the total lunar eclipse in aries is exact on sunday september 27th, 2015 at 7:50pm PDT. this marks the midway point of the current lunar and eclipse cycle we are in that began with the partial solar eclipse in virgo on september 12th. we are in the eclipse portal- which is a time of great transformation, change, endings and new beginnings. this high energy frequency is doubled down by several other astrological happenings (mercury retrograde, pluto direct, the north node on the super galactic center, saturn having just left 29 scorpio)- all of which are converging into a very high intensity and high transformational period of time on earth- personally and collectively. if your life is going along peacefully right now with no challenges or karmic circumstances to be dealt with in your life- then you are either the 1% who gets to hold space for the rest of us as we move through this intensity (which is a fearsome job- it’s the job of being the witness) or you are numbing yourself out and in denial ;)
this total lunar eclipse is the 4th in a series of four- known as the blood moon tetrad- that started in 2014 and culminates this year. having 4 total lunar eclipses that turn the moon a dusky dark shade of red all in a row is not common and in the ancient days it would have been seen as a harbinger of evil or doomsday. of course today we understand that eclipses are about CHANGE- and change can be good or bad, it all depends on how we perceive it (and if we have been avoiding it for some time, maybe even lifetimes). at the start of 2014 i wrote a blog on this tetrad of lunar eclipses- all of which straddle the signs of aries and libra- as a time of dramatic shift in how the masculine and the feminine relate to one another. true to form many marriages have fallen apart in the last couple of years- and many others had some deep shit and shadow brought to the surface to be dealt with. i have seen this in my own life, my inner circle, in my clients’ lives and also in the media (lots of celebrity couples have split recently). but i have also seen deep and profound transformations happen in relationships- all sourced from a deep commitment to one’s own inner work within. we cannot have healthy relationships with others if we don’t have a healthy relationship within. we each have a masculine and feminine aspect to ourselves- so these eclipses have been potent for you even if you have not been in relationship (and when i say relationship i don’t just mean marriage- i mean all partnerships where a deep connection is shared). with this being the 4th and final eclipse in the tetrad, this time is a culmination and completion of all that has gone on in the last 2 years. this can be seen as running the last leg of the race so-to-speak- although what the outcome is for each of us personally can vary depending upon how much work we have done on ourselves in the last 2 years. for some people this may actually be the moment when they realize they have almost missed the boat and they have a lot of catching up to do (which can make this period of time right now exceptionally intense).
a full moon/lunar eclipse always occurs when the sun is precisely opposite the moon- and in the lunar eclipse chart we have the sun in libra (the sign of the Other) opposite the moon in aries (the sign of the self). we have had a lot of astrology focusing on this polarity and duality in the last 2 years- forcing us to address where we are imbalanced in our lives. if we overdo our aries we are fiery, feisty, aggressive, conflictual and selfish. if we overdo our libra we are pacifist, have boundary issues, are codependent and cannot stand up for or take care of ourselves. this tetrad of eclipses have definitely highlighted any imbalances playing out in our relationships. if you find yourself playing a role in your relationships- where one person is the feminine and the other the masculine, or one the Mother or Father figure and the other the child- this eclipse series has forced you to look where this is limiting your growth. ultimately evolution and wholeness is achieved when we integrate our opposite and take back projections we have put onto others so that we can live them for ourselves. for example, if i am a man who works hard and makes good money but i am not able to deal with my emotions, nurture myself or others- then i will be drawn to a mothering, sensitive, emotional woman who wants a strong man who can support her. this can be sweet in the beginning if both people are happy playing their respective roles- but if either or both of them wake up one day and want to integrate their opposite (i.e. the woman wants to have a career or the man does want to be an ATM) then something’s going to have to shift and the relationship will have to dramatically change. because all of the total eclipses in the last 2 years have been in these same signs- this has been a major theme throughout 2014 and 2015. yet because this is the last eclipse we can find ourselves in the 11th hour trying to complete lessons and clear karmic patterns so that we can end this cycle with completion- ready to move onto new evolutionary territory.
because this entire tetrad of eclipses have been in libra and aries- these eclipses have had a focus on dramatic change, evolution, endings and new beginnings in our relationships. first and foremost we want to dramatically change our relationship with ourselves- as anything we want or need or desire OUT THERE can only be fulfilled and truly experienced when we have found it IN HERE. any relationships that are on solid footing are fine- you may experience things that rock your boat, but if your ship does not have holes in it and you are both willing to do the work to row to a safe harbor you will be fine. for others who have issues up and perhaps have large holes in their boat- this final eclipse may be a time to think about whether those issues/holes can be fixed and if both people are willing to do the work necessary to fix them- or if it’s better to jump ship before you go down with it.
during a full moon the conscious self and ego (the sun) is fully facing the Unconscious (the moon)- yet the earth comes in between the two and eclipse’s the sun’s light and casts a shadow on the moon. in a positive sense this can be a time of diving down deep and looking at the shadows that are more visible to us at this time- but on the negative side this is a time when our consciousness can be eclipsed, which can cause us to act from a reactive, impulsive, emotionally charged place that may not be in our best interest. lunar eclipses also tend to build things up to a point that things explode- hence the reason full moons are times of heightened emotion, more child births and more accidents (according to ER research). since this full moon eclipse is in aries, our Unconscious emotions and feelings around anger and rage and our immaturity, selfishness and tendency towards denial can arise to be confronted at this time. this is no tall order and most certainly not all hearts and roses- but it can be quite profound and growth producing if we stay with the transformational energies and see them through.
in the final total lunar eclipse chart we have lots of Divine Feminine archetypes involved in the eclipse dance- all adding their energies into the mix. the sun in libra is conjunct juno (the asteroid of partnership and marriage), black moon lilith (the fierce, Dark Feminine), and the evolutionary north node of destiny and growth. all of these are opposite the full moon in aries who is conjunct vesta (the priestess asteroid) and the karmic south node that connects us to the past. all lunar eclipses are tied to the nodes- which is one of the reasons eclipses are so potent. they energize our future path of growth and they also energize our past- and in this eclipse portal we stand at the threshold of choice: will we move forward and grow into uncharted and unfamiliar territory or will we stay stuck in the karmic patterns of the past?
with juno, black moon lilith and vesta all involved in this eclipse there are themes up for us to look at in regards to partnership, independence and commitment to ourselves and our personal evolution and growth. relationships in our lives need to be able to fulfill and honor all of these needs in order to be healthy and evolutionary. relationship that honors separateness and togetherness, independence and interconnection is key. too much of either creates unhealthy enmeshment or excessive detachment- but the right mix of both creates freedom in our togetherness. what is interesting is that juno and black moon lilith are very opposed archetypally speaking. juno loves relationship and commitment- while BML is the fierce, independent feminine that does not want to be owned or told what to do. juno and vesta are also quite opposite- as juno will sacrifice herself for her relationships while vesta will sacrifice her relationships for her purpose and calling. so we have an image of polarity and duality playing out in this eclipse- with a need to find a better balance between our own path and our path with others, our personal growth and our growth that comes through relationship and commitment with others or things outside of ourselves.
one of the best aspects in this full moon/eclipse chart is the harmonious one made by saturn- the lord of karma and father of time. the sun sextiles saturn and the moon trines saturn- bringing a grounded, masterful and mature energy into the mix. yes dramatic changes and shifts are demanded of us- but saturn helps us anchor into the Higher Self and conscience in a way that helps us endure whatever we need to endure as we make our way through the process of turning base metal into gold. we are being forged in the fire and saturn will keep us there- ready, willing and able to show up and do the work!
the star sparks meditation on 5 aries by elias lonsdale is equally profound. his meditations are similar to sabian symbols although i personally find them more deep and profound. for elias this degree is a call to “personify an archetype. I must become my best and show the way. I have no choice in the matter. Unless I exceed my previous limits at every key juncture, I know I am not doing what I’m here to do and I can’t bear to let everybody down. I am here for a purpose and I cannot delude myself that I can do as I please.” he goes on to say “The only hard thing is that I just have no patience in me for human frailties. I am not at all amused by stuck patterns and obvious lies. And I’m not shy about getting it across that you can’t get away with that stuff around here. People accuse me of being too much and of keeping the pressure on. They’re right. But I am showing a tiny fraction of what I’ve got here. And the edge I put on events is laid back and easy going, compared with how it feels inside to be up against dense and stupid routines.” this is absolutely perfect for the last blood moon eclipse. the pressure is on and we need to have zero patience for our stuck patterns and obvious lies. we need to not allow ourselves to get away with being stuck any longer. if someone tells you you are being too much- to hell with them. keep the pressure on yourself to push past your edge and grow exponentially!
one other thing i want to speak to is the sabian symbol for this degree. i connect more deeply with elias’ star sparks meditations but sometimes the sabian symbols speak to me as well and this one certainly does. the sabian symbol for 5 aries is ‘a triangle with wings’. this stands out to me as the triangle is a symbol of the trinity and wings are a symbol of ascension, Higher self or Divinity. the whole aries/libra axis- where all the lunar eclipses have been for the last 2 years- is all about relationship between two things: self and other, yin and yang, within and without. initially we experience that which is outside of ourselves as something separate- something Other. due to this perception we live in duality where things are opposite of each other. yet on the path of integration and wholeness we need to take the Other and become that which we seek and project onto. carl jung said “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” here we see the triangle in action. when two things join together in Union a third entity is created. the two bottom points of the triangle then connect in with the top point. out of duality a trinity is born. we no longer have black and white- but we have grey. we no longer are just masculine or feminine but we are both/and and as such we are whole. this sabian symbol speaks to me of the potential during this 4th and final eclipse to find that wholeness within- which will then bring clarity to all other situations without. when we operate from a place of lack within we keep looking outside for something to fill us and make us whole. but we when we come from a place of inner wholeness then the whole game changes. ‘he who looks outside dreams. he who looks inside awakens’ (carl jung). use this eclipse to go deeply within- it can dramatically change your life for the better!
i have written in other blogs about how this time in astrology is really unprecedented. so many things are happening all at the same time- any one of which would be potent on it’s own, but in actuality they are all happening together in the same time frame. the portal is open right now for amazing, exponential growth and karmic clearing. of course we have to choose to walk through the portal- no one is going to push us through it or do the work for us. we have to show up and do the work ourselves. we have to take responsibility for where we are at, where we are stuck and why we have chosen to remain stuck there- and then we have to get our butts into gear and get going. ‘on the road to enlightenment there are many tempting parking spaces’. get out of neutral and get going!
may this eclipse portal awaken you to the Highest version of yourself!
~divine harmony
STAR SPARKS
by Elias Lonsdale
Aries 5 A statue of a god worn smooth by devotees’ kissing
I am here to personify an archetype. I must become my best and show the way. I have no choice in the matter. Unless I exceed my previous limits at every key juncture, I know I am not doing what I’m here to do and I can’t bear to let everybody down. I am here for a purpose and I cannot delude myself that I can do as I please.
My dilemma is that I am as sharply motivated as can possibly be and those who encounter me want to set me up to be an expert, to be somebody special, to be above them and beyond them, while I know with the greatest of instincts that it can’t be done that way any longer. So I must refuse to be the hero, the scapegoat, the center of all projections, throw it off and become everybody. Then I can get through to the others and not be stopped by this crazy old style of religion and idolatry.
I am exceedingly fortunate, in that I can see through what each and all are doing faster than they can do it. I am ahead of the game. I make sure to keep my way free and clear. And I delight in my capacity to cut through the crap, get on with what matters, and be done with the ritual of dismemberment.
The only hard thing is that I just have no patience in me for human frailties. I am not at all amused by stuck patterns and obvious lies. And I’m not shy about getting it across that you can’t get away with that stuff around here.
People accuse me of being too much and of keeping the pressure on. They’re right. But I am showing a tiny fraction of what I’ve got here. And the edge I put on events is laid back and easy going, compared with how it feels inside to be up against dense and stupid routines.
TETRAD OF LUNAR ECLIPSES 2014-2015
april 15th 2014 25’16 libra
october 8th 2014 15’05 aries
april 4th 2015 14’24 libra
september 27th 2015 4’40 aries