It is Mercury retrograde – even for astrologers. The clocks will be pushed back an hour on Sunday not ahead. I’m still going to get my extra hour back!
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Solar Eclipse Weekend
This Sunday, November 4th, is the day of the solar eclipse. The solar eclipse takes place when the Moon is at the darkest point of the waning cycle for the lunar month. The Moon is considered to be waxing as soon as it leaves the point of exact conjunction with the Sun. The waxing cycle means that the Moon will begin gaining light again.
The Moon is considered to be an important planet in Vedic Astrology. It is considered so important that often a person’s birthday in India is recognized on the day when the Moon returns to the same placement as when a person was born rather than on the actual date of birth. The Moon is considered to be an indicator of the quality of one’s mind and is a strong influence on the personality, emotional make-up, karma and the innate ability to be compassionate and nurturing. A well placed Moon will assist a person facing the most difficult of life challenges to maintain a mental balance and inner-peacefulness throughout life. Conversely, a poorly placed Moon can push a person born into a life of ease and opportunity into the mental poverty of anger or victimization. It stands to reason that when the transit Moon is not only obscured by the Sun via conjunction but also in an eclipse pattern the mind and emotions of many people will tend towards negativity and darkness.
This eclipse is, as we all know, is taking place with a conjunction of the Moon with a debilitated Sun accompanied by retrograde Mercury, Rahu and Saturn. Libra is the sign of balance and Rahu is the indicator of imagination, illusion, delusion, deception and drama. This time period has been accompanied by almost mass hysteria in the media and many people are giving into the fear mongering to a point that there is almost an absence of hope. On a mundane level people are experiencing surprises in relationships, jobs and even during simple trips to the supermarket. Those who are comfortable with change and working towards a holistic form of consciousness are having positive breakthrough experiences through this energetic time period. Waking up can be difficult.
In the teachings of yoga “prana” is considered to be the life-force energy – the power that lies beyond our breath. The Moon is considered to be the indicator of prana levels which is why every month the energy levels are lower during the New Moon cycle. Mercury is an indicator of both the nervous system and the intellect. Mercury is not only retrograde he is also obscured by the New Moon Eclipse and overpowered by the conjunction of the heavy influence of Saturn and the illusionary Rahu. It is not the best time to be making important decisions or to be multi-tasking. Mercury will be retrograde until the 10th.
This weekend is the peak of this energy and is a perfect time to take as much of a break as is possible. Fortunately, it is the weekend and rather than try to fit it lots of activities and chores it might be a better choice to fit in a nap, massage, movie, meditation or quiet time outdoors enjoying the fall weather. Recently, I read that some scientists who study the brain’s activity, have come to the unique conclusion that human beings are actually awake while sleeping and asleep while awake. I’m not that type of a scientist so I can’t prove or disprove that theory but I do know from experience that sleep is healing. This weekend the energy levels will be so low that I am definitely putting a nap on my agenda. I also plan on taking full advantage on getting back the lost hour of sleep when the clocks were turned forward for daylight savings time.
No matter how you choose to use the unique energy of this weekend I hope that turning down the volume of the noise coming from a media, which profits from the both confusion and deception, is part of the agenda. It will become apparent that much of the hysteria will subside without many of the awful outcomes coming to fruition.
I hope we can all find some downtime this weekend to take advantage of the lesser-know healing energy of the New Moon while saying good-bye to the last eclipse of 2013. The next cycle promises some relief – more about that in the next post.
*A reminder that I use sidereal placements for the planets which are different than the more well-know tropical placements.
The Ride Continues
We are less than two days from the Lunar Eclipse of 10/18/2013 which starts at 5:53 p.m. and ends at 9:48 p.m., eastern time. Tomorrow morning (10/17) at 2:53 a.m., the Sun moves into Libra, his sign of debilitation, as a prelude to the eclipse itself. Additionally, the Moon will be aspecting Mars in the sign of Leo until 10/18/13.
