the penumbral lunar eclipse at 3’17 libra is exact on wednesday march 23rd 2016 at 5:01am PDT (the full moon is exact at this time, with maximum eclipse exact at 4:48am). this eclipse is penumbral so it won’t be as easy to see as the moon will be fainter than usual- but energetically it’s still quite potent. the center of the eclipse path is the pacific ocean- but you can see the eclipse as far east as the entire united states and candaa and as far west as india. this lunar eclipse marks the midpoint of the current eclipse portal we are in that began with the super potent and powerful total solar eclipse in pisces on march 8th. that eclipse pointed to the beginning of major endings and karmic completions that will unfold over the next 6 monthgs- with the eclipse on chiron and the karmic south node we have all been in very deep emotional, psychic. spiritual and Unconscious waters this month! (for more information on this eclipse read the blog linked here- https://www.divineharmony.org/cosmic-insight-divine-harmony/divine-harmony-astrology-blog/total-solar-eclipse-pisces-dealing-past-better-future/)
it is interesting to note that both eclipses in this eclipse portal (which is a time of great transformation and change) are in pisces and libra- the two signs that tend to be very idealistic, want to see the beauty, tend to ignore the shadow and also tend to over focus on others at the expense of the self. there’s much up right now for all of us to address when it comes to boundaries, finding balance in our lives, and understanding that we each have a part in the dramas of life and we each have things we can do to rectify the course of events personally and collectively. the best use of libra energy is being able to hold space for seeing it ALL- Light and shadow, self and other, good and evil, black and white (libra is the sign of the scales). the best use of all the pisces energy present right now is to deeply feel the all and understand that we are ALL connected to it all and to each other and instead of numbing ourselves out so we don’t have to acknowledge this we need to tap into our greater sensitivity and realize this connection for personal and planetary healing. of course living with an open heart has to be supported by healthy boundaries and a healthy sense of self- both of which pisces and libra are not necessarily known for so therein lies the karmic lesson right now. some people overdo boundaries and build walls with their egos- only focusing on the self and often at the detrimental expense of others and even the world at large (like big corporations and their CEO’s who are out for money). other people don’t have boundaries at all and they merge, enmesh, enable, get into codependent relationships and have a hard time taking a stand and sticking to what is healthy and right for them. wherever we each are at on this spectrum- the call this month is to come more to the center. we each need to be open enough to realize we are all in this together- and we have to be grounded into an individual sense of self enough to keep healthy boundaries so we don’t get overwhelmed by the suffering and pain in the world and simply become immobilized, apathetic and victimized as a result.
the sabian symbol for 4 libra is ‘around a campfire a group of young people sit in spiritual communion’. this degree speaks to the joining of forces with kindred Spirits- people who have common goals and common ideals. on one level this eclipse reminds us that we are not islands unto ourselves and that we will realize our dreams and help heal ourselves and the world around us more effectively when we join forces with others. yet this degree also speaks to humanity- as we are all sitting around the same camp fire are we not? and if the fire goes out we will all experience the repercussions of that. we are all in this together- for better or worse. and we need all of humanity to unite on what we all have in common: we all live on planet earth and her resources- air, water, food and soil- are the things that sustain us and the poisoning of these very things will be the very thing that will kill us all if we do not get our collective shit together. right now as i write this blog (on saturday the 19th) ceres, the Great Mother asteroid Goddess, is approaching the chiron/south node conjunction. at the time of the lunar eclipse on wednesday march 23rd- the conjunction is within one degree of exactness! the true north node/chiron conjunction is exact later on the day of the eclipse, while the mean north node/chiron conjunction was exact on march 18th- so we have had the Wounded Healer activating the karmic south node very intensely the entire week leading up to this eclipse. this has been bringing up all manner of old wounds and pain, forcing us to look at where we default to the shadow expression of pisces personally and collectively with denial, avoidance of reality, playing the victim or martyr, delusion and deception of self, other and even from the media, and more. ceres aligns with the mean north node on tuesday march 22nd while ceres aligns with chiron on thursday march 24th- bookending the lunar eclipse. when you add ceres into the picture we have big karmic patterns up with the potential for great wounding but also profound healing in regards to our relationship to Mother Earth, the environment and our collective denial of what we are all doing to our sacred Mother. no matter our sex, race, religion, political persuasion and more- we need to understand deeply that we truly are all in this together. if the ‘ship goes down’ (ship being earth) and the fire goes out (fire being the planet’s life force)- it will not matter who you are, what you believe in or how much money you have- we will all go down with the ship!
