Full Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius: Disentangling our Consuming Past

'Rahu Eating the Moon' by Bloodink6

Full Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius:  Disentangling our Consuming Past

Moon opposite Sun @ 3:20pm CDT on 7-27-18

A triple eclipse season.  A summer of multiple retrogrades.  So many rare alignments that astrologers can hardly keep up.  Can you imagine the state we would be in if there weren’t all these retrogrades to provide us the pauses to reflect and rethink?  Consider this…it may just be the retrogrades that are saving us from complete burnout this summer.

When it comes to my experience of retrogrades, I tend to rebel against the old ideas of how unfortunate they might be.  Why?  I was born with 6 planets retrograde.  Without going into full-on AstroGeek mode on the stats…I’ll just say that 6 retrograde planets at the same time happens very rarely.  Those who have researched and wrote about such retrograde accumulations couldn’t find enough case studies of individuals to remark on much of a pattern.  Interestingly, most of them studying people with multiple retrogrades weren’t born with many retrogrades themselves.  Let’s just say that those of us with multiple retrogrades are not only here to provide the ‘pause and reflect’ we all need from time to time, but we are sifting through all the accumulated conditioning of society to get to the roots of our issues and retrieve the medicine humanity needs.

This is a cleanup period.  Issues from the past resurface to be dealt with, and that’s why many people blame retrogrades for issues that confront them.  But the retrogrades don’t create the problems…these were issues that were already there but we didn’t have the time to work on them (or, it was easier to just put them on the back burner and move on).  Well, now is the time.  Especially from August 8-18, when Uranus turns retrograde at the end of Mercury’s Retrograde…all planets but Venus and Jupiter will be retrograde in that 10 day time period.  At that rare time of 6 retrogrades (which last occurred in the early 80s), the undeniable problems have been accumulating…and the retrogrades accumulate to provide us the medicine we need to finally work out those issues.

'Full Eclipse' by Donna Lilly

That being said, we’re right in the middle of a triple eclipse season…and this total lunar eclipse (visible in the eastern hemisphere) is a dramatic one with a long duration because it is in the middle of a Saros cycle.  Something that eclipses tend to do is they bring a feeling of things accelerating.  Multiple timelines seem to occur simultaneously.  Again, it seems beneficial that there are currently 5 planets retrograde to help us contemplate this acceleration in a way that can more clearly focus on what timeline is most beneficial for us to advance toward later.  How do we make the best decision?  By examining the past.

This particular eclipse belongs to the Saros cycle 129, which began in 1351.  This was after The Black Death had wiped out a large section of the population.  Labor shortage was on the minds of those in power in those areas at the time…as well as attempts to suppress the bargaining power that gave to the laborers.  That was the beginning of Saros 129, when Moon barely clipped the edge of Earth’s penumbral shadow.

Fast forward to 1910, when Saros 129 first began its series of total lunar eclipses.  That year, Henry Ford implemented the production line for greater efficiency.  This changed the way corporations operated, the way workers were treated, and created the ‘necessity’ of conditioning the public to be more ‘efficient’ consumers.  The issue then, for more efficient producers, was “How do we manipulate demand to increase with our accelerated supply?” 

Since, we’ve been dealing with the shadows of how our planet has been corrupted through accelerated commodification and over-consumption of human beings.  And that’s where the eclipse shadow brings us to now…to a time when corporate powers are both out-of-control and still somehow in control.  Such corrupted drive to control the masses is on full tilt…and it’s the people that have the power to flip the script.  But the corrupted powers-that-be are working feverishly to keep us in the dark about that.  We must decide…are we powerless to turn things around, or are we the force to be reckoned with as karmic justice comes back around to force us to rethink what we thought we knew about our trajectory?

As you may have noticed, I love symbolism…and the specific Sabian Symbols at play always seem to provide a deeper look into the larger theme of what’s being highlighted (as well as what’s being shadowed, in this case) during this Blessing Moon.

