click on the image to read about the art

The ripened reflection of a Full Moon warming the coolness of the night sky never fails to take my breath away, which is exactly what I experienced last Friday evening walking through a portal in the Santa Ynez Mountains straight into the eternal rounding of  a Full Moon in Capricorn. This was no ordinary Capricorn Full Moon, which in the best of times brings to bear the sobering realism of our vulnerability. This Full Moon herald a Lunar Eclipse and the shadow of the Earth boldly passing  across the face of the Moon defiantly breathtaking and tenaciously demanding our attention. When we are under the influence of Capricorn we intuitively know how to use our environment to our advantage. When we experience a Lunar Eclipse and the Full Moon is in Capricorn something deeply rooted in our unconscious is surfacing and taking conscious form so that our familial environment can shift shape.

What makes the Full Moon so alluring? Is it the  luminous warmth shading the Earth with an other-worldly complexion, or is it the illuminating light of the Sun impregnating the Moon with enchanting promise, or  perhaps it is the eternal round of a lunar cycle shaping the palpable presence of a sublime mystery. Whatever “it” is that catches and captivates our attention  it seems certain that the luminosity of an all knowing, all giving force of nature reflects the numinous power to give life and to take life away.

The Sun-Moon opposition in Cancer-Capricorn reflects the conflict between our indentity being dependent on the individuality of others, and our need for security dependent upon being emotionally independent. The Sun in Cancer tells us that our individuality can be receptive to the care and needs of others when we stop personalizing or internalizing their behavior as our own. The Moon in Capricorn is guiding us toward a greater emotional maturity and helping us define clearer boundaries that separate our feelings and the feelings of others.

The Sun opposing Pluto suggests that our life vitality is being sucked inside a vortex making it difficult to honor our unique individuality, and the Moon conjoined Pluto speaks of the emotional death and transformation that comes when we break free from habitual patterns of behavior. The Moon-Pluto conjunction reflects an intensity of emotions that may overwhelm us at first but with time can heal wounds from our past.

Under the luminosity of this Lunar Eclipse our emotional commitment is being tested on an unconscious level while on a conscious level we are becoming more realistic about ways in which we can accomplish our material goals.

When the Moon opposed the Sun and conjoined Pluto it was translating the light  of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries square Mercury in Cancer causing our impulsive actions to butt heads with our emotional reserve, which in turn, caused our perception of reality to retreat inside a shell of self-protection.  We need to be careful of not feeling sorry for ourself or wallowing in a pool of tearful regrets. The is a good time to communicate our feelings to others.

One challenge facing us is learning to  balance our emotional daring with prudent action. It is time to garner the finesse to think before we act without strapping our gut-felt- intuition inside a straight-jacket. This is not the time to retreat from the intensity of our emotions and we need to be weary of disassociating from our feelings and unwittingly view ourself and our life from the wrong end of the telescope.

This Lunar Eclipse triggers the first of a series of summer Cardinal Crosses warning us to temper our  impatience with the status quo least we risk hitting, head first, a wall of resistance. We need to modestly work behind the scene diligently learning, or teaching others, the skills necessary to improve our relationships with one another. We have entered a period of sudden and unexpected changes demanding that we set our expectations free and imagine the unimagined.

Mercury square Jupiter is the celestial signature of judgment running wildly amok. Mercury in Cancer guarantees that our thoughts and feelings will fluctuate  from one moment to the  next challenging our effort to make an emotional commitment to something we want to accomplish in our life. If we can steady our course by remaining persistent in our work and accepting of the delays that we are certain to encounter we may discover that our actions are nourishing the beginning of a new way of feeling sage and secure in life.

In cultures around the world it is said that  on November 1 and 2 the portals open between the living and the dead allowing us on Earth to mourn the one in celebration of the other. What makes this November 2 an even more potent celebration of life is the Scorpio Full Moon; the annual Full Moon of death and transformation. Every month the milky-white luminosity of a Full Moon reflects the life force of the Sun beaming sweet nourishment to our soul. Every autumn when the Sun enters Scorpio we experience a breaking down of our individuality, and when the Sun in Scorpio opposes the Moon in Taurus we begin breaking down the hollowed, inauthentic aspects of ourself that have starved our soul. The Moon is exalted in Taurus creating enduring change and growth, and when the Moon is  full in Taurus the promised growth becomes our reality when we understand that material security comes from the deepest roots of our being.

