Our actions at different points
in a cycle are what make the difference. Change happens to every living thing.
Change defines cycles. You can’t stop it. When we try, things get ugly. Change
has already happened and what’s been percolating has already reared its head.
Any suffering and discord we experience now are at the hands of the hands that won't let go of the old…most likely out of fear. According to the poetry of
the sky and my latest astro-crush Austin Coppock, what we are dealing with at
this eclipse is a “crisis of leadership.” When we have 18 months of Aquarius
and Leo on the nodal axis and a history-making total solar eclipse in Leo, it’s
all about who’s running the show. I’ve heard a lot of astrologers refer to this
time in a lot of different and very specific ways, but I think Austin put it
most succinctly and diplomatically, without divining war, impeachment, or global totalitarianism. Quite simply, who’s in charge (Leo)? And, how are the
beneficiaries of said leadership responding (Aquarius)?
The way these times of great
change unfold depends on all of the decisions, small and large that “we the
people” make everyday. How well do we look after each other? How actively
involved are we in the small, unglamorous, and anonymous (Leo hates these words
btw) decision-making processes of how we’re governed and how we live? When we buy things and participate in groups what are we REALLY supporting? How much responsibility and therefore ownership, and therefore
LEADERSHIP do we take over our own lives? And here’s the big one: how much do
we still subscribe to old paradigms of competition, hierarchy, and “progress” for progress' sake? Because
those times are already over. Anyone still scrambling for the spoils of “making
it” to “the top” to have more (power, recognition, resources) than someone else, or securing an elite
or privileged position are living in some sorely outdated constructs. C’mon. So
1980! But the interesting/scary/precarious thing is that even though those
constructs have been exposed as being broken they can still be edified by WHAT PEOPLE DO, and don’t do. How are we going to do leadership from here on
out? That is completely up to us. All astrology tells us is what time it is and
what the task at hand is. It tells us the shape of our containers. But WE fill those containers with the content
of our own making.
For example, my astrological
container is strikingly similar to Donald Trump’s. Along with every other astrologer in the
world I’ve been watching the 28-29th degree of Leo like a hawk,
but with some vested interest. This is Trump’s rising point, it’s my rising
point, and it’s where this powerful eclipse takes place. A new moon on one’s
natal ascendant usually points to a major new chapter in one’s life; a new way of showing
up in the world. The 29th degree is often referred to as the anaretic degree, which can point to an exceptionally potent (for better or worse)
expression of a sign. In this case, the sign is Leo. In this case we’re talking
about a whole new expression of self that’s either ego driven or heart driven.
DT and I are on the same cycle. For the past year we’ve probably been grappling
with a lot of the same issues, and at about the same time we’ll have some
similar karmic tipping point. When I use the word karma, I’m not talking about
anything esoteric, just simple cause and effect. We both have made decisions,
and acted upon them, and in the next 6 months we’ll see some repercussions and
there will be change. (The corresponding full moon to this new moon is in 6 months--the culmination).
It’s solar eclipse time
(basically new moon on steroids) so there will be big, irrevocable change that
happens at an accelerated pace. Eclipses open a door to all of the latent karma
that’s been building over time. It exposes it, then pushes out what needs to go and
pulls in what needs to enter. It's the
fast track. Then those doors shut for good. Voila, whole new ball game. What happens to this man who is so different from me will be very similar. We live in this world together. We have very different lives because of what we were born into, but also because of choices during cycles.
Now, does this eclipse effect
you even if you don’t have a strong Leo or Aquarius signature? Yes. Even if
this special timing doesn’t hit your personal chart in a significant way, you live
in this world at this point in time. You are in relationship with everything
and everyone who is effected by this time. You are witness and participant
during this time of leadership crisis even if you think you’re not. What
happens to you, happens to me, happens to the world we live in. We are all part
of the problem and the solution.
This moment in time is a call to be responsive to
change without dictating it. Dictating comes from the ego and fear.
Responsiveness is listening and acting consciously with courage (Leo key
word). For a long time American culture especially has found a lot of value
and pride (another Leo key word) in bending the environment and each other to
our wills. It obviously doesn’t work. Neither does “going with the flow,” an idiom I’ve
always had issue with, mostly when people use it to excuse a type of passivity
or lack of consciousness which is just as harmful as forcing your will on
life. In either situation there’s no listening or responding.
How much responsibility are
we willing to assume for our own fate?
Will we continue to assign blame to others for what we’re unhappy with? Will
we continue to ignore people we don’t “identify” with? These are the
Leo-Aquarius questions. This is the focus for the next year. Look, we’re either
all in this together or we’re not. We either use what makes each individual
unique and special to usher in greater tolerance and understanding or we
don’t. We create leadership that’s focused on serving all instead of ruling
all…or we don’t. I ask these questions just as much of myself because what
happens to me, happens to you. May this eclipse put you on the fast track to
heart centered purpose and joy...Leo at its best.
See you on the other side. XC
