Sagittarius Solar Eclipse

November 24-25, 2011

 It is the North and South Nodes of the Moon which determine where our yearly eclipses fall.  The North Node points out what we have to integrate into our collective vision; the South Node delineates what we have to leave behind. This year we are called by Sagittarius to stand in our Truth and leave behind the false dichotomies of the Gemini Rational Mind which has controlled our society since the Age of Enlightenment.  This is the year we get to really shift our Minds – time to start using all sides of the brain. Since Gemini’s ruler Mercury goes retrograde in Sagittarius a few hours before this Thursday’s solar eclipse, we can count on spending the next few months contemplating what we believe and how we use our minds – or not!

        Sometimes you just ‘gotta have faith’!

        This Sagittarius new Moon partial solar eclipse occurs on November 24 at 10:10pm PST and on November 25 at 1:10am EST/ 6:10am GMT.  It will be seen at the bottom of the world in Antarctica, South Africa and New Zealand. 

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon solar eclipse at 3* Sagittarius is: Two men playing chess.  The two opposing sides in the game must use strategy and cunning to conquer their opponent.  Chess trains us to be more objective and aware of the big picture.  It images for us the interplay of light and dark, good and evil, male and female, yin and yang.  We all need to understand the big picture and create accordingly. Our Wizard's Chess board sharpens the mind as it presses towards its goal. 

        If I had to pick a story to go along with this month’s Sagittarius New Moon, it would be the story of Harry Potter.  Harry is asked to stretch his mind around the fact that he is a Wizard – he has magic in his blood.  But because he has to confront the evil Voldemorte, he must confront the question of what he values.  Before Voldemort becomes embodied again, he tries to entice Harry to side with him and take up Power.  But Harry values Love and loyalty and friendship and rejects the call to Power.  It is this grand mythic story of the struggle within one boy to decide if he will stand for Love or give over to Power that has captured our collective imagination.  This is especially true for men – it is up to men to make this choice for Love, for men still control much of the world’s wealth and power. 

It is not the power of the rational mind itself which is good or evil – it is what we each chose to do with ours that matters. Objective rationality can be death-dealing if it is cut off from heart values just as subjective emotionality can be delusional if we can’t discriminate between good and evil. We have to achieve a balance of letting the heart lead the way while strengthening our ability to focus our minds on what is important.   The proper balance is the Mind supporting the Heart.

Ancient wisdom says that magical powers – which include the focused power of Intention - are not meant to be used for personal gain – no matter what The Secret says.  Our beliefs give rise to our reality.  If we believe that we can use our ‘magical power’ of intention to make money and have power over other people, we are siding with Voldemort and his Death Eaters.  We have to decide if we are here to use our creative powers to serve the greater good or our own personal good.  As we can all see, that hasn’t worked out for the best, has it?

Sagittarius New Moon Solar Eclipse

This New Moon is a Solar Eclipse as well as a SuperMoon, bringing in more intense energies that can shift our awareness and beliefs.  The Moon is at its closest to the Earth now, exerting a greater pull on both our inner and outer waters; the Solar Eclipse brings the Moon onto the same plane as the Earth and Sun, setting up a new energy grid as the old one dies out.  This Sagittarius New Moon wants to expand our beliefs about what is possible.  In this dark time, it is the light of Sagittarian truth that sparks our curiosity and deepens our belief in Life.   

This New Moon is challenged by a few energies that have to be included in this extra potent seed time: Neptune at 29* Aquarius and Chiron at 1*Pisces confront us with the truth that it is the power of community that will create these new possibilities and give us new hope; and Mars at 7*Virgo, challenging us to get our act together, know who we are and create the perfect vehicle to express it as we wait for the next chapter in our cosmic story – the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square.    

Jupiter rules Sagittarius, the sign of Cosmic Order and Laws.  Sagittarius focuses its energies on cosmic law and truth, always pushing the boundaries of knowledge, curiosity and inclusion. The constellation of Sagittarius contains the Galactic Center, located within the starry river of the Milky Way.  Jupiter’s spirituality continually expands our knowledge of the Universal Laws of Life, bringing justice into our collective code of laws and wisdom to our personal consciousness about Life’s laws. 

Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is in Jupiter’s sign of Sagittarius, right on the Galactic Center.  Jupiter is in Venus’ sign of Taurus at this solar eclipse, asking us what is most valuable to us.  If your answer is Life itself, then Jupiter in Taurus says we need to get going to save our environment, because the window of opportunity is fast closing to reverse the worst outcome of climate change.  Scientists say we have 5 years before our children will inherit a world of continuing environmental disasters.  This new Moon is all about the heart chakra. 

The Occupy Wall Street movement is demanding economic equality.  What we really need is a redirection of wealth toward healing the environment first.  The wealthy 1% is holding the planet’s health and our lives hostage to their short-sighted greed. Jupiter in Taurus encourages us to listen to the Earth’s Laws of Life.  If our environment is in jeopardy, the Earth can teach us how to heal it if we listen and observe her laws.  We have to shift collective consciousness to do this.