Easier said than done. Making no mistakes the journey to our eternal being is mined with unimagined traps of every distortion, inventions and manifestations of our fears, meant to prevent our growing in a deeper self -awareness. Our greatest fears reside at the side of death but oddly so not so much our physical death as the death of our knowledge of what we think is real. This is a fascinating conundrum that human consciousness has created for itself, suggesting that knowledge is a dead thing, if we consider that knowledge comes from past experience and past experience is something that has  already happened hence it is dead and gone.

Our attachment to what we think is emphasized this Full Moon both by Mercury in Scorpio and the challenging aspects the Sun and Moon will make to Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune in Aquarius. This month illuminates our resistance to change highlighting our determination to build security by holding onto what we think,  what we feel, and what we own.  It seems likely that one of our greatest lessons this month will have something to do with trusting our inner authority and building a permanent alter in respect of our self-worth.

The last aspect the Taurus Moon makes before leaving sign is a trine to the North Node in Capricorn pointing an authoritative finger in the direction of our future growth; letting go of our dependency on the past and accepting personal responsibility and leadership in creating our personal security from the inside out. Saturn recently entered Libra shifting our sense of personal responsibility away from health toward relating with one another. Our relationships  with one another truly foster our greatest growth and if we consider that this month is our time to die to what we know about ourself, in the spirit of Krishnamurti’s immortal words, “freedom from the known”, we have a wonderful opportunity to relate to one another with fresh possibility.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/8692/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/8235 http://laurenlesko.com/8235#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:30:50 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=8235 click on the image to read about the art

There is a discordant restlessness, a frothing of fear and greed, reflected in the glowing warmth of this season’s Harvest Moon, threatening to lay waste to our annual sharing of prosperity with one other. This is the first Full Moon of the Autumnal Equinox; that time of year when the Sun in Libra, radiating grace and beauty in the northern hemisphere, demarcates a conscious shift in our self-awareness signaling the time to share ourself with others. When we are under the influence of Libra we are seeking peace and harmony not war and strife. This is one reason why the Libra Full Moon poignantly illuminates the awkward transition we humans make from self -determined actualization to conciliatory diplomatic negotiation, hopefully not sacrificing the one to the other. The Moon in Aries, promoting emotional courage and independence to assert our needs, also garners impulsive reaction often triggered by our unconscious motives, which, if not tempered with a modicum of judicious measure can backfire causing harsh reactions from others. This Full Moon is urging each of us to create balance  within ourself and in our relationships with others. Remembering that this is the Full Moon phase of a New Moon in Virgo may help each of us to work on improving a difficult relationship requiring our patience and acceptance of what is.

The Moon in Aries and Mars in Cancer seem to be working, at least at the moment, hand in fist creating an atmosphere of steamy self-defense and moody sensitivity upsetting the delicate scales of social justice. This Aries Moon is illuminating the powerful impulse of regeneration having made a square to Pluto in Capricorn a few hours before opposing the Sun. Pluto intensifies what it touches and when it is the Moon we can expect a transformation to occur at our deepest roots. This month we may discover that taking direct action in care of others regenerates the meaning of family.  This is the month to shed our crustacean armor protecting our vulnerability at the cost of intimacy. The Moon-Mars mutual exchange stimulates emotional courage and independent daring that can propel us beyond circumscribed tribalism that restricts the nourishing and protecting of our universal family.

The Mars-Uranus trine foretells of free spirited individualism upsetting the status quo and acting on behalf of humanitarian justice. The Mars-Neptune quincunx warns us against being duped by false sentimentality and nationalism used as a deceptive ploy to confuse or erode our decisive action in service of humanity. It is important  during this month to travel the “high road” and not get bogged down with distracting innuendos that diffuse the bigger picture. Venus in Virgo quincunx Jupiter Rx in Aquarius is warning against exaggerating our personal discontent and dissatisfaction to such grandiose proportions that we loose our equilibrium.

Our equilibrium is further challenged this month as Mercury, recently stationed direct in Virgo, opposing Uranus in Pisces and quincunx Neptune in Aquarius sets off an electrical current turning our perception of “self and other” topsy – turvy. Be prepared for the tried -and- true in your daily life to be disrupted in unexpected ways  bringing a combination of flashes of keen insight and radiant illumination along with muddled conversations and ruptured communication. When Mercury is in Virgo our attention is directed toward the precision of our thoughts and feelings allowing the exactitude of language to clearly define our intellectual parameters. When Mercury opposes Uranus  those parameters tend to explode into a prismatic vista of unfamiliar sensations  forcing us to embrace the unknown by opening our head and heart to unimagined possibilities. Aries is our impulse to “be” and this month under the Full Moon illumination we are encouraged to explore hidden aspects of our “be-ing-ness”  that if brought to conscious light and placed upon an alter of courageous action may balance the scales of human love.

