The Eclipse Effect
Break Down or Break Through
December 4th, 2002: Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius
Turning a crisis into an opportunity is the modern way of looking at the eclipse effect. Don't get stuck, get a grip. If you bury your head in the sand, then circumstances will force you to make long overdue changes. Better by far to stay ahead of the game, and volunteer for the inevitable. That way you have a better chance of staying in control of events and directing your future path.
Solar eclipses happen every six months, in different cycles which recur every 18.5 years (the Saros Cycle). The sign and cycle in which the eclipse occurs will tell you which area of your activities is shouting for a shakeup.
In the rundown below read your Sun sign and your Ascendant sign. [If you don't know your ascendant, go to www.star4cast.com FREE Birth Charts and it will calculate it for you.]
Take time to work out what happened to you personally 18.5 years ago, or 37. The two major domestic/country moves in my life took place exactly that distance apart in the years of eclipses in the same cycle. And I only worked that one out after the decision was taken.
This approaching December solar eclipse in Sagittarius will obviously have more effect on Sagittarian Sun or Ascendant types, who are at a real turning point in their lives. Geminis are looking closely at relationships. The other mutable signs, Virgo and Pisces are focusing on home and work matters. Taurus and Scorpio are money-minded; Capricorn and Cancer have work and health dilemmas; Leo and Aquarius are trying to balance love and friendships; Aries and Libra are grappling with nitty gritty communication and organisational matters. More details below.
This eclipse cycle won't recur until 2020, so this is your chance to take the initiative, ask yourself fundamental questions about what you really want to do with this area of your life, and then make the radical decisions necessary.
The few days before and after an eclipse are usually fraught, highly strung, rather nervy, with few (except astrology followers) understanding why everyone is so on edge. The eclipse effect carries a major theme for the following six months and will be felt for a few weeks in advance, so there's no sense in delaying until December 4th. Get your thinking cap on.
In primitive days, the ancients' view of eclipses was that the darkening of the Sun was a portent of doom, putting them at the mercy of the fates. But these were highly superstitious people, with no sense of control of their lives. Eclipses can provoke crises, bringing unwanted upheavals, but nowadays you can chose your attitude and your strategy.
Some world leaders have lives which seem eerily to follow eclipses:
- Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, released and became President on the exact week of eclipses.
- Saddam Hussein launched and then lost the Gulf War on an extraordinary series of eclipse driven events. He gathered his troops on the borders of Kuwait on the lunar eclipse in late July 1990, two weeks before the solar eclipse on which date the UN mandate to oppose him was agreed. In the following January on the next Solar eclipse, the Gulf War was launched.
- Princess Diana died one day before a solar eclipse conjunct the potent, furiously angry Mars Pluto conjunction in Virgo in her chart.The previous eclipse in the same series 18.5 years before fell within days of the assassination of the Earl of Mountbatten, Prince Charles' uncle.
- John F. Kennedy Jnr was killed in a plane crash days before the major 1999 solar eclipse, which was the same cycle as oversaw the death of his stillborn baby brother and indeed the assassination of his father, two cycles before.
For those of us not caught up in world events, the effects are likely to be much less dramatic or tragic, but they are significant if you really want to grow and develop as a human being.
This December Solar Eclipse is in a tricky Saros Cycle, usually accompanying a mood of high frustration, intense emotional reactions and a sense of being stuck with circumstances or relationship matters, seemingly beyond personal control. To add to the general feeling of angst, power-hungry Pluto is close to the eclipse, and the dreary Saturn opposition comes a few days later, though admittedly optimistic Jupiter in Leo is trying to add a dash of good luck as well from a trine. Bernadette Brady in The Eagle and the Lark remarks that rash action is inadvisable. G. W. Bush might do well to pay heed.
For most of us these are tough times, with anchors dragging, and generally a sense that life is quite a struggle. Roll on the end of the Saturn Pluto opposition mid 2003, and bring on the joyous eclipses of next year. So it's grit your teeth and make the best of it for now. Here's how:
Sun and Ascendant Sign:
SAGITTARIUS: An eclipse in your own sign says you are at a crossroads and must chose your path for the next few years. Decisions need to be pondered because there will be no backtracking. Make up your mind, get committed and then get moving. If you look the other way and ignore the eclipse effect, then a crisis in the next few months will force you to see where you have been over compromising. Be independent, don't rely on others for advice, let alone be diverted onto your partner's agenda. It ain't easy, but you do have choices.
GEMINI: Close emotional and work partnerships and your whole attitude to sharing, caring and relating are under the microscope. You must move into a more co-operative frame of mind, tolerant, flexible and willing to compromise. As an independent, restless air sign, none of this comes naturally. Old relationships may be under strain and on the point of parting company. Do they really suit your needs? Only you know the answer. Strong bonds will weather the storms. New relationships will come as you clear the decks of psychological debris from the past.
VIRGO: At an outer level, ensuring you have a solid, secure home and domestic base where you can put down roots is your cri de Coeur. At an inner level you are moving away from old ways of relating and refusing to be trapped by family members or loved ones who want you to stay exactly where and as you are. Pushed and pulled by opposing demands from heavy work responsibilities and emotional pressures, you need to put your own needs first. When your dilemma threatens to get on top of you, go dig the garden, walk in nature, or have a Californian massage. Getting in touch with earth energy will help.
