Partial Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn – Part 1

A Grand Cross is superimposed on a Grand Trine in this chart.  

A Lunar Eclipse is a special Full Moon, which can only occur when the Sun, the Moon and the Earth align in close proximity to the Moon’s Nodes. While the Moon passes through the shadow cast by the Earth the sunlight is directly absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere, which it deeply infiltrates before some remaining shades of this light can reach and consequently illuminate the Moon.

In a partial lunar eclipse, part of the Moon is within the Earth’s umbral shadow. From the Earth, we see the Moon partially in shadow, almost as if it wasn’t full. In the later stages of a partial eclipse, as the Moon darkens, red coloration may become visible on the shadowed side of the Moon. The partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 will be most readily visible from the south Pacific. During greatest eclipse at 11:38 UT about half the Moon will be in Earth’s umbra. The umbral portions of this partial lunar eclipse will last from 10:17 to 13:00 UT. Observers in the Pacific or eastern Australia will be able to observe the entire eclipse. Observers in the western portions of the Americas will be able to observe portions of the eclipse just before the full Moon sets at dawn. While observers in eastern Asia will not be able to observe this eclipse until the Moon rises at sunset.

Reflections on June 25th, 2010 – a show of strength

Mercury made an ingress into the sign Cancer this morning at 06:31 am EDT, which brought him into square aspect with Uranus in Aries and trine to Chiron Rx in Pisces. Our emotional impressions may from now on color our thinking process and we may also more often rely on our gut instinct, our perception guided by a caring and protective attitude. An unexpected turn of events could’ve forced us to cope with security-related news, which flowed right into the wounding and healing principle and therefore could’ve felt overwhelming, allowing for defensive thoughts to arise, in particular so as the Sun in Cancer opposed Pluto Rx in Capricorn and trined Pallas in Scorpio, while Venus in Leo semi-squared Saturn in Virgo. Confronted by the need to manage a situation that’s been beyond our control for a longer period of time and could’ve influenced our sense of safety considerably, leaving us vulnerable and maybe even powerless, we could’ve felt compelled to take the next step and finalize our intentions, resolutely setting an end to this problem, whereby our confidence to resolve this for better could’ve played an important part.

One year in the making, a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street rules forged in the aftermath of a financial crisis cleared congressional negotiations early Friday and headed to the House and Senate for final votes. The legislation, the most ambitious rewrite of financial regulations since the Great Depression, touches on an exhaustive range of financial transactions, from a debit card swipe at a supermarket to the most complex securities deals cut in downtown Manhattan. Eager to avoid a recurrence of the 2008 financial meltdown, lawmakers set up a warning system for financial risks, created a powerful consumer financial protection bureau to police lending, forced large failing firms to liquidate and set new rules for financial instruments that have been largely unregulated. – Mercury ingressed Cancer and the bill is now in the house. An overhaul that was one year in the making (Sun-Pluto-Pallas) is awaiting final voting (Mercury-Uranus-Chiron) and it is new trend that has been introduced here (Uranus in Aries), which creates powerful consumer protection (Sun-Pluto-Pallas) by setting new rules  for financial instruments for their better functioning or regulation (Venus-Saturn).

Authorities removed a towering statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin from the central square of his home town in the dead of the night on Friday in an unannounced operation, carting away the monument to Georgia’s most famous native. A journalist said police tried to prevent journalists from filming the process, in some cases beating them. Widely reviled as a dictator responsible for millions of deaths in political purges, labor camps and forced agricultural collectivization, Stalin is held up as a hero by supporters who say the Soviet Union would not have defeated Nazi Germany or industrialized without him. – He was a brutal dictator, who was responsible for even more deaths than Hitler was (Sun-Pluto-Pallas), which is a well-known fact among people who aren’t afraid to tell the truth (Mercury-Uranus-Chiron). So, there’s no need to glorify him (Venus-Saturn), but no matter how eccentric and insane a person is, he or she will always have followers and supporters (Mercury in Cancer-Uranus-Chiron). As Mercury ingressed Cancer this symbol of shame – not fame – has finally been removed from the place where he came from.   

Tarot card of the day was “Strength” with the message ‘I must overcome my fears’. Stamina is required to bring about a solution to a situation. You have the courage of your convictions and will triumph over hatred, miserly attitudes and mean-spirited people. You are filled with faith and power; optimism and a firm resolve will enable you to win through in any situation. It has nothing to do with brute force; it comes from a loving, compassionate heart – a beautiful analogy for Mercury in Cancer approaching the Sun in the power triangle.

