Lunar Eclipse, from ‘Kitab al-Tafhim’ By Al-Biruni c1000 {{PD}}

The Lunar eclipse begins at 11:21 AM PST January 10th at 20 Cancer 00. An eclipse, Solar or Lunar, is an energy disruptor, with the Lunar being oriented toward endings, conclusions, denouement, resolutions, outcomes, final denials, or the finishing of one period so that a new one can begin. That’s what can be confusing about eclipses: the endings hold the seeds of beginnings, and the beginnings contain some finality. We couldn’t have one without the other, and sometimes its nearly impossible to tell in the moment whether what’s happening is the end to something, or the beginning to something else–but in some way, it’s likely both.

This Lunar eclipse in Cancer suggests we may stop caring about something or someone that had been important to us, or may withdraw nurturing from someone or something we have previously sustained, or one or both of these may happen to us, as someone else turns their concern in another direction. This sounds negative, but is really about finding the ending inherent in any relationship, which allows psychic ‘room’ for a new start. It may be felt more as a shift than an ending/ beginning, a movement of intention, especially supportive attention, to a different subject, and may show the end point of an old attention goal, the start of a new attention goal, or both.

The eclipse is involved in three major energy ‘clusters’: a T-square involving a loose conjunction of Juno and Zeus as the arm of the T, with Sun et al. as the balance; the opposition as its own dynamic, enhanced beyond the usual Full Moon opposition to the Sun by inclusion of Ceres, Saturn, Mercury, and Pluto; and the final a grab bag with a pair of individual contacts, possibly less strident in expression but no less significant, a wide, separating trine to Neptune in Pisces, and a very close but separating sesquiquadrate to Mars in Sagittarius.

This eclipse coincides with the Superior Conjunction of Sun and Mercury, with both semi-square Mars and mirroring the complementary aspect to the ones made by the eclipse–and of course, opposed the Full Moon itself. The Sun and Mercury are also conjoined by Ceres, Pluto, and Saturn, making for an intense grouping gathered within a less than three degrees span. In the context of the eclipse, this may suggest powerful forces that combine to create the eclipse effect–but this may not be an accurate perception. It may instead be a seminal perception, one that causes some mildly difficult actions and choices that bring forward another ending, this one initially planted at the Inferior Conjunction and now coming to fruition.

L’éclipse, acquaforta, by Félix Bracquemond, in Sonnets et eaux-fortes, Paris, 1869 {{PD}}

Here’s the thing: amidst the cacophony of endings and beginnings, the Saturn-Pluto meeting likely already will have set in motion a serious and permanent change dynamic keyed to Capricornian institutions, structures, rules, authority figures, power figures, the status quo, and generally pushing strongly and persistently toward breaking down the old order, the old construct, the old power balance, with ‘old’ simply suggesting ‘established’, and it should take both a personal version (related to natal contacts and/ or the House subjects where the eclipse falls in the natal chart) and a larger societal one that you personally become aware of and observe. There may be no telling one change from another.

Too, don’t expect total destruction; this could instead resurrect things, especially things surrounding what we believed already dead, as new life in a new form is breathed into them, supplanting the old order, but not with anything new. In so many ways, that’s a horrifying thought. There’s even the chance that current power situations are cemented in place, with change only in the surface appearance, if at all, the prevailing power structure firmly fixed.

The presence of Ceres suggests Nature has her say, or that our connection to the natural world undergoes a time in the Underworld and is then brought into our reality, our Beingness forever altered by the experience (an illness or near-death event, mourning, an experience of grief, an encounter with the unseen, a spiritual event, a birth, an encounter with a ‘ghost’, any real-world happening that plunges us into awareness of the unseen and the pattern of life-death-life). Or it could be that we see real-world authority change right before our eyes, transforming into something Other. No matter what, we’ll find out something about our own place in things, and about the reach and extent of our power to make change, and this in many ways could be a double-edged sword.

The difficult thing is that all this change, upheaval, transformation, and re-birth acts as a full throttle background to the eclipse; that’s where we may get the idea that the eclipse is the source, but the eclipse is only our emotional response, and so contains any changes prompted by that response. We react to the power situations, personal and in the wider sphere, and either communicate or receive messages that have been some time in the making.

The T-square suggests that in the course of all this power examination and potential upheaval we see conflicts or hard choices related to our empowerment, specifically how much ability we enjoy to pursue ambitions and desires. The separating trine to Neptune implies we’ve already approached ‘the Dream’ or are clear on our ideals (or thoroughly immersed in our delusion), with the sesquiquadrate to Mars telling us we’re actually in the midst of some uncomfortable or tough to implement choices or actions, know it or not.

Uranus is at this point stationary but still not direct, offering the tension of imminent chaos, but not breaking in that direction just yet. Uranus’ direction may free the rebel, unleash mayhem, strike a note of individuality or originality, or release the energies of Higher Mind, the latter prompting a possible ‘hand of God’ scenario carried out through groups or movements, or our own conviction about what’s needed and ‘right’.

Partial eclipse of the moon. Observed October 24, 1874. (Plate VII of The Trouvelot Astronomical Drawings 1881) By Étienne Léopold Trouvelot {{PD}}

Normally I don’t address other current aspects at a New or Full Moon, but Pallas quincunx and Venus square Sedna suggest a threat to what we care about via unwise or ill-advised Self-messaging. The instincts need modification, flawed as they are at present by one or more consuming fears or bits of misinformation/ void of useful information. Those fears are the kind we carry inside but don’t make conscious–and yet they leak out into our choices and what we do, often surprising us with their intensity and seeming irrationality as they bring forward startling emotional responses in ourselves. These energies work in concert with the Cancerian eclipse promise of closure to caring or nurture, and the hard-edged real-world power issues or changes in progress now.

The Sabian symbol for this eclipse is, ‘Venetian Gondoliers Giving A Serenade’. Of note is the way there are no minutes attached to this eclipse degree, meaning we take the Sabian symbol that leads up to and includes 20 degrees. This symbol points to people not necessarily in the same ‘boat’ but ‘singing’ together. It’s their shared status or function (gondoliers), their shared interest in entertaining or attracting ‘business’ (which could be acceptance, attention, or some other benefit), and possibly sheer delight in life, coupled with the acting out of ‘traditional’ roles, that causes their singing. But further, a serenade actually implies a chosen and present audience, and the desire to bring pleasure or persuade–and that may be related to both the power situation and the Superior Conjunction, with most ready to state their fully-formed argument for what they see, what they believe, in the hope they may bring others to their way of seeing. Others will sing, and we’ll decide how we feel about that, and make changes or take action as a result.

I don’t anticipate understanding this eclipse period until well after it passes. The best we can do, then, is be aware of the feeling dynamic, the sentiment, beneath what we see transpire. That may be our touchstone to meaning; feelings will connect us in ways the mind cannot, as it’s already reached a maximum point within the cycle (Superior Conjunction), and may not accommodate the ‘stretch’ needed for illumination. The Sabian for the Sun only reinforces this: ‘A Hidden Choir Is Singing During A Religious Service‘. It’s the unseen source of ‘song’ reflecting our core Beingness, our faith, and our viewpoint of established institutions and organizations we ‘believe’ in, and our emotional response to and interpretation of these, that can give us the most reliable information, right now.

More on eclipses here. For some this may be too elementary, and some of what’s presented is just a wee bit fanciful (I don’t think it’s provable that romance is enhanced during a Full Moon!), but still full of interesting facts.