This powerful lunar eclipse in Scorpio is surgically laser-like, with a close square from serious Saturn in Aquarius and the eclipsing Moon opposite ehe Sun on the Medusa star. We are looking deep mysteries squarely in the eye, and it’s not all pretty. In these times of tumult and triggers, all bets are off, the gloves are off; illusions are being swept swiftly under the bridge washed away on waves of Grace and Grit, Neptune and Mars. Saturn clears the air with a no-nonsense turning point, engineered by higher-mind clarity. Taurus calls us to enjoy the good things in life, finding value in our everyday experience. This is a very intense, challenging eclipse, worth what it takes to accept the challenge.

Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse@ 25 Scorpio/Taurus18
May 15, 2022 @9:14pm PDT
May 16, 2022 @12:14am EDT, 5:14am BST, 2:14pm AEST

How have you been riding the light waves of the waxing Moon since that Uranian-charged eclipse of April 30/May 1? Are you ready to jump off the Moon boat and dive into the deep Scorpionic waters of this Total Lunar Eclipse? How deep can you go? How deep are you willing to go, to let go and let live in a new flow, an underwater waterfall? It’s a whole other world down there under the surface of the sea.

Saturn in Aquarius, imposing strictures on this eclipse, offers strong advice to you divers to go down with a full air tank to take you to the depths you seek— but not too deep. Give yourself enough time and air to come back to the surface without getting ‘the bends’ that can undermine your vitality. This decompression sickness happens to divers when they resurface too quickly. Rapid changes in water pressure cause dangerous gas bubbles in the bloodstream. This can affect different areas and organs of the body. Joint pain, fatigue and numbness of the arms or legs are common symptoms. Recovery requires special decompression chambers. Divers, especially deep divers, need time to recover from one dive before plunging down again. In other words, monitor the intensity of your feelings and process. Come up for air as needed when you feel that waters are getting too deep. However, it’s important not to short circuit or disconnect from the process. At times radical trust may be required

Under such pressure from the deep Scorpio waters, we need perspective. Our higher minds maintain a level of objectivity so that we do not get entangled and trapped in the underwater seaweeds. Saturn is testing us to see how well we can maintain a level of observational objectivity and logical thinking as we let go and feel our way through life-changing transformations, emotional and physical.

Planetoid Sedna, in her dark and distant arctic waters, is close to the Sun on this eclipse, at 29 Taurus. She is relieved and thankful when the shaman travels down to her depths to comb her long hair knotted up with seaweed. Able to move freely again in the deep undersea currents, she gratefully calls her sea creatures to give their lives to the people for remembering, respecting and honoring her.

The Sun is even closer to the star Algol @27 Taurus, that marks the penetrating Eye of Medusa. In the myth of Perseus, he uses a reflecting shield to avoid looking directly into her paralyzing eyes. We might need some reflection time to process the impact of this Total Eclipse and gain the higher mind, air sign perspective with a level of detachment that allows us to observe, as well as feel the intensity of what we are experiencing.  Six months hence, another Total Lunar Eclipse on November 8 mirrors this one, with Sun in Scorpio/ eclipsed Moon in Taurus. This suggests a trajectory of processing that goes to another level at that time.

Saturn is slowing down, preparing to turn retrograde on June 4, fixing its attention at 26 Aquarius. Note that this degree of Saturn squares Algol, discussed above. Saturn sustains the long, hard stare of that compelling Eye, that

“perceives with an objectivity like that of nature itself and our dreams,
boring into the soul to find the naked truth,
to see reality beneath all its myriad forms
and the illusions and defenses it displays.”
—Sylvia Perera, Descent to the Goddess

Saturn’s Sabian Symbol gives us suggestions on how to work with that Eye:   26 Aquarius: “A Garage Man Testing a Car’s Battery with a Hydrometer”.         This mechanically oriented image addresses making sure our vehicle is operating in good condition before we start driving. The North Node in Taurus is our collective leading edge now, calling our attention to our bodies as our vehicles.

As we are downloading huge cosmic energies, we need to pay attention and take proper care of our precious bodies. It’s not like we can buy a new, updated model. We need to keep this one in good condition, with good quality fuel, charged-up battery and water in the cooling system, etc. As the years go by we can feel the wear and tear from taking our bodies for granted.

