A Lunar Eclipse of Listening to Divine Wisdom


Posted on May 25, 2021 by Henry Seltzer of ASTROGRAPH.COM
 

The Lunar Eclipse Sagittarius Full Moon of Wednesday, May 26, will come into its peak fullness at 4:14 a.m., Pacific Time, hours later for the east coast and Europe. Eclipses generally come in pairs (or trios), and this one will be followed by a Solar Eclipse New Moon, also featuring Gemini, on June 10th. Eclipses are a potent and magical expression of the cycles of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and are incredibly special, although they do happen with great regularity. These powerful lunations are portal-like, where the door to massive transformation gets flung open, collectively and individually, and when it is up to each of us individually to be upon our evolutionary path by moving with and through it. Because of the incredible potency of eclipses, it is generally not a supportive time for trying to enact willful, personal desires or embark upon a radically new course of action. It is a good time to go into open, gentle awareness, active curiosity, and spiritual listening, allowing ourselves to be led forth by the Divine Wisdom of the cosmos.

During this eclipse the Full Moon is at 5°+ Sagittarius, with the Sun opposite in Gemini. The planetary configurations during and surrounding this eclipse are impressive and multi-faceted. Let’s begin with breaking down the Sagittarius-Gemini axis. The mode of this axis is mutable, and represents the realms of thought, verbal and written communication, beliefs, and philosophies. The mutable signs also emphasize the capacity for remaining flexible and adaptable, but can feel unstable in the context of intensity and change. For those with placements in their birth chart in the early degrees of mutable signs, especially the Sun, Moon, the angles, or personal planets, you can bet this time will be intensely activating for you.

The rulers of Sagittarius (Jupiter) and Gemini ( Mercury), are also playing very active roles in the Eclipse chart. Jupiter just recently arrived in the mutable waters of Pisces and the eclipse Sun and Moon are, therefore, making a T-square to Jupiter. Mercury’s part to play in all of this as the ruler of Gemini (and also currently traveling through Gemini) is to help us slow our minds, and take our time to reflect and re-evaluate, because Mercury is coming to its retrograde station on May 29th and is already taking us inward. We are called to expand our spiritual awareness around internal layers of ourselves, deep within our psyches, by this offering of profound new potentials. We might eventually make progress with our evolutionary goals through the dynamic tension and friction of the T-square aspect pattern, a tension that fosters growth.

This eclipse configuration could also place a big magnifying glass on ways we tend to avoid pain and suffering by checking out, distracting, or consuming, so it may be wise to keep a gently watchful eye on your tendencies there. Mercury returns to direct motion by June 22nd and escapes its retrograde shadow two additional weeks later during the first week of July. All the usual Mercury Retrograde principles apply, particularly the rule of “re”, namely that we reconsider, re-organize, revamp, reflect, relax, and so on. This is quite a powerful Mercury Retrograde at this time, and, being mixed in with the pre-summer eclipse season, may ask even more of us than usual. We will need to be creating space for things to be a little wonky, and to have patience, not “pushing the river” until Mercury eventually straightens out. It is helpful to remember that there is wisdom in the Mercury Retrograde time, a natural part of the planetary cycles; it may help us to pause where we might not otherwise and to course-correct based upon our introspective considerations.

Mercury is also conjunct to Venus at the eclipse time, and they are together making a square to Neptune. Mercury with Venus in Gemini is a lovely little transit of appreciating beauty, chattiness and levity. Mix it in with the upcoming retrograde of Mercury, and with Neptune, and we may feel a bit topsy-turvy, confused, or uncomfortably porous in our relationships and energetic fields. Mars in Cancer is also trine Neptune and closing in on a Pluto opposition, so resentments and tempers could easily feel inflamed. With Saturn also having recently slowed to his retrograde station, this brings up the concept of boundaries, and finding a new degree of choice and responsibility in how we place and maintain them. Expansion (Jupiter) plus restriction (Saturn) and wild ideas as well (Uranus in square) create quite a stew of contradictory impulses. Carving out a space and time to nurture and be present with ourselves exactly as we are showing up in each very moment might prove extremely helpful in order that we maintain a sense of grounding and center amidst the storm.

Interestingly, the Sun is making a grand air trine to the new KBO planet Makemake and also to Centaur Chariklo, a grand kite formation when you include the Moon in opposition to the Sun. Makemake represents an emerging archetype that is being explored collectively, and our founder Henry Seltzer’s latest research is discovering it to be concerned with Earth activism and returning to Nature connection, grounding ourselves in a sense of natural order. Chariklo was the partner of Chiron in mythology and is therefore an archetype that strikes a similar chord as the Wounded Healer, with an emphasis on the gentle patience and paced endurance required in the life-long journey toward healing and growth. This configuration speaks to me of a climactic moment in our experience of earth matters and continuing to find ways big and small to support, protect, and remember ourselves as an intrinsic part of the tapestry of our lovely planet. We may experience keenly the particular ways we feel resonance with the plants, creatures, and energies that comprise the beautiful web of life. As well as experiencing our deep appreciation for them, there are the emotions that arise in facing the harm being done to Mother Nature in these days of runaway materialism, together with a deep urge to protect and be in right-relationship with Life in its truly incredible myriad of shape, form, and intelligence.

During this intense eclipse portal, may we allow the Universe to lead us. May we have the courage and clarity to simply allow what is arising to be, meeting ourselves and each other with open-handed presence and gentle compassion. May we remember that we are each a member of the larger collective, a unique and crucial strand of the divine fabric that animates our world. We partner with that universal wisdom as we endeavor to evolve individually and to align ourselves with Beauty, Truth, and Love.