The 10th lunation of 2014 is marked with extreme significance by two eclipses, a lunar eclipse in the 16th degree of Aries on 8th October which marks its midpoint, and a solar eclipse in the first degree of Scorpio on October 23rd/24th which closes this lunation and opens the next.

‘Living Astrology‘ works with the lunar cycles as an indigenous natural process, belonging to us all, within which we can find windows of opportunity for healing, meaningful action and an understanding of the cosmological mirror through which our personal path can move in sync with the natural processes of change at work within Life. When eclipses come along the process becomes charged with hidden potentials. Eclipses are moments of Truth, the currency of real change. Truth is not always comforting or comfortable to live with….but, it can lead in that direction. This, in itself, is a notion central to healing and shamanic wisdoms.

Eclipses, especially total eclipses, are profound events, whether experienced through contemporary eyes or indigenous. Astrologers often associate them with opportunites for a reset, a peeling away of solar and lunar luminescence that allows a doorway of opportunity to open that is otherwise obscured. When such occur in the midst of great change we are naturally drawn to look at the otherwise hidden elements of our lives that are touched by that change, where the personal and the collective meet, and, for us now, this carries a momentous quality.

The auguries of the stars tell us that there will be great changes coming very soon and, although we are confronted with many interwoven problems, humans have always had amongst them people who carry the wisdom and capacity to bring perspectives to bear that can adivise on and deal with these eventualities. The question is, are they being heard and their wisdom embraced. In so many ways this question exposes a significant part of the problem that we all face now on Earth. Amongst the plethora of council at large in the world, through our technologically enhanced networks, the voices that can make the difference are often lost in the noise, if not censored. There is a complexity at large in the world at this time that would benefit the wider perspective of the Elders.

Much however is available to us, and, although the dominant version of reality tries to overshadow its importance, we can always begin by taking notice of inherited wisdoms, even that which appears most benign ~ consider first some of the indigenous traditional associations with this Moon. Many first nations name the 10th lunation in connection with the attributes of the season ~ gathering in caches for the winter, taking in the harvest, first ice, falling leaves, hibernating begins, birds fly to winter and summer grounds, feeding the roots and protecting new life, looking ahead, and many more, all expressing a clear reflection of the people’s focus within nature….and Nature is ‘radical, by nature’ ~ it is a time of the big shift that signals preparation for whats coming…..

….amongst the original peoples one understanding is that eclipses foretell of endings and beginnings, of death, the ultimate gateway, and signal moments at which the people gather together, in which the elders have sway, the greater experience and wisdom of the stronger amongst the old ones being called upon to help the people navigate this challenging portent of a transitional time.

On both counts there is resonance here with these eclipses.

In the more global context, the world reflects this relevance back to us. Even though the well vetted presentations of these events filter into the public eye through the veil of the ‘official line’, when the simultaneity of UN Climate change talks, the prosecution of war and launch of air strikes, and the massive marches globally protesting the issues behind these events, for example, are seen in this light, the connections with the indigenous understandings become poigniantly highlighted and their  worldly significance intensified. In many ways it is fitting that such things should be in the front of our minds as we traverse the gateways of the eclipses.

We tend to overlook the spiritual aspects of conflict and political opposition, but, the indigenous view of the world does not seperate spirit and matter. Whether the emphasis is put on the spiritual or the material aspects of life’s issues the sense in which these aspects are deeply interwoven is profoundly illuminated at this time ~ they are not seperate. And, as perverse as it may seem, through struggle and the need for survival the world is becoming ensouled.

At one level, the solar eclipse in Scorpio develops what the lunar eclipse in Aries reveals, and, while the Scorpio new Moon will have its own post here, the two form a part of a much larger whole. The Scorpio eclispe is developmental, being in the first degree of the sign, and will see concretisation of the energy generated in response to the lunar eclipse. As the Sabian symbol states for 1 Scorpio, “….this symbol……refers to the first realization of what a larger whole of existence — a more encompassing frame of reference — implies, in very concrete and perhaps startling terms. What is at stake is A WIDENING OF EXPERIENCE”. While in this post the focus is primarily on the lunar eclipse, we are dealing with multiple levels of meaning now and anchoring this within the wider scope of time’s spiral provides an essential perspective.

Within the temporal/astronomical perspective we are a quarter of the way through an 18 month process of interaction between the Sun, the Earth and the Moon formed by a tetrad of consecutive total lunar eclipses. The sequence opened with the total lunar eclipse of April 15th 2014 and will culminate with the total lunar eclipse of September 28th 2015. The full list of this tetrad of eclipses and their respective astrological placements appears at the end of this article.

