Ready for the First Solar Eclipse of the Year?

The Aries Solar Eclipse of April 20, carries the frustrating energy of urgency, but also the energy of it's not quite time (it's in the very last degree of Aries).
It invites you to consider what you need to let go of to make space for the new (North Node Solar Eclipse).

It's a super-charged New Moon, planting the seeds for future transformation, especially if it connects closely to your chart (New Moon Square Pluto).

Provokes the urge to protect yourself and the people and things you care about. (Mars in Cancer).

Solutions to problems can come in a flash, but might seem impractical. Wait until the time feels right. Don't react thoughtlessly, instead respond mindfully (Mercury Conjunct Uranus in Taurus).

Connected to the Jupiter-Chiron Conjunction, it invites us to take a deep healing journey.

Eclipses are most relevant if they closely connect to your planets or angles by Conjunction or Opposition.

Like all transits, Eclipse energy is reflected in your life over time, so don't expect a one-time and done event on the day of the Eclipse.

Don't panic! Historically, Eclipses carry the energy of fear because the loss of light felt like the end of the world. Yes, Eclipses can signal endings but also promise new beginnings, the return of the light.

This Eclipse occurs just after 5am UK / 12am Eastern on April 20.

If you want to know how upcoming Eclipses and other planetary events affect you most personally, consider booking a private consultation - click here for further details or get in touch via the contact form to the top right of this page.

Eclipsed Again, 10 Years On!

My first post on this blog – July 11, 2009, 13.44 BST - discussed that season’s eclipses.

Now, as Astroair is celebrating its 10^th birthday we are in eclipse season again, with today’s solar eclipse falling at 11 degrees of Cancer.

In Cancer, it can feel defensive, especially with an Opposition to the Saturn-Pluto-South Node Conjunction in Capricorn. It’s a time to ask where are our fears coming from, that we feel the need to protect and defend ourselves? Are they real fears, kept in proportion, keeping us safe? Or are they holding us back and creating barriers that get in the way of moving forward? How can we release our fears and move forward?

It's a New Moon, so it’s a planning time, not a time for action. Eclipses are also associated with endings and we can’t see clearly during an eclipse, we’re left in the dark and must wait for the light to return (or wait to be enlightened) to see a clear path forward.

In the meantime, today we can reflect that Cancer is a cardinal sign and in common with its opposite sign, Capricorn, it’s about progress, moving forward, building something.

Both signs need secure foundations to operate at their best, but while Capricorn’s mission is to gain security through building something tangible and material, Cancer needs to needs to build security through nurturing healthy emotional connections, and this includes self-nurture.

Today’s eclipse falls in the 9^th House of Astroair’s birth chart, highlighting themes of higher learning, far horizons and deeper meaning.  I will ponder on these themes and look in more detail at the blog chart (shown below) in the coming weeks but for now, I will pause to reflect that this is not an ending it’s the start of a new beginning.

With love,

Mandi x

Click to view

Below is an excerpt from a 2009 post Working with Eclipses

It might help to go a bit further and work with the energy of the Eclipses and see how they fit into your personal astrological cycles.

You will find that the most potent Eclipses for you personally are those that fall in very close proximity, by sign and degree, to planets and points in your natal horoscope. Personally, I only consider Eclipses which make tight (within 2 ½ degrees or less of orb) Conjunction, Square and Opposition aspects with natal planets and points. You can safely ignore the Trines, Sextiles and the minor aspects and many astrologers don’t even bother with the Squares, but I think they are worth considering.

Also bear in mind that astrological measurements tend to symbolize the processes and journeys of our lives and these processes take time to develop. For this reason, life ‘events’ rarely happen on the exact date of an astrological measurement, so when considering the effect of an Eclipse on your natal chart cast your net wide, by perhaps looking back three months before the Eclipse and a few weeks after. You may find that nothing actual ‘happens’ as such, but the Eclipse reflects an inner emotional or psychological process.

Here are a few keywords for working with Eclipses: endings; new beginnings; new chapters in life; the need to release/let go/cut cords emotionally, or in specific areas of your life; events and feelings coming to a head.

The Eclipse will express itself in terms of the sign in which it falls. For example, Aquarius is to do with community, friends, innovation, detachment; Cancer is to do with mothers, nurturing, domestic matters, feeling safe; Capricorn speaks about tradition, authority, ambition, the administration of life and Leo is all about pride, creativity, confidence, being loved and appreciated.

Eclipses will also express themselves in terms of the planet or points they aspect in your natal chart. For example an Eclipse on your Venus may be about your relationships, your assets, your social reach, your self esteem, how you give and share with others. With Mars it is about where and how you channel your energy; issues around assertiveness or aggression or issues around sexuality. For the Midheaven (MC) it will be about career; vocation; your social standing and status; the authority figures in your life.

However, when looking at the way an Eclipse affects you, don’t get too hung up on making your experiences ‘fit’ the key words, these are just prompts, what really matters most is your own, personal, unique experiences.

Below are three methods of looking at Eclipses that you might find helpful and illuminating.

The 19 Year Eclipse Cycle:

An Eclipse falls at the same degree of the Zodiac once every 19 years, giving us the opportunity to review the longer cycles of our lives, to look at the bigger picture.

For example, the Solar Eclipse of 22nd July 2009 fell on my IC Angle (therefore opposing my career Angle, the MC). Looking back 19 years, the 22nd July 1990 Eclipse fell at the same point. This corresponded with me starting my first job following graduation. Looking back over the years at my career progress I feel disappointed that I didn’t follow and fulfil the dreams I had in my heart back then. However, these dreams have recently re-awakened, causing stress and upheaval, but ultimately giving me an opportunity to release the dreams of my youth and reinvent them, with the benefit of maturity and experience.

To find out what this year’s Eclipses say about the bigger picture of your life, pick those Eclipses that touched planets and points in your chart very closely, then reflect on what was happening in your life 19 years previously to see if there is any connection. Were big changes occurring then? Are they related in any way to what is happening now? If you are very young, look at what was happening in your general family life, with your parents or siblings, for clues.

Looking at the Eclipses this way, can help you recognise recurring patterns in your life and show you how much progress you have made or where you have fallen off track.

Transits to Eclipse Degrees:

Tracking Transits to the Eclipse degrees is a tried and tested method used in Mundane astrology to predict events and changes in the fortunes in the horoscopes of countries and their leaders.
This method also works well with natal astrology. If an Eclipse fell on a planet or point in your chart, that planet or point will be supercharged and will be susceptible to the effects of the next planet which transits it.

