This is the second in a series of two articles looking at the eclipses occurring in the Spring of 2014 concentrating on the Solar Eclipse occurring on the 29th April that occurs in the sign of Taurus. A Solar Eclipse sees the light of the Sun covered either partly or sometimes totally by the Moon as it moves in front of it. This was seen as a bad omen for the future and it is true that unfortunate events can be traced back to position of the planets at the time of an eclipse. Eclipses do set the scene for the future as they bring new cycles of energy into motion. Where the eclipses hit on the Astrology chart life themes are activated, new energy floods in through one eclipse and old energy seeps away with the other. As I have mentioned many times before, it is a constant long running cycle, just like the tides of the seas and the seasons through the year. These eclipses though sometimes difficult to deal with allow us to update ourselves and to move on.
The lunar and solar eclipses of Spring 2014 are going to be some of the more significant ones in recent times as they occur straddling the culmination of Grand Cardinal Cross that I wrote about just a couple of days ago. As you will see in this series of articles there is a nice and neat synergy about these two upcoming eclipses that will help to push things along and enact long needed change into all our lives.
Following on from the Lunar Eclipse of 15th April many of the same conditions remain in place. We still have the Cardinal Cross but there is a difference here that does reflect the nature of the Solar Eclipse that hits on this day, the cross is separating and the resulting energy although still strong is dissipating. The Solar Eclipse on the 29th at almost 9 degrees Taurus is a Saros Series 16 South eclipse, part of a family of eclipses dominated by the influence of Neptune. Firstly South Node eclipses see energy slipping away so events and parts of our live which might have been failing or suffering will have to be let go. Losing something that maybe we treasured, loved, knew well and were used to is often so much more difficult to deal with than the new but maybe difficult challenges that face us when a North Node Eclipse comes around.
Now very much in the same manner as a South Node eclipse, Neptune dissolves and weakens all that it touches and the family of eclipses that this one comes from according to Bernadette Brady shows those tendencies, of resources wasted, of plans that may go awry, of unfulfilled promise. This eclipse does have connections to groups and collectives however you may not be able to use them to your fullest advantage. As with all Neptunian based events, the best policy is to go with the flow and and not to commit yourself to heavily otherwise you may end up losing out.
The background of the eclipse here has the Pluto Jupiter Uranus Mars retrograde cardinal cross of change, revolution, expansion and force continuing to wield it’s influence, however I suspect that by this time we will be picking up the pieces of the occurrences between 15th and 23rd April and working out how to mold them together so that we can effectively plan for the future. If you wish to examine this cross in more detail and the effects that it will precipitate, then I urge you to read my articles on the Cardinal Cross or the previous Lunar Eclipse. In this process we will have to let some old areas of our lives go and the eclipse in Taurus on your chart should accurately identify what to discard and what to keep.
The eclipse in Taurus is all about what we value in our lives, it focuses on matters of personal security and it shows that something that we hold dear or close to us will be slipping away, the status quo that Taurus loves cannot stay the same forever. Taurus is a fixed sign and it decidedly does not like change, but a South Node solar eclipse in this sign will force the issue. A part of our life that we don’t want to see end, is going to end!! Look to the house where the eclipse lands in and that will give you a big clue where you need to adapt your personal position and ideas.
The eclipse makes a couple of interesting aspects to the other planets on the chart. The eclipse is conjunct to Mercury in Taurus as well so our minds will be steady and able to take in the information we need in a controlled manner. The trine to Pluto is a sure sign that a transformation for all our lives is on its way and the trine if anything hastens the speed of it. When it comes, it will come quickly and “relatively smoothly”, not that experiencing change is ever easy. That is the function of a trine, they facilitate the ease of the transfer of energy, be it good or bad. I suppose that having a trine from Pluto is a blessing is disguise, so much better to have a swift end or adaptation of power and control to a situation than a long dragged out affair that frays the nerves and one’s patience too? The eclipse also makes quite a close sextile to compassionate and elusive Neptune. This connection brings a sensitivity to the situation that you will find yourself in, and your intuition may be very valuable in the way that you handle the events to come. Neptune is a planet of sacrifice and it confirms the fact in my mind that this is an eclipse where you will be giving up something important.
