tipping toward inertia: horoscopes for the lunar eclipse in aquarius
Do you remember the Great American Eclipse? The Total Solar Eclipse in the Final Degree of Leo?
In the heartland, there was totality.
August 21, 2017. I organized a group for an Eclipse viewing. I put a status up on Facebook inviting anyone who felt like it to join me at Pioneer Works in Red Hook. Rumor has it there would be telescopes (which there were…though that ended up being a bit of a hipster bust, as everything is in Red Hook, but it’s…cute there…near the water…feels like a different body). We arrived too late (the group) to each get a pair of eclipse glasses, but we made due with some makeshift cereal box viewfinders. Many in the crowd were willing to share their glasses with anyone who needed them for a gaze or a peek (not a lifetime).
Typically, I would have been overly concerned that the group was having fun, or having an experience. In my care. Worried about how everyone was doing. Especially because most of the group was connected to me and not to each other.
But as the eclipse formed, my anxiety waned like the moon.
The group was together, with everyone. Like me. And you.
Expecting: the forming aspect.
Today, I don’t feel attached to the view I got of the lil moon overtaking the sun at the most saturated eclipse moment, but I do feel attached to the tiny crescent moon shadows which in the moments after the eclipse cascaded off the trees like autumn leaves, collecting on the sidewalk. These creatures startled me as we made our way out of Pioneer Works onto the street–– an early evening at 2pm.
The baby moon shadows were beautiful, corporeal, but their presence felt more like the return of the cicadas than a blessing.
A release: the separating aspect.
That total solar eclipse was in the final degrees of Leo, close to the north node: where the moon glides toward the north, toward potential.
Today’s total lunar eclipse is in Aquarius (exact at 4:20 PM), close to the south node, where the moon’s orbit tips toward the south, toward inertia.
This lunar eclipse is also right next to Mars. Last night, I sat on a rooftop, observing Mars ––the red planet, so close to use right now on his retrograde journey–– thinking about how humans in ancient civilizations with watch the sky and notice the blessings and omens. Without access to tables or knowledge of the fixity of the orbits of planets and stars (in a book or in a tiny rectangular computer in the palm of their hand), they could only glean information from that they actually saw.
The bright red planet is very close to the Earth, prominent in the night sky (last time it was this close was the Spring of 2016). This is a warning sign, a call to action.
“The warrior is here. Follow his lead.”
The earth is blocks the moon from the sun.
Close to mars at night, the moon is bright red.
We can’t even see Uranus with our naked eye, but behind the scenes, they are sending sparks of innovation, desire, spontaneity, light.
(The moon so presumptuous, she thinks she’s a goddess.
The sun so presumptuous, he thinks he’s God.)
Today, the moon tips toward inertia. “The easy way out,” as Dane Rudhyar put it.
Today’s lunar eclipse does not invite but enforces a pause.
To consider what we already know.
Nothing that we see reveals what we don’t already know.
Divination is an untangling.
Vision provides clarity.
Perspective.
New or old.
While a typical full moon is an invitation to get out there and grab energy,
today’s lunar eclipse asks us firmly
to stay inside.
Climb down into the well of your inner knowledge
to consider what isn’t working.
Let the shadows breathe.
They need air too.
Cicada season will end.
The tiny crescent moons again cascade.
This time toward the sky.
Let them go.
***
what follows are horoscopes for each sign (vibes for the whole weekend)
if you know your rising sign, please read for that.
& read your sun sign as well.
if you don’t know your rising sign, reading for your sun sign is totally fine.
there’ll be something there
(there’s something there in all of them)
there are meant to be nuggets to chew.
hopefully, there’s some bite.
these horoscopes are meant to be found.