At the time of the Full Moon Mercury, Uranus, Mars, and Neptune, each in a different sign, are at 24 degrees. I thought it worth examining the Sabien Symbols for that degree and sign to gain a deeper understanding of our potential growth in self- awareness during this lunation cycle.

Mercury, the universal principle of thought and communication, 24 Virgo : “Freshness of viewpoint un-inhibited by social intellectual preoccupations. Vibrant simplicity.  Spirit – born imagination.

Uranus, the universal principle of shocking change, 24 Pisces : “Adaptability and inherent creativeness of man. Extreme of surety in self-expression. Centralization of supernal forces.”

Mars, the universal principle of willful action, 24 Cancer : “”The three “souls” in man – actional, emotional, mental – “exiled” in the body. Potential fulfillment. Sense of being lost in life.”

Neptune, the universal principle of union and oneness, 24 Aquarius : “Utilization of experience and passion by the intelligence that remains un-involved. Self-conquering. Genuine dispassion.”

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/8235/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/5930 http://laurenlesko.com/5930#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:22:21 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=5930 click on the image to read about the art

“Almost wholly unappreciated is the magnitude of the force that will be generated by the achievement of unity, an influence “so powerful,” in Bahá’u'lláh’s words, “that it can illuminate the whole Earth.”*

For many of us on Earth last Friday was a bit rough and tumble as those aspects of ourself that we have invested with consolidating our emotional security, Moon in Scorpio, and distributing our wealth of ideas, Mercury in Taurus, opposed one another challenging the fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, to negotiate a harmonious balance between differences of opinion, which a discerning eye might readily discover as a mere shading of perceptual tone. What complicated matters even more was that the Sun in Gemini and Saturn in Virgo made an exact square in tandem with the Moon and Mercury opposition, challenging the mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces to take notice of crystallized thought patterns and stagnant boundaries of conditioned thinking that are preventing a fresh perspective of our  view of reality. Gathering a fresh perspective seems very much in the mind and heart of the current celestial transits noting that the last aspect the Scorpio Moon made before engendering the lush ripening of the Full Moon was a square to Jupiter in Aquarius amplifying the possibility of a radical shift in our perception requiring objectivity coupled with self-honesty.

Today, the Gemini Full Moon illuminates our potential awakening in a new self-awareness which reflecting in the sign of Sagittarius suggests to me an enthusiastic embracing of a broader perspective of our world. When we are under the influence of Sagittarius we are seeking to know the significance of our life and the deeper meaning of the kaleidoscopic patterns of perception which we continually project onto the world. That aspect in each of us expressed through Sagittarius is intuitively integrating our body with our mind through our spiritual journey in unity with something greater than our conscious self. We are certain to experience the best that Sagittarius has to offer when we allow ourself the freedom to travel unencumbered by fear or apprehension into the future unknown.

This Full Moon delivers a powerful punch as the Moon in Sagittarius translates a square to Saturn to an opposition with the Sun culminating with a grand finale square to Uranus. It is worth noting that both the Moon and Uranus are under the beneficent tutelage of Jupiter in Aquarius hinting at the humanitarian scope of potentialities awaiting our conscious awakening if we are willing to revolutionize our perception of the institutions that structured our social traditions and contoured many of the beliefs we hold near and dear to our heart. We have the week ahead of us to pay closer attention to our beliefs and a precious opportunity of airing out the staleness of our thinking by allowing the sweet freshness of our enthusiasm for venturing into the unknown to perfume our perception of the world.

* “The Prosperity of Humankind”, Bahá’í International Community United Nations Office

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/5930/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/2052 http://laurenlesko.com/2052#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:37:48 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=2052 click on the image to read about the art
Every month the Sun, the source of our unique life vitality, and the Moon, the substance of our eternal self, conjoin in the same sign to give birth to a New Moon Cycle signaling something deep within our unconscious is being brought to conscious light. Twice a year, roughly six months apart, the Sun and Moon conjoin along the ecliptic at a point  on or near where the Moon has previously crossed on its journey around the Earth. This cosmic punctuation marks the Nodal Axis of the Moon and it is there that the Moon gracefully moving between the Sun and Earth briefly swallows the light of the Sun precipitating a Solar Eclipse and a dramatic changing in human consciousness.