the aspects of this eclipse are excellent in terms of bringing greater awareness to this theme. the full moon is opposite the sun and mercury in aries- bringing Light to the collective and personal conversations that need to happen so that we can find a space for both self and other, Light and shadow, give and take and then generate a third perspective (the creative third as jung called it). when i stick to MY perspective and you stick to YOUR perspective- all we will do is fight. but when we can find common ground and meet each other in that place we can find a 3rd perspective that unites us rather than divides us. many of us need to find this within ourselves so our own masculine and feminine natures are not waring and doing battle. we also need to find this in situations and relationships in our lives- as well as in the world at large. the only major aspect to the lunar eclipse is a harmonious one from mars in sagittarius to both the sun (trine) and moon (sextile). mars typically helps us to take action and get clear, and mars in sagittarius can help us find the Truth and align with it. yet we must remember that mars is in his front end shadow as he will be going retrograde mid april for approximately 80 days. so the aspects he is making right now will be repeated 2 more times- and what is going on right now can give us insight into what is to come. mars retrograde is not a time to make definitive decisions, start things or initiate things. it’s a time instead to redo, renovate, rejuvenate and complete things from the past. lynn joiner says that during mars retrograde ‘whoever initiates loses’. of course mars is not retrograde yet but he is beginning to slow down and prepare himself for his retrograde journey. this full moon eclipse is likely to be bringing things to Light that we will be working with and working through for much of the summer (mars exits his back end shadow mid to late august). so think long term/long haul, not short term/in the moment- for best results right now. one of the best ways to use this eclipse energy is to open the door to conversations or processes- with yourself, with others, with the world around you- and then be aware that that conversation or process has it’s own path of evolution and is not likely to come up with the clear, definitive answers or the correct path to tread immediately. when mars is retrograde (or preparing to go retrograde) we want to access patience and foresight and the willingness to be lead rather than be the leader per se- otherwise we will just be irritable and frustrated that things are not moving on our own time schedule ;)
the ruler of this eclipse is venus in pisces- the lower heart in the sign of the Heart Heart. venus in pisces is amazing for altruism, compassion, being of service, forgiveness and Unconditional Love. yet she is also coming off of a conjunction with neptune and heading towards her alignment with chiron, the karmic south node and the total solar eclipse degree. this reminds us that we need to be willing to take off the rose colored glasses so we can see ourselves, others, situations we are in, the environmental reality, the political reality and more from a realistic, rather than solely idealistic or delusional place. ideals are beautiful- but we HAVE TO integrate Light with shadow, which means seeing reality as it is today, otherwise we will only be operating from one end of the spectrum and it will be akin to trying to get a plane to fly with only one wing.
on the same day as the eclipse retrograde jupiter in virgo in exact square to stationary and set to go retrograde saturn in sagittarius (saturn goes retrograde on march 25th). this signature is HUGE in the eclipse chart and it pits our ideals and dreams against reality, our visions for the future with the reality of our past and how it has implications on the present we currently find ourselves in. ultimately we are each seeking to find balance between opposing principles. with jupiter and saturn the polarity expresses as a conflict between expansion and contraction, optimism and realism, luck and hard work, benevolence and malevolence (classically speaking jupiter is the Greater Benefic and saturn is the Greater malefic). with jupiter in virgo we are being supported in getting more discerning, more grounded, more practical and able to see the pieces so that we can understand the Whole. with saturn in sagittarius we have karmic lessons around the pursuit of Truth and how we align our lives with that- personally and collectively. the shadow of saturn in sagittarius is the dogma that arises when one person, one religion, one political system says MY WAY IS THE ONLY WAY. yet on a deeper level there is One Truth- but it has nothing to do with political beliefs, religion, sexual orientation, etc… it has to do with Life and Love- the things we ALL aspire to and value are the things to focus on- rather on the things that divide us. this is the only way we will find common ground and heal the split within and without- and heal the world along the way.
