Friday 2 September 2016


Ring of Fire Eclipse
September 2016

Nothing like a Venus/Jupiter conjunction, a Mars/Saturn conjunction and a solar eclipse to get me out of blog hibernation. On Saturday evening, all I could do was gaze and gaze some more at the sky after sunset. Jupiter above Venus, close enough to touch and Mercury over on the left took my breath away. Here are a few of the thoughts that ran through my mind while I sat on my deck, darkness creeping close and starlight falling down.
As there is lots to tell, I thought I’d pace myself (a little out of practice) and split the blog into two parts:

1.     The Eclipse and its partners in influence, the Mars/Saturn conjunction and Mercury Retrograde (get all the tough stuff out of the way first).

2.     Venus/Jupiter conjunction.

Part One

The Annular Solar Eclipse, otherwise known as the Ring of Fire Eclipse at 09h08 (GMT/UT) on 1st September 2016 was visible over equatorial Africa. I shall not dwell on the technicalities of an Annular Eclipse because it is easier enough to Google, I’d rather dive straight into my interpretation of its astrological symbolism.

All eclipses, lunar and solar, as I have said many times before, perform two major functions:

·       Dunk us in the shadowland to confront our dark behaviour and harmful subconscious patterns.

·       Offer an opportunity to realign ourselves - with our choices, relationships, goals and life path. It is achieved by addressing the misalignments.

The September eclipse helps us to recognise specialist skills and abilities. We are to use them when confronting the shadow, or solving problems or getting back on track. These expert skills are particularly useful when pursuing personal goals and dreams. Fine attention to detail leads to the discovery of rare and obscure talent. Under the eclipse we are blessed temporarily with the super-power of observation, singling out mistakes or factors that are the root cause of efforts that fail repeatedly. These mistakes, once acknowledged are easily converted to success.

This super-power is immensely helpful for spotting opportunities that at other times may be missed. It helps to perceive improved ways of running our lives, our jobs or our businesses. The super-duper power of observation puts our daily lives under the microscope and we instantly see how to improve it with diet, exercise, better work habits, amended timetables and all that goes on in a day.

Or we slip around to the dark side of the moon where we find mean-spiritedness, ugly judgements and a lack of fairness due to getting stuck in one part of the story. Nerve endings scream and do nothing to help the distractions, chaos and lack of objectivity.

If I were to put the influence of this eclipse in a nutshell, I would have to say roll up your sleeves and get stuck into a thorough spring-clean. Sort out, fix up, make improvements, get systems up to date, chuck out unnecessary clutter and make space for new growth.

There is nothing complicated about a spring-clean but this eclipse has the Mars/Saturn conjunction making some tough demands. During the big cleanse emotions explode. Especially angry ones that have been harboured inside, ones that have slowly festered and become acrid with resentment.

There is a struggle to understand the difference between aggression and assertion and when repressed emotions untether with an unrestrained force, it gets messy. But after the purge there is a chance to regroup and find a controlled and effective way to express feelings and make intelligent decisions.

Neptune also tugs on the eclipse, wanting a say. It shies away from Mars-type explosions and we retreat into doubt and confusion. Misunderstandings and misgivings abound. Self-doubt invites the addictive parts of our personalities into the mix. Addiction to substances, to emotions, to chaos, to self-sabotage all prefer the route of avoidance. Pretending hard realities do not exist is a survival tool of sorts, I suppose, so good old fashioned denial is likely to be the shield against disappointments and betrayals or stuff that is unbearable.

The best way to navigate the Neptune territory is to sit still in the mist of doubt and confusion. In stillness we need not be inert, we can choose, if we wish to engage in creative activity. We ought to make something, build something, paint something or perhaps write something, all the while fantasizing about the ultimate outcome. Eventually the mist will clear and we’ll be left with something special.

Should fantasizing not come naturally, Mercury retrograde offers a different way to spend the quiet time. This little fellow says the next three weeks are best spent reassessing plans, re-reading contracts or reworking ideas. Take the mind back over past conversations. Observe errors and misjudgments. Think or discuss possible improvements. Get advice. Work out the details carefully and conservatively. Think now, act later.

So that concludes Part One. I shall be back in a week or two to chat about the pretty Venus/Jupiter conjunction.

With respect for the shadow, 
Sharron.