In Days Of Old Gang Sign: New Year’s Lunar Eclipse

By Len Wallick. Eric will be back with an entry in the early afternoon.

In spite of Guy Lombardo’s best efforts, “Auld Lang Syne” is the hands down winner of the Kurt Cobain Award for most often mangled lyrics. Of course it does not help that most of us sing it but once a year after consuming alcohol for hours on end. This year, as a bonus, synchronicity makes it a legitimate subject for an astrological column. Plus, as befits the occasion, we can have a little fun. Jupiter knows we could afford to lighten up. It’s New Year’s Eve after all.

The big news, of course is the partial lunar eclipse (visible from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia) on New Year’s Eve. This does not happen every year (although, in 2010 we do get a total lunar eclipse for the Winter Solstice). Given that our Gregorian calendar is based on the Sun, it’s an extraordinary coincidence. As Eric is fond of saying, however, there are no accidents. So, pour yourself a lemonade, open a box of vanilla wafers and let’s see how the event fits with the song.

First, some basics. Lunar eclipses take place during the Full Moon. A Full Moon is an opposition between the Sun and the Moon with good old planet Earth someplace in between: someplace, as in precisely aligned in a direct line. Think of being in a movie theater. The projector (Sun) is behind us and the screen (Moon) is in front of us, but no film in the projector (a movie by John Cage, if you will). That’s a normal Full Moon.

Now, let’s say you stand up and your head blocks the light from the projector. That’s just like a lunar eclipse with the Earth exactly between the Sun and Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon. But this one is a partial eclipse. Because the Sun is so big, so bright and so far away, and the Earth imprecisely aligned, it does not block out all of the light, just the higher frequencies, rendering the Moon reddish in color rather than completely dark.

Any old stories or songs about the Moon being the color of blood are probably referring to a lunar eclipse (either that or really bad smog; or a spell gone bad).

Now, if the Moon orbited the Earth in the same plane as the Earth orbits the Sun, every Full Moon would be a lunar eclipse (and every New Moon would be a solar eclipse, but that’s a subject for next month). But noooo, the plane of the Moon’s orbit is at an angle to ours, intersecting at two points — the lunar nodes. So a lunar eclipse can take place only when the the Moon is full AND in one of the nodes. Whether the eclipse is exact or not depends on how exactly in the node it is.

With me so far? Ok, hand me one of those vanilla wafers and let’s move on. All eclipses have some common elements. A sense of loss (sometimes what you would be better off without), a distortion of space time (creating its own little thing in between the lunar and solar) and (with a lunar eclipse) an enhanced, heightened sense of polarity. It is not (repeat, NOT) always a bad or malicious thing. The only sure thing is that hiding out under the bed will cause your allergies to kick in.

Context is another factor. This Full Moon will be in Cancer (home of the South Node, which means the Moon is moving below the ecliptic). The ruling planet is the Moon. This is where the Moon lives. This is also where we live as the sign is commonly associated with the 4th house. We may thus expect some concurrent activity in our personal, private circumstances but remember, don’t cringe. This could be an opportunity just as easily as it could be a hardship. Given the node, there will probably be some taste of consequences and responsibility which can be rewarding when owned. Mars, one of the so-called personal planets (because its orbit around the Sun repeats many times during a typical human life) is next door, retrograding entirely in Leo, not in aspect (neither decile nor novile) but in sympathy due to its proximity, apparent motion, and its own opposition with the separating but still functional Aquarius stellium (individual and tribe in negotiation).

The opposing Sun, if course, is in Capricorn reflecting a 10th house vibe of public life and its boundaries. The ruling planet is Saturn. Interestingly Sol is bracketed by the other two personal planets, Mercury (in retrograde) and Venus (just off encounters with Pluto and Saturn, gradually approaching its transit behind the Sun). Pluto, of course, is just beginning its generation-long bivouac in the sign. This is a large and diverse amount of energy for the Moon to reflect, but there is a coherency to it and not necessarily a frightful one. There are boundaries and limits, but not necessarily imposed (participation brings negotiation) and this resonates well with the dynamics of the Leo-Aquarius axis (the previous home of the nodes before they moved the franchise). There is also review and evaluation involved (and be grateful that there seems to be a bit of time for that now).

Finally, Saturn in Libra widely t-squares the ecliptic axis, re-enforcing and amplifying almost like it was a dour Jupiter. Remember earlier this year when a new, gossamer ring of huge circumference was discovered around Saturn? Eric said Saturn was sending us a message. Well, this eclipse is receiving it and broadcasting it. Sure, it’s not silly and light, but it’s also not as bad as the hangovers some of use might be having tomorrow.

Speaking of which, let me have a taste of that lemonade — you look a little silly to me.

So, how does this fit in with the song? In addition to being a great poet, Bobby Burns was something of a folklorist. When he submitted the lyrics, he attributed them to an “old man” who had in turn learned received them from a previous generation. The title translates as “old long since” and asks the legitimate question of whether the past should be broken with or integrated into the future. The song, as it progresses obviously favors the latter. This fairly bursts with the status of humanity at this very moment. On the cusp of unavoidable and irresistible transition, but also in audit of that from which the future can be sustainably created.

So take a moment tonight. Weather permitting contemplate Luna in its majesty. Geography permitting, observe the shadow that is, after all, only us, bringing a blush to her face. Take a cup of kindness as ye look up and give her a wave.

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