For example, in September 2007, a Solar Eclipse fell at 18 degrees of Virgo, exactly conjunct my natal Uranus-Pluto conjunction. This was a happy time for me, I had just got engaged and was busy planning my wedding, but all was not well with my job. My boss had moved on and I had a new boss who I found it difficult to communicate with and who I felt did not value my contribution, but with so much happiness around me elsewhere it was easy to put the difficult work situation to one side, which I did, for too long! Then, in October 2008, transiting Saturn in Virgo made a conjunction to Uranus-Pluto, the first hit of three and I was laid off from my job. This was a very difficult and painful process, but I am now very happy in a new job and can see that the change needed to happen. It now seems clear to me that the Eclipse at 18 degrees Virgo in 2007, falling on my Uranus-Pluto, was the start of the process of losing my job, especially as Uranus and Pluto rule my 6th and 10th houses respectively, the houses associated most closely with work. Because I didn’t follow the loud and strong cues from the Universe to leave my job willingly (underlined by Transiting Uranus also opposing Uranus-Pluto) it took Saturn to finally oust me from the job. The whole process since (during Saturn’s 2nd and 3rd hits) has been about letting go of the old way of working, so I can succeed in a new career.

An Eclipse as Part of a Moon Family:

Astrologer Dietrech J Pessin discovered that all lunations, including Eclipses, form part of a family of related lunations. She found that every New Moon starts a new family cycle, consisting of a New Moon phase, a First Quarter Moon phase, a Full Moon phase and a Last Quarter Moon phase, with each lunation occurring in the same sign and approximate degree, nine months apart, the whole cycle covering a period of 2 ½ years.

A Moon family which aspects your natal horoscope closely is worth following, as the Moon phases of the family will most often reflect patterns in your own life development.

See her website for details of her book, Lunar Shadows, which explains this fascinating way of working with eclipses: https://www.lunar-shadows.com/

Other books on Eclipses that I would recommend are Eclipses by Celeste Teal and Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady.

2017's Great American Eclipse ~ did it live up to the hype?

Eclipses, especially powerful ones, remain sensitive to planetary triggers long after they're over.

In this video, we discuss how the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed "The 
Great American Eclipse" manifested and what may still be to come when the eclipse point is powerfully triggered in November 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuBZTO7WlZs

Astrology & Eclipses

In this new video, we review 2017's Great American Eclipse - did it live up to the hype?

And we discuss how and why this Eclipse will be powerfully triggered in November 2018




Also check out Rod Chang's video about the general meaning of Solar Eclipses:

Astrology for July (Update 1 - Eclipse)

As an experiment (well, I am having a Uranus transit) my astro-preview this month will be split into three parts, published a few days apart. This is because I’ve decided it’s best to publish a few bite size chunks rather than one long post. Let me know if you disagree. A summary list of all July’s events will be included at the end of each post.

July 1: Cancer New Moon ~ An Eclipse in a Shell

July kicks off with the Sun in sensitive, nurturing Cancer conjunct Moon in Cancer, for an Eclipsed New Moon on the first of the month. Solar Eclipses are times of endings, when something is literally eclipsed. Inherent in endings though are fresh starts and new beginnings, so when something ends it can often be a very positive thing. For example, a marriage marks the end of single life and a long awaited retirement means the end of working life and a new taste of freedom.

Because Solar Eclipses are basically New Moons with a bit of extra pizzazz, similar themes apply. Use this Eclipse time to rest, pause and plan. It’s even OK to retreat into your shell a little bit during this Cancer eclipse, to seek comfort and security at home or around those you are closest to.

This eclipse falls at 9 degrees of Cancer, so will be most relevant to those of you who have a planet or angle between seven and eleven degrees of Cancer, Capricorn, Aries or Libra (get your chart for free at www.alabe.com). The effect of an Eclipse falling closely in aspect to one of your planets or an angle can last several months. Because eclipses fall in exactly the same sign and degree every 19 years, it’s worth looking back to see what was going on in your life back then, because it could offer you some clues about what this current eclipse means to you personally.

This Eclipse hooks into the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto cardinal t-square, with Saturn at 11 Libra, Uranus at 5 Aries and Pluto at 6 Capricorn. This means that if this eclipse touches one or more of your planets or angles, you are in the midst of, or on the brink of, one or more important transits. I recommend you browse through the articles from last year’s Cardinal T-Square blog-a-thon, which offer plenty of insight, resources, coping mechanisms and healing tips for the transits of Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. Please note that orbs are traditionally very tight for transits to natal planets and points. Allow a maximum of two degrees either side.

This is the third eclipse within the last month – see June Astrology ~ Welcome to Eclipse Season for more on the two June eclipses. See also Working with Eclipses for some handy tips on unravelling what your Eclipse transit might mean for you.

July 1/2*: Mercury enters Leo ~ Dramatic Cat

Less than 24 hours after the Eclipse, Mercury, the messenger of the gods, moves out of Cancer and into Leo. What message does this carry for us? In Leo, Mercury communicates with drama and creative flair. It can be given to stubborn or childish tantrums, but at best, this is a Mercury placement that urges us to communicate with humour, warmth and affection. Leo is also a great Mercury sign for intuition, for listening with your heart as well as your head.

It’s a fun game of mine to watch/read the news for stories that reflect the current Mercury placement, especially when Mercury’s in a fire sign. Look out for stories about attention seeking big heads, dramatic announcements and heroic tales of courage while Mercury is in Leo. Kings, Queens and leaders could all be in the spotlight now and expect issues of pride and respect to come up.

Mercury will be in Leo until July 28. It then re-enters Leo on August 7/8 when retrograde. It turns direct on August 26 in Leo and re-enters Virgo on September 8/9 where it stays until September 25.

July 3/4*: Venus enters Cancer ~ Sweet Nothings

When relationship planet Venus moves from Gemini to Cancer, there should be less talking and more holding hands and hugging. Venus in Cancer urges us to express our affection with sensitivity, to give comfort to our loved ones to make them feel safe and secure.

Venus in Cancer easily absorbs the feeling and moods of others, which is why this placement can sometimes feel overly protective. We can easily feel a little crabby when Venus is in this watery sign. Overcome this by putting some effort into nurturing your loved one. A tender caress, a few loving sweet words or a nice home cooked meal are good ways to show your love and appreciation when Venus is in Cancer.

Venus will be in Cancer until July 28.

