A New Moon Eclipse of Standing Your Ground

Thursday’s solar eclipse and New Moon in late Aquarius has some interesting features. Because an eclipse configuration is considered to be an especially powerful lunation, this presages a set of relationships between archetypal energies that may well last us into the second half of 2018, conditioning our collective response to this brave new year of fundamental transition. The most obvious factors are, again, the outer planet energies of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, with emphasis on the first two of these, associated with a dawning spirituality as well as feelings of universal compassion and the dissolving of strict walls and borders. Uranus represents awakening to the full-on higher cosmic reality of Natural Law. The New Moon at 27 degrees plus of Aquarius makes a sextile with Uranus, its modern ruler, while Mars closely squares Neptune in this snapshot of time. There is a progressive attitude that is alive in the land, together with a studied opposition to this spirit on the part of an equally potent conservative backlash, as symbolized by strong Saturn. It is important that each of us find our own way through this maze so that we can understand with what we most deeply align ourselves, and where we are internally summoned to cast our vote by our actions.

We have seen quite a lot of Neptune lately, especially in the recent Full Moon lunar eclipse of January 31st, and have therefore been at the very least subliminally aware of this numinous and nebulous influence. One part of us, and of the current social climate, wants to admit the possibility that we all are One; every creature and person on the planet, whether citizen or “undocumented,” and of whatever racial background or sexual orientation, has worth. As seventeenth century poet John Donne, himself born with strong Neptune, famously put it, referring to a funeral:

No man [nor woman] is an island, entire of itself. Every person is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were; ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

As much as Neptune represents a powerful spiritual emblem, he is also the astrological archetype of illusion, idealism bordering on self-deception, actual deception, and “fake news,” popular themes in the current zeitgeist. The antidote of course is discovering and publicizing the truth, however difficult that sometimes might be, which is the task of responsible and unbiased journalism. Statesperson-like, Oprah Winfrey in a well-received speech at the Golden Globe awards, in praise of the #metoo movement aimed at bringing down well-placed men who abuse those in lesser positions, recently referenced truth as “the most powerful tool we all have.” And even though it is often difficult to speak truth to the elite, it is well worth the battle once it is that you comprehend your own bottom-line values.

And this is where Eris comes in, the new planet beyond Pluto representing a Feminine Warrior archetype in support of soul intention. Eris, too, is prominent in these eclipse skies, being conjunct Uranus and in close aspect to a stationing Jupiter. The message is to stand your ground no matter what, as long as you are sure of your true opinion. This takes getting in touch with who you are in the most profound layers of your psyche, another Neptunian, and Uranian, motif.

The Sabian Symbol for this eclipse position, the twenty-eighth degree of Aquarius, may also be of interest; it is “A tree felled and sawed.” Environmental issues aside, this symbol would seem to represent accomplishing some worthwhile and important task for the betterment of the community in general, perhaps in order to construct a dwelling to shelter a family. Marc Edmund Jones reports, “a lesser reality [is employed] for the development of a greater… [placing] attention on the pressing functions and necessities of a very practical well-being.” He goes on to add, “the degree [symbolizes] uninhibited and enthusiastic desire to be at work, to mobilize everything.” Indeed, we must all be up and doing, according to our best understanding of what we, at the deepest levels, espouse. This is for the good of ourselves, of our community, and of the entire societal evolution of which we are an inextricable part.