July 1, 2011 Partial Solar Eclipse in Cancer/ New Moon

The astrological sign of Cancer is given the element of water, describing what type energy it is, and the cardinal modality, describing how it operates. Cancer, like water, flows into any shape of container. It surrounds and absorbs. It is inherently adaptive. Water energy is sensitive to all energy. Cancer acts like a sponge and soaks up its environment, but also surrounds and saturates. It can be protective and shielding, or weak and yielding. Cancer  traditionally represents the Mother Archetype and rules the private life of house and home.

Now, I’d like to talk about the Cancer/Capricorn polarity. The signs oppose one another on the zodiacal wheel, but the energy really represents to two-sides of same coin and are thus complementary. Cancer is Elemental: that which is raw, unformed, flowing. Cancer is Archetypal: the sign of the mother, the instinctive, the nurturer. Capricorn is elemental: physical and material; it represents body, thought-form (principle), think of the way lava cools and hardens after it freely releases–that is the way of nature. Capricorn is traditionally Archetypal: the sign of the father, authoritarian, disciplinarian, rule-enforcer.

Making our way (the moon’s nodes) from shallow footsteps, to deep grooves, to ruts… habit builds structure, some call it karma.

We can look to psychological astrology and see our childhood experiences, how we relate to them, the deep impressions that imprinted into memories during our childhoods, and our personal past usually has a story, how it was perceived by us at that time. Cancer, in the astrological chart, points to the subconscious, the underground of the mind. It is where our stories flow like a river, without our awareness. When our subconscious emerges because of the build-up of inner pressures, (for various reasons, sometimes never known); and, we get the signal of emotion, we can look for a story.  Get to know it first. Then, decide to drop the old story. This takes practice. Over time our tendencies, habits, stories form into beliefs, and that feeds back into a loop, shaping how we see today’s reality, and ultimately our future.

So, the ‘shaping’ process of life—the way experiences mold us into our character is through the Cancer to Capricorn polarity. Capricorn, the crystallization of the trodden path into an absolute paved road has been laid via repeated actions into habits. Often astrologers talk about the planet Saturn (Capricorn’s ruler) as being the karmic planet. We can see why, its placement is a description of our own personal rulebook, or that which we project outward into the world as our authority. Nevertheless, what was once a rough sketch of possibility before we repeated it over and over again, became “written in stone” and therefore a fact about ourselves. When all along, it was really just our belief forming into reality, caught up in a feedback loop. We all have beliefs, even those to don’t feel comfortable with things like “belief,” who prefer what they call facts. If we operate in that way (we really have no choice about that part) we get back exactly what we put in, and face limitation during difficult Saturn transits. Here rather than be rewarded for our past efforts (whatever past it may be, this life or another).

I know that the whole concept of past and future lives is a bit to stomach all at once but take a small bite and consider how BIG and LONG these cycles really are in the universe. We are the universe, we are nature. That’s a belief to work with!

Karmic Rut

Fresh footprints in the sand (as light markings of a once-over walk) can be blown away by the wind, but after several passes over the same spot, our way can become so deepened and hardened that these walkways become absolute ruts (albeit much easier to stay in) with high walls that we cannot even see over–so deep that it’s starting to look like a maze, and you wish you had a map because you are so stuck in the narrowness of where you were (the past) going over and over it again, that you can’t see anything beyond the wall of that vision. We sometimes like to call these karmic moments, when we simply realize that it’s time to work a little less on the old path, and consider starting a new path where we have more vision.

I think you get my point. If you don’t that’s okay, let these pictures and thoughts sit with you for a little while and let them sink in.

Eclipse aspect pattern

I’m going to pause on archetypal expressions of the signs for this post, and begin to shift to the aspect pattern of this particular eclipse, which incidentally starts a whole new family of eclipses, so it’s new-new. Each series typically lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains 70 or more lunar eclipses. Also, this eclipse will affect you from 2 weeks prior to July 1, to 2 weeks after with the greatest intensity. Those most affected have personal planets in the Cardinal signs of (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). What you learn from the astronomical event/astrological energies is your gift, if you so choose to see it that way, providing you with skills to work with the ricochet of lessons that pulsate out into the future, consisting of similar themes.

Aspects

Sun conjunct Moon in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn, Retrograde—

Major transformation of consciousness and largely due to the emerging awareness of the shadow-side (Pluto). Sometimes indicates endings, but since it’s a New Moon, Solar Eclipse, it’s kind of more like

A fixed star, Gienah, is conjunct Saturn, and it’s kinda a dark star, described by some as used in the past for anti-nice magikal purposes.

Saturn is squaring the eclipse, meaning both North and South nodes of the moon-

If you feel like there is rain coming down on your parade, this is the saturnine quality of Saturn, sobering you up and sometimes making reality feel pesky and heavy.  (Neptune the planet of dreams is retrograding back into Aquarius and then will come back into Pisces in February for perma-stay till 2025, so you get can back into generating your dream life (that is, transcending ordinary reality), don’t let the pesky Saturn get you down, just listen to the planetary message of Saturn and work with its energies like a good student of life, you will be rewarded by what you learn.) See if some new technologies pop up from August to February… your likely to see tons regardless since it’s the way of things, but keep your eye out for a Neptunian Goodbye to the sign of Aquarius before going back to the sign it rules, Pisces, for more alter-reality, fantasy creations, and further reduction on the line separating reality from fantasy.

Keys to this Eclipse

Patience: the bridge between old and new is built without you. (with Pluto in opposition, it’s powers beyond your control). Release as much of the past as you can, by acknowledging what principles are out-dated and not as useful in your present-life context. Decide which principles (Capricorn) serve your future direction, and after you listen to your emotions, by fully allowing the flow (Cancer) of their expression, let go of that story that informs them, and start anew. Emotions are just emotions, neither good nor bad. It’s the interpretation, actions, and behaviors that make emotions deemed appropriate or inappropriate in terms of their expression. That’s why we have the tendency to repress, stifle, or limit them (Capricorn) before we discover them through the sign of Cancer.

General comments about this summer’s eclipses

This is the last eclipse in the 3-Eclipse series of June 1 (Solar), June 15 (Lunar), and July 1 (Solar). Thus lays the foundation for summer and the 6 months till November with the next series of eclipses. Each eclipse also has its own eclipse family called a Saros Series, where an eclipse is given a number for how it appears in the Saros Cycle, spanning approximately 18 years. Overall, this family of eclipses or Saros Cycle will last 12-15 centuries. In astrology the nodes project the qualities of the past and future based on their natal sign and house placement in the birth chart as well as other aspecting bodies (planets, asteroids, fixed stars) and other mathematical points given interpretive value such as Arabic parts.

I hope you enjoyed what is still just a brief write-up of everything astrological + more!

With love and appreciation for all that shines and reflects, from the apparent darkness of space, KM

Additional information and Reference

http://akshaydeoras.blogspot.com/2011/06/saros-cycle-science-of-predicting.html Blog Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Seismology.  Also worth looking at is solar flare activity.

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html   NASA

http://eclipsegeeks.com/SolarEclipse01July2011.aspx  Excellent diagrams for on this July 1, 2011 eclipse. Oh yes, if you do look at it and notice that it says the eclipse is in Gemini, that’s true!  However, there’s so much more to discuss such as Vedic astrology and the Sidereal zodiac,  it’s far too much subject matter for one blog that’s supposed to help you keep your head on *and* connected to the cosmos. Stay tuned!