Summary of July’s Main Events

July 1: Eclipsed New Moon at 9 degrees Cancer
July 1/2*: Mercury enters Leo
July 3/4*: Venus enters Cancer
July 9/10*: Uranus turns retrograde at 5 degrees Aries
July 13: Venus in Cancer square Saturn in Libra (11 degrees)
July 14/15*: Full Moon at 22 degrees Capricorn
July 22/23*: Sun enters Leo
July 28: Venus enters Leo
July 28: Mercury enters Virgo
July 30: New Moon at 7 degrees Leo

Click for Void of Course Moon times for July

Click for Astroair’s three month Solstice Forecast

NOTE: *Where two dates are given, the event occurs on the earlier date in American time zones and on the later date in European time zones. This is due only to time differences on the clock, in reality the event occurs simultaneously everywhere. In the summary of July’s events the degrees have been rounded up or down to the nearest degree.

With love, Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/

Astrology For January ~ A Fresh Start & A New Promise

Welcome to 2011!

Early January sees two big celestial events coinciding ~ An Eclipsed New Moon in Capricorn and a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Pisces, both on the 4^th. 

I always think the Capricorn New Moon is the start to the New Year proper. New Moons are seeding times, when we can  ‘plant’ our  intentions and watch them grow. Therefore, if you do have any New Year’s resolutions, start them at this New Moon, when the sky provides an extra dose of discipline and determination to help you on your way. The New Moon squares Saturn in Libra, but before you get depressed at that thought, remember that Saturn is exulted – happy – in the sign of Libra. Use the positive New Moon energies wisely, be patient and you are sure to get your rewards in time. In fact, make a note to check back in on those resolutions around the time of the Aries Equinox in March, which is the beginning of the astrological New Year.  

Want some help with your resolutions? See Auntie Moon’s Show Me Your Saturn and I’ll Show You A Resolution You Have To Keep, or for an irreverent look (and a good giggle) see The Radical Virgo's Zodi-Yuks New Years Resolutions. 

That this New Moon is a Solar Eclipse, makes it even more powerful. Eclipses tend to signify endings – something is eclipsed – making space for something new and positive to come in. The Eclipse falls at 13 degrees Capricorn, so you will be particularly affected if you have planets or points in your chart between 11 and 14 degrees Capricorn or Cancer. See my article Working with Eclipses for more on how to track and use Eclipses that fall on important parts in your chart.

The day of the Eclipsed New Moon sees the third and final Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. This conjunction had its first ‘hit’ in June 2010 in fiery Aries ~ bold, seize the initiative energies. This one is in dreamy, inspirational Pisces, at 27 degrees. It’s time to think outside the box (Uranus) and dream big (Jupiter). Yes, Jupiter-Uranus alignments make us feel like anything is possible and that’s true....but to integrate your big dreams with the energies of the Capricorn Eclipse, take some time to plan your ambitious dreams, work out a goal and a strategy and apply a little pragmatic realism and a splash of common sense. This conjunction will be particularly buzzy for you if you have planet or points in your chart in the late degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces).

Want to know more about how amazing Jupiter-Uranus energies can be? See my article Jupiter-Uranus ~ Science, Discovery and Revolution.

The rest of January’s astro-action:

January 7: Venus – the planet of relationship, giving and our values -  enters generous, enthusiastic Sagittarius. Time to express your affection freely and adventurously.  Venus stays in Sagittarius until February 4.

January 13: Mercury – the planet of communication, thoughts, ideas and connections - enters pragmatic, ambitious Capricorn. Time to re-apply some mental discipline to the goals you set around the Capricorn New Moon. Think realistically, but try to avoid negative thinking. Mercury stays in Capricorn until February 3.

January 15:  Mars – the planet of action, desire and how we assert ourselves – enters independent, individualistic, innovative Aquarius. Time to rebel a little and do things with a ‘twist’. These are great energies for campaigning, reforming and putting ideas into action. Mars stays in Aquarius until February 22.

January 19: Full Moon in Cancer. This Full Moon occurs at 29 Degrees of Cancer.  Interestingly, we ’re having a series of Full Moons at the 29^th and final degree of their sign – October 2010 through February 2011. The last degree of each sign is known as the Anaretic or Critical degree. There’s a sense of urgency about this degree, a need to quickly wrap up any issues to do with the sign involved, because ‘any minute’ the planet involved is changing signs and new energies are about to rush in.

 So what could be urgent about this Full Moon in Cancer? Look towards your home-life balance. Have you got the balance right? Certainly, the Saturn-Pluto energies of last year have seen many of us working very hard and expending so much energy as we battle to cling on to our jobs, incomes and security. The effect this has had on our home family lives could come to light now and we may need to consider whether we’ve got the balance right. While this Full Moon makes us very aware of the need to be financially secure (Capricorn), we also need to remember that emotional security (Cancer) is just as important.

January 20: The Sun moves into friendly, people oriented Aquarius. The creative energy of Capricorn is all about making tangible progress, while staying within the rules, but in Aquarius the creative energies need freedom from rules in order to express themselves.  Aquarius wants to do things in its own way, however eccentric that way may be. A good use of the Aquarius energy is to help others – groups, communities, friends, societies - while at the same time remaining intellectually connected, but emotionally detached.

January 22: Jupiter moves into Aries. We already had a taste of Jupiter in Aries from early June to mid September 2010, after which it retrograded back into Pisces. Now, Jupiter leaves Pisces behind and stays in Aries for the duration. In Aries, growth is found through positive self assertion and self confidence. While Jupiter in Pisces asked us to have faith in life, the universe and everything, Jupiter in Aries takes us back to basics and reminds us to have faith in ourself and act courageously from that point of view. Opportunities are there to be actively grabbed, we can’t just sit and wait for the universe to provide, we have to ask and act. The danger is that we can act too selfishly, recklessly and aggressively with Jupiter in Aries, so we must carry the lesson of Jupiter in Pisces in our hearts and remember to spare a compassionate thought for others as we go for what we want. Put simply, we need to share our winnings, otherwise what’s the point? Enjoy Jupiter in Aries.

January 26: Saturn in Libra stations retrograde. See my article Saturn in Libra Retrograde: Relationship Revision Time for some ideas on how to use the Saturn retrograde energies in a positive way. Saturn remains retrograde until June 13.

I hope you enjoy January, I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous and joyful 2011.

With love,

Mandi

www.mandilockley.com   

Cancer Solar Eclipse and the Cancer-Capricorn Dynamic

Earth Angel by Josephine Wall

Falling in the cardinal water sign of Cancer, the Total Solar Eclipse of 11th July, reminds us, once again, that Cancer is the only Cardinal sign not represented in the current T-Square of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto.

