Astrology of Eclipses: Solar Eclipse of September 22, 2006
September 16, 2006 by admin
Having just finished with a Lunar Eclipse on September 7th, we are headed toward an even bigger astrological event: a Solar Eclipse. Since the Sun is much bigger and more powerful than the Moon, it makes sense that Solar Eclipses are much more powerful in their effects on the Earth.
The Solar Eclipse at 29 Virgo will be visible from the Caribbean, South America and western/ southern Africa. That in itself encompasses 40 countries*, so unless we examine each chart individually, we cannot know exactly in which country the effects might manifest. (If you have a special request to have me look at the chart for your country, email me at nina@gryphonastrology.com and I’ll take a peek.) Nonetheless, the above general list should help narrow it down quite a bit.
The Eclipse is visible anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours, depending on your location. Since the effects of Solar Eclipses last a lot longer than those of Lunar Eclipses; here, we are looking at nine months to three years of possible effects, depending on the location.
The Eclipses falls on the fixed star Markeb, in the constellation Argo Navis, the ship. According to Robson, Markeb “gives piety, a wide knowledge, educational work and voyages.” So far so good. Lilly writes that when the Eclipse is in Virgo, “damage follows to such fowl as men feed on.” Could we be seeing the Avian Flu occurring in the regions in question? The Eclipse is also in a double-bodied sign, like the preceding Lunar Eclipse, so again, this one also threatens people in power. Two eclipses that threaten those in power, back to back? I wonder what the next few months and years will bring for the established political order in these countries.
The Lord of the Solar Eclipse is Mercury, which is at 15 Libra. Lilly says that Mercury takes on the characteristics of those planets he aspects, but here he aspects no other planet. He is in mutual reception by sign with Venus, however, so we should keep that in mind – Venus has a generally beneficial effect on worldly affairs, producing peace and harmony. However, Venus is in its fall in Virgo, so any peace she produces will be deceptive and temporary. Mercury by himself brings lots of thieves and pirates, dry diseases like TB, changes in religion and ceremony, controversy in customs and laws. Mercury also produces winds and earthquakes, and when oriental of the Sun, increases the streams of rivers and hence, causes floods.
Lilly writes that when an Eclipse happens in an earthly sign, “there follows scarcity of Corn [in British English, this can mean any staple grain cultivated in an area, such as oats or wheat, not just maize], especially of fruit, and of all such things as are annually sown, or put into the earth.” Given that this eclipse is visible in much of Africa, where crops fail very often, this Eclipse might be fair warning for the next year or two.
In the last decanate of Virgo, an Eclipse produces much harm to writers, poets, and painters; all those people who make their living by Mercurial means.
*The list of countries where the Solar Eclipse will be visible includes: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Angola, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Astrology of Eclipses: Lunar Eclipse of September 7, 2006
September 5, 2006 by admin
The upcoming partial lunar eclipse on September 7th at 15 Pisces promises to have interesting effects. As someone with an interest in mundane astrology, I am always on the lookout for eclipses and their effects, though I have not blogged about them extensively. NASA has a truly excellent eclipse page.
According to traditional rules, eclipses have significant effects in the locations where they are actually visible. The lunar eclipse of September 7th will be visible in western Africa, most of Asia, western Australia, Eastern Europe and Russia. Of these locations, we can expect heightened activity in northern Egypt, the Republic of Georgia, and/or Turkey, all of which are traditionally under the sign of Pisces. Additionally, some modern countries who have horoscopes with contacts to 15 Pisces include Russia, India (the lunar eclipse is right on the Medium Coeli in New Delhi), and China.
When will the effects of the lunar eclipse be felt?
Egypt, Republic of Georgia, Turkey and Russia – begin between September 7 – 17, 2006, strongest between September 17 and October 1, 2006
India – begin between September 17 – 27, 2006, strongest between October 1 – 15th, 2006
China – begin between September 27 and October 7, 2006, strongest between October 15 – 29, 2006
How will the eclipse manifest?
Because the eclipse is in a double-bodied sign (Pisces), the greatest activity will occur with rulers of the affected lands, and their governments, also any people in power in general. We can expect this to be the case especially in India, where the eclipse is right on the MC in New Delhi.
