From Dioscuri Into Discourse – Preparing for Eclipse

By Len Wallick

With the Sun, Pluto, retrograde Mercury and (most recently) Venus all in Capricorn, we are now fully immersed in the energy of that sign. Uncharacteristically, the Moon seems to be lagging a bit behind the trend.

Today, the waxing Gemini Moon covers the same ground as it did during the first Full Moon of the month back on December 2nd. In two days it will be full again, this time in in the sign Cancer for a lunar eclipse that will be visible across large portions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

In doing so it will pass through the opposition between the trans-Neptunian planet, Chaos (representing, in Eric’s words, “the fertile chaos of creation”) the centaur Pholus (“small cause, big effect”) and go on to oppose the Great Attractor (polarity too big to comprehend) crossing the Gemini-Sagittarius axis that presaged the eclipse cycle we are about to enter. In true Gemini form, this could well be concurrent with a great deal of discourse. The kind that characterized the energy that worked us from before Thanksgiving up to and including the Winter Solstice.

The etymology of the English word discourse traces back to the Latin discursus (or, alternatively, discurrere) which meant “to run about.” If this does not reflect your experience during last few weeks or so, you may very well be the fortunate exception.

Since that time, however, the commonly employed syntax seems to have evolved away from its frenetic origins and towards being synonymous with rational expression. French scientist Michel Foucault (the inventor of the famous pendulum that proved the world turns on its axis), for example, considered discourse to imply that which is defined and with boundaries. Which neatly leads us into the energy field of Capricorn.

Just as the definition of the word discourse seems to have evolved, so has the ambient astrological vibe. In his December 14th blog Eric portrayed the image of Mercury in Capricorn as “living tradition.” Now moving, with the messenger moving backwards (without leaving Capricorn) we might very well tack on a review of that tradition.

With Pluto just beginning to fry his own particular fish in Capricorn, this review can serve the purpose of allowing us to move beyond being sentimental. A longer, bigger view would encourage us instead into a grounded discourse over what little we should pack and the greater amount we should release as we prepare to move with changes to the established order.

Sol conjoins the asteroid Icarus today like a big yellow highlighter to emphasize the Capricornian predilection for boundaries, as does Venus, just coming off her square with Saturn. Sun’s square to Niobe in the sign Cancer further reinforces the point. The tragic daughter of Tantalus, her boastful discourse stepped over the line and led to the decimation of proudest possession, her family.

Speaking of pride, retrograde Mars (part of the yod that our our erudite commentator, Ms. BK referred to over the weekend) is still functionally opposing Chiron, allowing us a little more time to for discourse about where we fit in with our respective tribes. Where do we get off getting attached to what others expect of us? How can we possibly lose sight of the standard set by our good heart and higher self? Any work we do now will serve us well when we face the challenge of a Mars-Nessus opposition early next year.

As if to round it all out, today Mercury rolls back into its second of three squares with Eris (in Aries). The innermost planet in dialog with what should rightfully be the outermost. Mercury is about sentience: awareness. [Eric adds: Eris is about a deep, even disturbing state of mind that is reflective of our peculiar condition of identity chaos, here in the advertising age. Eris in Aries is about taking a ride on the kaleidoscope of self rather than picking out one precise identity and calling it our own. Identity becomes the experience of moving through the world rather than moving through the world as a static entity of self. We all know this feeling, but we may not have given it a name yet.]

The ultimate insider (you think for a moment Merc didn’t read the mail?) and the ultimate outsider; both help us identify who we are. Working that cardinal sign energy from the inside out (Aries to Capricorn), from the outside in (Capricorn to Aries). At once assertive and reflective but ultimately moving the old boundaries out to encompass that which was excluded.

Yes, we are about to be pulled into the wormhole of another eclipse cycle, but we will still be within the boundaries of Capricorn when we emerge. Let us take that moment to be conscious of that fact so we can guide ourselves through remaining whole and with a vision of wholeness for us all.

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