Today is the 15th anniversary of one of the great astrological events of our lifetimes — the grand cross and total solar eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999. This was the event that years earlier, astrologer Ani Black said she planned to be out of the solar system for. She stuck around.
Yesterday’s Full Moon activated that degree. Eclipses can have an influence for many years after they happen (not merely the usual six months you will read about on most blogs). It is however unusual for an eclipse to have a 15-year or longer life, but it happens.
One reason this eclipse was so influential is that the grand cross and Moon-Sun occultation happened at the same time. In April we also had a grand cross and eclipse, but the events were separated by about a week. On 8/11/99, the grand cross included a Mars-Saturn opposition exact to two arc minutes, applying.
Right around this time (that day in fact), the Cassini Space Probe was being shot past the Earth on the way to Saturn, with 72 pounds of plutonium on board. Also in the news was the formal grouping of the European Union. The eclipse cast a shadow over Europe at high noon, turning night to day and emphasizing the point that all of Europe was in something, whatever it would be, together.
The eclipse foreshadowed the stolen election of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, and combined with a second, equally powerful total solar eclipse on June 21, 2001, pointed right to the 9/11 incident. In effect these were the eclipses that described the turn of the millennium.
It’s worth studying past astrology to see what issues it highlights, what synchronicities emerge, what is happening in the world at the time, and what results are produced. One year before the eclipse I wrote an article called Thinking of You on Judgment Day, which I sometimes consider the honorary first Planet Waves article.
I guess that eclipse is still working its angle; it took a special one with Robin.
I will miss seeing him in “the hood” so to speak, popping in and out of our lives here In Marin County. My favorite conversation with him was a moment of deeply looking at each other, and then, one word.
The waiter had seated he and his friends next to our table, and after some minutes he joined the conversation that had been mostly dominated by his two companions. When I heard his voice I looked up suddenly and then, after a few seconds, over at him. He was already looking at me, having noticed that I recognized his voice without even looking. I looked at him deeply, and then smiled and just said “Hi”.
He looked at me deeply, then smiled, and with a wink said “Hi” back. I felt like I was communing with a Leprechaun.
I bet anything Heaven is having a rip-roaring time at it’s open mic. Thank you Robin for touching so many of our lives and, hearts.
That was the summer I started dating my now-husband. We knew each other in childhood, but didn’t connect until then. I remember that August full moon fondly. . .
I have been waiting for the right time to share with you Eric that I was (synchronicity working!) living in Burien WA at this time I think you were on Vashon at or near that time. My house was on the shore looking out at Vashon, Maplewild Drive, near Three Tree Point. I made a medicine wheel and every day without fail did a ceremony to heal the earth/people. ” I am am a woman healing……prejudice, etc….” there were 33 things I stated as I faced each direction of the wheel. I also gave thanks to the universe in advance for the abundance I was going to receive and the partner I was to come in to relationship with. Both things (partner and abundance)have come to pass though I do not live there any more 🙁 it was a profound time in my life with much spiritual growth and grounding/healing by the sea. So neat that I came to this site!
On 11 August 1999, I was lying out under the stars with my young children hoping to receive the energy of the eclipse, in Samoa in the south Pacific, where I was nursing my blind and aging grandmother. I was depressed, and unhappy in my marriage, but I remember reading about the eclipse and seeing it as a ray of hope. I didn’t know what to look for in the sky, but just thought it was best for us to be out there receiving what ever blessing the eclipse brought.
Two days later, my beloved grandmother passed away and my life went dark first, for a few years, as I moved to Australia and tried to get over her passing and my dismal life. In Aug 2002 I discovered Reiki and there was the light and hope that has helped heal my life over the years, and a new career that has taken me far and allowed me to buy land and build a home for my family.
Now, back here in Samoa, at my grandmothers house (now Mum’s house) on the very night of the full moon, so grateful for the wonderful life I have now, after finally splitting with ex last year, with a beautiful new partner, (friend from 21 years ago) and those gorgeous children of mine grown, one just landed her dream job after being told she didn’t get it, the other one, still planning what he wants to do (gestating) his life, and surrounded by the good solid friends and family after the not so good friends have fallen away over the years.
So many lessons and blessing but still here surviving and thriving. Many thanks to PW community for sharing your wonderful journeys. Thanks Eric for the walk down memory lane and showing us how far we have come since then.
Sina
I’m glad to see this post has remained a while. It’s allowed me to percolate on a personal endeavor around the time of this astro event.