And so………... it was two weeks ago that we set our intention for the next six months by deciding how we want to contribute our unique individuality to humanity. The influence of Aquarius is helping us understand that change comes from the effort of separate individuals working together on behalf of the greater whole. Today, two weeks after the Solar Eclipse, we glimpse the other face of the ecliptic cycle as we turn our gaze 180 degrees to face the Lunar Eclipse. A Lunar Eclipse is a Full Moon, a Sun and Moon opposition, illuminating a  unique time when the Moon gently moves into the Earth’s shadow and the Earth positioned between the Sun and Moon casts a shadow over the face of the Moon. When this happens we on Earth are made aware that an aspect of our individuality has eclipsed our unconscious and in order to grow in self-awareness we need to become consciously aware of that aspect of our self and whether it is a constructive or destructive force in our life.

The Moon in Leo emphasizes our emotional need for recognition from others reassuring us that who we are and what we are doing is making a valuable contribution to humanity. When we are under the influence of Leo we are hyper- sensitive to what others think about our individual uniqueness, and while we generously give our life vitality for others to enjoy, we tend to suffer self-doubts and insecurities concerning the true value of our self. When we experience a Lunar Eclipse in Leo the time has arrived for us to make an honest self- evaluation of how we express our self, and in turn, what we are contributing to the continuum of human consciousness.

One of the unabashed gifts of Leo is our learning to appreciation our process of  creative self-expression as the spiritual act of watching our self creating our self. It is all too easy to dismiss this process as self indulgent but  in so doing we deny the importance of affirming our unique individuality in tribute to the living intelligence of which we are apart. The Buddha taught that we are creating our self in each moment lived. Once we affirm our creative self-expression we can affirm the creative expression of all others and truly manifest the Aquarius aspect in each of us seeking to honor the diversity and differences of humanity.

This next six months may garner times when our ego flaring like a wild fire insists on unbridled freedom of expression.  At these times it is best not to take our self too seriously, instead, mindfully observe that we have set ablaze our self-doubts and insecurities. It might be helpful to consider this Lunar Eclipse as a tremendous healing for humanity. Chiron, the wounded healer, is in Aquarius and the Lunar Eclipse will make an exact conjunction and opposition with Chiron suggesting that our individual and collective healing has something to do with eliminating self-doubts and insecurities that are the source of defensive and brutish bulling of others. It is time to set aside our childish fears of doubt and inadequacy without sacrificing our child-like joy and pleasure in self-creating. The challenge facing each of us is gaining a true appreciation for the unique gift that we are contributing on behalf of the collective human experience of being alive in the world.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2052/feed 1 http://laurenlesko.com/591 http://laurenlesko.com/591#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:02:38 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=591 click on the image to read about the art

The Sagittarius Full Moon is stimulating a restlessness within each of us which may be pricking our dissatisfaction with the way things are. This is especially  true for those of us born with a strong influence of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces at 21 degrees. This is not a negative experience, in fact, this Full Moon is spurring us onward to fulfill our dreams of the future aided with a tempering of our expectations of what that future will be. Gemini and Sagittarius have difficulty concentrating on the mundane concerns of life and yet this is exactly what we are challenged to do. One lesson taught, and hopefully learned, under the influence of this Full Moon is the necessity to create “boundaries”, which means to respect both the sovereignty of ourself and others. Another lesson offered is learning to take responsibility for fulfilling our commitments by keeping our mind focused on the goal and taking one precious step after another. In other words, this is not a fortuitous time for  entertaining distractions.  We need  to be watchful of becoming discouraged if things are not moving as fast as our mental imagining. The trick this week is to give ourself enough mental breath to “realize” what we think and feel, separate and distinct from others, without escaping into imaginary flights of fancy.

The exuberance of the Sun in Sagittarius opposing the Moon in Gemini conjures a wild horse ready to bolt, which is exactly what we may feel like doing because this Sagittarius Full Moon makes a Grand- Square to Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces, and corrals our expansive vision for the future.  Remember this Full Moon is teaching us about boundaries and corralling our vision for the future can actually work in our favor if we accept the celestial challenge and become more methodical in accomplishing our goals. It is also possible that this transit will highlight where in our life we tend to give up too easily fostering frustration, regret, even resentment toward others.

