by Robert Wilkinson
This Total Eclipse Full Moon at 16 Libra-Aries is activating, balancing, moves on its own initiative, and will show us openings directly related to what fractured between March and May 2014. This one illuminates our balance, perspective, and any tendencies to willful impatience. Do not let passing things throw you off your equilibrium as you find humor, irony, and parts of your Mystery as events occur.
This self-sufficient, self-reliant, initiating, inspired, focusing and healing Total Lunar Eclipse Full Moon that blesses us to “let go, let G_d” and surrender to a newer, kinder, more elegant way of Being, falls at the 16th degree of Libra and Aries. This Lunation, promising interesting interactive insights and returns thanks to Mercury retrograde occurs October 8, 3:51 am PDT, 6:51 am EDT, 11:51 am Greenwich (BST).
This Eclipse indicates that for the next 2 weeks (and 3+ months) we get to get a new understanding of what has fractured and/or exploded the past 9 months, with new ways to reconstruct events to find meaning and even joy by what is no longer real in our lives. This is directly related to what Mercury holds for our Soul in the time this Eclipse is active. Many old memories will be strong, even as we leave those feelings behind due to events that have propelled our lives forward despite the wreckage.
Today’s Full Moon post covers various rising signs around the globe and an overview of the Lunation and some of its primary qualities. In parts 3 and 4 we’ll cover Sabian Symbols, aspects, distributions, and patterns.
So What's Happening Where?
Now we take a look at the rising signs around the world. The Lunation finds 6 Virgo rising in Santa Monica, 6 Virgo in Vancouver, 8 Libra in Toronto, 13 Libra in Montreal, and 11 Libra in Washington DC, showing (from west to east) early Virgo through mid-Libra as the rising signs across North America.
Continuing east, we find 28 Scorpio rising in Rio, 5 Sagittarius in Lisbon, 4 Sagittarius in London, 13 Sagittarius in Berlin, 30 Sagittarius in Sofia, 6 Aquarius in Johannesburg, and 28 Sagittarius in Moscow. That means the span of Ascendants across the Atlantic to Central Europe and Africa is between late Scorpio and early Aquarius.
Moving into Asia and Oceana, we find the Ascendants to be 5 Pisces in Abbottabad, 12 Pisces in New Delhi, 15 Pisces in Trivandrum, 18 Aries in Jakarta, 1 Taurus in Hong Kong, 8 Gemini in Tokyo, 22 Aries in Perth, 15 Taurus in Melbourne, 25 Taurus in Brisbane, 7 Gemini in Wellington, and 30 Cancer rising on Maui.
So you can construct a rough chart for where you are in the world, I’ll give you the rounded up degree for each planet. Use the Ascendants given above to get a rough sense of what’s on the eastern horizon where you are, and using an Equal House system, you can see what’s going on in your part of the world for the next 2 weeks.
In this Full Moon with the Sun at 16 Libra and the Moon at 16 Aries, Mercury is 2 Scorpio retrograde, Venus is 11 Libra (the same degree as Saturn’s direct station in June 2011), Mars is 17 Sagittarius, Jupiter is 17 Leo, Saturn is 22 Scorpio (same degree as it was in the April Lunar Eclipse), Uranus is 15 Aries retrograde, Neptune is 6 Pisces retrograde, Pluto is 12 Capricorn, TransPluto is 1 Virgo, Chiron is 15 Pisces retrograde, and the NN is 20 Libra.
Because the New Moon preceding the Full Moon always represents the seed forms that are brought to surface at and after the Full Moon, please check out the recent New Moon articles The New Moon in Libra Pt. 1 – What’s Happening in September-October 2014 and The Septermber New Moon in Libra Pt. 2 - Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What It All Means. You will recall these weeks have been about finding jy and humor while cruising through unique and radical transformations.
Those around the world who will definitely feel effects of this Full Moon are the places where it falls near the angles of the chart. Places on our list where the Lunation is near the angles and activating energies powerfully are (Sun/Moon): Lisbon, London, Berlin, Sofia, and Moscow, (MC/IC), Trivandrum, Jakarta, and Hong Kong (Dsc/Asc), Wellington and Maui (IC/MC), and Toronto, Montreal, and Washington DC (Asc/Dsc).
