The Total Lunar Eclipse Full Moon of Libra-Aries 2014 Pt. 1 – Growing Toward Community In A Ritual Dance of Individuality

by Robert Wilkinson

The Full Moon of Sun in Aries and Moon in Libra, being conjunct the Lunar Nodes, is a Lunar Eclipse. What does this mean?

Since all Eclipses shut something down, this Total Lunar Eclipse begins a several month "shut down" in the houses it occupies in our charts. Given that it happens with some very powerful frictional, specializing, and irrational aspects backed by a very harmonious Venus trine Jupiter, it’s safe to say this is a huge turning point for all of us.

This one will propel us quickly into the void, requiring us to balance “soft power” with “hard power.” Those who have learned the fine art of diffusing conflict, or blunting the wrong use of power will do best, even as things fall apart. We are in the heart of the Great Fracturing AND the Grand Irrationality is fully activated via the Sun triseptile Uranus, septile Neptune, and biseptile Pluto. This one truly indicates “the tipping point.”

All in all, it seems some highly specialized circumstances will bring gifts and opportunities to develop unique qualities with others on a white water ride like few have ever known. At least protection is there for those who are strong and flexible. The voids this Eclipse will yield over the next 3+ months will be the workshop for us to demonstrate Libra power skills directly related to the Saturn in Libra lessons of late 2011-late 2012. These will play a part in bringing many to their community.

This Eclipse will only be visible in its entirety in the Western Hemisphere, with the last half visible to the western Pacific nations. 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 spiritual lessons to learn, deeper ways to relate to your Spiritual Brothers and Sisters, and a new set of skills that will allow you to show will or love as needed.

Due to the strong Libra-Pisces energies active in this Lunar Eclipse, over time this will balance us while helping us to leave the past behind without aggravation and useless judgments. This Eclipse pulls many disparate threads of our past together in an unusual tapestry of elegance and tenderness that protects us even as we learn the rhythm of moving forward despite the fracturing all around.

It’s important to remember that most worldly events follow celestial events. Whether an event happens simultaneously with or later than an Eclipse, or some aspect configuration, is conditioned by many things. Sometimes a decision is made that will affect many things in the future, but we don’t know about that until the result manifests.

The time of an Eclipse is when the future effects are set into motion. Regard it as beginning a process of elimination to come to an understanding in the future about why those things had to be shut down for a while, or leave the life altogether. We have to close out parts of our past to create space for future ways to do our Being. Eclipses create excellent time periods to do that.

For example, the Eclipses in Gemini and Sagittarius in 2011-2012, 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. The Eclipses earlier in 2013 shut down down old ways of life, feeling, and valuing wherever we have Taurus and Scorpio in our charts, and the Wesak Full Moon Lunar Eclipse opened us to a form of “Buddha Wisdom.”

This is the first Eclipse where the Nodes are in Libra and Aries, ushering in an era when those signs will be most affected in our charts. And in an interesting note, both Lunar Eclipses in 2014 fall in Aries/Libra, whereas the two Solar Eclipses this year fall in Taurus and Scorpio, giving us one last blast of the past before we move completely into the Aries/Libra endings.

So like most Lunar Eclipses, this one ushers in a transitional period of several months (this one will be in effect for 3+ 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. There’s another link in that article with more information about this long wave non-rational pulse pervading our world, and I’ll be updating all of this fairly soon.

The June 2011 Solar Eclipse at 12 Gemini sent the Grand Irrationality into intense oscillation that helped all of of us release ghosts from the past since then so that we could move forward without excess psychological (and maybe physical!) baggage. That influence was strongest through mid-June 2013. However, last year’s October Lunar Eclipse set it into long range motion, given a boost by Mercury going stationary retrograde at the time in the Scorpio zone of the configuration.

This Lunar Eclipse is directly related to that one, since it falls along the exact same degree axis of 26 Aries-Libra, and thus recreates the septile to Neptune and biseptile to Pluto. This Eclipse features Saturn in the Scorpio zone, which will crystallize some things directly related to what Mercury retrograde has been bringing us since October 2013. Saturn will continue to put the focus on those effects through this Summer.

