new moon in Gemini Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Today’s Solar Eclipse (as seen in Boston) – Photo: S. Weikel

Today’s Solar Eclipse

I can’t decide. Should I write a little more about the creature that was in my bedroom the other night and what it means when Moth shows up in your life? Or should I follow up on today’s solar eclipse?

Sadly, I did not get a good look at the eclipse this morning. But my son Sage did! He and Sarah got themselves to a beach, bright and early, near where they live in Boston. And wow – I just had to feature the photo he took with his iPhone. It’s spectacular! And Mother Nature very kindly provided them with just enough of a filter that they weren’t at risk of hurting their eyes, yet the eclipse could still be seen through the wispy clouds.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, although I didn’t witness the eclipse myself, I did contemplate it. (I looked out my bedroom window and couldn’t see anything. I will admit, semi-ashamedly, that I did not hop into my car and drive to my usual celestial viewing spot. I was sure, when I went to bed last night, it would be too overcast to see anything by morning. And while it sort of looked that way from my bedroom window, I have a feeling I succumbed to hasty decision-making.

Consolation Visit

While visiting my sweet Tohickon Creek is never a ‘consolation prize’ (although it is at once both a consolation and a prize – discuss*), I noticed what might be a metaphor for this eclipse.

I was sitting in my car with the windows down listening to the competing conversations of the rushing current of the Tohickon and the cacophony of cicadas in the deciduous trees lining the Tohickon’s banks. I won’t lie: it was heavenly. But as I sat there and wrote in my journal, contemplating the eclipse, I got a glimpse of a fascinating potential metaphor:

Tohickon Flowing at Capacity with Poison ‘in the Past’ – Photo: L. Weikel

The focus of my gaze was before me. The torrential rain from yesterday afternoon, and steadier rain into the evening, translated into a reasonably brisk flow of toward its destination, the Delaware River. The pace of the water passing before me wasn’t excessive, but it was powerful. And truly, it felt like it was reflecting the desire in my heart to move forward.

I feel motivated and excited to catch a rapid (and perhaps a little raucous) ride as the current moves downstream on this new moon. And then I shifted my perception to my rearview mirror and was astonished.

Wow. Sitting right there in plain view was a massive poison ivy plant in the midst of overtaking an entire tree. The tricky part is that the poison ivy is so prolific that it has become gargantuan. Its leaves and hairy vines are significant players, and I have to wonder how many fisher-people and tourists have come home with a nasty case of poison because they didn’t realize those leaves brushing their face from above were poison.

The Metaphor Was Clear

Leave it behind. Put the poison (no matter how big it is) that was revealed by the eclipse of the sun in the rearview mirror and don’t look back. Head downriver where the water runs clear and cool. Ride those currents and embrace the reflections of both blue skies and high white clouds.

This new moon was and is more powerful than most precisely because of the solar eclipse. May we all take advantage of it and sow the seeds of some seriously powerful dreams over the next several days. Dreams that will support and nurture us for the next twenty years or so.

Heading Toward the Future – Photo: L. Weikel

*Warning: Throwback SNL reference

(T-169)

Eclipse Season Continues

As I mentioned in this post, the first ‘eclipse season’ of 2021 began with the lunar eclipse on May 25^th, 2021. During that eclipse, the full Moon was in Sagittarius while the Sun was at the opposite side of the zodiac, in Gemini. The eclipse occurred when the Earth moved exactly between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Moon to gradually become engulfed by the shadow of the Earth (and then gradually come out of that shadow). This coming Thursday, June 8^th, eclipse season continues.

Eclipses always come in pairs (two weeks apart, the lunar taking place at the full Moon and the solar taking place at the new Moon) – and occasionally three in a row can occur. In fact, almost exactly a year ago we experienced three eclipses in a row: June 5, June 21, and July 5, 2020. (Go figure, right? And somehow it’s unsurprising, too, that there were six eclipses last year.)

The eclipse occurring this coming Thursday will peak at 6:53 a.m. EDT. It happens to be an ‘annular’ eclipse – meaning the Moon will come between the Sun and the Earth, but because of the varying distances of these celestial bodies from Earth (due to the elliptical orbits of both the Earth and the Moon), the Moon will not totally block out the sun, even though it will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun. Rather, because the Moon will be furthest away from the Earth, the Moon will appear smaller than the Sun (from our perspective here on Earth). Thus, at the height of the eclipse, those at the right place on Earth will see what’s known as the “Ring of Fire” as the Moon comes between Earth and the Sun.

The Astrological Perspective

Of course, all of the above is the astronomical explanation of what we’ll be experiencing on our planet this Thursday.

The potentially juicy impact upon human behavior and experience is the bailiwick of astrology. In order to help us understand how this could be influencing circumstances we encounter on either a personal or societal level (or both), here’s a link to Chani Nicholas’s assessment for the week (once again, it helps to know both your sun sign and your ascendant or ‘rising’ sign).

For a more comprehensive look at the entire month (which I actually recommend, given the assortment of major aspects occurring this month, the solar eclipse on Thursday being only one), I recommend Rick Levine’s perspective. It’s fascinating (to me, at least) to observe how the larger patterns playing out celestially are uncannily reflected in our experiences here on Earth.

As always, my purpose in providing this information is simply to offer food for thought. Listen. Look around. Make your own observations. Pay attention to what’s happening in your own life and the lives of those around you. Allow for the possibility that unseen forces may be influencing events or reactions. Take a breath before reacting.

Keep your options open. We’re in this thing together – and knowledge is power.

(T-172)