The day started for me on a somber note, because J had to get up early again and since our rabbit has formed such a strong bond with me, she wants me around when she comes out of her cage and this concerns the mornings and the evenings. Wild rabbits are nocturnal. They sleep during the day. So, usually I stay up late and then I’ll be still tired when I only catch a few hours of sleep, which has become an unhealthy pattern. Therefore, I truly needed to summon all my strength to discipline myself in order to get through the morning. J came home before lunch to take me to another appointment with yet another specialist in London. This was the real challenge! We spent a bit over 4 hours in the hospital due to the doctor being called to an emergency (Mercury-Uranus-Chiron). After that I was completely drained, but we still had to take care of the grocery shopping (Sun-Pluto-Pallas). Tomorrow, on the day of the powerful Lunar Eclipse, is my mother-in-law’s birthday (the family-matriarch! Lunar Eclipse conjunct Pluto opposite her Sun and square her Aries Moon conjunct Uranus!). Imagine that! Though I know better I try to focus on the positive. Anyway, it was my intention to write a piece about the Lunar Eclipse to post here, but honestly, it’s too late – I’ve run out of time and energy and can barely focus anymore (Venus-Saturn). 😦

Card Number VIII of the Major Arcana "STRENGTH"

Reflections on June 24th, 2010 – judgment call

Pallas, symbol of the mental strategy and thus of politics, tactics and pattern recognition, who has been retrograde since March 25, stationed direct in the sign Scorpio yesterday morning. As she traveled back and forth these zodiacal degrees our thought patterns became eligible for transformation and consequently, we may have uncovered underlying issues, dug up secrets and delved into deeper, psychic dynamics that brought us more in touch with personal truths and buried feelings, which has been critical to and supportive of our inner growth and this allows us now to concentrate with adjusted values on our goals, suggested by Venus in Leo’s sesqui-quadrate to Ceres Rx in Sagittarius and quincunx to the North Node in Capricorn. The inner tensions we may have undergone after a long series of less desirable and unwanted experiences in this context may have caused us to use better knowledge. Therefore, we had to come to a decision regarding our efficiency that would set an end to waste and self-undoing, implied by Mercury in Gemini’s square to Saturn in Virgo and trine to Neptune Rx in Aquarius.   

Two months of oil continuing to gush from a well off the Gulf Coast, as well as an unemployment rate still near 10 percent, have taken a toll on U.S. President Barack Obama and his standing with the American public, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. For the first time in the survey, more disapprove of his job performance than approve; for the first time in his presidency, more than 60 percent believe the country is on the wrong track; and as he relieves Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command in Afghanistan, Obama’s scores on being able to handle a crisis and on being decisive have plummeted since last year. This is a president who has been bruised and bloodied by the events of the past few months, although not yet knocked down, say the Democratic and Republican pollsters who conducted the survey. A silver lining for Obama is that his personal scores are still strong. Still, he has to prepare for a tougher fight in Afghanistan, where his war strategy so far seemed to have failed, in addition to all the problems he faces at home. – Although I don’t believe that these polls are very reliable, it is conceivable that the American public is pretty disappointed as well as frustrated and this of course will show in the numbers (Venus-Ceres Rx [ranking, likeability rating] and Mercury-Saturn). The replacement of the top military commander in Afghanistan is a revised strategy that happened at the end of Pallas’ retrograde and made Obama aware of the necessity to toughen up if he wants to succeed (Venus and Mercury aspects). He certainly has a lot on his plate and the demands of the job were not easy on him, because he actually cares (Venus-Ceres). But he may have learnt that as times are getting harsher and more problems arise he also will have to strengthen his stance.

More than 2 million cribs from seven companies were recalled Thursday amid concerns that babies can suffocate, become trapped or fall from the cribs. Most of the cribs were drop-sides, which have a side rail that moves up and down so parents can lift children from them more easily. That movable side, however, can malfunction or detach from the crib, creating a dangerous gap where babies’ heads can become trapped, leading to suffocation or strangulation. – This recall at the time of Pallas’ station is like in the first case indicative of a strategy or thinking that didn’t work out (Mercury-Saturn). The security concern about the cribs is an excellent example for Venus in Leo in tense aspect to Ceres, symbol of mothering or the maternal. Her quincunx to the NN implies that they did the responsible thing to ensure the safety of those children.

Tarot card of the day was a double: “Justice covered by the 6 of Pentacles”, suggesting that we’ve come to a stage in our life where we can call on our ability to see both sides of a situation, which played into the logical and practical decision we had to make as part of the cycle we’re going through. This could involve a spiritual gesture as in the case of the crib recalls, where the security of the children was put first. For Obama it can be interpreted as a balancing of the giving and receiving principle.

Personally, I was on the receiving end of this beneficial energy. In the morning did J send me information about a naturopathic professional in London, whom I called already to inquire about their services and rates. Looks as though this is the right way to go and I’m glad that J is supportive in this regard (Venus-Ceres). He received good news in return for his nice gesture, I’d like to think, as things started moving in his business (Venus-NN and Mercury-Saturn).