We are coming up to the Eclipses of 2013
On Thursday 25th April 2013, we experience the first of the five eclipses of this year. It’s a Lunar Eclipse: Sun opposition Moon.
The Sun is at 5 Taurus in western Astrology (that’s11 Aries in Vedic Astrology). The Moon is at 5 western Scorpio (that’s 11 Libra in Vedic Astrology).
There’s a huge pile-up of planetary energies: The eclipse Sun is conjoined by Mars, Venus and the South node of the Moon (Ketu); the eclipse Moon is conjoined by Saturn, North Node (Rahu) and the Ascendant of the eclipse chart.
Typically, because the eclipse is caused by a shadow passing across the Sun or the Moon, it is taken as an indication of negative events, suggesting problems for particular countries, leaders, or some aspect of world politics.
On the other hand, eclipses can also be used for individuals’ lives. The astrological house in which the eclipse takes place will usually become sensitized for up to 6 months. If the eclipse falls near the same degree as a planet in the person’s natal chart then it affects that planet and everything it symbolizes in the chart. If the eclipse falls on the persons natal Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or ruler of the Ascendant, then it will have a powerful effect.
Sometimes a clear and tangible event occurs on an Eclipse that changes your life completely. Other times you don’t realise until later what occurred that altered the course of your life in some way. Sometimes the experience of the eclipse energies, although disorientating, triggers an inner healing. You can’t avoid the eclipse experience, and you can’t know in advance what the experience will be exactly, but eclipses do give us a push to put our life more on the right direction, and we can see often what is going on and that helps make the change that’s needed. Maybe we feel fear, but fear can’t stop us going through the eclipse mill. Eclipses make us connect with parts of ourselves we didn’t feel ready to connect with earlier. Sometimes this comes in the form of loss, other times an unexpected gain, but they always leave you with a gift in one way or other.
Solar Eclipses occur at the New Moon. Lunar Eclipses occur at the Full Moon.
Solar Eclipses (New Moon) often manifest external events, opening the door to a new chapter. Lunar Eclipses (Full Moon) are more wrenching and emotional. Lunar eclipses are powerful for releasing old, subconscious, self-sabotaging thoughts, beliefs, habits and patterns and they are often associated with loss and letting go: can be sad; can be release and relief!
Eclipses normally occur in pairs (Solar + Lunar) but the Eclipse of April 2013 is different: two Lunar Eclipses on either side of the Solar. This means a lot of wrenching change, deep flows of feeling and opportunity for emotional healing will be felt over the next month, either through the House the eclipses fall in, or, especially, if they conjunct a planet in your birth chart or your ascendant. If you aren’t impacted directly, it is likely that someone around you will be.
Because we know we are in an Eclipse period, this gives us the chance to see and understand what is going on, to perceive that it’s not random chaos or upheaval, that it is actually soul shifting, balance re-creating transformation.
Knowing when eclipses were due to appear was a central ancient forte of astrologers.
Because this is a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. This is a most important line-up for each one of us because the Earth is our body, the Moon is our Emotions/Mind/Consciousness, and the Sun is our Soul (our individual spark of Jiva Atman). And so the Eclipse makes us feel dreadful if these three are not aligned in our lives! and earthquakes and tsunamis occur in our lives which could jolt us back into alignment. Because the eclipsed Moon is in Vedic Libra, we are called to get the way we relate right. But because the eclipsed Sun is in Vedic Aries, we are called to get the way we assert our individuality right. It’s all about good and wholesome balance in accord with our soul needs for this incarnation. Too much of the Sun in Aries and maybe we are the terrorist hurling bombs. Too much of the moon in Libra and maybe we are giving away our personal power and strength. I believe the fact that Saturn and Rahu (North Node) are also in Libra means that there is a real focus for humanity, for each one of us to get the issues of relationship right at this time. Saturn and Libra conjoined is a real powerful focus. Of course Vedic Astrology also has its wonderful 27-sign Lunar Zodiac and the eclipsed Moon is in the Vedic Lunar Sign (Nakshatra) called Swati, which is all about scattering our seeds and our gifts, but the scatter must come from a sound centre, not be driven scatter. And Swati is all about commerce and deal-making, so the eclipse could wake us up to that principle in our life. Are we adequately valuing ourselves and others in our transactions?
