Lammas and the Leo Solar Eclipse, August 1, 2008
Happy Lammas!
This year, Lammas comes to us with promises of new things to come with the Leo Solar Eclipse. But first we have look at our world and stop being afraid. We have lived too long in fear's shadow, and so, even though things feel like they can't get much worse, it's time to turn around and face our fears. Once we do, we'll be able to look at the world and ask, “What can I do to change things?” With the Sun in Leo during Lammas, the question also becomes, “What was I born to be at this most pivotal time in history?”
Lammas is the ancient cross-quarter Celtic festival of the wheat and first fruits harvest. It is a time to see exactly what we have sown and grown this year. As we come to the midpoint power gate of the sign of Leo, we are called upon to express Leo's qualities of dignity, courage, generosity and integrity. Leo the Lion is the King, and as such, he calls us to our royal task. What we create – whether children, works of art, a conscious Self, a creative community, a full harvest – must be offered for the good of the community (Aquarius).
To read a Lammas story, go to: Star of the Bards/Lammas
The New Moon in Leo is our second solar eclipse of the year. The first one occurred on February 6, 2008 at 18 Aquarius (Aquarius Solar Eclipse). What new ideas (Aquarius) did you begin to experiment with then? And how have they changed your life? Because now we are about to change again. So don't be afraid. Change is good!
On Friday, August 1st, at 3:13 am pdt/ 6:13 am edt, there's a total eclipse of the Sun at 10 Leo. The path of totality crosses far-northern Canada, the Arctic, Siberia, and northern China and a partial eclipse will be visible from sunrise on the northeastern fringes of North America to sunset in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
When you know your birth time, the house polarity (department of life) and any aspects to the eclipse degree will be energized, negatively or positively, on a physical, emotional or spiritual level. The house polarity (for example: George W. Bush will experience this eclipse on his ascendant, so his 1st/7th house polarity will be involved) where the Eclipse falls will be the area of your life where a hidden problem or issue may surface due to the Eclipse (not necessarily on the day of the Eclipse, but within a 6-month period afterwards). The point opposite the eclipse – the Illumination point – can tell you what your unconscious feels about all these issues. So check out 10 degrees of Aquarius for a fuller picture of what this eclipse could mean for you. (I'll give you the sabian symbol below.)
The astrological sign of Leo is ruled by the Sun, the center of our solar system. So it isn't surprising that Leo is called the sign of Individuation, the archetypal urge to become a unique individual. Many people with Leo energy (especially those babyboomers with Pluto in Leo) live out the unconscious side of the sign, such as the need to feel and stay young, to feel entitled, to feed ego. But others take that Leo energy and use it for deepening their awareness of their life's purpose. Leo rules the heart, and when we use our Leo energy to stand for our heart's desire, to listen to our heart's wisdom, and to dive deeply into the life that's been given to us, we shine like the star that gives us life here on Earth.
This eclipse will affect everyone, for we all have Leo and the Sun in our charts. But most especially, it will affect Leo Sun, Moon and Ascendant, and other fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius). There are large groups of people with Pluto in Leo (1939-1955) and Uranus in Leo (1955-1962) who will be influenced by the evolutionary energy of this solar eclipse, as well as the lunar eclipse on August 16th. The Pluto in Leo generation came into this life to transform our understanding of privilege and rulership. The Uranus in Leo group came in to change the way we deal with power. They're ready to come up with creative ways of power-sharing and using individual responsibility for the greater good.
Jean Houston, the transpersonal psychologist, says that scientists have given us 48 months to turn things around here on Earth before it's too late. Now we can deny the truth of that time-table or we can take it to heart and come up with the solutions that are waiting to be pulled out of the collective imagination. Where there's a will there's a way. That's a very Leo statement, since all fire signs are about the proper use of the Will. What will it take to make us step up to the plate and change the ridiculous way we waste and abuse our world and our resources?
The last time we had an eclipse around this degree of Leo was on July 30, 2000, just before the American election got stolen from Al Gore. It makes you pause, doesn't it? And we've been paying the price for our complacency ever since. We have the opportunity to change things around this year – even though politics isn't the only answer. We do need change on a global level, but it has to start with individuals. This year's eclipse, as well as the one in 2000 is conjoined with America's North Node – her destiny. August 16th's lunar eclipse will conjoin America's Aquarius Moon, calling on 'the people' (as represented by the Moon) to take power back from the politicians and create change on the grassroots level.
I'm always amazed when I talk with people who tell me that they won't be around when things get really bad so why should they bother to do anything? There's a selfishness in that attitude that I don't understand. And that is the real tragedy of the American attitude. When we feel so entitled that we don't care if our children and grandchildren will have a sustainable and healthy world to live in, what kind of monsters have we become?
The Sabian Symbol for 10 Leo is: Early morning dew sparkles as sunlight floods the field. Anyone who has ever been in this image knows how it feels. There's a sense of paradise re-gained. And Joy!
Morning dew comes from cool nighttime temperatures. With the sunlight shining on the dew, it transforms the field into jewel-like splendor. This degree speaks of the exulted feelings that come when an individual has successfully passed through a long night which tested his strength and her faith. The Leo series of images speak about the reformer who has struggled through many emotional tests to begin her creative work. The reformer becomes a transformer. The person who can make everything new again is what we're aiming for.
To look at the Illumination Point of 10 Aquarius: A man who had for a time become the embodiment of a popular ideal is made to realize that as a person he is not this ideal.
How telling that the opposite point to this eclipse asks us to differentiate between the archetype and the person. We have to step forward and begin to re-create the world, but that doesn't mean we become something more than human. We have to remain humble and real. That's something to remember about Obama. He is the embodiment of our hopes, but he himself is not that ideal. He carries it so that we can see ourselves as it.
On Thursday July 31st, Venus in Leo opposes Neptune in Aquarius. Instead of indulging in daydreams, use this energy to Imagine the world you want to create for yourself, your family and your world. Take the time to romance yourself, to love yourself enough to imagine what it is you really long for. You'll be amazed at how simple those longings will be.
On Wednesday August 6th, Mars in Virgo opposes Uranus in Pisces. With Uranus always expect the unexpected. So let Mars ground you and focus in on what messages come through.
Coming soon. Cathy's dream blog on Astrology.com
We're supposed to start blogging in the beginning of August. I'll let you know.
More and more people are dreaming of the changes they have to make to prepare themselves for the coming years. Don't miss your chance to understand your dreams. As Jung said, if you think you know what your dreams mean, you're probably wrong!
I have new, affordable rates for working on dreams. Check out my fees at www.imaginecoachingservices.com
Happy Lammas.
Cathy Pagano