September 16, 2016, 24 Virgo-PISCES 20
3:05pm EDT, 12:05pm PDT, 8:05pm GDT, 5:05am AEST

Image: Beautiful Moon 2, photo by Cosmic News reader Peggy Lenahan.

This is another subtle penumbral eclipse, with a vague shadow effect. There are many subtleties to this third eclipse in a row. With the Sun accompanied by Mercury retrograde and the Moon closely flanked by Chiron, there is some elusive energy, best translated in poetry and music, film and photography, so here I share Impressions and Poetry with you.

Mars squares the Full Moon, from the sign of Sagittarius. Imagine wild horses running across the plains. Don’t you just wish you could feel that freedom with the wind in your hair!

“She went to the stallion, whose answers fling from his breath and his hooves, and whose eyes imagined her freedom.”
— C.P. Rosenthal, Elena of the Stars

We just need to be careful not to let our horses run away with us (or without us). These horses may be flights of imagination, which can be inspiring and energizing or anxiety-ridden and debilitating. The storyline is shifting. With our hands on the reins and strong legs in the saddle, we can guide our horse in the truest, most positive direction. We are reaching into another level of perception, which is not rational, but subtle and impressionistic, elusive to articulate.

“There is… a class of fancies of exquisite delicacy
Which are not thoughts and to which as yet
I have found it absolutely impossible to adapt to language.
These fancies arise in the soul,
Alas how rarely, only at epochs
Of most intense tranquility
When the bodily and mental health are in perfection.
And those mere points of time
When the confines of the waking world
Blend with the world of dreams.
And so I captured this fancy
Where all that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.”
—Edgar Allan Poe, from “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”

The runaway mind has often been compared to a wild elephant or jumping monkey. Considering this is the Chinese Year of the Monkey, all sorts of tricks are being played. Especially during this last upcoming week of the current retrograde Mercury, we’ll see more of the credulity-stretching reality show of the world. The amount of suffering we witness can be overwhelming. Even if we can perceive it as a call for healing and a purge of karmic history, it is hard and discouraging to deal with.

“My horse is a devouring fire,
Runs without hooves, down not height.
Where my horse breathes–no spring runs.
Where my horse leaps–no grass grows.

“O, fire, my horse–unsatisfied mouth!
O, fire, upon him–unsatisfied rider!
My hair knots into his read mane…
A fiery streak–toward heaven!”
—Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet,
from Starry Sky to Starry Sky, translated by Mary Jane White
MARS is the warrior, the hero, hunter and competitor. Who fits the bill here? Where is your call to action? Mars is getting a huge spurt of initiative from Uranus to blaze new trails, to keep on keeping on. We just need to find a pace that keeps us on track. Everything happens in its time. We don’t want to panic and make unwise decisions.

The Sabian Symbol for this key placement of Mars at 24 Sagittarius is:
“THE SYMBOLICAL ‘BLUE BIRD’ ALIGHTS ON A LITTLE COTTAGE”.

Master Astrologer Dane Rudhyar interpreted this as “The blessings bestowed upon all those who are true to themselves. Unexpected assistance. Happiness. Sheer good fortune.” Sounds good, eh? Don’t let anything or anyone get in your way, get you off-track, when you are in your truth.

VENUS and (true) BLACK MOON LILITH are in Libra, along with JUPITER, suggesting a suspension of judgment on others and ourselves in order to observe our own biases before making irrevocable decisions. On the level of consciousness-raising, that person on the opposite side of the question is a mirror into our own self-questioning. Misunderstandings are often a matter of language gaps. On some essential level we don’t understanding words in the same way as other people do. We think we know what we and they are saying, but we are not really getting it. Kindness helps steer us in the right direction. What is Justice and how is it to be served?

Overall, we will feel the shift that this eclipse indicates, as the Libran Scales tip over the next two weeks. Equinox is the 22nd, the same day that Mercury turns forward. In the meantime, let’s see what messages and news come our way to help us resort our priorities and bring our best to Life’s table.

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