Cosmic Life Coach
written by Patrice Thompson
Thursday June 30, 2011
COSMIC WATCH:
“There’s no place like home.” Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz.
There’s a New Moon Solar Eclipse at 9 degrees of security-conscious Cancer today, the nurturing sign of Mother and our ancestral roots that is also linked to the past. Eclipses are highly-charged events that can have impact for up to six months. Too, the affects of an eclipse are often felt immediately, usually within a few days, on either side of the event (please refer to my other recent “eclipse blogs,” for more info about this subject).
This lunation, in which the Sun and Moon are both conjunct in Cancer, also sets up a “grand cardinal cross,” or square in the sky, involving Uranus in Aries (personal freedom), Pluto in Capricorn (transformation), and Saturn in Libra (responsibility). New Moons usher in new beginnings, although Solar Eclipses can also bring about sudden endings, especially with respect to long-standing situations.
The grand cardinal cross can also coincide with critical turning points, or releases in matters, that have us “springing into action,” as a response. Our “taking action” can also have the net affect of creating new beginnings for ourselves. Too, just as the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) denote the arrival of the seasons, the activation of the cardinal cross can also denote pivotal life transitions. This “much ballyhooed configuration” is often a potent antidote or cure for any stagnating or fence-straddling tendencies.
Also, with it being summer in the northern hemisphere, a time when baseball is in full swing here, in the U.S., I can’t help but symbolically liken the cardinal grand cross to an exciting, but possibly, gut-wrenching baseball game, in which we are in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, with two strikes, and both teams tied at one run a piece. Everyone in the stadium is sitting at the edge of their seats. Will the lowly batter, standing all alone on home plate, magically put one out of the ballpark and become an instant hero to his fans and team mates by getting a grand slam home run? Or, will he sheepishly strike out? Either scenario, something’s gotta’ give. And fast. The cardinal signs force movement in our affairs.
Today’s eclipse lunation will likely have us dealing with practical issues of our own basic survival and security, something that is central to the Cancer psyche. Cancer, insulated by its crab shell, is perennially wanting to shore up its defenses and protect itself, and its family members, from possible hostile forces in the outer world. Cancer rules the home (and the womb), our personal haven and private base of operations, to which we return each day to seek solace and nourishment (Cancer also rules the food supply).
With the sign of Cancer also being governed by the feminine Moon, women’s issues (including women’s health), as well as issues involving the family and parenting, may figure more prominently into our lives now. Too, just this week, with the Sun in Cancer making an opposition to bulldozing Pluto in Capricorn (part of the grand cross), an FDA panel unanimously voted to revoked the approval of Avastin, a popular drug for breast cancer treatment (Cancer rules the breasts).
Also, the riveting, high-profile, Casey Anthony trial, that has much of the nation, even the world, glued to their television sets, is expected to go the jury the very same day as the Cancer eclipse (a trial which centers around a mother allegedly murdering her own child). Another example of how the grand cross energy often brings matters to a head and or provides for resolution.
Too, with the Eclipse’s square to freedom-loving, rebellious Uranus, in self-identity Aries, we may be tempted to be a bit more defiant now and break with convention in a bid to “do our own thing.” Of course, the Eclipse’s square to taskmaster Saturn, in partnership Libra, should also serve to hold us accountable to others for our actions.
BTW, with the transiting Cancer Sun’s square to non-traditional Uranus (part of the grand cross), this past week, we saw gay marriage, still somewhat of a controversial matter, legalized in the state of New York. Uranus is also the planet of equality and civil rights.
Again, purging, transforming Pluto (ruler of death and regeneration), stationed in utilitarian Capricorn, is also a major player in today’s Eclipse, and grand cross, with the Sun and Moon in Cancer opposing it and both Uranus and Saturn squaring it. Pluto will likely have us, once again, reinventing or refashioning ourselves (maybe out of practical necessity). We may also discover things about ourselves (hopefully uncover some hidden strengths), that we never knew existed. Pluto characteristically speaks to the “depths of our experience.” It rules our subconscious. Basically, anything that is buried or hidden.
For instance, Pluto also rules mines, and on Wednesday, of this week, U.S. Labor Department officials announced that the Massey energy mine disaster, where 29 workers were killed more than a year ago, was preventable (from wsj.com). This finding also was released (coincidentally?) with the Sun exactly opposite to Pluto.
Too, with Pluto’s “eliminating” ray stoked, once again by the opposing Sun in Cancer, the Greek Parliament finally approved a five-year “austerity plan” for that country. Also, on our own “home front,” with this same planetary aspect, President Obama put pressure on Congress, to come up with a debt-reduction package. He also talked about ending certain tax breaks for “millionaires and billionaires.” Pluto additionally rules debt and taxes, and credit.
(Also, just breaking as I’m writing this Thursday night 6/30, there’s a report from wsj.com that U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, is considering leaving his post, once policymakers come to an agreement on raising the country’s debt ceiling.)
Pluto is also, however, not just about coping with less materially, or borrowing. It can also mean that we must pare down our range of activities, so that we can focus our energies more. With both Pluto and Saturn, we tend to consolidate our forces.
In my own horoscope, for example, I have transiting Pluto exactly conjunct my natal Mars now, the ruler of my chart, in my house of career, and I am having to hone down and narrow my professional focus now. In a way, too, I am beginning to feel greatly relieved, by scaling back, as I was doing too much before, fracturing my energies. It feels very freeing to do fewer things, and to “just be” instead.
One more thing, sort of interesting here and very applicable to today’s “home-related” Cancer eclipse. On Wednesday (again with the Cancer Sun opposite revelatory Pluto), a New York Times/CBS News Poll revealed that nearly 9 in 10 Americans say that “owning a home” is still an important part of the American dream, even though many also question it as a good investment, in wake of the brutal recession. I guess, I have to agree here. What about you? (from NYT.com)
Other “New Moon in Cancer” type activities or tie-ins: moving or changing residences; remodeling or redecorating the home; focus on family relationships (perhaps patching up difficulties); family reunions or get-togethers; genealogy research; baking and cooking; matters involving the restaurant or food industry; matters pertaining to real estate and property investment; property taxes; the hotel industry; farming and agriculture; issues of homeland security and defense; matters involving adoption.
Happy Eclipse Day!
