign of the courageous warrior.  Whether the desire is physical or spiritual in nature, this Aries full moon eclipse can push us further along on our personal journey.  There may be a lot of clatter and waving of fists but many of us will declare some form of freedom this month. 

There is an accompanying configuration in the fire signs that ignites our passion and gives us the optimism that we can do whatever we set our minds to.  The configuration is called “grand trine” and it is actually the formation of an equilateral triangle between planets…in this case, 3 planets in fire signs.  Fire energy is enthusiastic and creative. Artistic projects have a big whistle to get going.  Mars in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Leo, and Uranus in Aires give us hope.  In spite of all the troubles in the world, we can’t help but want to live life fully right now.  Let us maintain compassion for those who are less fortunate; those who continue to suffer with illness or with revolutions and maniacs at their doors.  If the big grand trine in fire gives you the message to go help in some way, you probably will. If it causes you to get down on your knees and thank the stars above for your good life, that is perfect. If the Venus/Jupiter/Uranus blast shows you an outline for your creative work, say thank you and get going.

In reading about the planetary arrangements for October, I came across one astrologer who reminded us that we have a cellular memory of fear surrounding eclipses.  Only learned astronomers/astrologers knew when these big eclipse events were going to occur.  On some level we may retain our awe and fear of what happens in the sky when the earth comes between the Sun and the Moon causing the Moon to become eerie and red.  We live in a time when powerful telescopes roam the galaxy and send pictures to our computer screens.  We know we have nothing literal to fear from an eclipse. Still, eclipses stir up the psyche.  Whether we believe it or not, we are connected to this phenomenon on Wednesday, October 8, and we will have our own unique great events in the next few weeks. 

When it is time, my star will shine!  (Yoruba proverb)

Linda Sprague