Jupiter is in a wonderful helpful aspect with Pluto in Capricorn and Mars in Virgo for this solar eclipse New Moon. What we work on we can manifest.  If we really need it!  Because of Mars’ retrograde next January, it will stay in Virgo from mid-November 2011 to July 4, 2012.  Mars’ extra-long stay in Virgo can give us the determination we need to heal ourselves and work to bring healing into our world.  

  Neptune, the energy of spiritual awareness and visionary imagination, will soon take its leave of Aquarius after being there since 1998; on February 3, 2012 Neptune goes into its own sign of Pisces, the sign of the Collective Unconscious, the source of continuing spiritual and creative growth - the Source of Life.  With Neptune at 29* Aquarius, it is challenging this New Moon to incorporate our new global mindset – we are all One and we all have the right to our freedom.  

Chiron, the Wounded Healer, a horse-man in his own right, is in Pisces already, working to heal the Piscean wounds to our emotional nature.  What our culture has rejected as worthless – children, women, old ones, feelings, intuition, magic, art, spirituality – will come to the forefront of our collective awareness and help transform it.  We can see it happening as more and more people stand up against the corporate greed and inequitable wealth distribution that is short-changing the most vulnerable members of society - our elders and our children.   

Saturn in Libra is certainly not bringing opposing sides of the fairness issue to any kind of resolution.  Neither the Super Committee in the US Congress nor the authorities and protestors world-wide are working together to solve our common problems.  But Saturn is in a great relationship to Neptune, so it will help keep the protestors peaceful, even if the authorities use violence.  Someone has to show us how responsible grown-ups act.  And so far, our young adults and our elders are holding that space for the rest of us.

Uranus in Aries is slowing down to turn direct in two weeks just hours before the Gemini Lunar eclipse on December 10^th.  In a wonderful trine aspect to this Sagittarius New Moon, it adds the spark of rebellion and innovation to the expanding Mindset being birthed at this special New Moon. 

As I mentioned, Mercury begins its 3^rd retrograde of the year on November 23-24 at 21* Sagittarius: A Child and a dog wearing borrowed eyeglasses.  Children and dogs usually don’t need eyeglasses, so we have to imagine that they are playing at something – they are trying to ‘see’ something they think is hidden from them without the use of the glasses.  Something has to come into focus.  By imitating ‘grown-ups’ they will understand something that isn’t clear to them in their natural state.  Rudhyar thinks this image suggests using our imaginations and the play of make-believe to anticipate higher states of understanding.   Glasses help us to see clearly – perhaps our boundaries (the dog) and our child-like beliefs need clarifying.  

Mercury is all about re-doing things. What do we have to take a closer look at with our childlike vision and doglike loyalty? 

The Original Eclipse (NASA) - Saros Series 123:

 I always like to look to the beginnings of things, and so I want to take a moment to mention the very first eclipse in the series that this solar eclipse is part of. 

Astronomers catalogue eclipse series, calling it the Saros Series, and they give numbers to families of recurring eclipses.   This Sagittarius solar eclipse is part of Saros Series 123, whose first eclipse occurred on April 29, 1074 (Old Calender) or May 5, 1074 (New Calender).   The Sun and Moon were at 14* Taurus, exactly between Jupiter at 16* Aries, which rules Thanksgiving’s eclipse, and Neptune at 10*Gemini, positioning it to blend these two spiritual forces.

          The Sabian symbol for 14*Taurus is: On the beach, children play while shellfish grope at the edge of the water. This image speaks to our ability to open up to the imagination and let new contents into our consciousness.  Since this is the first eclipse in the series, it sets the tone for the whole series.  The image suggests that we open to our unconscious now to let in new beliefs about life and the contest between good and evil.

          We can see the same energies are engaged this Thursday as were present in the first of this series of eclipses – Jupiter, Taurus, Venus, Neptune, Mercury and Saturn.  Pluto (sextiles) provides opportunities for the original solar eclipse to deepen a new spiritual consciousness.  Neptune is conjoined with Mercury in early Gemini, opposite Saturn in Sagittarius – the imagination (Neptune) works with the rational mind (Mercury) to figure out what to believe (Saturn). They both square or challenge Mars in Pisces, a spiritual warrior if I ever saw one.   How do we clear the Mind so we are open to revelations that we can actually manifest?

          Venus in Aries is on the midpoint of Uranus in Aquarius and Neptune in Gemini – the Universal Mind uniting with the power of the collective unconscious creating a new Birth - of Venus arising from the waters of Life and the Creative Imagination.  Love and connection, gifts of feminine spirit, are the best options to form the basis of a new society.  Otherwise, we stay in a state of war and death.

          I’ve given you some ideas to think about this weekend, especially Americans who are celebrating Thanksgiving.  What are we really thankful for?  The Wise person lives their beliefs and assumes responsibility for their lives and their world.  What is the responsible use of our Minds, our Hearts, our Spirits?  Are we here on Earth just to satisfy our material desires or are we here to grow our Spirits through our experience of Life?  If the later, then we have arrived at the time when the Earth’s life (and we are part of that life) hangs in the balance.  That’s why we are called to live out our fullest potentials.

Just like Harry and his world.

May your Thanksgiving be full of companionship and laughter.  Let life be good in the midst of darkness.

Sweet Dreams!

 Cathy