A real treasure of this Full Moon is found in the supportive relationship between Mercury and Jupiter reinforcing that we can accomplishment our goals but it will require self-discipline, an unwavering commitment, and personal sacrifice.  Hours before the Full Moon, Mercury, the ruling planet for Gemini and Virgo, entered Capricorn  straight into the arms of Pluto a clear signal for transforming our perception of social power, authority, and leadership. Jupiter, the ruling planet for Sagittarius and Pisces, is in the sign of Capricorn and having recently made a trine to Saturn is valiantly navigating a stormy sea of uncertainty. Together, Mercury and Jupiter in Capricorn are helping us achieve what we imagine our future to be by keeping our feet firmly planted on Earth.

The first aspect the Moon made in Gemini was to nourish Venus in Aquarius which accentuated the universal theme of “human value”, and insured that we can experience grace and beauty in the arms of this Full Moon if we put our judgement from the past to sleep and awaken our appreciation for each unique expression of life. This Gemini Moon is also nourishing the North Node, Chiron, and Neptune Aquarius, which is helping us heal a deep wounding to humanity by opening our mind and heart to the unimaginable. Aquarius is that aspect in each of us learning to receive from others, and with the help of the Full Moon after-glow our thirst for new experiences and our quest for the unknown can guide our discovery of the full potential of what the human imagination can accomplish accompanied by self-determination.

Yesterday, we were given a glorious celestial awakening when Venus, our goddess of love, kissed Pluto, our god of death and transformation, not once but twice, first in the last degree of Sagittarius and then in the first degree of Capricorn, and we on Earth were given a double dose of love transformed. Venus is that aspect in each of us that loves because we are loved, and when we are under the influence of Venus we weigh the gifts of our love seeking to balance the scales between what we give and what we receive. Venus is our celestial boomerang and by sending back to us what we give to others the celestial goddess of love administers the irrefutable cosmic law of karma in the causation of our actions. When we are under the influence of Venus we are well aware that we are the  master builders of our fate, the architects of our life creating the life of our design. When Venus is in Capricorn we are learning that nothing in life is for free and that each act of love is marked with responsibility and commitment. This particular passing of Venus in Capricorn is disposing the face of the the Scorpio Full Moon, the luminous light of Taurus, intensifying the transforming of the love that has shaped our past and contours our present.

When we are under the influence of Venus in Capricorn we are made aware that love requires our maturity and we learn to respect and honor our self-value and the value of others.  Our usual frustrations vented in anger turn a sober face disarming the childish disappointments we carry from our past by transforming our poisoned resentment into a deeper appreciation of our life, which is  nothing less than the crowning jewel offered Taurus, and something of which I was reminded reading Full Moon in Taurus Brings Scorpio Love Lessons. I especially appreciated Jessica’s encouragement to value the simple physical pleasuring of the body, I’ve learned that Taurus Moon doesn’t care a wit about muddling through the complexity of my feelings — or his. That’s Scorpio. Hug therapy, sexual therapy, cuddle therapy are Taurus.”

Venus in Capricorn focuses our attention on the difficult work ahead testing our fortitude and our commitment to achieving our goals. Both Taurus and Capricorn honor our commitment to achievement and this month we have the celestial blessing of Venus, ruler of Taurus, dancing in harmony with the planet of manifestation, Saturn, and the planet of expansion, Jupiter. Worldly success seems at hand but not without our determined efforts to make it so.  Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, demands that serious attention be paid to what we value in life. Traditionally Capricorn honors our social achievements and the prestige that they garner, but on a deeper level in human consciousness, Capricorn is that aspect in each of us aware of contributing  to society the best of who we are and what we have to give. Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces is helping each of us to do the necessary work required to improve who we are  and what we have in order to improve what our society is and what it can become. The influence of Uranus in Pisces tells us that we are experiencing an evolutionary change in our concept of love and by breaking free from the shackles of conditional giving and receiving we  are given the gift to love because it is the nature of love to love.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/439/feed 0 http://laurenlesko.com/401 http://laurenlesko.com/401#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:05:55 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=401 click on the image to read about the art

The celestial phenomenon of the lunar cycle, the monthly relationship between the Sun and Moon unfolding in the night sky, emerges out of a darkness that begins with the passionate embracing of the Sun consuming the delicate vulnerability of the Moon. If we consider this phenomenon a mirror of our growing in self-awareness then it seems plausible that at each new Moon our passionate life force impregnates the womb of our vulnerability promising a new birth in our awareness with the Full Moon. Birth is never easy and whether born of the womb, the head, or the heart we seem destined to suffer emotional pain that  intimately links our experience of birth with our experience of death. When the new Moon is in Scorpio it is reflecting the cycle of life that nourishes death and transformation, and is helping us understand that every birth in our awareness is preceded by a dying to our past.