We need to go wider still to benefit the extra-ordinary nature of the eclipse cycle at this time. What further heightens the significance of this tetrad is that it is the first of its kind, all total ‘central’ lunar eclipses, since the 1580’s. Not only that, but, the 21st century contains eight such tetrads. We live at a crossroads of opportunity and change that can bring total transformation, radical change that affects and involves generations.

Within the present, the opportunity to affect real choices has a definite time stamp. From the astrological perspective eclipses extend their period of influence up to six months beyond the exact time. So, within this tetrad, the end of the culminating eclipse’s period of influence reaches all the way to the March equinox 2016. The four eclipses are spaced six months apart so within this 24 month period we are already deep into working within the ongoing flow of the first tetrad as one of eight gateways within a century long process. What we initiate now we pass on to our children and their children ~ the onus is upon the present human population of our planet as guardians of this Earth.

At the eclipses the opportunity to reset the pattern we are weaving in the world opens much more deeply than at any other time. In eclipse time blockages to our ‘dreaming’ are removed, but, we might well make use of this special moment to remove those blockages for good. We can pull our individual threads into new perspectives, reset our own paths. The individual eclipses within the tetrads open pathways that are like four strands twisting in the spiralling rope of lunar time. Wheels within wheels, describing a great web. Within the Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge, wisdom keeper Jamie Sams tells us, this lunation is connected with Grandmother Spider. The story she recounts for this Moon is called ‘Weaves the Web’, the name of the Grandmother who is guardian of the creative principle in all things, whose personal cycle is centered on working with truth. (1)

One area of truth we have been systematically lied to about is strongly connected with these eclipses ~ the reality of Fukushima. The charts for the earthquake and nuclear disaster tie in deeply with the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets on the 8th and 23rd of October 2014. Here the key transit of the lunar eclipse is to Saturn at 15 degrees of Libra in the Fukushima charts, the degree occupied by the Sun opposite the eclipsed Moon on the 8th of October. And in the chart for the 23rd October Mars occupies 28 Sagittarius, the same degree as the north node in both Fukushima charts.

Weaves the Web is also the Keeper of Survival Instinct and Mother of Creative and Destructive principles. If Saturn concretised the destructive principle at Fukushima, Mars on the disaster’s north node clearly tells us that our survival must be focused on energetically addressing the future that is facing us all as a result. We cannot allow the lies to continue. Truth is the number one priority, holding it as an unflinching solar beacon upon all that we aspire to, exposing those who seek to deceive us and exploit our ignorance, bringing it to bear in all things, especially where the whole issue of ‘energy’ and our relationship with Nature is at stake. The collective soul path of the planet is energised with these eclipses, through the lens of Fukushima it comes into sharp focus…..if the leaders will not address it, the People must, and in eclipse zones more than ever, that means you and I.

Uranus was square the north node in the Fukushima charts and now conjuncts the Moon at lunar eclipse. So, not only does Mars activate the disaster chart through the nodes but, as we will see shortly, the warrior planet energises the trajectory we are now compelled to follow in relation to Uranian values. Mars trines Uranus at the lunar eclipse.

A literal interpretation of Uranus, connecting it with Uranium, nuclear fallout and sudden shock, might be too simplistic and obvious a choice here ~ Uranus being within one degree of the eclipsed Moon on the 8th suggests a more spiritual and soul centered use of the symbolism. When the reflected light of the Sun falls away from the Moon we are opening into the Uranian influence of divine inspiration, through individual freedom and the spark of ignition that creates new awareness and radical departure from the old path. This carries high potential, a chance to break the mold of destructive blindness, particularly now within the innovative use of energy technology, the potential to initiate a higher order of truth into the midst of the People.

On a soul level the October full Moon infuses our collective journey with an initiatic alchemical magic, that of Change itself, should we open to it. In true Saturnian style, it also suggests we might experience  a real need to rethink. Through unforeseen events,  in the face of systemic change, when it occurs within the eclipse zone, we may experience deep questioning of our most enshrined personal realities.

Transiting Saturn is close to the Fukushima IC, having just entered the fourth house of the Fukushima disaster chart. This is the most deeply seated area of the chart, the roots of the World Tree, and the truth about the events of 3/11, and many others related, is coming home to roost ~ Saturn tells us that all our actions in relation to it demand clarity, realism and unremitting dedication at the most personal level. In the most basic sense this means looking after your well-being and those closest to you. At the very least, look after your immune system!