Just as Pluto entered my sun sign of Sagittarius late in 1995, I had a profound death experience following prolonged illness. During this remarkable reminder of who I am and how it’s all okay, it was shown to me that I had still three distinct contributions to make to the world if I chose to return to my body and take it on. As I assure you I am typing this from a Mac in Los Angeles, I indeed chose to resume my physical journey.
In July of 1999 — just about one month prior to that 8/11 event — I completed “The Black & White Book” which I had been shown in great detail during meditations. Events flowed right along and it was soon picked up by Simon & Schuster and published. (I actually sent Eric the eBook a few months back as sample work.)
I was certain this was one of the three tasks to fulfill. Certain. But upon release date — May 2001 — promotion was dropped by the publisher and it fell through the cracks completely. It has been a baffling experience that to this day I have been unable to make sense of.
I showed the book recently to a counselor of sorts who said, “I don’t think this saga is over.” This post has certainly made me ponder that question more deeply. Feedback certainly welcomed.
A timely reminder that it is 15 years since the l999 total eclipse. This was a very powerful turning point for me. I witnessed it with the family in a mostly quartz stone circle
at Duloe near Looe in Cornwall, England. There were hippies in the circle and I clearly remember a cock crowing as it went dark and the electric green of the grass as the light came back. The grand cross was on my Leo/Aquarius nodes and I have been feeling that the current
full moon is very much a time to move forward again. My ascendant is in Leo and I also resonated greatly with the Leo birthday reading. Many thanks, Eric
I was working in London…6 months later I’d moved back home in Athens, Greece…Lately I miss my life traveling and I miss England’s poetic green countryside 🙂
So the sun then was in Leo and eclipsed transit my 8th house ruled by Leo with Pluto, Moon, Pallas, Juno, Zeus, transpluto, and Hygeia all in 8 and in Leo except Pallas in Virgo. How does that effect me today? On August 7, 1999 I married my current husband and on August 11 we were in Hawaii with his 11 year old daughter. On August7 this year we celebrated in Taos, NM, just the two of us. Our marriage certainly changed my entire life in many ways including lifestyle ( for the better) but there have been challenges along the way of course. On August 11, 2014 I had a quiet day alone reading charts and spiritual material, then joined a group of writers from my writing community (formed the last year and a half) for the early evening. I heard the news of Robin around 5 pm MST but did not grok that it was him until 8 pm. Very sad.
Upon further study, the chart for the Saturn conjunct Neptune is begging for you to write about it Eric. In view of your concerns regarding the environment, and assuming you haven’t already done this exploration, it would be worthwhile to take a look. Mach 3, 1989, 5:40 AM, Washington DC. The Sun was sextile the Moon and in September transiting Jupiter will activate that sextile for a couple of weeks.
Ceres and Eris were conjunct. Circe and Sauer (engineering) were conjunct U.S. Sibly Ceres. Orpheus was conjunct the U.S. Pluto. Nessus AND Industria were conjunct U.S. Neptune. Venus and the North Node were conjunct. Pholus was conjunct the U.S Uranus.
Yesterday I gave the wrong date for BP Gulf Oil Disaster which should be 5/20/10, and the link I posted ( re: Commons) is no longer appropriate, but if you insert the word “commons” in the search window you see when you get to that site, you will get ample explanation of the term.
Thanks for considering.
be
The day of that eclipse, the Dalai Lama spoke in Central Park to a crowd of thousands. Surely many of them were as surprised as I was by the simplicity of his message, which was (as I recall) essentially just to be mindful and appreciative. I remember the sound of his giggle, and his saying how much he appreciated his Rolex, which was a gift, and his posh room at the Waldorf-Astoria, and the stark contrast between his remarks vs. the comments I heard around me in the crowd before he spoke, things like “I got up today at seven and did umpteen extra sun salutations!”. People had gone expecting to receive some transformational, mystical message, and there he was explaining there’s nothing mystical about him at all. And I wondered what other people took away from his talk, whether they were disappointed that he didn’t deliver some kind of magic bullet.
Thanks, Amanda, I shall post post haste!
Rest in Peace Robin Williams….
Hi Deborah — you don’t need permission; just click the title of the “Wildfire Weenies” post and copy the URL onto your FB page. Jen Sorensen is a syndicated cartoonist.
By using the link to the PW blog (rather than, say, grabbing the image and then uploading to FB), you keep the source intact (and possible even guide a few more people to PW). Thanks for asking!
I need permission to post “Wildfire Weenies” to my FB page as it feels crucial at this point and must reach as many people as possible…yes, we have to draw them a picture! Sorry to be brusque but we ARE on fire…Respect and appreciation for all you do, PW…love to you all.