Elsewhere on this chart, Saturn in Scorpio makes a couple of wide trine aspects to Jupiter and Venus. Saturn is retrograde and thus in a period of review, and these aspects will allow us to calmly mull over the structure of our relationships or the lack of structure in them, the nature of our finances, what we own and what we possess (Saturn trine Venus) as well as our core beliefs and our generosity to our family, the ones we love and those people closest to us (Saturn trine Jupiter in Cancer). Saturn in Scorpio is very matter of fact, a tough position that will cut through to get to the ultimate truth. You will be left in now doubt what you have to do to alleviate and solve any problems you have in these problematic areas of life.
Mars in Libra forms a very focused quindecile to Venus, the ruler of this eclipse bringing yet more focus onto the matter of relationships. Venus is the planet of peace, Mars the planet of war and we may find that emotional clashes followed by moments where we kiss and make up are more prevalent in the coming months, this is going to be a 6 months punctuated by relationship instability. Of course any relationship can only take so much pressure before it fractures and eventually explodes apart, and this of course echoes back very much to the Lunar eclipse also in a Venus ruled sign (Libra) and the themes therein that occurred two weeks previous to this one.
Looking at the fixed star contacts of this Solar Eclipse for more background influences, it land on the fixed star Schedar in the constellation of Cassiopeia, the Queen of the heavens. This influence naturally is linked to the idea of female sovereignty and a way of ruling based on feminine principles of intuition and compassion, of having a strong motherly influence based around the principles of honor and dignity. Ptolemy said this star encompassed the virtues of Venus and Saturn giving the nature of “haughtiness, boastfulness and exaggerated pride, but at the same time this star had the power of commanding respect”. Now I pose the question? Is a very important female figure on planet earth going to leave us in the next six months, or there will be an important change or shift of power involving or affecting a woman or women? I am always one for looking at symbolism in the night’s sky and a Solar eclipse and a South Node one at that in the constellation of the Queen is a sign that ancient Astrologers and sky-gazers would jump upon. Watch this space and keep your eyes on the news-stands.
As for where on earth this eclipse will be most keenly felt, the AstroCartography picture is remarkably similar to the one I remarked on in part one of this Eclipse series, so please reread the Lunar Eclipse analysis I gave then especially regarding the positions of Pluto and Uranus, integral parts of the cardinal cross. The only additions that I will will make is the path of the eclipse itself. The Eclipse on the Ascendant lies through Western China, Nepal and Eastern India, on the IC the Eclipse affects Eastern Mexico and passes through the US and Canada hitting the Texas/Louisiana state border directly north on a track within the states west of the Mississippi River and up into the far West of Ontario. The eclipse on the Ascendant affects the West African states of Mauritania, Mali and Cote D’Ivoire and on the Descendant it hardly touches land passing on a track in the seas between Australia and New Zealand and upwards into Alaska. On the map above, connections to the MC and IC on the local eclipse chart for that region on earth are in red, and ones to the Ascendant and Descendant in yellow.
In conclusion, this eclipse is one I believe of releasing the pressure that is building up from now until the Cardinal Cross hits on the 23rd April. The old saying goes “What goes up, must come down” and this is true in Astrology too. Out of it, an important area of your life will cease to exist or will be transformed so much that soon it will be a figment of your imagination by the time the autumn arrives. I suggest that you prepare now for the maelstrom that is coming towards us safe in the knowledge that nothing lasts forever, we all have to move on and that for us to develop as human beings we must never stand still. Fear not for what problems that face us, but look forward with anticipation to the new dawn that they bring. If you take these attitudes into the next few months, then once May arrives and Jupiter start to surge forward in Cancer and towards Leo, we will be able to cope with almost anything thrown at us with an air of optimism and hope in our hearts.
If you wish to find out how it will change the next 6 months for you and what areas of life will be in focus, then you can order up my Spring Eclipse Report which focuses on both Lunar and Solar Eclipses in April against your own natal chart. For more details please click on the link below and scroll down the page…
Solaris Astrology Reading and Reports Page - Eclipse Reports 2014