An Overview
This is a transfiguring-activating Total Eclipse Full Moon that is extraordinarily productive, ideal, tender, and reflective, with the Grand Irrationality still front and center via Saturn biseptile Neptune. There is a Cardinal T-square that will help release powerful energies of Uranus and Pluto, throwing the void into Cancer, showing a lot of movement wherever we have Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn.
In general, this Lunar Eclipse Full Moon will accent the productive, stabilizing, and harmonizing sextiles and trines in the Fire and Air signs, building ideals and inspiration, while releasing through Pluto. That means a moderate transformation is in the air. Again, a certain sensitivity and tenderness will be required so as not to bruise. I’ll discuss more about that in future articles about this Lunar Eclipse.
This is another Lunation that will show turning points in everyone’s destiny to a greater or lesser degree in sectors where we have Saturn and Neptune transiting in our charts. Some of what we glimpsed about a larger process of creation in the past New Moon that required us to be as joyous as possible in our training and self-expression will take a more ideal form now that Venus is the final dispositor for all the other planets except Neptune.
With the Moon in Aries, find a way to open your mind to new interpretations, and don’t jump to conclusions simply on your first hit about something. Our minds must become more open to new potentials even as we surrender to a new quality of life which requires leaving old memories behind. With Mars trine Jupiter in Fire signs, rouse yourself to appear at your best, and have faith that you have learned what you needed to learn about “the science lab of life” in order to become more “whole” in your self-awareness.
Saturn continues to show the way within to power and a self-reliant cooperation between the material and spiritual energies in our lives, and many have begun to see a long term way of fulfilling their individual destiny. Purification leads to a more effective socialization of desires, which will lead to a greater and deeper faith between now and the end of 2014.
This finishes a long and very intense period where Saturn has anchored a third point in the Grand Irrationality, indicating destiny has been and continues to be on the move for the entire world related to Scorpio themes. A quick look at our world makes it easy to see these themes.
The Grand Irrationality, along with the other non-rational configurations that happen off and on, indicate that we’ve been living in an era of very heavy decisions determining the future destiny of humanity since 1993. In this Total Lunar Eclipse, we shall see signs of being at a turning point about how our fears and limitations hinder our ability to achieve our ideal, and how our ability to chart our own course will move us out of old uncertainty into new clarity and power.
Is the Grand Irrationality A Factor in this Full Moon?
So yes, the Grand Irrationality is definitely triggered in this Lunation by Saturn biseptile Neptune. I wrote extensively about this long term configuration in Astrology in November-December 2013 - The Grand Irrationality Affecting Everyone and Astrology in late November and Early December 2013 – In the Heart of the Grand Irrationality. At the present time, the current seven “hot zone” spans are approximately 6-10 Leo, 27 Virgo-1 Libra, 19-23 Scorpio, 10-14 Capricorn, 2-6 Pisces, 24-28 Aries, and 15-19 Gemini.
As I’ve noted in other articles, Neptune is too wide to be in septile to Pluto at this time, which is the main aspect anchoring the Grand Irrationality. Right now Neptune is 54 degrees and 8 minutes away from Pluto, which is a little too wide an orb to be in septile, even though they are closer than last month.
So while the Grand Irrationality continues to be a general influence that hasn’t been as strong in recent months than before, it is gaining strength through coming back into close aspect as Autumn becomes Winter. The next time it’s triggered will be as the inner planets move across the Scorpio zone and Mars conjuncts Pluto and septiles Neptune.
As I’ve explained in other articles, that means that in the Autumn and Winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) they operate as a simultaneous “pulse,” since they’re both aspected near the same time. But in the Spring and Summer we experience it as a rolling influence, with first Pluto aspected, and then Neptune at some time after that, depending on which planet is doing the aspect to these planets.
Important Factors
This Lunation brings us a mixed bag of aspects which I’ll discuss in parts 3 & 4. On the harmonious side, we have the Grand Fire Trine made by Mars in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Leo, and Uranus in Aries, with the fire fed by the Air of the Sun and Venus in Libra. Taken together this is exceptionally harmonizing, stabilizing, and productive, especially since Venus is in its home sign of Libra, making it the ruler of all the other planets except Neptune.
