WELCOME BACK NAVIGATORS! We approach the second and final Eclipse of the season, I will discuss the specifics more under the card I pulled, the 9 of Wands, but it is also worth noting that Pluto is direct as of today (Sept 24). Secrets may be revealed as well as imbalances of power. It is officially FALL- dry leaves, campfires, and pencil shavings! Additionally, we are in the throws of the Mercury Retrograde in Libra. Communications, particularly person to person, may be going a little haywire. Remember to ask for clarification before you ascend the escalator from discussion to full fledged fight. <3 !
NEWS
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lunar eclipse in the sign of the ram, wham bam!, on the lam, what a ham, finger in the dam, old uncle sam, in a jam, season of the yam, ride on the tram, spic and span, hey man, your biggest fan, i think i can, summer's tan, hot pan, lend a hand, feet on land, head in the sand, what the critics panned, love alive, nose dive, beehive, i will survive, stars above, love love love,
--MW
Without further ado! The general card from Amy von Harrington’s deck for all:
9 OF WANDS
Ouch! The past few days have felt like rug burn. Have you felt something similar? This is a tender time for all of us held to this tiny rock known as Planet Earth. A lot may be shifting in our individual and collective awareness as we approach the Lunar Eclipse in Aries this Sunday night. For those of us in North America the Eclipse will be visible and quite spectacular, as Eclipses often are.
The Moon will be in Aries opposite the Sun in Libra, indicating that the main topic of conversation surrounding this Eclipse is self and other, me and us. The Eclipse occurs just an arms length (a few degrees) from the south node of fate which will be on the World Axis (0 degrees Aries, 0 degrees Libra). This means we can expect the effects of this Eclipse to be apparent in world events/ politics as well on a more personal level. Additionally, the Eclipse forms a trine with Saturn now in Sagittarius, indicating that the release, which Eclipses often facilitate, may be experienced as deep, fated and likely beyond our control, endings and beginnings that simply must come. We may be reminded in one way or another of the gift that is our life, and the many gifts that others contribute to that life just by being present in it.
Lately, I’ve found it uncharacteristically difficult to access a sense of appreciation. I’ve been down in the doldrums where everything is the color of smog and tastes like spent gum. “Blah, blah, blah, nothing matters,” seems to be the tune of late. Generally, my sense of appreciation is inspired by a sense of individuality or specialness, but this stale wash has made it difficult to find the sparks within the landscape of life. Then I heard an interview on the radio with a former nun who put things in perspective with a few resonate words. She told the interviewer that she had been called into the religious life by a deep and overwhelming love and she wanted to put her love to work in the world. Something she said in the interview about what she has come to understand about people and life seemed to reverberate and resonate with the themes of the Eclipse. Many formed of spirituality and religion emphasize a connection between everyone and everything. Neptune, the planetary ruler of Pisces and the plant associated with religion also emphasizes this sense of connection. At the eclipse in Aries, Mars (Aries’ ruler) will be in Virgo- once again emphasizing the Jupiter/ Neptune opposition. Reflecting the Neptunian theme of connection, but adding in the Virgo sense of precision the former nun told the interviewer that between each of us is distinction not division.
My friend Amy has a collection of sunglasses that allow you to see the world through different colored lenses. Each pair corresponds to a different chakra. If there were similar astrological glasses, we could put on the Virgo glasses and have an opportunity to see and appreciate the individual, bumps, bruises, the signature snaggletooth, the minutiae and the specialness that makes each person, planet, animal and object distinctive. If we put on the Pisces glasses we could return to an understanding of our interconnectedness, of the ocean we are all a part of where our individual breath links arms with the air and becomes one with the breath of others.
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I remember hearing this quote for the first time and liking it. It felt like a few melodic notes in a song- a song that went flat when I found out the words were first spoken by John F. Kennedy- "a boring old white dude"- I thought at the time. Even so, lately I’ve found myself thinking about the significance of this quote on a smaller scale.
I was listening to an old episode of Storycorps and one of the stories was about a man in New York who had been mugged. He worked as a school teacher and as he was getting off the train after work, a young man held him up demanding his wallet. The teacher handed him the wallet and then proceeded to take off his jacket as well. “What are you doing?” the young man asked. “I’m giving you my jacket,” the school teacher said. He figured if the man was desperate enough to hold him up for a wallet, which didn’t even have very much cash in it, that he must also be in need of a jacket and food for that matter. The teacher invited the young man to join him for dinner at a restaurant and at the end of the meal said, “I guess you’re buying since you have my wallet.”
It’s easy in conflict or in a difficult situation to see ourselves as somehow in opposition to a person who is for example, stealing your wallet. But the teacher in this story chose instantly to make a compassionate connection with his attacker instead. At this Eclipse it would be helpful to adopt a similar frame of mind. How can you be generous and compassionate (Virgo/Pisces) towards another (Libra) in a way that is also generous to yourself (Aries)? Knowing that we are all connected (Pisces) and yet distinctive (Virgo) how can you act (Aries) in a way that is reflective of this understanding?
The card I’ve pulled for this Eclipse is the 9 of Wands. It reflects the tenderness and vulnerability I mentioned above, which we may all be experiencing at this Eclipse and in the weeks following. But the 9 of Wands also serves as a reminder of the strength and courage that is available to us, even and perhaps especially when we are at our most vulnerable.
