New Moon Solar Eclpse in Virgo. Time to clean up our act.

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I am writing this just hours before we enter a Total Eclipse of the Sun. In fact, by the time I've finished,  it will be well underway. So I hope you can feel these eclipse vibes coming through the stratosphere to awaken your sleepy self. Yet again we are being thrust into a period of intense change and upheaval as our inner reality is challenged and stretched to make way for  new ways of being in this world. That's essentially what eclipses do, they get us to pay attention to areas in our life that need to change.

"An annular solar eclipse is where the diameter of the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, resulting in a ‘ring of fire’ effect.  An annular eclipse is quite stunning to view, and requires one to be within the path of annularity to see the main effect of the ring of fire.  " http://www.beingintheshadow.com/eclipses/1-sept-2016-annular-solar-eclipse/

Unfortunately for those of us in the western hemisphere, that 'path of annularity' (i.e. daytime) is somewhere over Africa, so we won't see the eclipse at all.  But we can feel the effects ripple out for some time to come.

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As far as the astrology goes, if this eclipse is in your sign or rising sign, it could mark some sort of vital change in your life  or bring you to a distinct turning point. If you are a Pisces, Virgo, Aries, or Libra, or have key planets in those signs, 2015/2016 have probably been eventful years for you. And you can expect more of the same for the time being.

This eclipse of the Sun is also a Virgo New Moon. At every New Moon we have a chance to set new intentions. At an eclipse, we get jet propelled into the new energy field, which is why we need to be extra clear on what we want to manifest.

All eclipses mark beginnings and endings, and this eclipse is no exception, kick-starting   a process of  release that can result in real change. By the following September 16 Lunar Eclipse, we should be able to look back on a fork in the road taken, as we move into a totally new energy field.

 If you know your chart you can look in the tab marked houses (above) to see what area s shift could/should occur) This solar eclipse is at 9 degrees Virgo.

Virgo represents the feminine Earth Goddess archetype with a focus on getting grounded in the body through  health and healing and finding practical and pragmatic ways to walk upon this sacred planet earth. 

As the sign of purification, Virgo urges us to clean up our act, eat better, exercise more etc. This is an excellent time to do some sort of cleanse or fast.  She also wants us to clean up our mind with a focus on critical thinking. NOT criticizing everyone, he-he , that's a trait that Virgo is not so proud of. (It's the perfectionist in her that wants everything to be just right).

With Virgo's ruler, Mercury, now moving back through the sign, we are being asked to re-examine our thinking processes and offload anything which does not serve us in a positive way. So many judgements and beliefs are based on false assumptions stemming from our conditioned mind. The irony is that much of what we think actually comes from what we feel. Old hurts, angers, resentments may have warped our ability to see clearly; we then seek safety in rigid, narrow conclusions and  build walls to protect our perception of 'reality'. Well I hate to be the one to tell you but those walls gotta come tumbling down! 

Other people refuse to build walls and end up with no boundaries at all.  It's tricky to get it just right. . A Solar eclipse in Virgo basically says we need to sort ourselves out. Time to clean up our act, get our unruly egos (negative or positive) out of the way, learn to find a balance between giving and receiving (Virgo is a service oriented sign) . We are so often our own worst enemy aren't we?

Part of the lesson now is to balance the yang/masculine more outward focused part of our brain with the yin/feminine, more inward oriented part. There's a saying that 

'the masculine without the feminine is brutal, and the feminine without the masculine is blind'. 

We really need to get these two parts of ourselves working together if we are to have any hope of harmony in our outer world. Right now  logic and linear thought tend to be valued over intuition and feeling, so part of the re balancing is to get back in touch with our softer side.  

On this occasion the conscious mind (Sun) could get totally eclipsed by emotions (Moon), and things could get a little bit messy. Or... they could get wonderfully juicy. Or both!  

It will be interesting to try and hold the tension as things  get stirred up.  Just know that in the end it will be all for the best. In the meantime, we are going to have to walk our talk. Saturn and Neptune are both square this Eclipse, putting intense pressure on us to figure out what is  real and what is an illusion. These days its not always so easy to tell the difference. The world has apparently gone completely bonkers!

Its interesting that this whole 'summer of insanity' has been  book-ended two by sets of  eclipses. In the spring, the focus was  on the Neptune (dreams, illusions)  on the South Node of the Moon (past), marking a dissolving of something (or someone) that we may have previously held dear. I lost a lot of special people this year (and last)... two of them being two of my favourite musicians. I hope  Bowie and Prince are enjoying themselves out there in the ethers. I hope my friends Marylin, Richard and John are enjoying the show.

  Meanwhile,  down here on planet earth, that portal that whisked away so many has transported us into an Alice in Wonderland world of curiouser and curiouser events. This period will be remembered for some of the strangest politics we have seen in a long time in the west. The next group of eclipses will hopefully shift us out of this  strange and distorted time warp and back onto solid ground. Bet we certainly aren't in Kansas anymore!   A lot has changed and will change even more. Some of us are fed up with all of it.

If these planets are hitting anything in your own chart, you will know exactly what I mean.

So... the overall message is to ' let go of the past' and start to really think about what sort of future you want for yourself, or the planet, or both. The trick continues to be how to decipher what is truly possible (Saturn)  from total fantasy and illusion (Neptune). And how not to let fear and anxiety hog tie you so much that you make no decision at all.

This new set of eclipses begins the next phase or shift. Change doesn't happen overnight (well actually sometimes it does, it really does) but usually, even if its a longer process,  there are key moments when we step up and choose a new direction. Timing is everything. This whole year has been about that. If you've got  lost in some kind of time warp; if it has been confusing and disheartening to watch as the inmates take over the asylum, take heart.  Even if you are feeling disillusioned that the changes that are occurring seem to be of the wrong kind, we are not at the end of the story.

OK things are pretty weird... but, there is always hope. Venus (love) and Jupiter (joy) have been joined up in the night sky recently, glimmering and glittering  like a diamond, as if they know a secret. Jupiter helps provide the confidence and  wisdom we  need to succeed, while Venus (love/ open heart)   can smooth our way.  Opportunities could appear that we never expected; this is not the time to  hesitate about trusting that person knocking at your door.

Then again... might be a good idea to look through the peep-hole before you open the latch lol. In the end it really comes down to  trusting yourself.  And to trust your instincts you have to be in touch with them first. Neptune says have a little faith. Yet for some of us, that life-changing miracle or dramatic transformation might turn out to be as simple as changing our attitude.  If we truly want to make a break from the past and finally create the 'success' that we've envisioned for so long, we need to ask ourselves  what's holding us back? Who's stopping us but us?

Mercury  moving backward in its home sign of Virgo will get us to rethink things a little, get us to  let go of outcomes and learn to trust in the process. Maybe we can just focus on taking out the garbage,  Ok I know your whole life  hangs in the balance, but if there is no obvious resolution yet, I'm sure there will be soon. It might not be what you expected, in fact it probably wont be. But it might even be something better. We've another eclipse in two weeks where all of what is being stirred up will come to a head. Then it will be decision time. 

Till then, take this time to fine tune the apparatus by which you navigate the world... i.e. your belief systems, which are based on your unconscious emotions, which then influence  your thinking patterns. Time for something completely different. Not too much to ask is it?

Don't worry, as Mercury crosses back over Jupiter's path,  we''ll get all sorts of BIG IDEAS, expanding the possibilities and showing us there are many ways to solve a problem.


In the meantime, keep your heart open, feel your emotions, eat something healthy, honour your body...   and think good thoughts,.

You know you want to.