But before we talk any further about this first eclipse, here is the eclipse summary for the year:
2013
Lunar Eclipse 25.4.13 at 19.57hrs at 11.6 Libra (western 5 Scorpio) (Sun opp Moon)
Solar Eclipse 10.5.13 at 00.28 hrs at 24 Aries (western 19 Taurus) (Sun conj Moon)
Lunar Eclipse 25.5.13 at 04.25 hrs at 9 Scorpio (Western 3 Sag) (Sun opposite Moon)
Lunar eclipse 18.10.13 at 23.37 hrs at 1 Aries (Western 25 Aries ) (Sun opposite Moon)
Solar Eclipse 3.11.13 at 12.50 hrs at 17 Libra (Western 11 Scorpio) (Sun conjunct Moon)
Lunar Eclipse 17.11.13 at 15.15 hrs at 1 Taurus (Western 25 Taurus) (Sun opposite Moon).
Eclipses are vastly influential. They un-dam dammed up energies. On the worldly level they are associated with tsunamis and earthquakes. On our personal level, they can trigger great change. This will be either immediate or after a delay when some later transit will trigger the discharge of huge stagnant energy created.
How you will experience this undamming of energy depends on where you are at. If you have an eclipse on your first house moon, this could well make you even more ‘me-first’. If the eclipse falls on your Jupiter, you could be in for a big period of expansion – but be careful to stay grounded and not over-expand in one area to the detriment of other areas of your life.
Vedic Astrology has a wonderful 27-sign Lunar Zodiac as well as the familiar 12-sign sun-sign zodiac. The lunar signs are called Nakshatras and they are such a powerful guide, such a magical guide to how you will manifest the energy of any planet of yours that falls in them in your birth chart. This eclipse falls in the Lunar Sign called Swati, whose power animal is the male buffalo. So the few days before or after the eclipse, everyone may have to be careful not to be scattered, because Swati is an Air sign. Stay grounded, committed and in your routine. Saturn will be in conjunction with this eclipse in Swati nakshatra, pointing to obstructions and delays and the need to tie up loose ends from the past so that you can practise the great virtue of letting go, just as serpent sheds his skin so he can be reborn. There’s a great need for patience and perseverance, starting anew in a more ethical way, especially as Saturn is in the middle of a long retrograde period at this eclipse. But above all, Swati is about commerce and doing deals, so an eclipse on your planet in Swati may well mean something to do with commerce or selling in your life.
But what if you have a planet caught up in this eclipse??? in Swati lunar sign if you are looking at your Vedic Astrology, or in Ashwini lunar sign opposite where the Sun of the eclipse is???
Well, this eclipse exactly conjuncts my Nodes of the Moon: Rahu the North Node in Ashwini and Ketu the South Node in Swati, and much of the rest of the eclipses of 2013 do the same, so this eclipse will have very big effects for me, as the Nodes of the Moon are the key to our incarnational destiny: why are you here? But Mercury in my birth chart is also exactly caught up in the eclipse (at its best this could signify undamming of blocked communication: flowering of communication), and my Sun too is conjunct the Eclipses (by an orb of 5 degrees (if negative could mean great harm, but I believe it will be positive: I will ‘come into my own’.
If you are interested in hearing about the effects of the 2013 eclipses in your life, and getting a Prediction for the year ahead which combines the wonderful bonus of having both western and Vedic Astrology, get in touch with me via my website: www.earthstarweb.com or email: michaelconneely@googlemail.com or mob: 07799296821.
Here is the Vedic chart for the April 25th Eclipse, and below it the western chart:
