☀︎AUGUST 19-21: LEO NEW MOON: THE GREAT AMERICAN TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

MOON REMAINS IN CANCER until 11:17am EDT on Saturday, August 19 when it goes VOID OF COURSE until 1:55pm. See previous post for Cancer info. Important practical actions tend not to work out as planned during V/C periods. It's best to use this time for inner creative work or planning future actions. Void of Course Moons are heightened by the Retrograde Mercury now through the first week of September. The advice is to wait, if possible, until September 9th to initiate important projects. MOON ENTERS LEO at 1:55pm EDT on Saturday and remains here until Monday, August 21 at 2:30pm. LAST ASPECT OF MOON: Moon Conjunct Sun in Leo. This Last Aspect is heightened because it is also the moment that the NEW MOON TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE is exact. And, at 28 degrees 53 minutes Leo, the Eclipse conjoins the the Royal Fixed Star REGULUS!  I’ll explain this significance shortly.

The Fixed Fire sign Leo, ruled by the Sun, reflects a passionate, courageous and inspired Moon period when we want to go out into the summer sun and play. The advice is to maintain vigilance along with our enthusiasm because of the intensity of this Solar Eclipse. In general, the evaluation of this period is a double edged sword: Creative projects, especially ones that you’re re-inventing from previous false starts (Mercury Retrograde) and are particularly meaningful as a contribution to the collective, initiated at this time are likely to have GREAT results. Allow the Leo Inner Child to shine and your imagination to run wild! Just note that egos can loom large now and it’s important to remain conscious about acknowledging others needs. The Solar Eclipse as Last Aspect can indicate the high drama of the other edge of the sword. Integrity required!

REGULUS at the point of this SOLAR ECLIPSE is so dramatic because this Fixed Star is one of the four brightest and most powerful Persian Royal Stars in the heavens. It carries the symbol of ‘The Kingmaker.’ Regulus has resided in the shoulder of Leo’s Lion constellation for thousands of years and has been referred to as the 'Heart of the Lion.’ For ancients the mythology of the SOLAR ECLIPSE carried a dark omen for the fate of royalty - death, a lost battle or some other fall from power or grace. The close proximity to Regulus heightens this symbolic meaning. While Regulus reflects courage, leadership and great power, it also suggests that this influence does not necessarily last. Like the esoteric cautionary advice for the use of Pluto's raw power, the narrative for Regulus includes the requirement of a moral high ground in order to achieve its predicted success.

Outer circle is Eclipse chart.  Inner circle is Trump Natal Chart

All this is particularly significant for the U.S. because Trump’s Ascendant (using the 10:54am EDT birth time) is at this exact Regulus point, reflecting his persona of a meteoric rise to power and fame. Given that his intelligence and integrity are considered by many questionable at best, this Eclipse could mark an event which begins his Humpty Dumpty Great Fall. Trump was born on a Lunar Eclipse making him especially sensitive to this symbolism. In addition, Saturn is making its final pass over Trump's Moon at 21 Sagittarius (where it was right before his inauguration). The Feminine archetype is likely to have cause to rise up again in protest to buffoon-like actions of the man-child who would be king.

Add to all this synchronicity: 1) Regulus moved into the Constellation of Virgo sometime late 2011 - 2012, symbolically shifting empowerment to the Feminine Virgo archetype and away from the Masculine Leo archetype; and 2) the Eclipse visibility path indicates major changes for locations along its way. The path crosses the entire United States from coast to coast (which is so rare) and emphasizes the U.S. as ripe for radical shifts. This is hard to deny after the strong backlash from events in Virginia (which falls in range of the eclipse path) this week. Not to mention Bannon's exit as Trump advisor and James Murdoch, Fox Chairman - the mouthpiece of Trump's administration - speaking out against him. Mr. Dumpty's wall is crumbling.

Anyway...check out this cool short NASA video about the Eclipse!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxanWTR8-yM

Eclipses tell the story of the power of shadows, the Moon’s shadow specifically. The Moon symbolizes the public and Trump may be the vehicle to reflect back to us the U.S. shadow. Despite all the controversy around his election, powerful forces came together to constellate this caricature of a leader so that we are now able to witness the unconscious aspect of our collective psyche.

The upside is that being conscious of our shadow allows us to change. The confluence of these celestial events could indicate an opportunity for crossing a profound threshold. The letting go of what no longer serves us at the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, combined with the new beginnings of the New Moon Solar Eclipse - at the Royal Regulus point - is charged with huge possibilities! We may  begin to experience the effects of personal transformation and a collective paradigm shift into a more balanced Feminine/Masculine archetypal perspective. See an earlier post Mercury Retrograde/Solar Eclipse relating this idea to the alchemical sacred marriage of opposites - conjunctio. While we may have to wait until Mercury goes Direct in September to see the impact of these phenomenon, as we build towards the Solar Eclipse on Monday the anticipation feels momentous right now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpEPTrsYD_o

LEO TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE SCENE: Barabbas, 1961; Director: Richard Fleischer. This remarkable scene features Anthony Quinn in the title role, as the villain whose life the public chooses to spare instead of Jesus. We see a dramatic Solar Eclipse turn day into night, reflecting the horror that is being witnessed by his followers. The event helps to transform Barabbas, whose fate (in the film) eventually mirrors that of Christ's. It has been noted by astrologer Nicholas Campion, in the Dawn of Astrology, that at the time of the Crucifixion at Passover there would have been a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, but therein lies the poetic license of drama.