Leo- The Medicine of the Present Moment

Sun:  Leo 5- rock formations tower over a deep canyon

'Zion Canyon' by Danny Shrode

With all these timelines converging to contrast the light with the shadow of humanity’s relatively small experience on this planet…what has endured through all of our accelerated change?  Elemental forces…those forces that gradually shape the world around us over great periods of time.  But what are the shadow forces that have been shaping us over time?  What has created a deep chasm between where we are now and where we need to be?  To bring this shadow fully into the light, we may just have to take a giant leap into what seems impossible…a leap into the unknown.  We don’t have to stay stuck between a rock and a hard place.  This symbol is essentially about evolution…and it encourages us to trust in the enduring powers of Mother Earth.

North Lunar Node:  Leo 6- a conservative, old-fashioned lady is confronted by a ‘hippie’ girl

Here, the cultural values of the past are confronted with what is now being championed in younger generations.  Women alive today who’ve lived through most of these Saros 129 total eclipses grew up in the societal conditioning of consumerism and convenience culture to be ‘efficient’ housewives.  Women like Christine Frederick were helping men sell their products to “Mrs. Consumer” through the Ladies’ Home Journal…and women have been buying into that kind of marketing ever since.  Some time ago, ‘keeping up appearances’ seemed like the best thing to do.  But such ways are impermanent, because each successive generation holds the code breakers for the conditioning of the past.  We must be aware of the shadow here, though…as corporations, marketers, and media are always looking for ways to change up their strategies to appeal to the values of younger generations (which is why products that say ‘green’ or ‘natural’, appealing to those environmentalists among us, aren’t always what they appear to be).  Just because we feel less susceptible to what older generations fell for, doesn’t mean we won’t fall for re-vamped manipulations of our values.  Ultimately though, the Sun and North Node are showing us what we are moving toward, and what will nourish and sustain us as we call these shadows into the light.

Aquarius- The Release of Past

Mars Rx:  Aquarius 4- a yogi demonstrates his healing powers

If you read my Mercury Retrograde post, you may remember that Mercury has recently paused at a degree with a symbol (the ‘unkempt yogi’ degree) that is reminiscent of the one Mars is currently highlighting.  Mercury is still there, but not making as many waves as Mars Retrograde is right now.  What is it about this time that keeps bringing up symbols of the ‘yogi’?  Well, we’re obviously in a deep healing process, for one thing…as eclipses tend to bring up karmic associations to address.  And, with Mercury joining the retrogrades…we’re not meant to solve everything through the rational mind.  This is a distinctly spiritual journey.  I like what Dane Rudhyar wrote about the keynote of this degree: “the disciplined use of spiritual energies in restoring the natural harmony disturbed by man’s inharmonic attempts to transcend nature through mind”.  So, essentially, Mars Retrograde is working with the Moon at her South Node to release old corruptions and restore some harmony.  He has a more disciplined, spiritual approach than just charging forward with his sword and calling for war.  And since Mars is out-of-bounds and rebelling against what we might expect his actions to mean…it might even be appropriate to relate this disciplined, spiritual approach to a line from a Beastie Boys song:

“Pass me the scalpel, I'll make an incision. 
I'll cut off the part of your brain that does the bitchin’. 
Put it in formaldehyde and put it on the shelf, 
And you can show it to your friends and say "that's my old self".”

-‘Make Some Noise’ by the Beastie Boys, from ‘Hot Sauce Committee Part Two’

Weren’t expecting that from the Yogi degree, were you?  Good.  Mars out-of-bounds is full of surprises.  My point is that the Warrior so far south of the ecliptic, retrograding through perigee, and in this yogic healing degree might not just lay down his sword and chant bijas.  Spiritual bypass is something that has been necessary to confront as the South Node has been passing through Aquarius and challenging our urge to ‘detach’.  He might just be trading in his sword for a scalpel and laying down his gauntlet for some nitrile gloves…providing some metaphorical brain surgery to get right to the root of the imbalance.  After all, this symbol is about providing healing, not about a specific way in which we facilitate that healing. 

