Leo Lunar Eclipse, February 9, 2009
This Leo lunar eclipse will be powerful, not only because an eclipse focuses and intensifies the energy of a full Moon but because of all the energetic shifts that occur around it. So before we get to the eclipse itself, let's talk about how crazy this week is really going to be.
The day after last month's full Moon, Mercury, who had just ventured into Aquarius, decided he needed to turn around and check out Capricorn one more time and see what damage Jupiter caused in its year-long stay there. Just check the news for what he found out. On SuperBowl Sunday, he stopped. He'd seen enough. Besides being the god of merchants, he's also the god of thieves. Understanding came easy. In his rush to turn around and get out before the building collapsed, Mercury seems to have created accidents and falls, brought bad health news – forget the economic news! - and made for a surprising SuperBowl game. Now he's moving forward, 'cause he can't wait to see what Aquarius will come up with once he presents his findings. Your projects will start to move forward again, and will slowly pick up speed until Mercury reaches the place he turned around at on February 21st and then, it's blast-off. So get your feet under you and start moving.
Monday, February 2nd was Candlemas or as the Celts call it, Imbolc. It is the time of year when we finally see that the light is indeed growing stronger. It is the time to feel the quickening of life within you and around you. A good day (give it three days for an energetic shift) to meditate on what you want to do with this new year. What new projects, new visions, new desires arise in your imagination?. What are you willing to dedicate yourself to? Our friends down under are celebrating Lammas – the festival of the first harvests, and a marked decline of light. We in the northern hemisphere will be there in 6 months – so, what will be our harvest then? The answer: whatever you dedicate yourself to now.
The other thing that happened on February 2nd was that Venus left Pisces and entered Aries. After the beating she took during the month she spent in Pisces, dealing with everyone's fears, guilt and longings about money, love and the viability of life persisting on Earth, Venus needs something new. Aries is all over new – that's what it does best. Sometimes Venus in Aries can be selfish, and in truth, sometimes she needs to take care of her 'self' better. But there are a few indications that Aries' fires will be more intense this year. Late on February 5th, Venus will square Pluto (in the first of three squares) and get caught up in very transformative fires. When Venus goes retrograde on March 6, the heat will intensify. Now Venus will be challenged to burn off selfish desires and replace them with creative vision. Before Venus moves forward again, she has to go back to Pisces and remember what the Spirit of Life desires of her. She was born out of the ocean, out of the fires of heaven. Love has heaven's blessings and earth's gifts to share. Just after the 2nd Uranus/Saturn opposition, as Venus and Pluto square each other, both planets semi-square the Sun, bringing up control issues that need to be confronted gently but persuasively.
Mars, which moves into Aquarius on February 4th, will send inspiration and innovative visions to Venus, sustaining her in the fires and reminding her of communal obligations. He can help you find new ways to unite with like-minded people, strengthen existing bonds and open up new avenues of thought and unlooked for opportunities.
By Thursday, February 5th, we could be vibrating with energy. This is the second of five oppositions between Uranus in Pisces and Saturn in Virgo. Imagine them as two cosmic Sumo wrestlers, circling each other, ready to engage in ritual combat again. Their first opposition resulted in Uranus' new vision pushing Saturn's old vision outside the ring. In America, the people voted for change, and Barach Obama is charged with creating change in the government as well as in the economy. But each of us who voted for change now has to change ourselves, and so the wrestling match continues within. Old vs.New. What do we conserve and what do we dump? What gets transformed? What gets birthed? The first engagement of these two sumo planets gave the vote to the innovative, original, revolutionary vision. This second engagement will be more strategic. What did we learn from last time? Since the first opposition, we've had our eyes opened to the unsustainability of our economic structures. What structures in your life have to go? How do we re-structure our beliefs to incorporate both freedom and responsibility? It's a dilemma we baby-boomers bequeathed to the world. We wanted the child-like freedom that Leo promises but obviously forgot the Leo responsibility to individuate and channel this creative energy into something larger than ourselves. The quest of this lunar eclipse is to strike the right balance between the urge for change and the conservation of the good of the old order, because both Saturn and Uranus are the rulers of Aquarius. Which structures can be viably renovated to house these new visionary energies? And which ones block the view?
Saturn in Virgo is diligent and disciplined. Use its energy to build better internal behavior patterns, for these new patterns must contain the energy and vision that Uranus wants us to incarnate. Are you staying healthy, because you body is the temple of your soul. Do you know who you are, because you can't bring your unique talents to the table if you're unsure of your purpose. You have to love yourself even as you objectively eye yourself in the mirror. Blemishes and all. Saturn in Virgo takes us within and keeps us meditating with the stricture: Know Thyself! And it keeps us humble.
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