The Scorpio new Moon brings intensity to our need for the emotional security we once experienced in a womb protecting and sustaining our life force. When we are under the influence of Scorpio we swaddle, like a new born babe, our longing  to trust in life, yet, gripped by our darkest fears of being over powered by forces beyond our control we may try to control our environment by guarding our feelings and repressing our emotions. If we get mired in feeling overwhelmed by our vulnerability we are in danger of controlling other people in ways which we are afraid of being controlled and unwittingly perpetuate our anxieties. There is always an enormous passion and vitality in our expression of Scorpio testament to our ability to transform our past and regenerate anew, but we need to be willing to let go of our need for control. Under the guiding hands of the Scorpio new Moon coupled with trust in ourself we can create a nourishing womb within ourself that protects, sustains, and secures our emotional well-being far beyond this transit.

Scorpio, ruled by Mars, the god of war, and co-ruled by Pluto, the god of the underworld, accentuates our keen awareness of the darker forces in life working to breakdown, uproot, and eliminate what we have worked so hard to acquire, which is one reason why letting go of what we own can be a painful experience during a Scorpio transit. When a Scorpio transit is the underpinnings of the lunar cycle then we are challenged to let go of our possessive attachment to our ideals (Aquarius), our property, values, and self-worth (Taurus),  and our uniquely expressed individuality (Leo). I will be writing in more depth about each phase of the Moon as it unfolds throughout the month, but for now, what is worth remembering is that letting go of our attachment to what we own, masked as the face of our perception of who we are and what our life can be, is a liberating experience that garners our transformation and regeneration. The word “attachment” is misleading for many whom feel that loosing their attachment is tantamount to loosing their passion for life. On the contrary, loosing our attachment simply means letting go of the importance that attachment has in determining our perception of who we are and what our life can be. In order for that to happen we need be willing to die to what we know to come alive anew.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/401/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/309 http://laurenlesko.com/309#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:32:43 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=309 click on the image to read about the art

On the full Moon Lunar Eclipse Mars made a Big Fat square to Pluto and we were given a Big Fat reminder to temper our willful acting. Today, Mars enters Libra and we are given the golden opportunity of acting with balance and harmony. The first aspect to Mars in Libra is an opposition from the Moon in Aries pricking our emotional impatience urging us to diligently reconsider our impulsive reactions in our relationship with others. This is a time for becoming aware that our impatience with our self and others disrupts our equilibrium in life tossing us upside down and inside out. When we act without forethought, as Mars is oft to do, we can create double work for ourselves cleaning up our mishaps.

Mars is definitely at home in the cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, the impetus of each to take action. The lesson we are learning each time Mars travels through Libra is the best time for taking action, which can be nerve wracking with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. I have Libra at my mid heaven and I never enjoyed, even as a child at the amusement park, being jolted about, however, it is worth pondering the deeper meaning of Mars in Libra exposing our awkwardness, and difficulty, in taking harmonious action.

The first aspect this LIbra Mars makes is a square to Jupiter in Capricorn challenging us not to exaggerate the imbalance of our actions, instead, to use this aspect and garner disciplined action leading to constructive results. The conjunction with Mercury and then Venus, when both are in Libra, accentuates harmony in our communication with others; and the trine to Chiron and the North Node in Aquarius provides added breath to our actions allowing them a wider circulation and greater effect within the collective. The quincunx to Uranus curbs our tendency for defiant action, the trine to Neptune softens our motives, and the sextile to Pluto stimulates creative resolution. All in all, Mars in Libra heralds a time of greater accepting and allowing for each other’s differences which can open new levels of communication bringing understanding and offering mutual benefit.