And now, here’s a bit from the NASA Lunar Eclipse Page

The first eclipse of the year is well placed for observers throughout the Western Hemisphere…This is the first of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015.

The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the southern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 78 minutes…. The times of the major eclipse phases are listed below.

Partial Eclipse Begins: 05:58:19 UT
Total Eclipse Begins: 07:06:47 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 07:45:40 UT
Total Eclipse Ends: 08:24:35 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends: 09:33:04 UT

At the instant of greatest eclipse (07:45:40 UT) the Moon lies at the zenith for a point in the South Pacific about 3000 km southwest of the Galapagos Islands. The umbral eclipse magnitude peaks at 1.2907 as the Moon's northern limb passes 1.7 arc-minutes south of the shadow's central axis. In contrast, the Moon's southern limb lies 9.0 arc-minutes from the southern edge of the umbra and 40.0 arc-minutes from the shadow centre.

Thus, the northern half of the Moon will appear much darker than the southern half because it lies deeper in the umbra. Since the Moon samples a large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will change significantly with time….

During totality, the spring constellations are well placed for viewing so a number of bright stars can be used for magnitude comparisons. Spica (m = +1.05) is the most conspicuous star lying just 2° west of the eclipsed Moon. This juxtaposition reminds the author of the total lunar eclipse of 1968 Apr 13 when Spica appeared only 1.3° southwest of the Moon at mid-totality. The brilliant blue color of Spica made for a striking contrast with the crimson Moon….

The entire event is visible from both North and South America. Observers in the western Pacific miss the first half of the eclipse because it occurs before moonrise. Likewise most of Europe and Africa experience moonset just as the eclipse begins. None of the eclipse is visible from north/east Europe, eastern Africa, the Middle East or Central Asia.

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 Total Lunar Eclipse Full Moon in Libra-Aries. And to note, it’s the first of the “Three High Moons of Spring,” which I’ll also explain. Check back in tomorrow!

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 Astrology in April 2014 - On The Threshold of a Totral Lunar Eclipse at 25 Libra-Aries

© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Kristin]

Thank you, Robert...your description of the challenges and opportunities of this eclipse is beautifully done. As always, I am grateful!

[debbie]

yep full moons on my ascendant, here I come, ready or not, hiding doesn't seem to be working neither is my neptune in first house cape of invisibility and avoidance of public places isnt happening either, so I am hoping its a good light I am seen in now lol!

[Phoebe]

Exceptional article Robert Thank you. So are you saying that at the time of the eclipse the actions taken have a direct and magnified impact?

[Robert]

Hi all - An eclipse marks a point where either a New Moon or a Full Moon is happening. The effects are almost always AFTER the event. That's true for any astrological configuration. I have observed that the exact aspect is the point in Spirit Time when an event is set into motion, but it may take minutes, hours, days, or weeks for it to appear here in physical reality.

Put another way, we do not know all that people have decided during this time which will yield external results in the future. For example, this fracturing may involve some psychopaths deciding something that will wreck something two months from now when Mars returns to this section of Libra and squares Pluto again. Or some things set into motion now may involve fracturing so that something else can take its place in the future more appropriate to who we are becoming between now and then.

At least this Eclipse featured a Venus in Pisces trine Jupiter, which should bring blessings and relief to those who struggle.

[caliban]

'Huge' is putting it lightly. Good bad. If I want to make those judgements. I'll settle for what it is. I think I may have released my lower back obstruction. Mind body continues to blow me away.

[Valerie]

funny you mention the strong Libra-Pisces energies... this eclipse falls right on my Neptune in Libra. I watched the eclipse through passing hazy clouds today. i'm a little hazy myself. and there is a decidedly Neptunian quality to my life right now. Namaste :)

[Nic]

Maybe most of the effect will be felt in the near future, but last night for me was a rocking boat, to put it mildly. Still clearing in my innerself all the remanins of the "shatter glass" that broke into a thousands pieces!
Room for the new for sure but the event was painful in many ways.
Blessings to all.