HOWEVER! Venus is also forming an opposition to Uranus and square to Pluto, again making a Cardinal T-square that is exceptionally dynamic. This Cardinal T puts major pressure on those who have planets or angles between 10-16 Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, and 25-30 Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, as well as 1 Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. If you have something in those zones, then you can bet you’ll see some breakthrough action over the next two weeks (and 3 months!). I’ll discuss the aspects in greater detail in future Eclipse articles coming soon.
In some respects, the next 2 weeks and 3 months will bring echoes of the Saturn in Libra lessons of 2010-2011, as well as whatever Mars cut loose, reversed, or revisited during the time it occupied the second decan of Libra in December 2013 and January 2014, as well as April through June 2014. During those months we got recalibrated, and learned how to be balanced, just, moderate, and a peacemaker. We all learned about what was fair and what wasn’t, and had to move through some extreme conditions while applying the emotional intelligence we learned between June 2013 and early July 2014.
From February through mid-July we finished paying karmic dues, repaired what could be repaired, learned to keep a sense of balance and proportion when things could not be repaired, and finished various type of “reconstruction.” Because the Sun in this Eclipse is at 16 Libra, we now get to “see the light” of those Saturn and Mars in Libra periods of time, and now get to be joyous at what to repair, and what feelings to let go of as we move into a better and more ideal view and response.
We’re now solidly in the Jupiter in Leo era and learning about a new adventure in courage, spontaneity, and self-expression, so face forward and move on up and out! All that we felt, all the emotional intelligence we learned, and all we got clear about regarding what nurtures our growth during the year Jupiter was in Cancer, can now be the source of great fun and a lot of love!
We’ve all gone deeper into how we experience everything, and this time last year we began to get a new understanding of how we measure success, and figuring out how to “put on the show” and receive what we need from our audience. We’ve now graduated from the “School of Emotional Intelligence,” found new allegiances, and integrated our personalities to some degree. It's time to be very clear about things, and show our stuff in creative, playful, and spontaneous ways!
Is the Sun Following the Moon, or the Moon Following the Sun?
This is the fifteenth Full Moon where the Sun falls in the same sign to the Sun at the previous New Moon. We’re now in the “normal” pattern we last experienced between September 2010 and June 2012, which will continue through the end of 2014. We are no longer in the “reversed pattern” we dealt with between June 2012 and August 2013, where the Full Moon Sun was in a different sign than the previous New Moon.
As I've explained in previous Full Moon articles,
... the Full Moon being in a subsequent sign than the previous New Moon indicates that what is released as realizations in the Full Moon period actually "prepares the ground" for the coming New Moon seed. Strange reversal of function, since you would think the New Moon provides the seed for the next Full Moon. But this set of Lunations works the opposite way....Another way to look at this is the Sun sign of the Full Moon is the same as and precedes the Sun sign of the next New Moon, reversing the usual way Lunations work. So the fulfillment of the Full Moon sets up the next "seed" to be revealed at the next New Moon....
So Sept 2010 through May 2012 we had the New Moon Sun in the same sign as the subsequent Full Moon Sun every month. This shifted in June 2012, when we had a New Moon at 1 Gemini in late May, a Full Moon at 15 Gemini-Sag in early June, and another New Moon at 29 Gemini in late June. That began the sequence of the New Moon Sun at the end of one sign, with the following Full Moon Sun in the next sign.
So June 2012 began the reversed experience from the “normal” New Moon-Full Moon cycle. We had an illuminated form shown to us at the Full Moon, followed by the Sun being in the same sign as the previous Full Moon. This is fulfillment followed by similar Solar seeds of potential while reversing the natural process.
That ended in August 2013, and we’re again in a sequence where the Full Moon Sun is the same sign as the previous New Moon Sun. To illustrate, the January 11, 2013 New Moon Sun was at 22 Capricorn, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 8 Aquarius. The February 10, 2013 New Moon Sun was at 22 Aquarius, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 8 Pisces.
