Mother's celestial inspirations

Keep the flame alive during total solar eclipse

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye

This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Void-of-Course, Aquarius Moon that will entered Pisces. Within a bevy of aspects that includes Mars moving from Scorpio to Sagittarius, and Vesta’s entrance into Taurus, the big news highlights March 8, and centers around a Full Solar eclipse in the sign of The Fishes.

I have a tough time explaining and interpreting eclipses, even to myself. From a purely astronomical perspective an eclipse is either a full or partial obscuring of the sun by the moon (a solar eclipse), or a full or partial obscuring of the moon by the sun (a lunar eclipse).

We would experience eclipses at every new and full moon were it not for the fact that the orbits of the Sun and Moon are not parallel. Eclipses occur ONLY when the orbits of both the sun and the moon are within orb of a conjunction with the moon’s nodes. The nodes mark the points where the moon ascends above and descends below, the plane of the ecliptic.

Traditionally understood to be malefic, whether full or partial, eclipses are commonly associated with famine, war, and disasters that come in all shapes and sizes. Of course this depends on how they are aspected. They exert their greatest influence on individuals when they form hard aspects to planets and angles in the birth chart. This upcoming eclipse will take place at 8:54 p.m. (EST), on Tuesday, March 8. It will have the strongest impact on people whose charts have planets sitting at the 19th degrees of Pisces, (March 9 and 10). Gemini (June 9 and 10), Virgo (Sept. 2 and 3), and Sagittarius (Dec. 1 and 2).

How things pan out always depends on how we center ourselves in relation to them. With Saturn having recently scraped over ALL of those points, issues have been raised and choices need to be made. Events that occur before, during, and after the eclipse will bring whatever form those issues take, to a head.

Pay close attention as the week unfolds. Among other things, eclipse patterns form the basis for the Mayan Calendar. As we pass through the notch that will be carved into the record on Tuesday night, it might help to see it as one of those free-will moments, during which our actions will be best served if we are clear about how to remain in alignment with principles of love and truth.

It is no accident that the planet Chiron, the master of visceral wisdom, the teacher and shaman, the one who holds the key to all of the knowledge that is stored in the heart of the cellular memory, and who makes it safe to walk our talk, will be stationed in the center of this eclipse, making it possible for something otherworldly to enter and turn things around. While we consider what that might involve, let’s look at the Sabian Symbol for the 19th degree of Pisces:

“The transfer of power and knowledge which keeps the original spiritual and creative impulse of the cycle active and undeviated.”

There is a long story that goes with this symbol, but the gist of it boils down to how important it is to keep the flame alive and our hearts in tune with whatever it takes to bring the power of spirit into everything we do. Take a deep breath, let the sun and the moon do their dance, and enjoy this week’s ‘scopes.

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