In fact, since the T-Square began to form in 2008, with the entry of Pluto into Capricorn and the start of the Saturn-Uranus Oppositions, there have been (and will be) a number of Solar and Lunar Eclipses in the sign of the crab and in its opposite sign, Capricorn the goat (details at the end).

This I find very interesting. If you consider that the effect of an Eclipse lasts around six months of so, we are pretty much consistently under the auspices of powerful Cancer-Capricorn eclipsed lunations for the duration of the T-Square.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the feminine, nurturing, lunar archetype and Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the masculine authority, the limit-setter, old father time. The Cancer-Capricorn axis is to do with mother and father and the parental archetype in general. It’s also to do with the balance between home and work and about our roots, our early home life and the authority figures we encountered there. It’s how we were nurtured and how from that point we branch out into the world to acquire our own standing, status and reputation, in the process becoming parents and authority figures ourselves. 

In essence, this axis is about where we come from and where we’re heading towards and the intricate, inseparable relationship between those two places. Both Cancer and Capricorn need to feel safe and secure. For Cancer the emphasis is on emotional security and nurturing and for Capricorn, the emphasis is on worldly, material security. 

Both signs, in their own ways need to learn to set healthy boundaries and together, they can show us the way to find the balance between a healthy emotional life and a secure material life. Finding this Cancer-Capricorn balance is all important, if we are to avoid collectively and individually slipping into the shadow expression of these signs. 

The shadow side of Cancer is needy, over-protective and emotionally manipulative. Nothing new can be learnt from this position. Rather, the emotions become stagnant and turn in on themselves, with ever diminishing returns.

The shadow side of Capricorn is rigid, over-structured and cold. Making progress in the so-called real world is the only thing that matters. Integrity, other people’s safety and security and taking responsibility for our actions goes out of the window.

In the shadow side of both signs, the world is a harsh, difficult, dangerous place. In this expression of the two signs, the energies can’t flow naturally, they are blocked and squashed and transmuted into something which can harm rather than heal and we are locked in a compulsive pattern of doing what we feel we need to do in order to ‘survive’.

Pluto in Capricorn is collectively urging us to unearth, reveal, purge and transform the Capricorn shadow. Just looking at the state of world’s economies right now is all the evidence we need to suggest we have let ourselves fall into the Capricorn shadow. It’s also evident in the way we have been raping our earth and our ocean’s resources. It is now totally clear that the way we have been doing things is totally unsustainable. Doing something about it is up to all of us.

Cancer, the missing element in the T-Square, points us in the right direction, demonstrating through its relationships with Capricorn that finding the right balance is key. Mother earth is plentiful, she has enough to go around, but her abundance needs to be honoured, respected, shared and replenished, not plundered for profit, never mind the consequences.  

Eclipse Image: Credit Nasa

So, at the time of the July 11th Cancer Eclipse and indeed beyond, I will be considering all these themes and meditating on the balance and the light in the Cancer-Capricorn axis. 

Looking specifically at this Eclipse, at first glance, the New Moon in Cancer doesn’t connect with the T-Square, in way that it did during the Capricorn Lunar Eclipse on 26th July (which formed a high energy Grand Cross with the T-Square), but if you look closely you will see that it does in fact make a Quindecile (165 degree) aspect with Pluto in Capricorn (see the chart below – also shown is the chart showing all the planets).

If you don’t use the Quindecile, it’s worth investigating. Noel Tyl counts the Quindecile as a major aspect and describes it as “an aspect of unrelenting motivation, obsession, determination, upheaval, disruption, even separation”.

Between the Sun and Moon in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn, this aspect speaks of an intense drive for power, of the urge to achieve goals through the use of control and manipulation, of planting seeds of fear and insecurity. At best however, this powerful connection between Pluto and the Eclipse, gives us the collective opportunity to disrupt and upset that pattern, to expose it for what it is and demand a healthier, more balanced way of being. It also gives us a collective and individual opportunity for self evaluation, for purging old emotional wounds and facing our insecurities.

As I have said on this blog many times before, we seriously need to redress the balance between the masculine and the feminine, the inner and the outer, the yin and the yang in our individual and collective lives. We need to honour the sacred feminine spirit, nod to the goddess and respect mother earth. 

These years we are living through are a real opportunity for a positive shift in mass consciousness. Let’s not waste them.

My very first blog post here at Astroair dealt with this very same topic ~ an Eclipse in Cancer and the Cancer-Capricorn dynamic and here I am reiterating it again. Is it a coincidence that this blog celebrates its 1st birthday on the day of this upcoming Cancer Solar Eclipse?

With love,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/

Notes

Eclipses in Cancer or Capricorn 2008-2011

• 7 July 2008: Lunar Eclipse with Sun at 15 Cancer and Moon at 15 Capricorn
• 22 July 2009: Solar Eclipse with Sun and Moon at 29 Cancer
• 31 December 2009: Lunar Eclipse with Sun at 10 Capricorn and Moon at 10 Cancer
• 15 January 2010: Solar Eclipse with Sun and Moon at 25 Capricorn
• 26 June 2010: Lunar Eclipse with Sun at 5 Cancer and Moon at 5 Capricorn ~ forming a Grand Cross with the Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-Square
• 11 July 2009: Solar Eclipse with Sun and Moon at 19 Cancer
• 4 January 2011: Solar Eclipse with Sun and Moon at 14 Capricorn
• 1 July 2011: Solar Eclipse with Sun and Moon at 9 Cancer

What is the general meaning of an Eclipse?

Eclipses are very dramatic events to observe, as those lucky enough to have witnessed a Total Eclipse of the Sun or watched a Lunar Eclipse on a clear night as the Moon disappeared behind the shadow of the Earth, will verify. However, you don’t need to directly experience an eclipse for its symbolism to reflect in your personal experiences. The old adage as above, so below, stands firm. That said it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen when an eclipse touches your personal astrological chart. Their effects are sometimes exciting, sometimes stressful, often passing by without having any sort of obvious effect at the time, only to manifest as an event some weeks later. In most general terms though, eclipses represent endings and new beginnings, times when the light goes out and something is taken away, creating a space for something new to germinate. If a particular Eclipse falls on a planet or point in your natal chart and you want to work consciously with the energies, they are good times for beginning the process of releasing, letting go of outdated, worn-out emotional baggage and planting the seeds of new beginnings. For some more astrological ideas on how to work with eclipses see Working with Eclipses.

