Eclipses are part of the natural cycle, yet they also feel like an interruption of sorts. If you’ve ever seen either a solar or lunar eclipse, you might have felt the sensation of time slowing down. While watching an eclipse, we can connect with that moment; our attention is focused completely in the now. This is also a period when the veil is thin. There is magic in the air in the days leading up to and moving away from the event.
With the eclipses of June/July 2011, the moment-out-of-time quality is further magnified. Eclipses usually happen in pairs – one solar and one lunar, two weeks apart, and thepairs then occur in a repeating cycle every six months. But we will now have a series of three eclipses in a row:
June 1st – New Moon/Solar Eclipse at 11 deg. Gemini
June 15th – Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse at 24 deg. Sagittarius/Gemini
July 1st – New moon/Solar Eclipse at 9 deg. Cancer
The last time we had this three-eclipse pattern was the Summer of 2009. At that time they were in the sign polarities of Cancer/Capricorn and Leo/Aquarius. I did a podcast on the topic with Gary Caton and a wrap-up episode on those eclipses on my own. Gary and I did a follow up on the topic last summer as well.
I’ll be writing a bit on the eve of each eclipse, so let’s start with the first: tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse at 11 deg. Gemini. When Solar Eclipses happen, it intensifies the themes of the sign of that New Moon and extends the period of influence from two weeks to six months until the next corresponding Solar Eclipse in the opposite sign. The end of this period of influence will be the New Moon in Sagittarius on 11/25/11.
Gemini is about communication, particularly writing, speaking, and teaching. But it is not all about the mental plane. It is also about the communication that goes on within ourselves, between our conscious and unconscious mind. Gemini’s ruler is Mercury, who often has a playful Trickster energy about him. Watch for signs, omens, and synchronicities at this time. They may be indicators of what new project, venture, or Geminian-thing you should be nurturing over the next six months.
We will also likely encounter the shadow aspects of Gemini. Chaos, scattered energies, the inability to focus, and opportunities for confusion abound, particularly as Neptune squares Mercury throughout the week of the eclipse. At a New Moon, we are in the dark – and during a solar eclipse, quite literally so. Become aware of the machinations of your own particular “monkey mind” so as to avoid the potential pitfalls of this time. This can be done through practices such as mindfulness meditation, for example.
However, Saturn comes to the rescue here, lending a stabilizing presence with his close trine to the eclipse at 10 deg. Libra. Accessing the positive side of Saturn in Libra can provide us with helpful strategies for this time. Some phrases to hold in mind are: keep a level head, consider both sides of the issue, and own responsibility for your half of a partnership or friendship.
Further reading on this eclipse series:
For a political take on the eclipses of June/July, I recommend Jude Cowell’s blog, Stars Over Washington
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.