Earth and the Moon will line up with the Sun and lunar south node on Sunday (Monday in the Eastern Hemisphere). The result will be a solar eclipse in the first degree of Gemini. From East Asia, and across the Pacific to western North America, viewers will see a black lunar disk block the Sun. Viscerally astonishing as solar eclipses are to witness, their astrology is best viewed without drama, as simply as possible, in order to work with what they symbolize — that something is out of place and must change.
When the sky is dark during the day and the darkest part is the middle of the Sun, things are out of place. When things are out of place, they cannot remain that way for long. That simple fact is how the reality of a solar eclipse connects with the symbolism of astrology.
One way astrology symbolically interprets celestial events is how big they are. When it comes to lights in the sky, none are as big, bright or important to your life as the luminaries, Sun and Moon. Earth’s rotation makes the Sun appear to move across the sky defining the day. Earth’s orbital movement, combined with the tilt of its rotational axis, makes the rising and setting Sun appear to move North or South along the horizon, defining the seasons. Unlike the Sun, the Moon really does move relative to our planet, and its orbital motion, combined with Earth’s rotation, contributes to its phases and the fact that it rises a bit later every night. For the most part, the respective paths of the luminaries across our sky, whether real or apparent, rarely intersect.
Another way astrology prioritizes events is by how rare they are. The Moon’s orbit around our planet is not in the same plane as Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Because of that, the two orbits intersect at only two small spots in the sky called the lunar nodes. Every month or so, the Moon is between Earth and Sun but the luminaries are in different planes for a New Moon, a conjunction of the Sun and Moon when we don’t see the Moon at all. A few times every year, the New Moon conjunction will take place near a node and that’s how a solar eclipse happens, as big as predictable celestial events get and rare as luminary events go. Further discerning solar eclipses from each other is which of the two nodes host the luminary conjunction and where that particular node is located.
Earth’s orbit around the Sun defines the apparent solar path across the sky, called the ecliptic. Where the Moon’s orbit rises above the ecliptic is the lunar north node. Conversely, where the Moon’s path takes it below the ecliptic is referred to as the southern node. The location of Sunday’s solar eclipse is the lunar south node in Gemini. The South Node is associated with what has already happened and its consequences. A solar eclipse near the South Node implies that there is something originating in the past that is out of place in the present. The eclipse’s location in Gemini gives us an idea of what that something might be.
Gemini is a mutable air sign ruled by Mercury. The planetary ruler and the the ancient element of air both represent something having to do with the mind, indicating that an idea, concept or mental pattern from the past is no longer appropriate. The mutable quality of Gemini works to prepare the collective mind for a new season of thought, by holding the time for an old pattern to be dismantled, making room for a new cycle to emerge. Finally, the dual nature of Gemini’s glyph and its association with twins indicates that it is a polarity of some sort which is no longer sustainable, or perhaps all of them.
When you look around, polarities abound. Sexual, racial, political and regional divisions are everywhere and most of them originated in a past which bears no resemblance to the present. Look within yourself and you will probably find similar polarities between what you were and what you are, what you show and what you hide, possibly even between what you say and what you do. At a time when it is painfully apparent that we are all in the same leaky boat, it is certainly appropriate to question if not discard any pretense at perpetuating partition.
If Sunday’s solar eclipse means anything, the resolution of old and outdated dualistic mental patterns must be a part of it. Finally, the particular kind of solar eclipse we are about to experience symbolizes a new pattern unheard of in our past.
Previously in human history, those brave souls who sought to increase the circle of light were paradoxically confronted by a proportionally increased circumference of darkness. Sunday’s solar eclipse will be of the annular variety, where the darkest part of the sky will be ringed by a circle of brilliant light — and what will ultimately prevail, once that which is out of place has passed, is the light. Would it not be grand if the real and visible symbolism of the sky were a harbinger for our planet and ourselves? Is there any reason why the duality between the darkness out of place and the light displaced should not resolve in favor of the light? The answer will begin inside each of us like a circle of light and if there are enough of us increasing our personal circle of light we will come together like a brilliant sky on the brightest day.
Offered In Service
Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.
p. sophia
yes. It is a lovely feeling to be so heard on this. Hard to fathom this and express this here and now. Love the ring of fire … hadn’t even thought of the bravery element. So grateful for your generosity, beyond words here.
m.
