Wikipedia: A simulated view of the earth from the center of the moon at maximal eclipse
Whew! Here we go!
I repost Eric Francis, his astrological “take” on this powerful three day window of opportunity, which focuses on the intense “Finger of God” yod formation (sextile, plus two inconjuncts) linking the Sun/Moon opposition with three conjunctions: Mars/Pluto, Venus/Saturn, and Moon/Jupiter.
If you include one more planet in this already complex array, namely Uranus, at 4° Aries, then an even more intricate configuration pops into view. Uranus squares Pluto/Mars, sextiles Moon/Jupiter, inconjuncts Saturn/Venus, and trines the Sun!
So while one might look just at the yod and see a “long slow burn of energy,” when you add Uranus to the mix, itself forming two what I call “triangles of continuous growth” (each composed of trine or sextile, square, and inconjunct or semi-sextile), then I see this formation — which involves eight out of ten planets! — as offering what might be termed “unexpected, unpredictable pulsations of ‘long slow energy burns'” — or something like that.
In any case, his analysis is interesting, and so is another one, by Dark Star Astrology, which also focuses directly on the Yod, and links its various points to fixed stars.
Both these astrologers focus on personal and interpersonal matters. For a collective reading, we might see the Mercury turn to go into direct motion (remember, it went retrograde on Election Day) as bringing things to light that have been hidden since Election Day; the tight Mars/Pluto sextile Venus/Saturn combo as the world beginning to slowly hammer out agreements as to out how to work through seemingly intractable, longstanding, deeply rooted conflicts without going to war, and the Sun/Moon opposition/lunar eclipse as throwing light on shadowy aspects of the human condition.
The Power of Words — and Feelings
November 26, 2012
by Eric Francis
During this Mercury retrograde, I discovered the Twin Peaks series. For a few years I’ve been engaging with a movie that came out after the series ended, called Fire Walk With Me. I’ve watched the film perhaps 10 times and in the course of studying it scene by scene, David Lynch became my favorite director. The other night, I found the 30-episode series in Netflix, with a little time on my hands. Starting with the pilot, I soaked in the first season’s episodes.
FBI special agent Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks.
If anything provides a lively, accessible metaphor for the astrology of the coming week or so, it’s Twin Peaks. We don’t need literal references to plot elements like the murder of a 17-year-old girl; what happens in the aftermath of her life tells the story.
Our lives don’t often seem this interesting, though often they are organized in much the same way. The main structure is what we feel and experience inwardly, contrasted with what we express to the world. These are like the two poles of a battery that seems to charge the whole psyche, and direct the flow of nearly all events — until you tap into soul level, when another source of energy and clearer, more dependable information becomes available.
The passion, pathos, layers of deception and truth, the double lives of seemingly ordinary people, and all the things we figure out that we don’t know — that’s what the astrology for this week looks like. It’s the subtle, often un-admitted forces that are driving things forward now, and it would be an excellent idea to make conscious contact with them, if you haven’t begun to do so already. Mercury stationing direct will bring more to the surface than we’ve already seen these past few weeks.
I am not implying that this is unfriendly astrology, though for some it will be experienced as ‘intense’ or challenging. The aspects are genuinely intriguing and also are revealing of the deeper layers of what you may be feeling or experiencing. Mercury stationing, whether direct or retrograde, can come with the experience of the truth coming out. That’s not easy for some, though you can make it easier by making contact with the truth within. Once you’ve done that, what might be known to those around you is of secondary importance.
There is a touch of the dark side to the current planetary movements, and there is a rich quality of healing available as well. Yet the setup offers compelling reasons to stay in contact with the shadowy dimensions of your emotions, your sexuality, your quest for healing and your creative process. Anything that is (or has been) subject to denial is relegated to the world of shadows. If anything emerges in shadow form, for example as something fearful, something associated with guilt or shame, or something seeming to have undue consequences, see if you can trace the developments back to a moment of denial somewhere in the past.
Before I give some additional interpretations for these events, here’s a brief rundown of the aspects so you have an itinerary of these unusual few days. Mercury stations direct in Scorpio at 5:47 pm EST Monday, ending a relatively short 20-day retrograde. [The retrograde began the day of the U.S. presidential election, which I am planning to recap and review sometime this week — possibly in the subscriber edition or on Planet Waves FM.] A few hours later at 8:19 pm, Venus and Saturn form a conjunction in Scorpio.
The lunar eclipse, as well as many other planets, are involved in a yod pattern. That’s the arrow-like shape pointing toward the Moon and Jupiter in Gemini. That in turn brings Mercury back into the story, which is about to station direct Monday.
Tuesday afternoon, Mars and Pluto (the ancient and modern rulers of Scorpio, respectively) form a conjunction in Capricorn. This conjunction, which is likely to come with a long, slow burn of energy, makes a sextile to Venus-Saturn.
There is an exchange of energy called mutual reception between Saturn in Scorpio and Mars and Pluto in Capricorn, accentuating the potency of the alignment. (This exchange is called a mutual reception, when the rulers of two signs occupy each others’ signs). Then Wednesday morning at 9:46 am, there is an eclipse of the Moon in Gemini. This is called a penumbral eclipse, a very partial lunar eclipse, though the Moon touches the foggy shadow of the Earth — the penumbra.
The eclipse, while involving the Gemini Moon and Sagittarius Sun, is involved in the above two aspects because they flank the Sun and form a yod to the Moon. That is to say, the Moon gathers up the energy like a condenser, focuses it through Gemini, and ties it back in to Monday’s station direct of Mercury (which rules Gemini). In other words, everything is related, no matter how unrelated it may seem.
We have four separate events — Venus conjunct Saturn, Mercury direct, Mars conjunct Pluto and the lunar eclipse, each of which is lavishly interesting — though they are all focused into one pivotal event, which is the eclipse. Remember that this is in the background of the first eclipse of the Sun in Scorpio since 1995, which happened two weeks ago and has indeed stirred many conversations.
Mercury’s change of directions addresses the power of words as a means to healing. Communication and awareness — the specialties of Mercury — can be the most accessible and useful means to healing, though for many reasons they need to be used with precision and with caution. Those reasons involve the next few aspects.
Venus conjunct Saturn emphasizes one side of the power aspect of sex. There is something here about an obsession with secrets, and the way that they help us accumulate power. That is THE purpose of secrecy. If you can raise this to full consciousness, you may discover some exquisite modes of contact, including exploring the dance of domination and submission, the interplay of female and male, interesting attributes of age differences and how good it feels to use personal revelation and self-disclosure as a means to intimacy.
Mars conjunct Pluto provides the energy to deal with, and move beyond, the past. Look for even a moment and you will notice the obsession with the past that keeps us trapped in its patterns, ideas and compartments. Nothing says busting out of the box like Mars-Pluto in Capricorn, especially when aligned harmoniously with Venus and Saturn. You don’t need to apply much force, or any at all. Use intent and precision instead.
The eclipse suggests that the way to the center begins at the edge. It’s not necessary to dive into your feelings all at once; rather, make contact with what is moving through you, and proceed inward gently. The eclipse has momentum and if you set yourself in a direction you want or need to go in, that momentum will carry you there dependably. Everything in your life may not change in a day — though this is certainly a moment that contains the seeds of progress, and some fully manifested progress.
