July 27th 2018: Aquarius Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, conjunct Mars at solar opposition. At the midpoint of Mars Retrograde, the war god is on the far side of Earth, reflecting sunlight from its entire earth-facing surface, shining strong red rays down to us all throughout the night- and the shadow of Earth reddens the Moon. The eclipse is not visible anywhere in the united states, but at my location on the west coast the eclipse takes place with the Sun and north node penetrated by the midheaven, with south node and Moon curling around the IC.
Uranus in Taurus forms a t-square to the eclipse axis, joined by Eros… and also asteroid Magdalena, a special addition for this eclipse.
For milennia our understanding of the solar system was purely visual, our concept ended with Saturn. Then the discovery of Uranus 237 years ago expanded humanity’s awareness beyond the seen, and this reflects on his expression in transit. Squares to Uranus are some of the most reliable indicators there are for unexpected events that expose well-hidden truths. Squares from Mars, the Sun, the Moon, and the lunar nodes emphasize the disruptive and shocking qualities of Uranus, which amplifies the intensity of the longest lunar eclipse of the century.
At 4° Taurus, Eros is separating from conjunction to Uranus and closes the t-square with exact aspects to the Sun and Moon at 4° Leo/Aquarius. Eros represents our fear of being truly seen- he’s usually associated with sexual desire, which makes sense when you consider that the part of our identities that form our orientation to sex and sexuality is usually the part that fears being seen the most. Our Eros is the part of us that both longs for and runs from sacred union; our Eros is our subconscious desire to expose whatever it is that we work the hardest to hide.
Loneliness Hubert Solczynski
Magdalena, the asteroid named for Mary Magdalene, brought to my attention in the lead-up to the eclipse because her feast day is July 22nd, the day the Sun enters Leo. Mary Magdalene is an occult figure, wrongfully portrayed by a religious institution that was threatened by her powerful role as the lover who joined Jesus Christ in sacred union. In the fragments of her recovered gospel, the male disciples are discussing the teachings of Christ and turn to Mary Magdalene for clarification. Peter asks Mary to tell them what Jesus told her in confidence. They know she must have access to exclusive information due to her status as his lover.
“Mary answered and said, What is hidden from you I will disclose to you.”
Dichotomy Felix Rothschild
The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius is the culmination of the lunar cycle that began with the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aquarius on February 15th. Last February in the days leading up to that solar eclipse, I was experiencing deep dilations in my awareness of what I had (and didn’t have) the power to control, and in a strange way it prevented me from writing anything about the astrology. For that particular event, writing was an inappropriate way to process the shifting energies as they approached me. I had to let go of everything… Uranus was conjunct my natal Sun/Mars in Aries, and the solar eclipse formed an exact sextile from Aquarius. Two days after that solar eclipse, my life fundamentally changed with an event that was incredibly shocking, ending the campaign of hostility and manipulation that had separated me from my son against my will for months. After the solar eclipse, the truth about my son’s father was revealed, the wrongs were corrected, and I was able to take back the power that was always rightfully mine.
I have spent the past six months struggling to to come to terms with that power, and only over the past week have I truly realized what it even means to own it and wield it. In the days leading up to the Lunar Eclipse conjunct Mars am I really settling into the life experience of being in control of my power and finally understanding for the first time how to defend my vulnerabilities.
It’s one of those life lessons that I have learned again and again, but it never truly sank in, and now it’s at the complete and total endgame: so much of the harm I have taken in my life was the result of giving someone the benefit of the doubt because I wanted to be kind, with no regard to my own vulnerabilities. Discernment is not the opposite of kindness! And it’s also been a huge part of the lesson to understand that cutting a toxic person out of your life isn’t going to make anything better if you haven’t eliminated their psychological contribution to your inner monologue, released all ego attachments to false narratives, and fully processed and integrated the waves of anger.
Athena at 9° Leo is just over three degrees separating from the north node, and twelve hours after the eclipse, the Moon will oppose Athena from 9° Aquarius, which is the degree where Mars stationed retrograde. As Athena moves on through Leo she creates containment in our egos, a container for the wisdom that was revealed through the work we did to process and transform our anger in June.
Saturn in Capricorn holds down the bass note of the Lunar Eclipse configuration, forming aspects to Uranus and Chiron, echoes of some of the most important aspects of 2017. Last year, Saturn in Sagittarius formed three trines to Uranus in Aries and three squares to Chiron in Pisces, crucial for sculpting new personal standards as we upgraded the parameters of what we will and won’t hold ourselves responsible for. This year, those aspects come back into close orb, without ever becoming exact, putting a finishing touch on the new inner forms that are guiding us. Saturn trine Uranus is about integrity. Saturn square Chiron is about taking a stand.
This lunar eclipse has received an extraordinary amount of coverage from both astrologers and mainstream science writers, and even though most full moon hype is typically clickbait, the impact and importance of this event really can’t be exaggerated. This is one of the deepest-digging transformative eclipses I’ve ever experienced.
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