The eclipse is primarily ruled by Jupiter, which is Lord of the Eclipse (since it is in Pisces). Jupiter causes everything to increase, usually good things such as wealth, livestock, peace, and fertility. He increases fame and power of the mighty and of religious leaders and organizations. William Lilly says “New Customs or Priviledges are conferd on the people; New Corporations, new Honours, &c.” However, because the lunar eclipse is in the second decanate of Pisces, it will bring “death to some Prime man of Princely discent.” Also, the lunar eclipse is on the fixed star Achernar, in the constellation of Eridanus, the river. Achernar is benefic, again ruled by Jupiter, for public office and fame, while the constellation Eridanus is Saturnian, and can bring danger by water.
Also, an eclipse in the watery triplicity can bring illnesses and plagues among the common people (and this is a very moist eclipse, ruled by Jupiter, a moist planet in Scorpio, a moist sign, and the eclipse itself is in Pisces, a moist sign), warlike rumblings, and floods. Specifically, there may be harm to plants and aquatic life.
A Donkey, a Rope and the Nature of Solar Eclipses
March 19, 2006 by admin
Solar eclipses are extremely important in traditional astrology, increasing exponentially in importance as we ascend from horary through natal to electional and finally mundane techniques. But why is this? The scientists would say that it is because that legendary creature, Primitive Man, looked with awe and fear upon the shadow hiding the sun even as the sun stood high in the sky, and ascribed it magical powers. This is clearly nonsense, since if anyone understood the true nature of an eclipse, it was that nonlegendary creature, Traditional Man. Luckily for us, there exist fragments of myths so old they were ancient millennia ago, that indicate the true nature of astronomical phenomena, so that we, the moderns, may begin to understand eclipses like our ancestors did.
Ocnus
“Ocnus the rope-maker is a symbolic character, represented as being in Hades weaving a rope that a female donkey eats as fast as he can make it,” says Pierre Grimal’s phenomenal mythological compendium, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Grimal goes on to say that the meaning of the myth is unclear.
The symbolism here is strongly astronomical, since in the Tradition, whenever we have two of something, we are looking at a description of the Solar-Lunar relationship. Here, we have a man (Sun) and a female donkey (Moon), one which creates and gives, and the other which receives and devours. In the normal state of things, during the day, the Sun far outshines the Moon. But during a solar eclipse, the Moon interposes itself between the Earth and the Sun, and hides the Sun from our view. Many ancient cultures referred to the Sun being consumed by a dragon, a demon, or another being. Going back to Ocnus and the donkey, there is a crucial third element to the Soli-Lunar relationship; the rope made by Ocnus that is constantly eaten by the donkey.
The Rope
“All this is threaded upon Me, as rows of pearls on a string,” says the Bhagavad Gita.
In the tradition, threads, chains, and ropes all symbolize the omnipresent divine nature connecting all worlds. Our visible, three-dimensional world is but one of innumerable beads on a string, or as René Guénon more accurately puts it, “an indefinite series of horizontal discs strung on a vertical axis,” since the universe is ordered hierarchically.
The axis of the thread running through each disc or bead is itself a Solar (i.e. divine) symbol, indicative of the way the Sun’s rays intersect with the world. Ibn ‘Arabi writes that the Sun (Ocnus) carries its influence to the receptive Moon (the donkey), which in turn, transmits that influence to our world. Normally, the Moon passes over or under the Sun, therefore not eclipsing it, and we do not receive the full impact of Solar energy because the Moon and the Sun are not perfectly aligned. During an eclipse, however, they are aligned, and for just an instant, we get a glimpse of the thread connecting us to the world above, and through the thread, a hint of the upper world itself.
This is why eclipses have the greatest impact in the localities where the eclipse is total, and more generally, the areas where the eclipse is visible. The beads are perfectly aligned from the perspective of those locales and the thread is dead-on straight. For an instant, we see the string of beads, not just the bead we happen to inhabit. Of course, given that the effects of solar eclipses are generally disruptive to our bodily existence, we are obviously less than adept at handling such infusions of raw power. So much for the idea that we have somehow evolved.
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