Will this Eclipse Affect You?

The July 11th Eclipse will be particularly relevant to you if you have a planet or angle between 17 and 21 degrees of Cancer or Capricorn. In particular, if it's your birthday between 10 and 12th July this is a powerful eclipse indeed and the potential for major change is in the air for you. If you do not know if you have planets or angles in the relevant degrees and/or signs you can quickly download your own birth chart which will provide you with this information in a simply understood way at http://www.alabe.com/ 

Recommended Reading on Eclipses

Lunar Shadows by Dietrech Pessin

Eclipses by Celeste Teal

Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady

Your New Year Resolutions Start Here

I always think that the New Year starts for real at the time of the Capricorn New Moon in mid January. Forget January 1st and your pleas to quit drinking for good, go to the gym five times a week and lost 20 pounds by March. By mid Jan we can see how unrealistic most of this is, but instead of giving up, use the energies of this sensible New Moon to make realistic plans with achievable goals.

This particular New Moon on 15th January is helped by the fact that Mercury, also in Capricorn, turns direct on the same day, after being Retrograde since December 26th. A great time, therefore, for a positive turnaround in your mindset and for renewed mental resolve.

But wait, there’s more, because this New Moon is also an Eclipse, which significantly adds to its potency.

The chart for this Eclipse, which features a very prominent Venus and comes just after Saturn turns retrograde, reflects that fact that many of us are looking for a fresh start in the way we relate to others. It also prompts us to yet again to look at our finances, in particular the balance between our spending and our earnings. I mean who doesn’t take a sharp intake of breath when the January bills roll in? The relationship of money and material possessions to our self esteem might also be worth pondering.

I also think that this is a good time to review our attitude and relationship to feminine attributes and energies. Finding ways to embrace our inner goddess, whether we are male or female, will help us, I feel, to keep ourselves in balance with the universe in the challenging months to come.

To read more about all this, see my full interpretation of the Eclipse chart and its themes in my Capricorn Solar Eclipse blog, which also contains links to other helpful resources.

Good luck everyone!

Blessings,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/

Venus & The Capricorn Solar Eclipse

This January's Capricorn New Moon is a Solar Eclipse, which carries a very special message from Venus.

First up, what's an Eclipse?

An Eclipse occurs when the Earth aligns with the Sun and Moon during a New Moon or a Full Moon. During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth passes between the Full Moon opposition of the Sun and the Moon, temporarily blocking the reflected light of the Moon. A Solar Eclipse occurs under a New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking out the light of the Sun. Eclipses come in pairs, with a Lunar Eclipse following a Solar Eclipse a couple of weeks later, or vice versa, and we usually experience two pairs of Eclipses each calendar year. The January 15th Solar Eclipse follows the Lunar Eclipse on December 31st.

What is the general meaning of an Eclipse?

Eclipses are very dramatic events to observe, as those lucky enough to have witnessed a Total Eclipse of the Sun or watched on a clear night as the Moon disappeared behind the shadow of the Earth, will verify. However, you don’t need to directly experience an eclipse for its symbolism to reflect in your personal experiences. The old adage as above, so below, stands firm.That said it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen when an eclipse touches your personal astrological chart. Their effects are sometimes exciting, sometimes stressful, often passing by without having any sort of obvious effect at the time, only to manifest as an event some weeks later. In most general terms though, eclipses represent endings and new beginnings, times when the light goes out and something is taken away, creating a space for something new to germinate. If a particular Eclipse falls on a planet or point in your natal chart and you want to work consciously with the energies, they are good times for beginning the process of releasing and letting go of outdated, worn-out emotional baggage.

What are the themes of the January 15th Solar Eclipse?

In Capricorn, this Eclipse highlights all the themes and issues that fall under the sign of the goat, whose goal is to climb and conquer every mountain, step by step by step. Yes, Capricorn is the upwardly mobile organizer-administrator of the zodiac, a practical, material, get things done kind of guy. Driven by ambition and the need to progress, Capricorn is associated with managers, politicians, business people and authority figures in general. Capricorn often gets a bad press, but we need these energies, otherwise there would be worldly chaos.

When I look at the chart for this Capricorn Eclipse, I am drawn to the Saturn-Pluto Square. This is because Pluto is in the sign of this Eclipse, Capricorn, and Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn. With Saturn and Pluto's alignment coming to another exact angle at the end of January, the tensions of this challenging aspect are building once again. We can look to Venus for some interpretive clues as to where we might particularly focus our attention during this time. This is because Venus, also in Capricorn, is conjunct the Eclipse and in a mutual reception with Saturn in Libra, who has just turned Retrograde.

What does this all mean? Well, I think there are three strands of possible interpretation here.

Firstly, if we take Venus to symbolize money, and we take the Saturn-Pluto square and the planets in Capricorn, to be about, on one level, big business, big money and politics, we have a clear message for the world. This Saturn and Pluto alignment can all too easily bring out the shadow side of Capricorn, which is rigid, over-structured and cold, a dark place where making progress in the material world is the only thing that matters and integrity and taking responsibility for our actions go out of the window. Have we not witnessed this already in the excesses of an unregulated financial market and the moral bankruptcy of our politicians? Just this week, the press announced that the one-off windfall tax on city bonuses in the UK has done nothing to curb bumper payouts by the major city institutions. Tell that to the hard-up homeowners who last year were forced to make mortgage payments by credit card! Eclipses are about endings and new beginnings, so clearly something has got to seriously change in the way our society handles the business of money and distributes its wealth.

Secondly, Venus is about relationships and with Saturn in Libra having just gone Retrograde at the time of this Eclipse, this is a good time to review how we relate to others. I discussed this in some depth in my last blog, so I won’t repeat myself here. Here’s the link: Saturn Libra Retrograde: Relationship Revision Time

Lastly, Venus represents feminine energies. I have been writing in this blog since I started it about the need to find a powerful, fresh perspective and respect for feminine values. Think of Capricorn’s opposite sign, Cancer. Ruled by the Moon, Cancer is also archetypically feminine, representing the mother, the nurturer, the ebbs and flows of our emotions. While Capricorn thrusts us out into the world, Cancer brings us home again safely. As I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, Eclipses come in pairs, so we must also consider the Cancer Lunar Eclipse which helped us to ring in 2010. These Eclipses together remind us to balance the ‘out there’ with the ‘in here’, harmonise our work life with our home life and exercise compassion and fairness along with ambition and the need to progress.