…to your bravery of not allowing others put their fear on you anymore! Maybe this is part of what the Ring of Fire holds. Light and love.
Marymack,
Those afraid of their own hearts always turn their fear against others. Old, ugly truth, but so true. Recognizing this is our freedom and ticket to soar. Here’s to flight…
PS
it’s been such a freaky ride, with stops in PAs psych ward on 2 separate occasions, but I feel such immense gratitude for having made it here … thanks in no small part to you loving people @ planet waves and this blog in particular. with so much anger and resentment that I was the crazy one of the family, it feels like such a perfect time to let that all go what with gemini in my 4th house and the only planet there being vesta (exactly opposite pallas in 10th) … an old pattern that suggested that there was separation at all, much less crazy/sane.
thank you len, hugging, be, patti, carrie, aword … it takes a village and this is the best,
mary
Len: “Anna CQS: CWS, i presume?”
Len, I had made a typo when I changed my name from “Anna Inxa” to “Anna CQS” by typing the ‘W’ instead of ‘Q’. Sorry for the confusion. I had brain fog going on yesterday. Looking at the typo this morning, I am beginning to think it was a polarity slip.
In your article, you wrote: “Look within yourself and you will probably find similar polarities between what you were and what you are, what you show and what you hide, possibly even between what you say and what you do.”
Indeed. This morning, fresh with a mug of coffee, the ‘W’ stands out to let me know what was really going on within myself as the ‘W’ does mean something to me. Let me say that I have been in transition from what I was and where I was in a relationship with ‘W’ to what I am and where I am in my ‘Q’—‘Quest’. Amazing the little unconscious messages we give ourselves that can include a typo for a letter. I definitely will note this polarity slip in my journal. I love signs and synchronicities and I usually keep my radar up and running for such.
well the comment on the physical effects of the impending eclipse hit home, ive also been headachy, sick, anxious, light-headed, with a buzz-on in the run-up to the eclipse. i feel like agatha in minority report, one of the pre-cogs lying in the glassy water waiting to predict the oncoming crime, or the bride in melancholia, tasting dust because she sensed the crash of the planets. her family thought her mad and her sister thought her depressed, but in fact she weathered the oncoming collision calmly in the end, while her sister (charlotte gainsborg) escaped, unable to prepare for the change. the challenge is yes, beware that every eclipse or new alignment is a harbinger of loss, instead let your relationships transform (change to another form) and let them continue…
@ Len, the most surprising this is Neptune entering the Lunar nodes axis midships just after its square with Neptune which the effect will be felt was a peak in July and August. In India the Lunar nodes are considered on the same basis as of the planets and the double square with Neptune will be a trigger of disillusionment. Despite in the trine Venus August / March followed then end of September the last square Venus/Mars. A sense of obscure the truth that breaks out in broad daylight….
To respect the previous it’s me that I had not noticed that you were the author of the articles on which you meet my reaction, es – what the explanation is clearer?
(((((((P. Sophia)))))))
Thanks all, for having a place to come to that feels unlike anything else in my life!
Bless you P. Sophia! I loved those words of Len’s too. Sounds like you’ve turned the corner there, good luck with it dear. Good to be in such good company. xxx
Patty, beautifully said, thank you. so true. The present moment and gratitude!
Sarah, I love the quote and the wisdom of your latest Tarot reading is resonating with the sky… Thank you for sharing your talents. You truely are open and gifted! Best to you-
“Previously in human history, those brave souls who sought to increase the circle of light were paradoxically confronted by a proportionally increased circumference of darkness.”
Len, thank you, thank you, i take great comfort in this.
Dear Huffy, the same in your words… I feel so much compassion and understanding along with and for you. Started with a mental reality crash on Sunday and hitting highest point yesterday, I met a breaking point -fed up and frustrated, rock hit bottom for me. Determined to turn it around, today things began to shift and now moving creatively, and visually at speeds. Feels like a vail is being lifted.
Brightest light to everyone this weekend. YES, Len I believe it WILL be Grand.
Faithfully~
Hugging – I see you mean business (with your latest avatar!).