PISCES: Is a career crisis looming? Maybe it's a hint from the universe that you are heading in the wrong direction and trying to fit your talents into the wrong box. You know you want to make your mark on the world, and have your achievements recognised, but you have to be fulfilling what truly feels like a vocation for that to happen. With Pluto around, you will also be questioning your attitude to power figures and who holds the control. Maybe you can't be the megalomaniac you'd like, but you need to ensure that no one else is pulling your strings at work either. Push family responsibilities into their proper place and focus on your ambitions.
TAURUS: Two things are dear to your heart – one is money and the other is power (OK and sex is in there somewhere as well). Your sense of security may be shaken because circumstances seemingly outside your control seem to be posing a threat to your power and prosperity base. This solar eclipse falling in the deepest, most hidden area of your chart suggests you need to get right down to rock bottom to find fundamental answers to your present sticky situation. As a fixed sign you expect the world and other people to adapt to you, rather than the other way round. This eclipse says you need to share, care, co-operate and relate in a profoundly different way in future if you are to improve joint finances and spark up your sex life in the months to come – and avoid a crisis. Hanging on for too much control, could backfire. Trust the universe and go with the flow.
SCORPIO: Money is on your mind, not joint finances as with Taurus, but your own personal piggy-bank. In the face of ungenerous influences, you know you need to take a major initiative to shake up your finances to bring prosperity in the coming months. Luckily your formidable stamina will stand you in good stead, and Jupiter also helps at your mid-heaven, bringing a hint of career success. But you can't afford to dither around, praying for a lottery win or a long-lost relative to leave you a fortune. Get real, get thinking, and then get working.
CAPRICORN: A hidden eclipse in the sign before yours sparks up psychological tensions, uncomfortable echoes of unresolved issues from the past and a general feeling of stuck-ness. If you can see the awkward events happening around you as useful pointers, reflections of what is going on at an inner level, then you can make real use of this eclipse. Not naturally an inward-looking sign, you may need to force yourself to ask the probing questions that will bring profound answers. Don't be put off by imagining you will find all manner of horrors. On the contrary you will find you are a richer, stronger personality than you could have imagined. Your unlived emotions tend to put extra strain on your body, so be good to yourself physically by reaching for a deeper self-understanding.
CANCER: Sagittarius is your area for work and health. You will be facing a dilemma about how to regenerate your career, improve your working conditions and build up your general health. The likelihood with Pluto in place is that you will be meeting resistance in your efforts, but don't let that put you off. Pluto can produce solidly substantial results, but it usually takes a struggle and strong determination. Don't meet unco-operative workmates head on in a stalemate battle. Duck and dive a little. Aim for influence, not outright control. Realise also you have to let go certain old ambitions which have lost their fire. Physically you need to pay better attention to your body's needs, get even minor ailments fixed, and then you will sail ahead in robust form.
LEO: Love may be on your mind, but it may not be what you are attracting. This eclipse will make you aware of where you are not getting the affection, admiration and adoration you want from loved ones, children or even social mates. Tricky, I know, to be exuberant and utterly seductive with the wet-blanket Saturn-Pluto around. But this is your challenge. You need to allow your personality to shine brightly, to step out without apology or doubt, to be where you feel fulfilled which is centre stage. Two thoughts: one is that what you lack, you must first give. Have you been too meagre in handing out kisses, cuddles and compliments? Go to it. The second is that Pluto tends to make you clutch if you feel you are not getting attention. Let go. If you cage loved ones in, they will struggle to break free.
AQUARIUS: Always known as the humanitarian sign, this could be your chance to make a real difference to the society or world in which you live. Certainly you know you need to widen your circle of friends and acquaintances in the months, if not years to come, but don't keep stick to a frivolous, exclusively social agenda. You could join hands with influential movers and shakers to have a powerful influence on what is going on around you. You also know you need to nudge yourself into setting long term goals. Don't just think five year plan, think 20 year plan. It doesn't have to be set in concrete, you can adapt as you go along, but you will be better with a broad strategy and well defined goals.
ARIES: Travel, communication, improving your mind – all of these are sparked off by this eclipse, which is generally prompting you to broaden your horizons in whichever you can. Set your sights higher. Let your imagination soar. Think big, don't get bogged down in trivia. Saturn Pluto is hardly an exciting or inspirational overlay, but nonetheless this is your challenge. You need to spread your ideas to a wider audience, find more intellectual stimulation and see where you can get yourself out of a rut.
LIBRA: Sorting out your everyday schedule may not sound like a bundle of fun, but if you don't get a grip of minutiae, details and organization, then your life will lack a solid, realistic base. Think about how you communicate. Are you being misunderstood at work? Collect your thoughts first, speak simply and then double check to make sure your message got across. It may not be the content that's at fault, more the delivery.Start each day with a checklist and you won't race round in circles getting in a muddle. Think small for a few months, then you will fly the higher come next May.
Marjorie's new book The Astrological History of the World (Sterling Publications; ISBN: 1843330156; August 2002) is well worth a look! To read a review of this excellent book, click here.
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Aries, the Ram
Taurus, the Bull
Gemini, the Twins
Cancer, the Crab
Leo, the Lion
Virgo, the Virgin
Libra, the Scales
Scorpio, the Scorpion
Sagittarius, the Archer
Capricorn, the Sea Goat
Aquarius, the Water Bearer
Pisces, the Fishes
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