All the same, just as with Capricorn, we need to ensure we don’t fall into the shadow side of Cancer, which can be needy, over-protective and emotionally manipulative. We should seek to express the higher expressions of both signs, a space where we can nurture ourselves and others and where we are willing to serve with integrity and discipline and administrate progress through responsible action and the right use of our emotional and material resources. In essence, Cancer and Capricorn really are two expressions of the same energies, constantly flowing towards and away from balance, an eternal dance of opposition and harmony.

By holding and grounding these energies in balance, we can each, in our way, create a vessel to positively carry forward the current planetary energies, energies which seem to be prompting us ever more urgently to create a new way of equality, fairness, responsible individual freedom, cooperation and community. Something I think Saturn in Libra would very much approve of.

Will this Eclipse Affect You?

This eclipse will be particularly relevant to you if you have a planet or angle between 23 and 26 degrees of Capricorn or between 23 and 26 degrees of Cancer. In particular, if it's your birthday on 14 or 15 January or 14 or 15 July, this is a powerful eclipse indeed, with the potential for major change in the air for you. If you do not know if you have planets or angles in the relevant degrees and/or signs you can quickly download your own birth chart which will provide you with this information in a simply understood way at http://www.alabe.com/

Further Resources

For a more detailed explanation of Eclipse phenomena, click here> to read an article by astrologer Celeste Teal, author of the book Eclipses.

In his blog for The Mountain Astrologer on this Eclipse, A New Power Emerges, Gary P Caton, discusses the bigger picture.

For NASA's webpage about this eclipse including eclipse path maps, click here>.

If you want to learn more about how to work with the energies of Eclipses on a personal level see my blog Working with Eclipses

Here again is the link to Saturn Libra Retrograde: Relationship Revision Time which poses lots of questions about how we interrelate.

Also, a link to my pieces on the current Saturn-Pluto squares.

Additionally, astrologer Donna Cunningham’s Sky Writer blog has many useful posts to help with Saturn-Pluto issues and a whole range of other stuff.

For more on the Cancer Lunar Eclipse of 31 December and how important I think the sign of Cancer is to the upcoming Cardinal T-Square, see Astro Energies for 2010.

With love,

Mandi

http://www.mandilockley.com/

Between Eclipse Weirdness

England under snow January 7th 2010. Photo: NASA

How have the first few days of January been for you so far? 2010 started with an Eclipsed Blue Moon on New Year's Eve and next week, 0n 15th Jan, there is an Eclipsed Capricorn New Moon.

Eclipses come in pairs and the couple of weeks between them can often feel like a bit of a strange time and, from my perspective at least, the beginning of January has been no exception.

Mars is still Retrograde in Leo, reflected I think in the fact that motivation, enthusiam and energy to get stuff done feels a bit off key, low and slow. And as if that wasn't enough, many of us have literally been prevented from moving around at all in the UK due to sustained extremes of weather we're just not used to.

Of course, Mercury started his backward dance through the zodiac on 26th December so we might have expected some travel chaos, but it started early thanks to some heavy snowfall just before Christmas and for a while I seriously doubted that I would get to see my family due to the icy road conditions. Fortunately, I made it and had a lovely Christmas, but the usual January back to work slog has been seriously slowed down in the UK by more snow, the heaviest and most sustained since the early 1960's! My in-laws, who live in a pretty little village near Oxford, are quite literally snowed into their house! More harsh winds and snowy weather are forecast for the next week or so.

So, will the Capricorn energies of January 15th's Solar Eclipse help us get back to some kind of normal and organised shape after what has seemed in some ways like a chaotically extended Christmas break? Well Mercury goes Direct on the same day, so there is indeed some hope.

Saying that, some of us might actually be enjoying this disruption. I for one have loved the snow, but then I've been lucky that my transport links to work and back have been OK and I have a cosy warm home to go back to. I also have a nice pair of Hunter wellies so my feet stay dry and warm while I'm trudging through the snow, with the added bonus of also being fashionable - lol! I feel for my colleague Debbie who has been facing a three hour commute to work and back every day, if she managed to make it in at all.

Let's also hope that Scottish couple Kay and John Ure, who have been seperated by the heavy snow since Kay popped out to pick up the turkey on 23rd December are finally reunited! Read their story here>.

Safe travels,

Mandi

My Garden in the Snow

Working with Eclipses [Updated]

Upcoming and Recent Eclipses (GMT dates):

31 December ’09: Lunar Eclipse at 10 Cancer 14
15 January ’10: Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn 01
26 June ‘10: Lunar Eclipse at 4 Capricorn 46
11 July ‘10: Total Solar Eclipse at 19 Cancer 23
21 December ’10: Total Lunar Eclipse at 29 Gemini 20
4 January ’11: Solar Eclipse at 13 Capricorn 38
1 June '11: Solar Eclipse at 11 Gemini 01
15 June '11: Total Lunar Eclipse at 24 Sagittarius 23
1 July '11: Solar Eclipse at 9 Cancer 12
24 November '11: Solar Eclipse at 02 Sagittarius 36

10 December '11: Total Lunar Eclipse at 18 Gemini 10
20 May '12: Solar Eclipse at 00 Gemini 20
4 June '12: Lunar Eclipse at 14 Sagittarius 13


Working with Eclipses:

If you feel strongly affected by any of these Eclipses, it might help to go a bit further and work with the energy of the Eclipses and see how they fit into your personal astrological cycles.

You will find that the most potent Eclipses for you personally are those that fall in very close proximity, by sign and degree, to planets and points in your natal horoscope. Personally, I only consider Eclipses which make tight (within 2 ½ degrees or less of orb) Conjunction, Square and Opposition aspects with natal planets and points. You can safely ignore the Trines, Sextiles and the minor aspects and many astrologers don’t even bother with the Squares, but I think they are worth considering.

Also bear in mind that astrological measurements tend to symbolize the processes and journeys of our lives and these processes take time to develop. For this reason, life ‘events’ rarely happen on the exact date of an astrological measurement, so when considering the effect of an Eclipse on your natal chart cast your net wide, by perhaps looking back three months before the Eclipse and a few weeks after. You may find that nothing actual ‘happens’ as such, but the Eclipse reflects an inner emotional or psychological process.

Here are a few keywords for working with Eclipses: endings; new beginnings; new chapters in life; the need to release/let go/cut cords emotionally, or in specific areas of your life; events and feelings coming to a head.