Eclipses are major events in astrology, and no wonder, they are the intimate aligning, the celestial “ménage á trois”, of the three most significant players of the zodiac; the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth. Our ancestors considered eclipses to be “harbingers of calamity” for the simple reason that human consciousness experiences change with fear and foreboding. But this is not the only reason. Our ancestors worshiped the Sun and the Moon as God and Goddess who created, nourished, and sustained life on Earth, and witnessing the bright face of either deity suddenly blacken or turn blood red must have seemed tantamount to witnessing the wrath of the Universe. Today, most western cultures pride themselves on a mechanistic ordering of life, the Sun and Moon benign within the physical comprehending of phenomenology, and yet, observing an eclipse can still fill the human heart with awe and wonder at the numinous power of the same Universe of our ancestors of which we are a living part.

Astrology is the charting of the eternal cycles of change, the same cycles that govern the ebb and flow of our individual lives, navigating three distinct cycles of time: the annual cycle of the Earth through the zodiac, the monthly cycle of the Moon through the zodiac, and the daily cycle of the Earth rotating upon it’s axis through the zodiac. If we consider the significance that interweaving all three cycles adds to the meaning of our life experiences then we can appreciate the cosmic forces of change presented to us with every Eclipse.

In astrology the Sun represents our life force, the core of our essence, our unique individuality; the Moon our instinctual need to survive, our intuitive sense of security, and our emotional seeking to belong; and the Ascendant our window onto the world through which we see our perceptions and expectations of life reflected back to us. When we experience a Solar Eclipse the Moon has moved between the Sun and the Earth and our life force is momentarily consumed by our instinctual need to survive and disrupting our view of the world we are offered the opportunity to set new agendas and patterns in our life. When we experience a Lunar Eclipse the Earth has moved between the Sun and the Moon and our perception and expectations in life are casting a long shadow on our emotional need to belong stimulating us to break old habits or eliminate past conditioning in ways that will enhance our self-awareness and unique individuality.

On August 1 we will experience a Solar Eclipse at 9 Leo 32 and on August 16 a Lunar Eclipse at 24 Aquarius 21. The theme of Leo and Aquarius eclipses is the conflict between the creative expression of the individual verses the ideology of the group. Two fruitful questions we can ask ourselves are: how can we integrate the creative expression of our unique individuality with the hopes, wishes, and aspirations of our community; and, are the communities that we have created successfully honoring and respecting the ideas and opinions of each individual? Astrologer Marielle Croft recently wrote that the greatest theme for this New Moon is global peace and I absolutely agree, in fact, the August Eclipses are harbingers of hope not calamity if we can truly open our hearts and minds, the realm of Leo and Aquarius, and enthusiastically embrace working together in global consciousness to improve the quality of life for our collective community, Earth.

A Solar Eclipse sweeps away the old offering the possibility for something new to rise in conscious light at the Full Moon Eclipse. The Leo- Aquarius Eclipse axis is directing our attention to the necessity for individuals to step up and challenge corporate decisions dictating global policies which foster the interests of a “royal few”. Now is the time for a social revolution which requires the full participation of every individual united together as world citizens regardless of gender, race, and religion. When we are under the influence of Leo the core of our essence, our radiant light, our unique individuality generously shines forth for the well being of all others. We can use the coming months observing when we act from insecurities and self-doubts which we have unconsciously projected onto the behavior of others. We can use this time to observe within ourself when we mentally scapegoat, bully or intimidate anyone who does not agree with our thoughts, wishes, or ideals.

When we are under the influence of Aquarius we are keenly aware of our individual participation within a group of our choosing preferring to focus on the interests of the group rather than the interests of the individual. However, it is worth remembering, as the deeper expressing of Aquarius understands, the interests of the group reflects the individual interests of the members, without which there would be no group. Aquarius is that aspect in our self which can be open minded and inclusive of all points of view if we are willing to let go of our intellectual attachments to what we believe. We cannot afford to continue as before overwhelmed by the complexities of contemporary life allowing a hand full of individuals to determine policies for the majority. Many of us have allowed ourselves to be lulled into complacency considering the material comforts of ourselves and our families more important than the quality of life on Earth, and in so doing, we have unwittingly undermined the very thing that we were seeking. Leo and Aquarius working hand in hand understands that the strength of any group is dependent upon the heart of the individuals within that group. The August Eclipses are offering us the courage to open our hearts and minds to the unknown and risk going beyond the familiar.

I highly recommend reading Julie Demboski’s insights into the August Eclipses especially if you are interested in knowing about the contribution of the asteroids.

Another insightful inquiry into the August Eclipses is found at Cafe Astrology which includes excellent information on the meaning of the Eclipse axis in each zodiac house.

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