Closeup of the last total lunar eclipse which occurred on 16 May 2022 – Photo: L. Weikel

Last Total Lunar Eclipse

I couldn’t get ‘you guys’ out of my head as I took a walk this evening. Observing the waxing gibbous moon snuggling up to Jupiter, both bright as headlights in the sky, my thoughts turned to the total lunar eclipse we’ll be experiencing at 5:59 a.m. (EST) this Tuesday. This will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2025, which feels significant. Good grief, it’s hard to imagine the geopolitical circumstances under which we’ll (hopefully) be experiencing that celestial event.

So we might as well look up and appreciate this one. For those of you in the eastern Pennsylvania region, here is a nifty link.

 

Momentous

We all know how momentous this Tuesday, November 8, 2022, will be for all of us. Of course, I’m speaking to all citizens of the United States – but I’m especially looking at you, fellow women (and those who identify as female). If we don’t step up now and take responsibility for ensuring our bodily sovereignty by voting for those who will protect and defend our rights as equal citizens, we could easily find ourselves living in a Christofascist hellscape by the next total lunar eclipse.

I can only hope that we learned our lesson in 2016. As shell-shocked and pit-in-the-stomach terrified we felt at the result of that election six years ago, I’m pretty confident few of us would’ve predicted the tidal wave of misogyny, racism, antisemitism, outright cruelty, and insanity that would nearly drown our country in its wake. But here we are.

And of course, the momentous nature of our election impacts the rest of the world, too. “With great power comes great responsibility,” which means our responsibility to not only vote but also stand up for democracy and the rule of law extends beyond our own precious lives. The fate of many hang in the balance of how we respond to the myriad shameless attacks being made against facts, truth, and reality. We are responsible not only for ourselves and our country, but also the myriad countries that rely on us as an ally and role model. Perhaps most importantly, the consequences of our election will impact the very planet on which we all live and depend.

A Perfect Storm

It’s no secret that circumstances are such that a perfect storm is brewing on both an emotional and ideological level. That’s why the fact that our turmoil is mirrored in the sky takes on even more chilling significance.

There’s the total lunar eclipse (with eclipses often providing jarring, unexpected revelations and reactions).And we’re still experiencing the final ‘pass’ of the Saturn squaring Uranus configuration that we experienced three times in 2021. You may recall Saturn is associated with rules, foundations, and tradition, while Uranus is often thought of as revolutionary, unpredictable, a disrupter of the status quo, and an innovator of lightning-quick change.

Too much of either energy can lead to unintended and chaotic results. And we’re pretty much assured that we’ll experience both, at least in the short term. We can only hope (and set our intentions) that balance can and will be achieved sooner rather than later. We had our warning on January 6^th. Shame on us If something similar unfolds as a result of this election. There’s no excuse for us not to see it coming.

Our Best Strategy

As always, our best strategy is to keep our own centers and allow our sense of calm, faith in our system, and peaceful respect for ourselves and each other to ripple out into our environment. When challenged, we need to feel our feet connecting to Mother Earth, reminding us of who we are and why we care. We also need to look up, and remember that while the Earth may be causing the moon to be in dusky, blood-red shadow for a moment, this will pass.

What matters is that we hold firm to our values and the common good of all, including Nature and Mother Earth. We must stand strong for each other, ourselves, and our ancestors – those who’ve passed and those who will inherit the results of our decisions today. Remember to keep looking up, my friends; no matter what. The next seven generations are depend upon us.

(T+136)