The Eclipse will express itself in terms of the sign in which it falls. For example, Aquarius is to do with community, friends, innovation, detachment; Cancer is to do with mothers, nurturing, domestic matters, feeling safe; Capricorn speaks about tradition, authority, ambition, the administration of life and Leo is all about pride, creativity, confidence, being loved and appreciated.

Eclipses will also express themselves in terms of the planet or points they aspect in your natal chart. For example an Eclipse on your Venus may be about your relationships, your assets, your social reach, your self esteem, how you give and share with others. With Mars it is about where and how you channel your energy; issues around assertiveness or aggression or issues around sexuality. For the Midheaven (MC) it will be about career; vocation; your social standing and status; the authority figures in your life.

However, when looking at the way an Eclipse affects you, don’t get too hung up on making your experiences ‘fit’ the key words, these are just prompts, what really matters most is your own, personal, unique experiences.

Below are three methods of looking at Eclipses that you might find helpful and illuminating.


The 19 Year Eclipse Cycle:

An Eclipse falls at the same degree of the Zodiac once every 19 years, giving us the opportunity to review the longer cycles of our lives, to look at the bigger picture.

For example, the Solar Eclipse of 22nd July 2009 fell on my IC Angle (therefore opposing my career Angle, the MC). Looking back 19 years, the 22nd July 1990 Eclipse fell at the same point. This corresponded with me starting my first job following graduation. Looking back over the years at my career progress I feel disappointed that I didn’t follow and fulfil the dreams I had in my heart back then. However, these dreams have recently re-awakened, causing stress and upheaval, but ultimately giving me an opportunity to release the dreams of my youth and reinvent them, with the benefit of maturity and experience.

To find out what this year’s Eclipses say about the bigger picture of your life, pick those Eclipses that touched planets and points in your chart very closely, then reflect on what was happening in your life 19 years previously to see if there is any connection. Were big changes occurring then? Are they related in any way to what is happening now? If you are very young, look at what was happening in your general family life, with your parents or siblings, for clues.

Looking at the Eclipses this way, can help you recognise recurring patterns in your life and show you how much progress you have made or where you have fallen off track.

Below is a list of recent and upcoming Eclipses and their corresponding Eclipses 19 years earlier:

22nd July 2009: Solar Eclipse at 29 Cancer 26
Corresponding Solar Eclipse at 29 Cancer 03 on 22nd July 1990

6th August 2009: Lunar Eclipse at 13 Aquarius 43
Corresponding Lunar Eclipse at 13 Aquarius 51 on 6th August 1990

31 December ’09: Lunar Eclipse at 10 Cancer 14
The corresponding Full Moon at 9 Cancer 49 on 31 December 1990 was not eclipsed, but this Full Moon can still be used as a reference point.

15 January ’10: Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn 01
Corresponding Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn 20 on 15 Jan 1991

26 June ‘10: Lunar Eclipse at 4 Capricorn 46
Corresponding Solar Eclipse at 4 Capricorn 59 on 27 June 1991

11 July ‘10: Total Solar Eclipse at 19 Cancer 23
Corresponding Solar Eclipse at 18 Cancer 58 on 11 July 1991

21 December ’10: Total Lunar Eclipse at 29 Gemini 20
Corresponding Lunar Eclipse at 29 Gemini 02 on 21 December 1991

Transits to Eclipse Degrees:

Tracking Transits to the Eclipse degrees is a tried and tested method used in Mundane astrology to predict events and changes in the fortunes in the horoscopes of countries and their leaders.
This method also works well with natal astrology. If an Eclipse fell on a planet or point in your chart, that planet or point will be supercharged and will be susceptible to the effects of the next planet which transits it.

For example, in September 2007, a Solar Eclipse fell at 18 degrees of Virgo, exactly conjunct my natal Uranus-Pluto conjunction. This was a happy time for me, I had just got engaged and was busy planning my wedding, but all was not well with my job. My boss had moved on and I had a new boss who I found it difficult to communicate with and who I felt did not value my contribution, but with so much happiness around me elsewhere it was easy to put the difficult work situation to one side, which I did, for too long! Then, in October 2008, transiting Saturn in Virgo made a conjunction to Uranus-Pluto, the first hit of three and I was laid off from my job. This was a very difficult and painful process, but I am now very happy in a new job and can see that the change needed to happen. It now seems clear to me that the Eclipse at 18 degrees Virgo in 2007, falling on my Uranus-Pluto, was the start of the process of losing my job, especially as Uranus and Pluto rule my 6th and 10th houses respectively, the houses associated most closely with work. Because I didn’t follow the loud and strong cues from the Universe to leave my job willingly (underlined by Transiting Uranus also opposing Uranus-Pluto) it took Saturn to finally oust me from the job. The whole process since (during Saturn’s 2nd and 3rd hits) has been about letting go of the old way of working, so I can succeed in a new career.

An Eclipse as Part of a Moon Family:

Astrologer Dietrech J Pessin discovered that all lunations, including Eclipses, form part of a family of related lunations. She found that every New Moon starts a new family cycle, consisting of a New Moon phase, a First Quarter Moon phase, a Full Moon phase and a Last Quarter Moon phase, with each lunation occurring in the same sign and approximate degree, nine months apart, the whole cycle covering a period of 2 ½ years.

A Moon family which aspects your natal horoscope closely is worth following, as the Moon phases of the family will most often reflect patterns in your own life development.

See Dietrech Pessin’s website, Lunar Shadows, for details of the current Moon Family.

From this page you can also click on a link that describes what each of the Moon phases mean.

As an example, the 7th July 2009 Lunar Eclipse at 15 Capricorn (a Full Moon phase) was the peak of a Moon family which began with the Capricorn New Moon at 17 Capricorn in January 2008, continued with the First Quarter Moon at 14 Capricorn in October 2008 and concludes at the Last Quarter Moon at 16 Capricorn in April 2010. This Moon family will particularly affect Capricorns born between 4th and 8th January and Cancerians born between 6th and 10th July, as well as people who have other planets or angles between 13 and 18 Capricorn or Cancer.

Dietrech’s book Lunar Shadows, available from her website, contains details of all the Moon Family’s as well as details of all Eclipses and comes highly recommended.

Other books on Eclipses that I would recommend are Eclipses by Celeste Teal and Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady.

I hope you find the process of working with Eclipses useful and illuminating. Leave a comment if you have any individual questions or stories to share.

http://www.mandilockley.com/

July: Eclipsed, Bewildered and Bewitched

Hello, I'm an astrologer, my name is Mandi


I have just this minute set up this new blog!


