I’ve drawn the eclipse chart for the maximum eclipse point here in Seattle, according to the website Time and Date, which is 11:58 PM PDT of the 13th with the Moon at 23 Virgo 58, though the overall duration of the event is 6 hours 3 minutes, with totality lasting 1 hour 5 minutes–so a long span that is visible in most of the Americas for its entirety.

As always with an eclipse, the Nodal points are close to the Sun-Moon-Earth axis, this time with the North Node conjoined the Sun, Saturn, and Neptune (this latter at 29 tense degrees of its own sign, Pisces), and so opposed the Virgo Full Moon. Our attention is on our vision of an ideal reality, on what’s holding us back or misleading us, on our creative accomplishments or lack of them, and the future all these matters are shaping (Sun, et al)–and this draws us away from the ‘real’ action, or at least the action we can play a part in, right now: that’s represented by the Virgo Full Moon, a culmination of how effectively we’ve prepared, addressed ‘the details’, fairly distributed both effort and harvest–this really is a point of awareness of results for what we’ve done, and a chance to assess what we still need to do--with Luna’s trine to Uranus in Taurus suggesting that material resources, and/ or ‘the group’, may prove unreliable, too future oriented, extreme, or too radical in what is asked of us to be helpful in reaching our goals.

An eclipse is the interruption of the ‘flow’ of Solar light as reflected by the Moon; symbolically, this signifies a moment when we can read the emotional landscape without the distraction of the conscious mind. This time it’s a surprise, something of a shock, and definitely serves this purpose: the Uranian element of things allows for a kind of Higher Mind re-arrangement of the situation, such that it will be to our advantage, even if in the moment it seems to run against us. The disruption is doubled, once in the removal of previous circumstances by the eclipse, a second time interrupting our plan or throwing us wildly off course with the unanticipated and the unusual, and our feelings about it. In actuality it’s the wisdom of the Universe, saving us from an unfortunate mistake, or delivering to us the direction or results we actually need to thrive.

Such is the influence of an eclipse: a re-ordering of affected life areas, the old wiped out and replaced by–what? Sometimes an entire new scenario is placed before us, and sometimes there’s only a sweeping away that leaves no discernible landmarks or legacy circumstances. With most major contacts either conjoined or opposed the event itself (we can expect their influences melded to the eclipse episode, and so presenting as part of, or the result of, the event itself), and a single other major aspect a trine to Uranus, promising shock, awe, and upheaval, we must look to minor bodies for a little more detail (so Virgo!) and a little more clarity.

The eclipse Full Moon is apex to a Fist with base of Bacchus and Hygeia (in Taurus, and so ruled by the currently retro Venus) square Pallas and the asteroid Lilith (not to be confused with the Black Moon Lilith point), both in Aquarius, so ruled by Uranus that is such a big component of the eclipse picture=this says that living with abandon in some way has affected the health; we know better, know what we should do, and knowing this fosters a rebellious kind of rage–why must I conform? Why does physical reality, the kind that impacts my physical well-being, have to be acknowledged? Why can’t I just do what I want? This kind of foot-stamping insistence that we should have no restraints, seeing these as persecution when we know very well that we need them, is answered this eclipse with circumstances challenging us to be smart, be practical (Pallas); we’re shown how our past has accumulated to create our now–and what happens gives us a glimpse of the future (Sun, North Node), one we read through the emotions (Moon, South Node). This could be quite upsetting, but we can’t deny it’s a gift to know what, by extrapolation and honest evaluation, one could do to make a better future.

Eris and Chiron are conjoined in Aries, with Eris quincunx the eclipse=discord and hurt, stirred by our own actions, seen when the distraction of Solar energy is removed–but there’s one thing about that Solar cluster opposing the eclipse that we haven’t yet discussed, and it may be important to see, as the Earth (material matters and Purpose) comes between the source of light and its receptor, allowing awareness of how our attention to this energy has been running the show of late, with the eclipse event offering a chance at new, more productive, awareness.

Within the Sun-North Node-Saturn-Neptune cluster in Pisces, we find the asteroid Osiris, just on the Sun at 24 degrees, and so directly opposed the eclipse. Are you familiar with the story of the Egyptian god Osiris? His depiction with a shepherd’s staff hints that his myth may have originated with an actual sheepherder-who-became-a-ruler, but the stories told now see him as the offspring of Ceb, the god of the Earth (his laughter was responsible for earthquakes) and the sky goddess Nut. He was considered a wise ruler who oversaw a period of peace and prosperity stemming from ideal natural order (maat), his rule cut short when his brother-god, Set, murdered him (most versions contend out of jealousy, in order to gain the throne), cutting his corpse into 42 pieces corresponding to the 42 provinces of Egypt, then scattering them far and wide. Osiris’ sister-wife, Isis, recovered the body parts and re-animated him by means of magic long enough for her to conceive their child, Horus, an important god-figure in his own right.

So, Osiris conjoined the Sun and co-located bodies in opposition to the Lunar eclipse in Virgo may suggest that circumstances have been keeping us busy just trying to ‘stay whole’, to keep our magic/ mojo, to create and produce (likely something that is quite important to our personal legacy). This has been distracting us, demanding most if not all of our energy, as we scramble to ‘assemble ourselves’ (after having been ‘dismembered’ by others, possibly who envy our position or want what we have), and the interruption of the eclipse allows us to get some perspective on these efforts, to see our real-world situation (Saturn) clearer, and to know how close to our ideal (Neptune) we may or may not currently be.

The Sabian for the peak moment of the eclipse is: ‘Mary And Her Little Lamb’. Mary is a caretaker (perhaps analogous to the shepherd of the Osiris myth), the lamb a symbol of innocence (‘its fleece was white as snow’, purity), in this case specifically our own inner innocence (‘Wherever Mary went, the lamb was sure to go’). This may speak to our inherent vulnerability, the kind that springs from our most pure and simple intentions toward the world, with all the risk contained in a lack of worldliness when dealing with real life. Just as with the presence of Osiris, it’s a reminder of the hazards that are part and parcel of dealing with the world, and how it’s our job to maintain our autonomy, working toward our goals and maintaining our purity of ideals in spite of the way we can be ‘torn to pieces’ by difficulties, and to maintain our integrity (the lamb), by choosing well and being vigilant in our responses (Mary). I think the Osiris myth supersedes the Sun Sabian, for this eclipse, so count it as the ‘energy origin’ of current events.

The Lunar cycle generally has two purposes: enlightenment/ awareness and fulfillment, this latter reminding us of both the consistent passage of time, and the ebb and flow of the associated emotional energy. In whatever House of your natal chart the eclipse falls, look for the experience of and understanding of those matters, appreciating the wipe outs and endings for what they are: a chance to start fresh, to see things differently.