This 5-planet Leo is feeling the heat.
One of the mainstays of my 90’s childhood passed, Robin Williams. One of the first movies I really loved was Aladdin. He played Genie. I loved the happiness that boomed out of that character. To think about it, Genie to me represents Jupiter. My other favorite movies of his was Flubber and Jumanji. Sigh, what a blow. He will be missed. He is free.
Well i scooted over to serrenu to see what the Grand Cross of this eclipse was hitting for my chart for me to be all lined up to go to Turkey at that time– First of all Transpluto in Leo was there so that one i think goes for everybody of a certain age slot… Along Taurus Scorpio kind of my nodes but they are at 27 degrees rather than the Grand Cross. I see three centaurs Bienor, Orius, Echeclus- no clue about these Bienor a strange orbit?!? Also, asteroids Hera Hephaistos and Siva along Taurus Scorpio for me because you know relationships and all – nothing on Aquarius except a good friend Damocles at 22 which is probably what accentuated the potential for hardship. I got out of grad school in 2002 it was impossible. I bet progressed asteroids tell even more…
Everything made in 1999 seems to be particularly dark that we find hard to grasp today? I always come up against that- also a rabbit year, wouldn’t you know it!
For me it was extremely dramatic. I was preparing for my first research cruise to Turkey, under the auspices of the Turkish government- 6 days after the eclipse, on my birthday, a huge earthquake hit Turkey. I cried all day. I was in Turkey late September for the cruise. I got samples but i was never able to get my method to pan out correctly to actually be able to analyze them. And so on and so forth.
Love reading everyone’s memories from that time. I was living in London and was right out of college. Not sure what I was doing on Aug 11 but I believe late Aug was the Notting Hill Carnival which turned out to be a horrible experience. It was a sea of people with mob mentality. Very disturbing experience. Overall that was an enjoyable year however I left London completely broke and bewildered. When I came back to the US I didn’t know what to do with myself. I ended up getting a lucky break watching my cousin’s house while she went off to the Navy and I got my first professional job. However, she was sent off to Iraq at the time. I am hoping we aren’t headed toward another major war.
summer of 1999 was my only summer working full-time (albeit with barely any pay) for a professional summer theater, but i have no idea what may have been going on specifically the week of that eclipse. hmmm…
Thanks so much for this reflection & knowledge filled information – a wonder filled circular journey & this time I was able to include you & Planet Waves in this time travel.
As a ‘cousin over the pond’ I visited Avebury stone circle sleeping in a car the night before & joyfully drank camp fire coffee & used my astrological info. a full page spread in the newspaper that Jonathan Cainer was writing for (I seem to remember you worked with him?) that helpfully had a picture of the grand cross to visualise the heavens & the reflection that was within.
I walked around stone the circle three times, once early a.m, once as the eclipse was due to take full effect (so very weird seeing a multitude of people arrive five minutes before then leave five minutes afterwards!!) and then at dusk.
It was the most meaningful time that I have ever allowed for myself & still look at the postcards I wrote to mySelf then (when they surface in a tidy up) that were filled with the highest all encompassing spiritual goals that I have worked towards daily since then. Whenever you have mentioned the grand cross I still visualise the image that Jonathan Cainer presented.
With all the ‘happenings’ recently (well, since 2008 really!) I have been somewhat bogged down with details as well as a vibrant, Pices Sun & Moon Son born on the Tibetan New Year 2011 – a miracle for the medical ‘fraternity’ as I had faced certain quick demise with an incurable cancer & the intensive chemo & radiotherapy had brought on early menopause – juicing & raw food diet & conscious connection to the Source took this body mind organism through that one.
So you have brought me full circle. I was blissfully given a free day before the full moon & with so much noise (electrical – I live in a very quiet countryside area) I could not even begin to think so instead was still & quiet. I had a couple of conscious conversations and a meeting with my husband preceding the full moon & I found I had returned to hope & some focus, though was wondering where to put the anchor amongst all the ‘work’ that was done over the years … & then as always Planet Waves, you Eric, is there & the cycles of life & reminder of the promises & ideas from then resurface clearer, brighter than ever …
sincere, open hearted, loving gratitude Eric
Racquel
For me, that was the summer between high school and college. On August 11th, 1999 I had just gotten back from a six week “teen tour” though Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji and was getting ready to head off to college.
The week or two between getting home and heading up to Boston for the pre-orientation programming at college was a weird, limbo-like moment for me. I was between phases of existence — almost like a void of course. One story was clearly over. But the next one hadn’t quite started yet.