Moon:  Aquarius 5-  a council of ancestors is seen implementing the efforts of a young leader

With moon here, close to her apogee, we may have been feeling bound by ancestral or past-life karma.  Old issues may have been resurfacing since the New Moon opposite Pluto Rx…and much shadow work is still upon us.  But Moon means to show us, in her farthest reaches, that we are supported by our ancestors in clearing this karma.  After all, we are the hope for future generations.  One day, we will be the wise elders, and then part of the council of ancestors who support the next generations.  We are meant to lead by example.  All efforts in harmony with the whole are backed by those who came before us.

South Lunar Node:  Aquarius 6- a masked figure performs ritualistic acts in a mystery play

A larger story is playing out here…one that releases transpersonal forces through dramatic ritual.  Ritualistic drama was often performed to appease the gods and ensure a society’s survival, or to guide initiates into the Mysteries.  The plots were derived from the myths of the God or Goddess who was being honored in the performance (such as the initiation rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries, depicting the story of Demeter and Persephone).  The sacred rites of pagan mysteries were later replaced by mystery plays of biblical stories in medieval times.  Such mystery plays were performed in public for the masses and not as secret initiatory rites.  We are likely to see, on our world stage, one or more of these stories playing out.  The Abduction of Persephone?  The Fall of Man?  Something will likely bring up themes from ancient storylines.  Are you watching?  Or are you part of the show?  The figure in this symbol is masked because they represent an archetype that is like a conduit for the magic.  With the Earth’s shadow in play, we are also likely to see some hollow performances on the world stage…going through the motions, wearing the mask of deception.  As if we haven’t seen enough of that.

Gifts from the Magi

In aspect to the Sun-North Node, Chiron Rx, Uranus, and Saturn Rx are creating two aspect patterns called ‘Mystic Triangles’.  The Mystic Triangle is also known as ‘Magi’…so they can be considered as Three Wise Men, bearing gifts. 

Chiron Rx:  Aries 3- the cameo profile of a man suggests the shape of his country

In beneficial aspects to the luminaries, Chiron Retrograde is still at the degree where he squared the luminaries and Saturn Retrograde during the last full moon (the degree where he turned retrograde on July 4^th).  The aspects are easier now with the luminaries…but the square with Saturn Rx is now even more defined.  This suggests the healing work is still difficult, but gaining some ground now through the retrograde.  This Mystic Rectangle holds the gift of establishing trust…in ourselves, in others, and in the larger plan.  This trust is the healing fire that guides these journeys we’re on.  In my last full moon post, I wrote of Chiron at this degree:  “We might combine two age-old pieces of wisdom to create what Chiron might be telling us here:  “Know thyself to heal thyself”.  Chiron in this ‘cameo’ degree of Aries teaches us that we are the true authority of our lives, and that we have a significant role to play within the bigger picture.”

Uranus:  Taurus 3- natural steps lead to a lawn of clover in bloom

Uranus is currently direct, but in the degree where he will station retrograde on August 8^th.  He is at the apex of a T-Square now with the luminaries (as Chiron was during the last full moon), which is where the stress of the opposition pools through at 90 degree angles.  Uranus here feels the need to be spontaneous and respond to the stress in the moment.  However, the retrogrades incline us to hold back on such immediate responses as there is focused work to be done now.  Uranus doesn’t want restriction.  Dissatisfaction and impatience with all these entanglements we’re working through will likely be the cause of additional issues that could have otherwise been avoided.  Soon enough, Uranus will be retrograde too…and then we may have some more clean up work to do with whatever we’re too hasty about at this time.  Uranus is also in a trine with Saturn Rx, so even if we’re feeling anxious and stressed now, staying grounded and taking measured steps can alleviate some of the anxiety.  Of course, we want to get up to the lawn of clover in bloom…but we’re not quite ready to go all the way up yet.  The retrograde will soon take us back for something we missed.  However, the Magi of this Mystic Rectangle with Uranus holds the gift of promise.

Saturn Rx:  Capricorn 4- a group of people in a large canoe beginning a journey

Saturn is a key player in these two Mystic Triangles.  There is a journey of initiation we are embarking upon now.  Saturn guides us toward tasks that are both essential and responsible.  He’s been preparing us for this in his retrograde so far.  The canoe is fully outfitted.  We have some shadows to release and some medicine to retrieve. 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi