by Robert Wilkinson
The Full Moon of Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio, being conjunct the Lunar Nodes, is a Lunar Eclipse. What does this mean?
Since all Eclipses shut something down, this Partial Lunar Eclipse begins a several month "shut down" in the houses it occupies in our charts. Given that it happens with some very productive aspects, there will be very favorable changes, eliminations, and attractions promised by the void this Eclipse leaves in our lives. Over the next 4 + months we will finish the “divorce from the past” indicated by the powerful 2011 Gemini Solar Eclipse, and those who are able to “hold the void” will eventually attract the allies, renewals, and work that shows the way to fulfillment.
This Eclipse will only be visible in its entirety in eastern Europe, Africa, central Asia and western Australia. “Eastern parts of South America will experience moonrise with the eclipse already in progress, but none of the eclipse is visible from North America” according to NASA.
All of you lucky enough to be able to view this Eclipse remember that when it’s happening, you’re being shown a new way to experience life and the Mystery it holds for you, as well as new connections, newer deeper ways to feel your relatedness to others as well as within, and a new set of values that will help you enjoy your life. Embrace with work with gentle enthusiasm, and let go of inertia.
Over time this will regenerate us, and show us how to fuse the public and the private affairs of our lives with courage and a sense of connection to life and others. These will all come forth in some way between now and late August.
I’ll be discussing more about what this specific Eclipse is about in the next articles on this event. For now, I’ll just say that we began a long term process of elimination and shedding old ideas, perceptions, environments, and relationships in June of 2011. This was ramped up by the Sagittarius Solar Eclipse of November 2011 and again in the Gemini Solar Eclipse of May 2012 and Sagittarius Solar Eclipse of December 2012.
All the Eclipses in Gemini and Sagittarius, both Solar and Lunar, served to shut down old ways of life, thinking, and understanding wherever we have Gemini and Sagittarius in our charts. There's a lot about them in the archives if you want to know more about their ongoing influence. This one shuts down old ways of life, feeling, and valuing wherever we have Taurus and Scorpio in our charts, opening us to a form of “Buddha Wisdom.”
So like most Lunar Eclipses, this one ushers in a transitional period of several months (this one will be in effect for 4 + months) that will clear things out of our lives, and especially our past (the Moon). The space created can attract circumstances and people through which we can develop skills helping us deal with the wild ride of The Grand Irrationality that's in continuous motion during these months and years.
The June 2011 Solar Eclipse at 12 Gemini sent the Grand Irrationality into intense oscillation that still is helping all of us release ghosts from the past so that we can move forward without excess psychological (and maybe physical!) baggage. This will be pretty much over by mid-June. This Lunar Eclipse gives us opportunities to reverse magnetism, find stable wisdom that allows us to see voids of promise rather than discouragement, and with the Saturn virtues of patience, maturity, sense of duty, and elimination of the chains of mental slavery we can come to a clear and simple understanding of which way to go and how to do it.
Due to the Venus conjunct Saturn at 7 Scorpio last November 26 when Mercury went stationary direct, some of how this Eclipse manifests will be related to what signs, signals, and understandings Mercury brought us in the period between late November2012 and mid-February 2013. This Eclipse marks the end period of the intensity of letting go of the ghosts of the past, while keep the Grand Irrationality in full force for the next 4 months. It will of course most impact those with a planet in any of the 7 zones of the configuration. I’ll also discuss more about this in Lunar Eclipse articles coming over the next few days.
And now, here’s a bit from the NASA Lunar Eclipse page:
The first lunar eclipse of 2013 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in southern Virgo about 12° east of Spica (mv = +1.05). It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere. The Moon's contact times with Earth's shadows are listed below.Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 18:03:38 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins: 19:54:08 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 20:07:30 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends: 20:21:02 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 22:11:26 UTAt the instant of greatest eclipse the umbral eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0147. This event is barely partial with just 0.5 arc-minutes of the Moon's northern limb dipping into umbral shadow. Consequently, the partial phase lasts less than 27 minutes.
Figure 1 shows the path of the Moon through the penumbra and umbra as well as a map of Earth showing the regions of eclipse visibility. To catch the entire event, one must be located in eastern Europe or Africa, central Asia or western Australia. At the instant of greatest eclipse the Moon will be at the zenith for an observer just east of Madagascar. Eastern parts of South America will experience moonrise with the eclipse already in progress, but none of the eclipse is visible from North America.
The April 25 eclipse belongs to Saros 112, a series of 72 eclipses in the following sequence: 7 penumbral, 21 partial, 15 total, 22 partial, and 7 penumbral lunar eclipses (Espenak and Meeus, 2009). In particular, the April 25 event is the last partial eclipse in Saros 112.
In the next parts, we'll explore the Ascendants around the world, the qualities of the Eclipse, the Sabian Symbols, the aspects, configurations, and other specifics of this powerful Partial Lunar Eclipse Wesak Festival Full Moon in Taurus-Scorpio. Check back in tomorrow!
For links to most of the past Eclipses that are still in effect, they’re at the bottom of The April New Moon in Aries, part 3 – Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What it all Means. A review of what the New Moon was/is all about will also be useful in understanding this Full Moon, which will bring the seed of that New Moon to fruition.
Here's the first post in this Wesak Festival Full Moon Lunar Eclipse series: Spiritual Astrology in April 2013 - It's A Happy Buddha Birthday at the Full Moon of Taurus-Scorpio, a.k.a. The Wesak Festival!
For more about Eclipses in general, how they are timed for effects, and other seldom considered considerations (con = "to be with" + sider = "the stars"), please check out the second post in this series, Astrology in April 2013 - On The Threshold of a Partial Lunar Eclipse at 6 Scorpio
© Copyright 2013 Robert Wilkinson
Thank you Robert for the uplifting perspective. This is 2nd/8th territory for me. My natal Saturn (2nd) at 7 degrees, and right now in my midlife Saturn (8th) opposition. Also married to a 3 degree Scorpio. We have been through many financial dramas of the 2/8th sort for these past several years. I FINALLY sense some healing and release, with a new way out developing.
Posted by: Xenia | April 23, 2013 at 04:59 PM
Great information! Many thanks. Awaiting for the next post on the subject.
Keep the good work up.
Best,
Nic
Posted by: Nic | April 24, 2013 at 07:36 AM
Thank you so much, Robert! If you have time, would you explain how this lunar eclipse of the N. Node differs from a lunar eclipse of the S. Node?
Posted by: Claudia | April 24, 2013 at 10:55 AM
Thank you for providing us with all this important information. A combination of Wesak and an eclipse is certainly noteworthy.
Posted by: dcu | April 24, 2013 at 12:19 PM
The title for this article says it all. Thank You! Wonderful insightful, loving, read. :)
Posted by: sunshyne99 | April 24, 2013 at 12:27 PM