FULL MOON Eclipse, at 25 Leo-AQUARIUS 52
August 18, 5:27am EDT, 2:27am PDT, 10:27am GDT,
7:27pm AEST
Image: NEPTUNE, from PLANETARY GODS AND GODDESSES COLORING BOOK, illustrated by author. Initial coloring by Ann Marie.
This is the first of THREE ECLLIPSES, the additional third one counting as an extra dose of cosmic change up.This Full Moon eclipse, and the next on September 16, are both PENUMBRAL eclipses, very subtle to perceive. The New Moon eclipse on September 30 is ANNULAR, which means the Moon will have a halo of the Sun around it—a special phenomenon.
Meanwhile, here we are: Full Moon penumbral eclipse in Leo-Aquarius. I like that word, penumbral. Earthsky.org thus describes a penumbral eclipse:
“only the more diffuse outer shadow of Earth falls on the moon’s face…much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe, than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon. There is never a dark bite taken out of the moon, as in a partial eclipse. The eclipse never progresses to reach the dramatic minutes of totality. At best, at mid-eclipse, very observant people will notice a dark shading on the moon’s face. Others will look and notice nothing at all.”
This penumbral subtlety is exquisitely appropriate for the patterns of this particular Full Moon. Many of us feel some extraordinary quality of energy, but it is so subtle….until, whammo, there is some astral or etheric download, like an silent, invisible thunder and lightning storm.
With the Sun in Leo, the Moon is in Aquarius. It’s a community-oriented party time eclipse in its way. Global dramas may take centerstage, claiming our attention. There is plenty of that out there. Personally, we feel where our hearts are touched, finding the core of personal appreciation in our social lives. Aquarius reflects back so many facets of how we show up in life with others in our lives, and in the community context of our lives, from neighborhood to social media platforms. This is not the whole story or even the central storyline of this Full Moon eclipse, and we’re going to need all the Aquarian higher mind perspective we can soak in under its rays.
Behind the drama, like the stage lighting that creates and enhances the mood, we have a strong interplay between planets in Virgo and Pisces. Those are the sign’s of next month’s Full Moon, which brings these factors forward even more intensely. We are rehearsing, or getting a preview right now, to get things in order. There is a grand cast of characters or a symphony of musicians in this piece.
Recently (last Friday-Saturday) we had a last peak moment of CHIRON in PISCES opposite JUPITER in VIRGO, an opposition that has been in play since last fall. Our belief systems, our sense of the basic meaning of life, of what truth is, what reality is, how the world works, have all been in a meltdown of some sort or another. We each have our personal experience of this. Some of it is coming through our bodies. Unusual or unexpected surgeries, symptomatic illnesses, subtle “blips” during the day, low energy, anxiety attacks….such things are signaling extraordinary and critical energy field expansions and shifts. We are crossing an energetic bridge. The field is wide open. It is ever so necessary to keep your field clear, well-shaped and emotionally uplifted. That takes attention we usually apply to mundane matters. This actually is becoming more of a mundane matter! To attend to our spiritual well-being is of the utmost urgency. If you don’t have such a life-line, it is time to seek one.
The numbers 24-25-26 are repeated a lot in this eclipse, making for some interesting patterning. If you are into numerology or play the lotto, take note. Uranus loves this eclipse, adding spice and unexpected developments to the drama. Jupiter and Mercury in Virgo are intelligently attending to details and getting work done behind the scenes. Enjoying Nature and taking care of your body are effective to relieve the stress of managing so much change. Don’t go to overwhelm. Before you get there, breathe deeply, determine what next to get done, focus and voila! it will be so. We need to focus on focus.
I’ve been writing for a while that we are in an area of the galaxy with more photons, or light, activity. We are sure feeling it now. If you can feel the shimmering energy and open to it, channel it through your body into the Earth and stay grounded, it is going to be easier. It is all too easy to get caught up in waves of anxiety, another option, that is pervading the collective field now. We each need to find our way to calm down and find the still centerpoint. This Aquarian Moon offers some detachment and a level of objectivity, if we take advantage and step back a bit. Aquarius is the sign of the “witness” mind, or the Watcher in us, a more centered place in ourselves from which we can watch the drama even while we are acting in it. It can be a relief to sit back sometimes, chuckle at our foibles and compulsions, feeling compassion for our silly selves that are stuck in our false identities. Sigh.