This planetary pattern indicates that the energy levels will be high and many will be feeling stressed out and nervous. There appears to be no rest for the weary and even when there is a bit of down-time restfulness may not be an easy state of body and mind to achieve. Mercury will join in the madcap party by going retrograde on the 22nd and the normal confusion brought about by eclipses will, believe it or not, go up a notch or two.
Much of the action is taking place in the sign of Libra – which is the sign of politics and law. Washington D.C. will continue to be a place of contention and confusion. Saturn is still strong in the sign of Libra and will hopefully; like the old wise man manage to bring us to some level of common sense. Interestingly, the elections of 2010 took place during an eclipse and brought to D.C. the very people causing such an uproar today. It could be that this eclipse may help to break the spell they brought with them.
This is, of course, a time to take extra steps towards stress reduction by working on the balance of body, mind and spirit. Perhaps the most helpful attitude one can have is to not pay close attention to thoughts of fear especially with regard towards thoughts of mundane insecurity. Eclipses ALWAYS operate through exaggeration and even illusion – much of what is feared will not come to pass in quite the way our emotions tell us during eclipse energy thoughts.
In some ways I think of the past five years or so as a comparison to an amusement park ride that I wish I was not on but know that I have no choice but to stay put until the ride is over. It is best to just be a passenger at this moment in time.
Mars Leaving Cancer
The biggest planetary news at the moment is the movement of Mars into the sign of Leo on Saturday morning (October 5th). As we all know, Cancer is the most challenging sign for Mars, and has played a role in the anger and fluctuating energy levels of the past weeks. Mars is more at home in Leo and energy levels for projects and life will begin to build again. I’ve been hearing from clients reports of stomach upsets and that should calm down once Mars moves away from Cancer – the sign of the stomach.
Equally important is the fact that Mars and Saturn will no longer be in aspect to one another nor will Mars be agitating the Rahu/Saturn/Mercury conjunction. We may see a lessening of tension among our so-called “leaders”, allowing for a more rational approach to our political world. I don’t expect miracles but it would be nice to see some sanity return. With Mars away from this powerful conjunction the aspect of the positive Jupiter has the potential to bring about good results during the month of October.
Mercury will continue to be a planet of influence during the month of October as he is conjunct both Rahu and Saturn. Until the 22nd, when he goes retrograde, it is possible that stalled or tense communication can be replaced by more open and harmonious personal communication.
There are two eclipses on the horizon (18th of October and 3rd of November) and Mercury is impacted by both of these eclipses. Additionally, Mercury will begin his retrograde motion on the 22nd of October. This will bring in more confusion along with both weather and electronic problems. It will not surprise me if we witness late season hurricanes after what has been a quiet hurricane season. Until we finish with the eclipses and Mercury retrograde (end 11/10) the surprises will continue. After the year we have had the biggest surprise may just be that we end the year on a lighter and more positive note.
I am of the opinion that Saturn is the strongest planetary influence and no matter how much turmoil and change we are experiencing right now in the end Saturn, being exalted in Libra, will help move us all to a better and more stable position. The conjunction of Saturn with the eclipse points can cause the negative reactions to the confusion and fear for many. However, in the end we will see that Saturn has been stronger all along. We will also see the benefits of Jupiter’s protective nature especially after May of 2014. There are better days ahead.
As much confusion as the eclipse energy causes on outer events eclipses are really good for internal awareness and growth. The eclipse points are good for the inner-self or soul and, along with the lessons of the karmic teacher Saturn, these times are good for spiritual understanding of the self and others. Mercury going retrograde in the middle of the eclipses will give all of us an opportunity to tweak our awareness and move more quickly towards the goal of inner peace and harmony. The houses affected by this configuration will give us the challenges that, like the pressure on carbon, can reveal the diamond within each of us.
I am aware that many people do not know exactly which houses and mundane events are being affected by these unique planetary configurations. I am also aware of how carefully we are all watching our finances at this time. If you are interested in finding out how you are being affected and how you can take advantage of the opportunities for break-through growth please contact me at: annaicenter@verizon.net because I am offering a special rate during this time period.
Take a moment over the weekend to bid good-bye to Mars debilitated with the knowledge that he will not be visiting Cancer again for approximately eighteen months.
annaicenter 