2009 January : Big Sky AstroBlog

Jan

26

2009 is an eclipse-heavy year, with fully six of them between today (Solar Eclipse at 6.30 Aquarius, 2:55 am EST) and December 31. To find recent years with a similar number of eclipses you must retrace your steps to 2000 (six eclipses), 1991 (six), and 1982 (seven). Given the astrological symbolism of dramatic change that’s associated with eclipses, it’s tempting to issue grave early-warning signals that decree 2009 will be a dire year indeed. But it seems to me that this apparent abundance of eclipse riches is more a function of trying to corral natural cycles into an unnatural calendar. This year, for instance, 2009 gets credit for a sixth eclipse that happens on the very last day of the calendar year. Would the world’s circumstances be less dramatic if that eclipse happened to fall on the first day of 2010 instead?

Well, curmudeonly complaining aside, I remain fascinated by eclipses after first falling in love with them back in 1991. Since then I’ve written a number of articles on the subject of using eclipse cycles in natal astrology and have even developed a customized natal eclipse report writer. In honor of today’s Solar Eclipse I’ve just published an article on the website that originally appeared in the 2006 Llewellyn Moon Sign Book

Eclipses: The Latitudes of Home
Because it is painful to remember the scary moments of the past or contemplate the uncertainty of the future, we tend to go through life ignoring the reality that our entire lives can be irrevocably changed in an instant. Every now and then, when someone close to us dies, a terrorist attack wounds our country, or some other personal crisis shakes us up, we are startled awake for a moment and behold a landscape we scarcely recognize. Our instinct, then, is to turn away as quickly as possible and return to the latitudes of home. But even after life returns to normal, the shadowy image of the eclipse remains emblazoned on the psyche…. read the full article

Other good eclipse-ish stuff to read:

“A Common Purpose” by Simone Butler, at Mooncircles.com

“Of Omens and Kings” by Jessica Shepherd, at Moonkissd.com

Aquarius Soul Collage and New Moon by Michele Lessirard

January 26, 2009 | 1 Comment

Jan

20

Today some friends and I gathered to celebrate a Presidential inauguration that would have been unimaginable just four years ago. I celebrated not because the man we elected is smart, cool, and seems possessed of goodwill and good judgment, though he seems to be all these things. I celebrated not because I consider him a savior, because I know he’s not.

I celebrated not because of who he is, though I’m very impressed with who he seems to be. But even if the next four years prove that he is utterly corrupt, useless, and feckless, and even if his administration is as horrendous a failure on every level as the that of his predecessor, it makes no difference. Today, I celebrated – not because of him, but because of what this moment seems to say about the majority of voting Americans. That we have awoken from a terrible dream to realize what an awful price we’ve paid for fear and blind faith. That even the most cynical among us now acknowledge that it matters who sits in the White House. That we have recovered our respect for the virtues of diplomacy, intellectual curiosity, and the Constitution. That we are willing to face hard truths head on, and move forward together. That we are willing to place our hope and trust in the hands of someone who is not white.

I fully expect President Obama to let me down. He’s got to govern all the people, not just the ones who think as I do. His hands are, I’m sure, tied by shadow governments/corporate fascists/etc. etc., and maybe he can’t do much good – I don’t know. I don’t know everything a President knows, so I don’t know how much to expect of him, practically speaking. But I know how different it is to live in this country today than it has been for nearly a decade. Today, I live in a country where people are celebrating in the streets and in living rooms, weeping with joy; a country where even the people who didn’t vote for the new President seem, mostly, to wish him well.

I’m celebrating today, but not because of him. I’m celebrating because for the first time in a very long time, my country feels sane, hopeful, and – for a day, at least – joyous.

January 20, 2009 | 5 Comments

Jan

8

Full Moon in Cancer
Saturday, January 10, 2009
7:27 pm PST / 10:27 pm EST
Sun at 21.02 Capricorn
Moon at 21.02 Cancer

pondering Can Hard Times Make Us Whole?
In the heart of a cold and brittle winter, even in normally balmy and relaxed San Diego, Saturn’s wolves are howling in the distance. They howl warnings about the collapsing economy, the deteriorating climate, and the fearsome calamities that threaten us – joblessness, poverty, homelessness, starving, illness. Hard times can, in turn, make us hard, but caring for each other – though it breaks our hearts – is what keeps us from turning to stone ….. read the full article here…

January 8, 2009 | 5 Comments

Sign of Aquarius

Moon conjuncts Neptune at
4:58 am on Mar.13, 2010

Moon goes void of course at
4:58 am on Mar.13, 2010

Moon enters Pisces at
10:44 am on Mar.13, 2010

Times given are for PST

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