By Amanda Painter
Yesterday’s Leo Full Moon and lunar eclipse put us squarely in ‘the eclipse zone’. Don’t worry if you didn’t notice anything ‘special’ yesterday; eclipses work in pairs (the corresponding partial solar eclipse is Feb. 15), and often the full two weeks in between hold intriguing potential.
Winter surfing at Morro Rock, California; photo by Mike Baird/flickr under CC 2.0. People actually do this in Maine and Canada, too.
That’s going to vary from person to person, depending on such things as where the eclipses occur in your chart; where you are in your life; how you relate to opportunities and synchronicity; and who knows what else.
You might have a friend who makes radical changes in her life during an eclipse period, while you just seem to roll along like you always do. Or maybe you make one unexpected decision near an eclipse that develops in surprisingly productive ways months later, while someone close to you seems to encounter obstacles and setbacks.
My point is simply that there’s no one way that eclipses manifest in people’s lives. So there’s no point in worrying that you’re ‘doing it wrong’, or ‘not doing enough’ to make it ‘count’. You can, however, stay as aware as possible of opportunities, shifts in your outer environment, quiet intuitive nudges, and unexpected insights or urges. Those could very well be some of the openings through which you’re able to harness some energy — as can getting clear on anything you’d like to experience more of, so you can prioritize it and get yourself oriented on it.
Surfing offers a useful image for using eclipses — even if you’ve never set foot near an ocean, let alone on a surfboard. You get yourself and your board out to where the waves are; point yourself in the right direction, and get ready. As a good wave approaches, you start paddling; as it arrives, you stand up in position to ride the wave. And you keep looking in the direction where you want to go — not behind you, or at your feet or the sky, or at the person next to you: you look where you want to go.
Applying that to eclipses generally means having an idea of what you’d like to do more of in the coming 6-12 months and making sure you do some of that on or around eclipse days. But it can also mean looking ahead to some larger goal and taking a tangible step toward it; or noticing an unusual opportunity and going with it, perhaps allowing your vision of what it might lead to develop along the way.
However you experience the next couple weeks, the major aspects of the next few days could give you some ideas about the overall atmosphere you’re operating in. The primary player looks like Venus in Aquarius.
On Saturday, Venus makes a conjunction to the asteroid Juno. Then on Sunday, Venus makes a square to Jupiter in Scorpio (Juno is also functionally square Jupiter now, but that won’t be exact until Monday). At the same time, Venus is aspecting several intriguing minor objects.
With fixed signs involved, there’s always the reminder to beware of stubbornly persisting in crystallized patterns; in this case, relationships, sex, friendships, group dynamics and habits of spending/consumption could be worth a special look. Venus-Jupiter squares typically bode well for doing just about anything you enjoy, especially in the company of others.
I know this might sound ‘out there’ for many readers, but with Venus in Aquarius and Jupiter in Scorpio, favored activities this weekend could legitimately include group sex. Even the presence of Juno may support that — though you’ll want to keep an eye on any jealous impulses.
Yet even in the most vanilla of monogamous relationships, Venus-Juno in Aquarius could actually indicate an enhanced ability to stay focused on the big picture in the relationship, rather than getting drawn into petty details. This would relate to the more humanitarian expression of Aquarius.
However, this astrology could also come through as a need for some freedom in a relationship to enjoy the company of others in some way; or even a desire to orient more on shared social justice priorities, whether in friendships or in community.
What about the minor planets involved? Venus is making a trine to Chaos in Gemini, and is squaring Psyche and Ceto in Scorpio. It kind of looks like having access to the fertile moment where your thoughts originate; and then being able to use that insight to come at persistent fears and emotional triggers from a more detached place — one that maybe allows you to experiment with a new approach to them.
Rounding out the weekend’s astrology we have Mercury newly in Aquarius (as of yesterday) sextile Mars in Sagittarius: the alertness, practical cleverness, and marriage of reason, action, optimism and innovation that could really come in handy in the days after an eclipse. Also on Saturday, the asteroid Pallas conjoins the object 1992 QB1 in Taurus. This looks like the potential to do some strategic threshold crossing; specifically, of the kind that accesses your body’s natural wisdom and sensory pleasure as you enter a new phase.
From what I can tell, the sky is offering some beautiful helpers as you traverse this space of time between eclipses. Even the subtlest effects and seemingly smallest choices can be beneficial; you don’t necessarily need dramatic changes to move forward (though at times that is called for). You just need to see the wave, and decide to keep surfing.
Eric is busily working on The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual; and it’s shaping up to be an exciting, information-packed edition. You can pre-order all 12 chapter-length signs here, or you may choose your individual signs here.
Amanda, this is so beautiful and feels in alignment with where I am now. Thank You and all at PW! The surfing metaphor is powerful and very helpful.