Thanks for this revealing look-back Eric. Indeed, “it is worth studying past astrology”, also because at the time the past astrology was happening we were unaware of what was to come, therefore could not as yet pin it to specific events. Therein the hidden factor of eclipses.
Right now I’m exploring the past that led to the BP Gulf Oil Disaster, which led me to the January 2010 solar eclipse at 25 Capricorn 01 (and its relation to the Disaster 5/3/10), which led to the Mt. Astrologer magazine for December 2009/January 2010, (for it’s lunation charts) and then to it’s lead article “The Astrology of the Water Crisis”. From that article I found a table called “Outer-Planet Cycles and Global Water Issues” .
From that table I found that the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in March, 1989, was at 12 Capricorn or to be precise, 11 Capricorn 54. Today, transiting Pluto is plowing through that degree in retrograde, as you know (so this info is timely), and I want to share a tiny bit from that article regarding the 1989 period, if I might.
“Drought conditions eased in 1989, as Saturn and Uranus joined Neptune in early Capricorn and the new Saturn-Neptune cycle began at 12 degrees. The sign of Capricorn is less volatile than Sagittarius, but no less powerful: The outmoded socioeconomic forms of that period – some of the last vestiges of FDR’s New Deal regulations on banking and investment – were dissolved, and the ‘Washington Consensus’ emerged. It has been what ‘The Battle for Water’ calls ‘the dominant world economic philosophy’ ever since. Authors Clarke and Barlow cite 1989 as the beginning of the global privatization of the world’s water. ‘This philosophy calls for trade and investment liberalization, and turning responsibility for social programs and resources management over to the private sector. In this case, it is an assault on the ancient commons* of water’.” (pgs 35-36)
At that conjunction between Saturn and Neptune in March 1989, Nessus was conjunct the U.S Sibly Neptune at 22+ Virgo (which trines the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction of 2000, the start of the present cycle that we still have 6 1/2 years left of). Among some of the interesting things about that chart (March 3, 1989) is that Sedna was sextile Pallas, and Hephaistos was conjunct the Chiron Discovery Degree.
be
*The Commons is the vast realm that lies outside of both the economic market and the institutional state, and that all of us typically use without toll or price. The atmosphere and oceans, languages and culture, the stores of human knowledge and wisdom, the informal support systems of community, the peace and quiet we crave, the genetic building blocks of life – these are all aspects of the Commons. (The Council of Canadians, “Toward an Understanding of the Commons,” Nov., 2008, http://www.canadians.org/water/publications/water%20commons/section1.html
That time, as I have mentioned in my Birthday Report (Leo) is burned into my being! That was one trying time in my life.Too long a tale to recount, but, suffice it to say, I have emerged. There are vestiges of that still ringing around in my world today! The comforting news was in this year’s Leo Birthday report! I feel that I can now breathe more deeply and carry on with what I need to get done on this Planet! This begins my 80th year and I am moving on! : } Thanks to the help of you, Eric, and the Planet Waves team! As above, so below! ; }
In August 1999 I started a PhD program and also a journal, aptly named ‘After The Eclipse.’ I pulled out that journal a few weeks ago and was startled at how much sense the dreams I recorded make, viewed in retrospect. This eclipse, like the 1999 event, has great meaning for me as it straddles my sun/pluto opposition at 17º Aquarius and 18º Leo respectively. The program I started in 1999 literally changed and restructured my life as the PhD degree has enabled career and life choices I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Right now I am adjusting to a choice I have just made about where I spend the remainder of my working life. I had planned to move back to my home town in another country, but I have decided to stay right here, where I am now.
I’m still feeling the benefits of the Scorpio/Taurus eclipes from 2002-2004. It laid the foundation for the next 10 years upon which my current experience is built. It allowed me to move through the recent S/T eclipses that just ended (and have now moved into my 1st/7th houses in Libra/Aries) with more tools and emotional resources. Eclipses are a continual expression of expansion where our intentions gain momentum and power. Saturn/Chiron conj/trine my Sun degree has been beautiful and healing (even when I wanted to run away), esp regarding my sexual and erotic self. 2002 opened a sexual door in me; 2014 has taken that experience to empowerment. While before I would hide swimming naked in a lake, now I embrace my gal in the lake and on the optional clothing beach under a very healing Sun – for all to see.
Ah, 1999. I was in third grade, oblivious to all the news jibber jabber. My mother was pregnant with my youngest sister, Hope. She was born in October. I look fondly back to that period like a old beloved movie film.