New Moon Cancer, Partial Solar Eclipse (07/01/11)

[Moon trump from the 16^th century Cary Sheet Tarot, with a crayfish in the water.]

NEW MOON CANCER, PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (07/01/11)

“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is quite clearly Ocean.”

~Arthur C. Clarke~

KEYWORDS:

PURIFICATION: Traditionally eclipses are seen as disruptive, revealing and amplifying heavy energy. This also makes them opportunities for purification.

CHANGE: Contemporary astrology interprets eclipses more neutrally as agents of change, triggering breakthroughs or break downs.

WEAK AND STRONG: The strength of an eclipse depends on the degree of darkness. As only a partial eclipse, this one is interpreted as weaker. However it also makes a grand cross, an alignment of four or more planets in signs 90 degrees from each other. The Sun/Moon combo makes a very tight square to Saturn, a square to Uranus, and an opposition to Pluto. This makes it more challenging.

INNER AND OUTER: Solar eclipses are experienced more in the outer world but Cancer rules everything inner: our emotional and domestic lives, early childhood, and mothers. Those directly influenced may have things outside themselves trigger inner changes.

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the Sun, the Moon, and the truth.”

~Shakyamuni Buddha~

July 1^st, 2011 at 4:54 a.m. Eastern Time is New Moon Cancer and a partial solar eclipse, the third and finally one this eclipse season. During a solar eclipse the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This can only happen during a new moon. Although vastly different, the Sun and Moon appear the same size in the sky. The Moon appears to cover the Sun during a solar eclipse. During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon is off center and only covers a part of it. While lunar eclipses are visible to all on the night side of the planet, the visibility of solar eclipses is limited. This one can only be seen in the ocean by Antarctica.

SEEING IN THE DARK

“In a clear and serene sky, the Moon was suddenly eclipsed… To assist the Moon in her labors, the air resounded with the clamor of brazen instruments, with the sound of trumpets, and other warlike music.”

~Tacitus, 1^st century Roman historian~

Many traditional cultures see eclipses as disruptive. Like the dark of the new moon, they are associated with black magic, death, and disharmony. For example, visible eclipses are seen as sources of impurity in Hinduism, tainting exposed food and spreading disease. Since this spiritual pollution can be spread by touch, all activity stops, tools are set down, and most temples are closed. People fast, chant mantras, or perform charity to counter balance it. In other traditions people make loud noises, shoot off guns, or light fires to scare away the darkness, often imagined as a predator.

Dismissed as superstition, folklore can preserve spiritual technologies. Eclipses tend to reveal and amplify heavy energy. Noise, light, and water are universal cleansing agents. As polluting as Hinduism interprets them, they are also opportunities for purification. Hindus ritually bathe during an eclipse, believing all water is temporarily as pure as the holy river Ganges. While others are closed, some Shiva temples actually stay open. The dark night before every new moon is also sacred to him. People honor the Hindu god of transformation during moments of celestial darkness to overcome negativity, illness, and their own ego. Whatever your spiritual path, eclipses are opportunities to address inner and outer heavy energy. They can be used to amplify clearing and release work, from smudging to healing trauma.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

“If the Sun and Moon should ever doubt, they’d immediately go out.”

~William Blake, 18^th century English poet and artist ~

Contemporary astrology interprets eclipses more neutrally as agents of change, accelerating events to the point of a conclusion, triggering breakthroughs or break downs, significant endings and beginnings, and unexpected revelations. During a solar eclipse we expect to see these themes more in the outer world but Cancer represents everything inner: our domestic and emotional life, early childhood, and mothers. Those directly influenced may have things outside themselves trigger inner changes.

Eclipses happen because of an alignment of the Sun, Moon, and the lunar nodes about every six months. Each eclipse season there can be up to three eclipses, alternating between solar and lunar. They often come in pairs. This is the third and final one this eclipse season. Events triggered by them tend to be experienced until the next season, six months away.

The strength of an eclipse depends on the degree of darkness. As only a partial eclipse, this one is interpreted as weaker. However it also makes a grand square, an alignment of four or more planets in signs 90 degrees from each other. The Sun/Moon combo makes a very tight square to Saturn (limitation, structure), a square to Uranus (radical change, inspiration) and an opposition to Pluto (breakdown, transformation). Since they weave together squares and oppositions, grand squares are challenging. Frustratingly experienced as obstacles, tension, and a need for action, they can richly reward those who face them.

Not everyone experiences astrological events equally. They may just see the themes around them. This partial solar eclipse takes place at 9 degrees 12 minutes Cancer. Those with planets or points in their charts in the cardinal signs are the most likely influenced (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). For example:

Sun Sign Aries born around March 31^st.

Sun Sign Cancer born around July 2^nd.

Sun Sign Libra born around October 3^rd.

Sun Sign Capricorn born around December 31^st.

For those with a little more astrological knowledge, you should check out a transit chart to see which house the eclipse takes place in and what aspects it is making. This will let you know how you will experience it personally, if at all.

C L Matthews, 2011