Thanks dearest Len. You nailed it again! I reached a peak of awfulness this week – went back into a very dark place, overwhelmed by work issues that I never imagined would rear their ugly heads again. You said “Your mind witnesses it but the experience of an eclipse really takes place in the body” – in fact I was violently sick yesterday pm (I nearly always experience this stuff some days before the event, especially with new moons). I’ve been feeling trapped and panicky, became ill with anxiety and anger too – at the same time there’s the sense of another consciousness emerging, and the need to just relax the mind and stop reacting with the same old fear. As you say “The planetary ruler and the the ancient element of air both represent something having to do with the mind, indicating that an idea, concept or mental pattern from the past is no longer appropriate. The mutable quality of Gemini works to prepare the collective mind for a new season of thought, by holding the time for an old pattern to be dismantled, making room for a new cycle to emerge”. Think something old and toxic is on its way out at last.Thank you. xxx
Thanks Len as always!
Len, (good question) and is substance a matter of consciousness ?
Perhaps our new wave love of the ‘3D HD experience’ has been a reflection of our yearning for ‘something’ with more dimension than we have grown accustomed to.
Happy, healthy journey to you and the Pilgrims!
It feels like the blooms of flowers when they are trying hard to live at their brightest, just before death. it isn’t really death, because for life to begin again, the plant must die, so the seed may fall. That’s how it feels to me right now. The spring flowers came on too fast, and nothing is acting right or normal in nature. Something will change soon, but what? Have to live in the moment, for each day is a new beginning complete with its challenges. A gratitude journal might come in handy for the next 2 months, for perspective.
aword: Thank you. Good question. Is binary a matter of consciousness or substance?
Lyd: You are welcome. We are in the same boat. i am not one to preach but rather one to be forgiven.
marymack: Just made the first stop since Seattle (in Eugene) on the way to No Cal to see the eclipse. Our sky lights may be different but our interior lights can be one.
Carrie: Yes. Thank you. My compassion and heart go out to you but most of all my gratitude.
Fe: Your natal Moon has had a workout this year what with your solar and lunar return taking place on the same day, the ingress of Venus and now this. You are correct, you are lit and on your way to some kind of personal best. May you know timeless mind and connection without boundary (and if anybody could get that into words, there are none better than you).
Sarah: Thank you for the quote from one of the great lights of our time.
Anna CWS: You nailed it. This will be my second solar eclipse.The first was total. This one puts a ring on it. It is like no other experience. Your mind witnesses it but the experience of an eclipse really takes place in the body, it takes place in exactly the spot you mentioned.
marymack: Thank you for the hyperlink from an exceptional being.
Anna CQS: CWS, i presume?
Hugging Scorpio: Thank you for your question. Been all day in a vehicle following back roads to far places with a carpool of eclipse pilgrims. Tomorrow we get into the path of totality. As to your question: Two words: Mutual reception. Mercury in Taurus, ruled by Venus. Venus in Gemini ruled, ruled by Mercury. Depends on the astrologer. The late, great maverick astrologer, Al Morrison did not buy what Ptolemy was selling. For me, when classical (visible to the naked eye) planets are involved it’s a case where, at the vary least, we have been conditioned and genetically altered by our own stories repeated over thousands of years. If that is the case and if my blog today is close to accurate, this eclipse may change the pattern and then it would be “chalk one up for Al.” One thing for sure, both Mercury and Venus are formidable right now – an interior planet thing is happening somehow. Just think, with Venus and Mercury, we experience no opposition to the Sun (that would require us to be between them and the Sun) – there’s your clue, perhaps we could call it “mutual reinforcement” if not mutual reception. Please, does that answer you okay?
Lunesoleil: Please forgive me if i missed acknowledging a previous comment of yours. Please allow me to second Barbara in thanking you for mentioning Neptune square the eclipse. Neptune is very dominant right now in spite of being slow. Yes, the Pleiades are taking a big role this year in spite of being “fixed” (Algol too). And Jupiter, ah yes, re-appearing in the East after a superior conjunction with the Sun, leading the way for Venus – very cool.
Barbara: Thank you. You are a treasure and champion yod-spotter. Even more, you are gracious. Thank you also for mentioning Pallas. A good friend to have is Pallas, but one must meet her standards to get her support and that is my challenge because Pallas sets the bar high and too many are the times when i fail to reach it.
Elven: Thank you. Perfectly written. We are heard in and made by our own story, just like the possible interpretation of mutual reception. Time to be a maverick and question the story? Well, it is a risk.
Lunasoleil,
Thank you for reminding us of the Neptune square to the Sun and Moon. All will not be as it will appear to be, and we have been forewarned.
be
It would be grand Len. Very very grand and so very just-in-time. Thank you first for making it almost effortless to understand what the Universe is telling us, and, as we have noted so many times before, for making it a thing of beauty.