I have lots of cool content on my website at http://www.mandilockley.com/ & will from now on post all my astro-rambles on here as well.


Here's my piece about astrology for July - an eclipse month - enjoy!


July is Eclipse season, bringing with it some powerful energies. This blog is my astrological and personal take on what these energies symbolise and how they might be worked with at this special time. I hope you enjoy it.


July sees two Eclipses, a Lunar Eclipse on 7th July and a Solar Eclipse on 22nd July. An Eclipse is a special kind of New Moon or Full Moon, occurring when the Earth, Sun and Moon align. During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, temporarily blocking the reflected light of the Moon and during a Solar Eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking out the light of the Sun. Eclipses are most dramatic events to observe, as those lucky enough to have witnessed a Total Eclipse of the Sun or watched on a clear night as the Moon disappeared behind the shadow of the Earth will verify. However, you do not need to directly experience an eclipse for its symbolism to reflect in your personal experiences. The old adage as above, so below, stands firm.


That said it is very difficult to predict exactly what will happen when an eclipse touches your personal astrological chart. Their effects are sometimes exciting, sometimes stressful, often passing by without having any sort of obvious effect at the time, only to manifest as an event some weeks later. In most general terms though, eclipses represent endings, times when the light goes out and something is taken away, creating a space for something new to germinate safely in the temporary darkness.

Looking at the two eclipses for July, rather than try to make predictions about what they might mean for a particular birth sign, I will focus more generally on what energies are passing out and ending, what each eclipse brings in terms of its energies and how we might positively and consciously work with them.


The first Eclipse of the season is a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on 7th July. The Moon, at 15 degrees of Capricorn opposes the Sun in Cancer. During a regular Full Moon, the Moon is at her brightest and under her light we can’t hide, truths are exposed, but during a lunar eclipse her light is blocked by our very own ‘mother-ship’, the Earth, so lady Luna is cast into shadow. But what can this mean?

In my blog of 31st May, June Astrology: Scandals, Healing & The Power of the Feminine http://www.mandilockley.com/monthly%20astrologya.html I discussed the energies symbolised by the Summer Solstice, the need to find a powerful, fresh perspective and respect for feminine values and described how so many of us have lately felt the need to take a break from our path to rest, recuperate and heal. Now, however, during this Eclipse, the masculine, yang energies, symbolised by the practical, down to earth Capricorn Moon are coming in, pushing us back into the world of ambition, progress and action.What should we do? Leave our cosy, comfortable places and jump back in there? Well, yes and no.



Yes, because we must now leave our protective nests and no, because as we venture out once again we must hold within us the energies of the soft, yielding, receptive, nurturing spaces we have created during our retreat. This is important, because we will surely face the shadow sides of both Cancer and Capricorn and must approach them with compassion.

The shadow side of Cancer is needy, over-protective and emotionally manipulative. Nothing new can be learnt from this position. Rather, the emotions become stagnant and turn in on themselves, with ever diminishing returns. The shadow side of Capricorn is rigid, over-structured and cold. Making progress in the so-called ‘real’ world is the only thing that matters, integrity and taking responsibility for our actions go out of the window.


In the shadow side of both signs, the world is a harsh, difficult, dangerous place. In this expression of the two signs, the energies can’t flow naturally, they are blocked and squashed and transmuted into something which can harm rather than heal and we are locked in a compulsive pattern of doing what we feel we need to do in order to ‘survive’.


During this time, we should seek to express the higher expressions of both signs and thus find a space where we feel truly safe because we have already been through the dark and we are no longer afraid. It is a space where we can nurture ourselves and others, where the healing waters of our emotions run crystal clear and where we are willing to serve with integrity and discipline and administrate progress through responsible action and the right use of our emotional and material resources. In essence, Cancer and Capricorn really are two expressions of the same energies, constantly flowing towards and away from balance, an eternal dance of opposition and harmony.

By holding and grounding these energies in balance, we can each, in our way, create a vessel to positively carry forward the current planetary energies, energies which seem to be prompting us ever more urgently to move towards a world of equality, fairness, responsible individual freedom, cooperation and community.


The second eclipse of July is a New Moon Solar Eclipse. This Eclipse is set to be a powerful one for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is the second of two Cancer New Moons this year, an unusual event, the first being the Cancer New Moon of 22nd June, at the Solstice.The second reason is that this Eclipse takes place in the very last degree of the sign of Cancer. The last degree of any sign is known as the critical degree and any astrological alignment at one of these degrees feels urgent and incredibly intense.


In Cancer, the intensity of this eclipse will revolve around the urgent addressing of imbalances between the masculine and the feminine energies, between home and family life and work and material concerns and between our own very personal inner work and our busy outer lives. It is in following the energy of these themes that we will continue the work we began at the Solstice in June and grounded at the Lunar Eclipse of 7th July.


This Solar Eclipse, then, will mark a time to move forward with those energies and themes and begin to manifest a balance of polarities out in the conscious world. If you plant such seeds at this Solar Eclipse, fearlessly, in the darkness, they will most surely grow into the light, flower and bear fruit. As ever, follow your own truth and trust your intuition to guide your next move.


In Predictive Astrology, The Eagle and the Lark, Bernadette Brady describes how each Solar Eclipse belongs to a particular family of Eclipses, known as a Saros Series, which produce an eclipse once every 18 years. The themes of the Saros Series to which the 22nd July 2009 Eclipse belongs are described by Brady as follows: “This family of eclipses is concerned with the need to make sudden reforms. Old ideas or methods will fail and new systems are required”.


This is very telling when considered against the current world economic and social climate, especially when we remind ourselves that while the series of Saturn-Uranus oppositions which began in 2008 are in abatement, they are by no means over, with the third of five exact oppositions coming in September.


Saturn opposite Uranus is a wake-up call measurement, powerfully symbolising the need to end the old ways of doing things, inevitably disrupting the status quo to make way for new, fair, inclusive values by which to run our individual lives and structure our world, values which will take us boldly into the Age of Aquarius. Remembering that the first Saturn-Uranus conjunction of this series coincided exactly with the election of Barack Obama provides some clue to the energies of this measurement.Until September though, there remains, as reflected by the ongoing Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction, a wonderful opportunity for all gentle souls, poets, spiritual seekers, visionaries and teachers to re-group and heal and in so doing to process, hold, ground, balance and express the intense energies of this July’s Eclipses.


May your dance be a merry one.

http://www.mandilockley.com/