One of the toughest realities of Fukushima we have to embrace is the life and death nature of its fall-out, and, in this the People have been deceived greatly. Mercury goes retrograde just 3 days before the lunar eclipse and this lends an added edge to the need for vigilance in relation to how we are perceiving the facts. The truth behind what is happening at Fukushima is as radical as it gets ~ with four cores in meltdown, China syndrome has been actualised and the Earth’s response is a major shakedown. Look to the increasing occurance of super deep earthquakes that are occuring amongst a severe uptick of global shakes for the answer.

The incoming square between Pluto and Uranus will see the People pitching against deeply entrenched established power over the coming months. Individual freedoms and State power. This is manifesting what the Taoist traditions refer to as Weiji ~ wei means ‘danger’ and ji means ‘opportunity’. It applies to the moment at which yin transforms into yang, and vice versa. No living system can go beyond a 98% balance at one polarity and survive ~ the ‘99%’ is the sign that needs, in fact demands, response. It also reflects the energetic dynamic manifest between exclusive heirocracy and inclusive networks. Within this perspective, the globalised nature of the tension within the Uranus Pluto square tells us that while being active within Change is an imperative, meeting with this challenge will also rest squarely upon demanding systemic truth and change where it has been hidden and suppressed. The entire planet is affected. This is the crucible of realism.

Neptune, the planet of systemic encultured creativity and trending, and Chiron, the healer and mentor indicating where the greater picture overlaps the personal, are both retrograde and are transiting the 7th house of the Fukushima disaster chart. Chiron and Neptune are transiting from Pisces, the mutable water sign ruled by Neptune. With the solar eclipse in the first degree of the fixed water sign Scorpio, the picture now becomes clearer.

The pervasive nature of the wound that affects our reality is becoming amplified. In relation to Fukushima it is carried by the waters, in the weather and the oceans. The millions of tons of irradiated cooling water from Fukushima has nowhere to go and cannot be treated by any means yet known to the ruling technology. Perhaps Uranian innovation will intervene, but, if it does, it will not come from via ‘known sources’. Water is essential to Life, but, there is much more to Life than the orthodoxy lays any claim to knowing. What does the elder wisdom hold in this respect…..

Tangentially, in an objective sense, this is also connected simultaneously with both invasive deception and the transformative power of creativity. Chiron in particular has a strong voice here, the wise shaman and mentor quincunxes the Sun and squares Mars in the eclipse chart. But there is a blessing in this. We cannot be at odds with the inevitable, but, must rather find a way of navigating it through wisdom and creativity. In this way what may appear fated becomes destined, and we can be the arbiters of that destiny. It is our sovereign right. It is no secret that the ruling power claimed by the 1% must be redistributed, as the sovereign right of the 99%. This indicates the nature of healing that serves as a means to freedom, and Healing, the wise centaur tells us, is the only option. But, the connection with Mars pushes the issue and Mars is joined with Jupiter and Uranus in a grand fire trine that infuses the eclipse with creative potential and optimism. If the crucible is heating up it is also through the fact that, in this function, the fire brings out its most inventive and transformative nature.

The lunation has fire at its heart, but, if we make the wise choice, this can be the fire of inspiration and renewal. If this report seems to focus on finding the positive through combating the negative, it is also, like the eclipses, exposing realities that have beauty at their heart. Venus is squaring Pluto at the lunar eclipse, within 5 degrees of the Sun.

The Moon represents the People and from the surface of the Moon it is the Sun that will be totally eclipsed, the entire rim of the Earth set aglow with the fiery light of all our planet’s sunrises and sunsets simultaneously. From the lunar perspective we see the Earth as if surrounded by the light of the womb ~ this brilliant red light is reflected back to us on Earth from the lunar surface and transforms the Moon with an embryonic luminosity.

In the time around the lunar eclipse we all have the opportunity to collect our focus and bring it to bear on finding our truth, the spark of undying light that is held within the mortal frame, letting it ignite and take on new forms. There is another world waiting to become manifest within this one and, if we embrace it with the Elder wisdom, we can yet weave our relations back into balance within the web of Life once more.

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Total Lunar Eclipses – First Tetrad of C21

April 15th 2014 – 25 Libra
October 8th 2014 – 15 Aries
April 4th 2015 – 14 Libra
September 28th 2015 – 4 Aries

(1) Jamie Sams, ‘The 13 Original Clan Mothers’ ~ Harper 1994

Original artwork, ‘Elder’ by Rob Purday 2001