Like Hugging Scorpio I’m wondering how Mercury from 22 Taurus 34 will support this Eclipse. From the same degree in which last Sunday’s Mother’s Day conjunction between Sun-Jupiter-Sedna occurred and where Sedna still remains in her Yod formation with Varuna and Quaoar, Mercury is bringing to the light of consciousness his own gift at this awesome eclipse time. “A Jewelry Shop Filled With Valuable Gems” is the Sabian Symbol, about which Dane Rudhyer says “The symbol applies to any product in which culturally acquired skill has embellished or transformed the end results of a lengthy and demanding natural process.”
And how splendid it is that Pallas -Athene at the 0 Aries Point will sextile the Sun and Moon at 0 Gemini and they all will in turn quincunx transiting retrograde Aphrodite in Scorpio to make yet another yod with her Gift of Love as a bonus attraction!
My goodness, if all this is the coming attractions I can hardly wait for the show to begin.
be
Len, as always your words flow like poetry with meaning, teaching me new and reminding me old.
Yes, we have entered a time when we learn there are more than two-sides to every coin. I wonder what this will mean to technological (computer binary) developments?
Could be fascinating. One step at a time. First – the Ring of Light.
xo
Good evening Len
To the previous article I no I had not noticed when you answer me it was on your article. I had not made the reconciliation between between the author of the article and your response, it has become more clear to me.
Thank you for these details on the physical description, I am more in the spiritual deployment as a technical knowledge, but I know the difference between the North node and South node. I take still from this Eclipse a halo of light that will be accompanied by the Pleiades, Jupiter will be close to the most evil fixed star Algol, in favour of its harmfulness. This Moon news will be still to the square of Neptune then it will be the turn of mercury…. a forewarned forearmed…
Thank you again for your warm items
Good evening 🙂 ))))) 🙂 ))))
marymack, I enjoyed that clip. “Don’t fan the flames of loss.” perfect.
Sarah, I love that quote and it warmed my heart a bit today.
Len, thanks for this lovely piece! I have a question. Since the eclipse happens in Gemini ruled by Mercury, should we also pay attention to where Mercury is right now? If so, why and how?
For example, I def feel like I’m clearing out energy of my 8th house (Gemini) and reevaluating the ideas or experiences that had taken root there – either of recent or of the past in general. Its been intense but I feel strongly that I’ve done my best in addressing these issues. Since Merc is in Taurus, would this add specificity to the nature of the eclipse as well – ie. ideas about partnerships (7th house)?
Thanks for any clarification Len!
HS
By the way, I wish to thank Sarah Taylor for the quote. I’ve jotted it down.
Also, I made a type with my initials in my profile for some reason, and so incorrect in previous reply.
Again, a brilliant article by Len.
just listened to this and thought how nicely it illuminates the subject of this gemini eclipse; thought I’d share
m.
abraham hicks Jan 2012 Am I An Eternal Being
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJm99nlpxGs
Indeed. “When the sky is dark during the day and the darkest part is the middle of the Sun, things are out of place. When things are out of place, they cannot remain that way for long.”
I could highlight a majority of this wise article, actually, as it truly touched deeply within my solar plex. This timely expression, an inspiration and Sun clarity, a confirmation for me. Thank you, Len.
“Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.” — Marianne Williamson
Ay caray!!
Len – the eclipse will happen conjunct my natal Moon in the 3rd house. Looks like an interesting day to write!
“things are out of place. When things are out of place, they cannot remain that way for long….snip….The South Node is associated with what has already happened and its consequences. A solar eclipse near the South Node implies that there is something originating in the past that is out of place in the present…snip….indicating that an idea, concept or mental pattern from the past is no longer appropriate.”
I hope this means what I think it means because that would be a huge relief if it does.
thank you, len, for the clarity and wisdom. I shall be increasing my own personal circle of light this sunday and look forward to the brilliant sky on the brightest day.
simply awesome,
mary
oh boy….”Look within yourself and you will probably find similar polarities between what you were and what you are, what you show and what you hide, possibly even between what you say and what you do. At a time when it is painfully apparent that we are all in the same leaky boat, it is certainly appropriate to question if not discard any pretense at perpetuating partition.”
Ah Len, you do what you do so inspiringly well…many thanks.