in ‘wholeness and the implicate order’ david bohm says “the notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today. thus, as is now well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder, and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who have to live in it. individually there has developed a wide-spread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it.’ as an answer to this crisis and despair- carl jung said that as society becomes more and more chaotic, our only hope is for individuals to make a conscious consolidation of opposite forces within themselves to serve as a counterbalance to that chaos outside (jane cicchetti ‘dreams, symbols and homeopathy’). so inner work and shadow work are necessary for all of us right now and as we each do this inner work to integrate shadow and become more whole that healing frequency is put out into the collective and can be absorb and utilized to raise the frequency of the All. (if you are interested in joining a community of kindred Spirits doing shadow work healing and integration together please check out this link here that explains the Dark Moon Medicine Teachings my dear friend and sistar holly and i are cofasciliating during all the dark moons of 2016- https://www.patreon.com/divineharmony)
i leave you with ellias lonsdale’s star sparks degree for 4 libra- a perfect representation of how the lesson right now is to be able to really see, own and face the shadow- within and without- while at the same time holding space for, seeing and being the Light. we need to be able to find a balance between “a fundamentally dark vision and a profound hope for something to lead beyond that land of shared reality to a better world.” this occurs when we can both feel and know the harshest realities while still being “entirely mobilized toward doing everything (we) can to restore inward qualities which can make each and all entirely different from what they seem fated to play out otherwise.” this is apt for our time on earth right now- as we have to be able to see reality and truly see what is going down on planet earth right now and honestly acknowledge the trajectory we are on. many people are avoiding doing this as it can take us down into deep spaces of shadow, struggle, painful conclusions and realizations, and despair. yet the only way out is through, and as long as we bury our heads in the sand nothing will change and the ship will go down (personally, collectively). we also have to be able to see our part in it- in our personal dramas and our collective ones- as well as what part we are being called to play to heal things and change things. the eye of the needle is gone through when we can all really get that “the collective shadow we face has broken each of us down, and we will not get out of this until we are embraced just as we already are.” love, compassion and empathy can help us navigate the dark shadows and hidden spaces- and these are the very qualities that will light the way the forward!
as within, so without. as above, so below. as the Universe, so the Soul. ~hermes trismegistus
blessings…
~divine harmony
Libra 4 A woman bites into a lemon and makes a face
She feels something the others don’t feel. That is the story of her life. She just cannot escape the perpetual way that she is sensitized to the shadow and she cannot just live inside sweetness and light.
Her sensibility is warped. She gathers evidence for all the most discouraging and painful conclusions and realizations. For she is in the inside of the struggle and the heartache which fascinates her, plagues her, calls her name, has something in store for her.
If she really goes into it, she comes out with a fine balance of her own between a fundamentally dark vision and a profound hope for something to lead beyond that land of shared reality to a better world. And she can indwell the combination of always feeling and knowing the harshest realities, with being entirely mobilized toward doing everything she can to restore inward qualities which can make each and all entirely different from what they seem fated to play out otherwise.
Because she learns how hard it is for each one to move through the worst, she learns compassion. This is a hard won state for her. Initially, she expects and assumes that everybody here can and will keep up their part, just as a matter of course. To penetrate to the layer of true empathy, free of judgment, is perhaps her greatest hope of all.
She needs to be that way, because she radiates an influence that is very strong. Her struggle with the common situations, her reactions against the way we all live are dissonant factors which do not go unheeded. What kind of influence can she be if she really gets it that the collective shadow we face has broken each of us down, and we will not get out of this until we are embraced just as we already are. Direct experience of this truth is hard-earned here.