This goes for how we treat the Earth as well. The more we appreciate and take care of Mother Earth, the more she takes care of us. This is a deep realization of Taurus, the call of the collective direction indicated by the North Node. On this eclipse we may become more deeply aware of the need to be more cognizant of our bodies. These highly intelligent vehicles are far better than ‘smart’ cars programmed by human engineers. Our bodies are created by Divine Intelligence. Our five senses as well as multiple subliminal senses are conveying information all the time. Are we tuned in and tuned up to listen?  Saturn suggests that we use all these senses to distill information. Squaring the eclipsed Full Moon and Sun, Saturn invites us to fuller-bodied manifestation. It gives us some retrograde time to do so, returning to 26 degrees Aquarius in February 2023.

Mercury retrograde
backs up into Taurus to revisit and zeros in on the Sun’s eclipse position as well as Sedna and Algol. The last Mercury retrograde in January/February focused on Pluto; this one on another potent transformation spot in the zodiac. Mercury returns to Taurus May 23-June 13, with a challenge to dig out stubborn patterning, complacency, and lazy habits that hold us back, that resist letting go and moving forward. If we don’t listen, circumstances are going to push us, likely in uncomfortable ways. This potent eclipse with the Saturn square is such a signal.

Use this ‘pause’ time of Mercury retrograde well. Think before you speak. In challenging times, misunderstandings are frequent. When our hearts and keen earthy gut intelligence inform our heads, we will be better off in these times. We have all experienced various levels of cultural brain washing, through family influence, schooling and other ways in which our thought patterns have been directed into certain ‘grids.’ This is time to remove and literally move these out of our brains and bodies, to open our minds to healing wavelengths of joy and delight.

As an ally in this process, this eclipse highlights
Venus conjunct Chiron in Aries
The Taurus New Moon’s lovely conjunction of Venus/ Jupiter/ Neptune has now changed tone, as the Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, light up the morning sky in fiery Aries and inspire fresh inspiration.

Now Mars in Pisces conjunct Neptune, a call to action to manifest the ‘Big Dream’ that so many of us share in the collective imagination of Earth’s Dream Body. We are stimulated by a spiritually-infused invitation to envision a New Earth, beyond the pain and oppression of past traumas, now dissolving in the light—if we let them, if we don’t hold on, as we turn our attention toward the incoming waves of light: fluid plasma light, increasingly powerful flares from the Sun reaching throughout the solar system.

Venus and Mars rule the Taurus/Scorpio polarity of this eclipse, with Venus ruling the North Node and the way forward. Conjunct Chiron @15 Aries, Venus @16 Aries invokes the healing power of the Divine Feminine. The star Alpheratz is aligned with 15 Aries. This is the star that marks the head star of Andromeda, the chained princess. She is ready to be freed to another level!

We are at a critical juncture, invited to accept this cosmic initiation to courageously explore the unknown, investigate new options as our hearts call us to. Step by step, present and centered in each moment, we feel our way forward rather than looking back for reference points. We are in new territory; fresh adventure beckons. All our preconceptions come into question. ‘Beginner’s mind’ is an openness to new ways and means, questioning the values with which we are choosing our course. Subjective judgement is yet another type of baggage weighing us down, something to leave behind. Discernment is a truer tool, aligned with the Aquarian lucidity.

This eclipse season offers yet another portal to shift our viewing point and, thus, our experience. Are you yet able to see what you believe in, heart and soul, creating from the inside out, rather than reacting from the outside in? Don’t you feel that we are starting to see signs that our New Earth visions are beginning to sprout? We gain confidence to bring them further into manifestation? We can more easily let go of what is holding us back.  Wcan perceive anew and find the ways and means to activate the ‘New Earth’ that rises up to meet us, hold us, feed and delight us. This eclipse is about weeding the garden to make room for new growth.

This is the pinnacle of eclipse season with cosmic gateways that open new portals as the bridge to the past burns behind us. Activate your capacity for manifestation by letting go of states of mind, feelings that undermine courage, faith and confidence. Find your path and give it your all.

 Here again
The universe conspires
Toward purity,
Pushes deep
Deep
Into the darkness
Beyond fear and pain,
Tossing motes to the wind.

Fierce exultation lulls,
Droops over itself
Into a pool.
A willow can bend only so far,
Diving into the Where it weeps
Weeps,
Catching those drowned souls
Who flow past, concealed womblike
In preparation for a new birth.
We push through
Running a hard breath.

Birds catch winds of sunset
On their wingtips, sweep,
Sweep
Beyond enflamed clouds
In apparent freedom.
We soar midway
Between earth and sky
Reaching toward both,
Blood and fire
Beating in our hearts.

                        —1985

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