Dark of the Moon—Sagittarius Solar Eclipse—December 14th.
Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us—Sir David Attenborough.
For most of us, this has been a year that has cracked open our resilience, spilled our sadness and opened our hearts. For most of us, this has been a year of paring down, of postponing and cancelling plans and movement. And for some, the pandemic has highlighted the tenuousness of our survival as we face the greatest threat to our continued presence on this planet—climate crisis.
The Sagittarius Solar Eclipse today (visible in some areas of Southwest Africa and South America) is a seeding of a new future in this age of the Humans, this new geological age of Anthropocene.
Eclipses come in pairs, so it may be helpful to think about the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on November 30th. Eclipse symbolism embraces endings and new beginnings, important rites of passage, tipping points, wake up calls and revelations.
This New Moon Solar Eclipse is in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, a segue into themes that may be rising to the surface now in our lives as well as in worldly events. The gas-giant Jupiter is associated with Faith; with expansion and exploration, with vision and forward thinking; and with long distance travel, which may still not be practical or possible for most of us. The Sun and the Moon both square Neptune today, so logic is obscured, facts darkened by the stories we tell ourselves. Neptune carries invisible viruses, and many of us go back into some form of lock-down or new restrictions. Today, the Electoral College confirms Joe Biden’s win and activates Trump’s natal lunar eclipse, which points to a deeply personal tipping point for the former president of the United States.
For those who have planets or angles at 23° Sagittarius this could be a day when intuition feels crystal clear, when the senses are attuned to subtle energies, when we feel a strong desire to let go of something that keeps dragging us back to the past.
This week, Venus carries the light of Hope as she slips from the dark waters of Scorpio into the warmth of fiery Sagittarius on Tuesday; Saturn ingresses into Aquarius on Thursday; and Jupiter ingresses into Aquarius on Saturday, so stay steady as we face into massive global and personal change; reach out to a trusted friend if you are feeling lonely, burnt out or uncertain. Chiron (archetype of the wounded healer) the turns direct this week (December 16th) offering new opportunities for deeper
Healing and tender care of our minds and bodies, especially now as Mars is gathering speed in Aries.
On Monday, the Jupiter-Saturn Great Conjunction accompanies the mid-winter solstice here in the North. Jupiter and Saturn meet at the critical degree of 00.29° Aquarius on December 21st, just as the Sun ingresses into Capricorn. Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly in the evening sky now, two bright “stars”, offering a ray of hope for the future of humanity and the other species that share our home planet if we curtail our spending and our travelling if limit our population growth and treasure and defend the natural world.
This Great Conjunction takes place when the Sun enters Capricorn underscoring the serious Saturnian flavour of the moment. Saturn is the celestial task master, demanding accountability, enforcing rules and regulations. This echoes Saturn’s ingress into Capricorn back in December 2017, just before the financial crash of 2018.
Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction every 20 years, but this conjunction is significant because the last time Jupiter and Saturn joined in the sign of Aquarius was in 1405. The Renaissance, a new consciousness was beginning to blossom, a time of scientific discovery and unprecedented exploitation of the natural world. This conjunction at 29—0° Aquarius (a sign that symbolises humanity) will be important if you have planets or angles at 0 degrees of Aquarius, Leo, Taurus or Scorpio, this conjunction at the solstice will be important for you personally. Together these celestial messengers bring gifts of a new perspective, empathic and compassionate relating, and an appreciation for nature and all living things, if we look beneath the ordinary, if we are prepared to grow up and take responsibility for our actions.