A
total eclipse of the Sun seen from the Arctic Circle, seen partially
in the UK around 11-11:30am BST.
Space Weather News for July 31, 2008 - http://spaceweather.com
SOLAR ECLIPSE: On Friday, August 1st, the Moon will pass
directly in front of the Sun producing a total solar eclipse.
The narrow path of totality stretches from arctic Canada through
Greenland, Siberia, and Mongolia, and comes to an end in China,
where millions of people will witness the event. Even more
people will see the partial eclipse, visible from almost all
of Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia and a corner of North
America. The action begins at approximately 09:20 UT (5:20
am EDT) when the Moon's shadow first hits Earth in northern
Canada and begins its rapid sweep toward China.
Visit http://spaceweather.com
for photos, webcasts, timetables and full coverage of
the eclipse.
Leo!
The vision of the lion standing, front feet on a rock, raising
it’s face to the sun, to roar until the air vibrates
with the sun’s creative force! A statement of equality
with the gods, the fierce joy of spiritual connection expressed.
The Sun represents the heart of each person’s being,
and Leo is that part of the Zodiac where humanity most naturally
expresses its creative drive out in the world. This could
lead to anything this month, from an expression of one’s
spiritual truth, to the roaring of the ungoverned ‘little
ego’ – not so little in Leo!
Bearing in mind that we are human, not lion, if that self-expression
is criticised, or any creation is attacked, the Leo person
is more likely to be crushed than attack back. The heart is
a tender place, and Leo comes from their heart, usually with
the best of intentions. Rather than crushing their noise and
drama, we need to support their courage, and appreciate the
warmth and authenticity of their expression.
Eclipses
On the 1 August, the Moon, representing our unconscious
drives, covering the light of the Sun in an eclipse, could
find us behaving in wild and unconsidered ways. In dramatic
Leo, this is more likely to be fun than frightful, but we
may see a lot of hype in the media about whatever’s
going on this month. The suggestion is that you listen carefully,
take out the emotion from what you hear, and divide the reported
facts in half, in order to get nearer what really happened!
And take care if you are involved in any demonstrations because
passions are likely to be running high, obscuring the truth
by exaggerating, and possibly getting violent to ‘put
their point across.’
There will also be a partial lunar eclipse on 16 August,
where facts and situations (Earth) will tend to take precedence
over what the people may want (Moon). If we want to stay calm
while those about us are getting upset, both these situations
give us plenty of practice in accepting what is.
|
|
|
|
Receiving feedback
The New Moon in Leo gives us an opportunity, when we make
a stand or argue over a principle, to check where we are coming
in that spectrum between true self and ego. Where are we rooted
in ourselves? What voice are we listening to? Is this my deep
reality speaking, or my early training, or my defiant inner
child? This New Moon is lead by Mercury, so it is likely to
be through our communications that we discover the extent
of our authenticity. That means, we will realise what we are
really expressing from the feedback of others’ reactions
to us.
Normally we tend to assume that we said what we meant to
say, and other people are being obtuse if they don’t
get it! But do we always understand others immediately? Leo
tends to have a spot of bother receiving feedback without
collapsing totally. But there is no fault when communication
is difficult – it’s just the gap between egos,
all struggling to survive and be loved, and we need to observe
what’s going on. It is the wise ones who learn from
the responses to their expression. Of course, our own emotional
response to that feedback is a giveaway to the expectations,
hopes and fears that prompted our expression in the first
place.
Self expression versus sensitivity to others
Venus has been going through Leo since 13 July, offering
fun and optimism in relating. On Sunday 27 July, she went
across the South Node, the past, bringing the history of our
relationships to light. You may have experienced a recurring
situation that trips you up in life, or perhaps met a person
who felt strangely familiar. Everyone we meet from a past
life is not necessarily someone we need to fall headlong in
partnership with. Just because there’s a sense of having
been together before, it does not mean you need to be together
again. Sometimes they come to remind us of priorities we’d
forgotten, and sometimes to heal or teach us by giving us
a hard time! Like friends meeting on the path, we reassure
each other that we are known, and then we can go our separate
ways strengthened.
On 28 July, Venus opposed Chiron revealing our relationship
wounds, and offering to heal them, and 31 July, she opposed
Neptune lifting our understanding from these events to a more
humanitarian or spiritual level. The flavour of this month
is likely to be that tussle between the bouncily optimistic
Leo Venus, and Neptune’s call to be sensitive to the
needs of other human beings.
There is still liable to be confusion in relationships, though,
until Venus moves into Virgo on 6 August. Then we are more
likely to find ourselves sorting out ways our relationships
can work better. One of the hardest things is personal boundaries:
knowing where they are, and staying within them when relating
to others.
We need space – but not too much
Close personal relationships through the rest of August may
well be put on hold, while we deal with whoever we meet in
the course of organised activities. If these activities involve
health and well-being, the results should be surprisingly
healing. Although we may need a certain amount of space from
others, to disentangle the emotional threads, there’s
a caution against cutting ourselves off for too long –
this month, shared pain brings healing to everyone (Mars
in Virgo opposite Uranus in Pisces, but also quincunx North
Node and Chiron). From 19 August, our motivation is more
likely to include relating as part of feeling good about ourselves
(Mars into Libra).
|