The second tier of the Virgo-Pisces story is VENUS in VIRGO opposite NEPTUNE in PISCES, evoking the presence of the divine feminine. She has so many forms. In the Neptune illustration above, we see the mermaid Salacia, Goddess of the Sunlit Sea, who gave her name to one of the new objects in the farther solar system. Neptune wanted to marry her, but she did not believe he really loved her, so she went away. Neptune sent a dolphin to convince her his heart was true, with the offering of a pearl.
Another goddess to invite in is Kuan Yin, with her boundless compassion and miracle-granting heart. She rides a dragon, especially appropriate for this Full Moon, considering that Venus and Neptune both are on the Nodes of the Moon. The North and South Nodes (where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun) are eclipse markers, also known as the Dragon Head and the Dragon Tail.
Venus is on the Dragon’s Head and Neptune on the Tail. This is the hub of the Full Moon eclipse, really. Not only is Neptune on the Dragon Tail, but it is in the Vedic mini-constellation of The Dragon of the Deep Sea. Surely we are in some pretty deep seas lately, on many levels. The Dragon has been closing in on Neptune for months, with an exact alignment in November, a powerful influx of influences from the past, now arising in the collective consciousness. “We are all in this together” is one aspects. The call for compassion is another. Other tendencies may be avoidance, numbing, and overuse of drugs.
Who is the Dragon Woman on the North Node that we need to bring forth? When Pisces gets spacey and confused, Virgo reminds, “Earth to Pisces, time to eat something…” Venus in Virgo on the North Node calls for feminine values to be applied. (Political note: Bernie Sanders is a Virgo). In this deep earth sign, Virgo takes satisfaction in appropriate, pragmatic results that serve our collective welfare. She delights in the simple things in life—the scent of a flower, the way the clouds move across the sky, the caress of the wind on one’s skin. Venus tends to be a bit fussy here, however, and can get cranky, cross and critical. If you stress out in those modes, soften the edginess in the Neptunian flow. Take a break. Take a breath.
If you find you are dealing with fussy business matters, for instance, please bring all the compassion you can muster to the situation. It’s not the other person’s fault, most likely. It may be the way the system is set up and you are both having to contend with tiresome details or requirements. That’s the story of my attempt to make a payment by phone today. We are all “losing it” a bit with the wooziness of this new swirling energy. Let us dance with it, allow our bodies adjust to the new rhythms. Let’s attend to daily affairs as best we can, singing a lovely song in our hearts to make each moment as sweet as we can.
Compassion is often misunderstood as sympathizing with someone who is having a hard time and trying to make them feel better. One of my favorite writers (as COSMIC NEWS readers well know) is A.H.Almaas. In his Diamond Heart, Book One: Elements of the Esssential in Man, he writes about compassion standing for the truth in a situation. True compassion is a door to the truth, which is the ultimate means of relieving suffering. When we recognize difficult truths about ourselves or our situations, it is likely to hurt. Rather than dilute it, defer it, deny it or drug it, if we let the feelings surface, be acknowledged and flow on, we can move on in our lives with fuller self-knowledge and true compassion for ourselves and others.
“From the perspective of the universal level of Essence (true spiritual self), what happens in terms of the difficulties of our lives—or the happiness and joy—are not as important as the development of Essence. Our whole lives are for that. From this perspective we see that it is not the truth which actually brings suffering, but the lies. The suffering is already there as a result of the lies. The truth simply exposes it. When the suffering is exposed, the person can let go of it. So the truth is compassionate in that way. It can eliminate suffering by exposing the lies that actually cause it.”
To consider that this is happening on a global level, that’s an awesome perspective. Sure makes me think about things a little differently.
Let’s see what this all means as we head into the subtle shadows of this eclipse and out the other side.
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