A Full Moon Eclipse of Surprising Enlightenment

Sunday evening's Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse is another in a long series of recent powerful lunations, as this intense year begins to draw to its close. Coming as it does after the balance point of the Fall Equinox, this powerful eclipse will be a dramatic reminder of that event, being visible over half the Northern hemisphere, just after sunset on the West coast and later further east. This weekend and especially the early part of next week will also represent a unique opportunity to get a better handle on what you are up to within your own unique arc of development, as the Uranus-Pluto square, which is still quite active, draws once more close, heading into January. The ongoing search for enlightenment represented by the trickster archetype of Uranus, and the consequent series of major changes symbolized by transformational Pluto, are once again rising to dominance. There is plenty of food for thought, helping us to comprehend the rapid pace of our evolutionary growth, as we adjust our perspective in keeping with this Sun-Moon opposition, which is in alignment with the current placement of the lunar nodes.

With Mercury now in retrograde, and approaching its collision with the Sun on September 30th, thoughtful introspection is a vital component of the ingredient list of this potent lunation configuration. Mercury is also closely connected to Uranus, by a contra-parallel aspect that differs from exact by less than a tenth of a degree, bringing this strongly intuitional power to our aid, while at the very same time the Sun and Moon aspect Saturn, newly entered into Sagittarius and squared by Mars in early Virgo. We might have the feeling of being almost stopped dead still in our tracks in terms of outer accomplishment, which will be seen by many astrologers as a difficult circumstance. In another way this constitutes a huge blessing, because as one door closes, another opens. We now have the opportunity to deeply tune in, by means of an extremely heightened intuitive grasp that is part of the symbolism of prominent Uranus, to everything that is happening to us on the inside, within the very depths of our psyches.

In another symbolic chime with inner process, there is the active presence of Neptune, in his own sign of Pisces, strongly aspected at the timing of the recent solar eclipse, as were both Uranus and Pluto. In this Full Moon configuration, Neptune is still aspected by Jupiter in opposition, a few degrees beyond the point of exactitude, and by Mars now as well, in an opposition that is forming. The Mars/Jupiter midpoint is less than two degrees away from being exactly opposite to Neptune, and getting closer. The Neptunian archetype refers to hidden depths within each of us, and to otherworldly dimensions beyond the physical plane, which nevertheless are important determinants of our earthly activities. It greatly helps to become more conscious regarding what is going on within you, below the level of normal conscious awareness, and this is one important gift of these rather intense times. The ancient maxim to "know thyself" was never more relevant than it is today, with the unfortunate results of less-than-fully-conscious behavior showing up everywhere. As in a hologram, the achievement in greater consciousness of any one individual ripples outwardly from his or her own center to affect the picture of the entire evolving culture.

The Sabian Symbols for this extra-potent Full Moon have something, also, to contribute. They are, for the Sun, in the fifth degree of Libra, "A man teaching the true inner knowledge." This of course perfectly echoes the highlighted presence of Uranus and Neptune in these eclipse configurations, emblematic of inner realizations. Marc Edmund Jones comments, "this is a symbol of the inviolability of all genuine inspiration, and of the opportunity offered each individual to reach out of his [or her] fellows... [in] a continual self-orientation to the [world of] man and to the [greater] world, in terms of ultimate potentialities." He refers also to "the underlying realizations by which human character comes to know itself." For the Moon, in the same degree of Aries, we find, "A triangle with wings." This is a numinous spiritual symbol, which Jones relates to "the purity of original impulse" of a person's essential nature. Dane Rudhyar also comments on this symbol, stating that it represents "the desire to reach a higher level of existence." Indeed, our longing for spiritual evolution is buried deep within us, and yet may spring forth into the light of greater conscious awareness at any moment, by means of the graceful presence, and the gentle nudges and encouragement, of our currently quite active systems of cosmic guidance.