Jeanne
Jeanne — the surfing metaphor was stumbled upon by Eric and me years ago: we saw a guy on a beach with a T-shirt that read, “Look where you want to be.” We asked him about it, and he said it was from a surf guru in Hawaii (if I remember correctly); I think a woman. It’s such a wonderfully economical phrase, so useful, and amazingly fitting for eclipse energy. So glad to know you appreciate it!
🙂
Thank you Amanda, wonderfully phrased and written.
There is a lot happening in my natal chart with current transits and yet it feels like the most important thing I can do is to keep nourishing my intentions, and try to keep myself in an allowing mode. Then the changes can feel more like my timing is good.
Today my Uranus opposition is exact, and Uranus is set to conjoin my natal Mars.
I have Pluto/Ascendant in Libra, Venus in Cap, Saturn in Cancer, all at 4/5 degrees. So transiting Saturn is lighting that up like a Christmas tree. I’ve officially given Saturn the title of “Benefactor” and “Financial Advisor”.
…and Jupiter is helping this Scorpio-yo a bit too. 🙂
Happy transits!
“it feels like the most important thing I can do is to keep nourishing my intentions, and try to keep myself in an allowing mode. ”
Daniel, I suspect this really is the key. We can set goals and make plans, but even then, we need a measure of that “allowing mode” to help us be flexible with however things actually unfold.
I’ve been experiencing my Uranus return this past year, too. Quite a fascinating ride, isn’t it? Especially to have that transit while Uranus-Eris is still functional. 😉
So far, though, I think I actually enjoyed Saturn in Sagg a little more than Saturn in Cap, believe it or not. I guess I’m still adjusting to the … “firmer” influence of Saturn in Cap. Or something.
Happy transits to you, too!
This had a genuine therapeutic effect on me; as my experience yesterday triggered a number of the potential ‘watch for’s and was very difficult… Am taking this advise to heart.
Excellent, Amanda. You help me bi-locate in time and space in a way that “eclipses” both.
Thank You Amanda.
I’d read your article a couple of says ago. The energy and the insight of it stayed with me as I road this wave. I kept my sight focused on where I wanted to go: with the flow.
For me it involved who I am and what type of person I chose to be in a relationship with. As I watched it coalesce, there was a very definite resonance to things. Out of the blue came unwelcomed contact with relatives. The end of the story was if they didn’t know they were unwelcome before, they sure do now.
They’re abusive people, empowered in self righteousness, hitting people over the heads with judgments of damnation and denials of Worth. As opposite Humanitarian ideas of Compassion as any one of us could possibly get. I refused demands on my time and attention but that didn’t work. Somebody was looking for a fight and was not going away without one.
Which told me all I needed to know about her triggers. So I proceeded to I push their buttons one at a time.
“I don’t want to know you anymore than I do right now. I don’t want to associate with people like you. I don’t care what you think about me. I’ll listen to it when I see some semblance of it. I don’t care how you feel about me, either.
Your value system is corrupt. There is nothing of “spirit” in it.
You may choose beliefs in judgments of condemnation and lack of Worth and beat yourselves up with it. But you’re not at Liberty to be abusive to others or to abuse your children by teaching the same damn code to them. And I grant you no license to my Life.
I encourage you to see professional help for your Mental Health issues.”
I’d said that if there was the slightest hint of any desire on their part to Understand and actually BE an understanding human being, my response would have be different.
After inventing a story tale in their heads damning every facet of my life, they ‘saw’ that I was so small and lacking in worth, it didn’t matter if I didn’t want to know them.
Which served my purpose from the beginning.
I don’t tolerate rape of any kind and that’s what these people practice emotionally. Maybe it’s time to recognize certain beliefs as both symptoms of mental health issues and causes of them?
“Maybe it’s time to recognize certain beliefs as both symptoms of mental health issues and causes of them?”
Sue, I think you’ve definitely hit on something there! And kudos to you for refusing to allow that relative to emotionally abuse you. For sure, the universe seem to like to “test” us once in a while to be sure we’ve really learned what we’re in the process of learning. 🙂
Just to point out, Amanda, that you have been experiencing your Uranus opposition this year, rather than his return. He only does that when you’re 84 or thereabouts. I’m very happy to tell you that you don’t look that old!
Geoff – dammit, that’s what I meant to write!!! 😉 Thanks for the correction.
It was your insight Amanda, that provides the clues for what to notice. Knowing it was going to lead to my own benefit. There was going to be a benevolent outcome no matter what it appeared as in the meantime. Like your surfing idea, I kept my eyes on where I was going, not the sharks that had appeared in the water seeking to eat me. Claiming kinship doesn’t mean anything to me. It puts me under no obligation to relate. I made sure there was an understanding that that door was closed.
I’m the *wrong* person to pull that stuff with. The worst part about it was feeling polluted by the uck that radiated out of them. So I ended up enjoying a day of interacting with the groups I choose as my friends. Where we have Compassion and Healing in Mind.
It exposed the weeds in my garden so I could pluck them out by their roots.