***
aries
we all tell ourselves that we struggle until we *find our people.*
we tell ourselves that we are better because of our community, our group.
we give the credit to something beyond ourselves, and put the onus on ourselves to *fit in,* *to be loyal,* *to protect*
remember that these good things come to us:
our wishes are fulfilled,
our dreams come true,
our people come to us,
because we’ve found ourselves.
that’s where the power is.
group dynamics have become a habit for you.
loyalty on auto pilot.
consider what you desire and how it is very different from the desire of your friend. sharply laugh and be okay with that. say no to the beer.
taurus
your reputation is an opportunity to claim a home for yourself in the public eye.
so is your job.
your career, if you will.
reflect on where you have allowed yourself to simmer at a low temperature and under a lowwwwww ceiling.
you deserve at least a duplex.
everyone has a brand.
if you’re helping out another’s (so nice when our brand can help another’s brand), make sure you are a shareholder.
if you aren’t a shareholder, make a map.
this is your path(a)way.
there’s a lifetime of being appreciated out there.
gemini
your dreams of joining a commune,
or forming one,
might be coming true.
take some space and plot your utopia.
not just the landscape,
but the interactions.
what is the softest thing about what you believe?
what is the hardest thing?
make a peace offering of your sharpest edge,
and wrap it up.
the message is already within.
don’t send the package until at least next week.
maybe the end of the summer.
plan it though.
it’s a sweet time to plan.
cancer
the scales are tipping toward eternity for you, sweet moon bb.
hold your body today.
your ruling planet has a harsh visitor,
and the earth (usually yr bff) is literally blocking yr light.
don’t lash out, even though these people are annoying and they deserve it.
consider what still has a pulse. even under these circumstances.
what browser windows are you forever checking?
who has your focus?
what has your eye?
and what has had your eye, forever?
the constant reminder of what you’ve lost may break your heart,
but have the courage to accept what you’ve gained.
leo
you have had many stepsisters from planet weird.
many lovers.
many others.
you want to give your light so it will never ever ever ever ever go out
think of all the places which it already shines,
and despite what you think,
has not gone out.
because it never will.
like it or not.
the stars become us.
and we become them.
allow your loves to inspire joy in eternity.
hold space for who shut the light out.
let them fall away.
virgo
the war is never over
and there is a visitor tonight who makes this very clear.
and though the war is never over,
think about where you were with the battles this time last year?
thinks have…shifted, right? I won’t say improved.
but remove the circumstance,
and consider only yr journey,
for just this moment,
warriors need a microscope too.
see: the location has changed,
and so has the situation.
you are marching forever, but you are getting somewhere.
this weekend, stay at camp.
libra
you are the sum of your will
and where it leads you.
your desires and joys.
allow space for every fantasy.
remember that not every(one)(of them) is meant to be taken seriously.
you might be disappointed with a friend,
or yr child,
or over the watercolor.
the party was supposed to be fun (!)
you are distant from the key to yr heart & you are
wishing you could just *laugh* in space with yr bb.
there are other hearts and other keys,
(but) sit with the boundary.
scorpio
you have amassed many treasures.
they might sit in piles in your home.
they might be on the curb, with the garbage.
instead of focusing on where yr heart is right now,
which can turn into such a knot,
just focus on space.
sweep.
mop.
buy the nicest available soap and take a deep breath.
clearing the path will make how you take it easier.
sagittarius
when is the last time you spent time in your neighborhood?
planted some flowers?
nodded with levity at your neighbor?
re-familiarize yourself with the sidewalks,
and yr most treasured barista.
don’t forget the small things.
they can be sweated, ok?
it’s okay to keep it simple.
it’s nice to get back to basics,
revisit early pleasures.
life spins itself ever more complicated,
all the while distilling the portrait of you.
find yrself in yr little corner of the world.
capricorn
there is a rich meal going cold.
or a paycheck that was never cashed.
somewhere out of your line of vision.
i understand that you are having difficulty reaching it right now.
it's only natural.
the day to day values often take a backseat to things that seem to go on forever.
today is no exception.
but you might get a flash of what you’re missing.
take note and get ready to add it to your collection.
aquarius
this weekend might feel like an encapsulating mirror.
in good and bad ways.
self-reflection is unavoidable,
and I’d suggest doing it offline.
if you tend to make it a video, make it a poem.
if you lean toward blogging, listen to your favorite song.
keep yr bedroom door closed,
but make sure you let in whoever makes you feel the most like yourself.
who this is might surprise you.
(at least in the moment)
go for it.
pisces
if anyone is capable of making space for the unknown, it is you.
you make space for everyone.
allow yourself space to get out of the dark,
to admit to any self-undoing.
it’s only natural.
we are not ikea furniture though.
we are very easy to put back together.
it just requires focus.
and awareness.
and presence.
you are strong enough to do it.
doesn’t have to be today.
just buckle up for later.
for now, hold a blanket.