Continuing through the Spring, the March 11, 2013 New Moon Sun was at 22 Pisces, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 7 Aries. The April 10 New Moon Sun was at 21 Aries, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 6 Taurus. The May 9 New Moon Solar Eclipse was at 20 Taurus, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 5 Gemini. The June 8 New Moon was at 19 Gemini, while the next Full Moon Sun was at 3 Cancer.
This “reversed Sun sign” phenomenon ended then. In August 2013 we had a New Moon Sun at 15 Leo on August 6-7, and then the Full Moon Sun at 29 Leo. In September we had a New Moon Sun at 14 Virgo, and then we had a Full Moon Sun at 27 Virgo. In October we had a New Moon Sun at 12 Libra, and then a Full Moon Sun at 26 Libra.
In November, we had a New Moon Solar Eclipse Sun at 12 Scorpio, and then a Full Moon Sun at 26 Scorpio. In December, we had a New Moon at 11 Sagittarius, and then a Full Moon at 26 Sagittarius. In January 2014, we had a New Moon at 11 Capricorn, and a Full Moon Sun at 26 Capricorn.
The New Moon of late January had the Sun at 11 Aquarius, while the Full Moon Sun was at 27 Aquarius. The New Moon in late February/early March had the Sun at 11 Pisces, and Full Moon Sun is at 27 Pisces. The New Moon in late March had the Sun at 10 Aries, and the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse had the Sun at 26 Aries.
The New Moon Solar Eclipse in late April had the Sun at 9 Taurus, while the Sun at the Wesak Full Moon was 24 Taurus. The next New Moon Sun was 8 Gemini, and the Full Moon Sun is at 23 Gemini. The New Moon Sun at 6 Cancer was followed by the Full Moon Sun is at 21 Cancer.
The New Moon of late July was at 4 Leo, and the Full Moon Sun was at 19 Leo. The New Moon in late August was at 3 Virgo, and the past Full Moon Sun was 17 Virgo. The most recent New Moon was at 2 Libra, and the Sun at this Full Moon Lunar Eclipse is at 16 Libra. So this continues the pattern of the “natural” order of Lunation Suns, offering us seeds shown in the first half, fulfillment in the second half.
The next two weeks require taking a new look at recent events and finding new ways to “let go, let G_d.” Keep finding the humor, joy, and irony in situations even as you see the value in what has fractured in 2014 that has allowed you a new freedom, love, spontaneity, or creativity. Whatever was exploded showed you the way to wholeness. This is a time when practicing our strength, resilience, and love of life will help us find a new inspiration to move forward.
The lesson of the Summer was seeing how to withdraw with dignity from people and circumstances that have been wasting our time. This Eclipse gives us the light of productive understanding about why we’ve had to do that. In parts three and four, we will explore the Sabian Symbols, aspects, and other important chart factors.
Previous articles in this series:
Astrology in October 2014 - On The Threshold of a Total Lunar Eclipse at 16 Libra-Aries
© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson
I've never felt such a big skin shed before. I guess my skin could only get so thick before it was too heavy to carry anymore. I should have known something was up with the way I felt on the weekend. There is this weird thing that I experience. I get this sensation that I am going to die, like literally physically die. I don't panic or anything. It's just heavy. And then it ends up being a release of some kind. I don't know if that death sensation has got to do with Saturn in scorpio or natal pluto squaring natal Saturn or what. And when I'm in it, feeling the death thing, I am so in it I don't remember that it is part of a release. But it always a good thing in the end. Feels so good when it's over. :D
Posted by: caliban | October 08, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Oh the mars saturn thing. . . Mars rx in pisces the 4th. And I suppose further re-inforced by neptune in the 12th, and cancer moon in the 8th. Can't think it through (although I do get some realization help on the way). My head exploded doing that some years ago. Best just to sit with it and allow that creative spirit to rise again. Perhaps that's what the death feeling is about, a disconnect with spirit. Anyhoo, I'm getting faster at re-surfacing. Hopefully it will last past the uranus pluto thang goin on.
Posted by: caliban | October 09, 2014 at 08:11 AM
Oh mars saturn. natal mars rx trines natal saturn. I get off track a bit. Some merc rx/natal neptune in libra stuff.
Posted by: caliban | October 09, 2014 at 08:15 AM