The sign Sagittarius sets the tone for this eclipse, the sign of expanding ones view and thoughts outwards to take in beliefs, culture, knowledge and wisdom. Sagittarius is the sign of the law and morality, expansion and growth, it is optimistic and rather too straight and direct for its own good. Sagittarians will tell things just as they are, and doing things and giving opinions that are lacking in subtlety is their speciality.
In combining these basic tenets and qualities, you can see that this eclipse is going to see old regimes and relationships wasting away on the vine, and in place of these we will have to plant new seeds, make new contacts or take a leap of faith into the unknown in the hope that we can find some success in the future. There is plenty of optimism here, faith in the new processes, and in a way we will be placing ourselves firmly on the line in the months ahead. Putting that in context of where we are now with a pandemic swirling around us, it is obvious that there will be failures and break-ups to come, however this will be clearing up space for us to grow into once again, if we have to bravery and endeavour to do so.
Okay, this takes care of the overall look of this eclipse. Let's now dive into the astrological details. I find the planet Mercury in conjunction with the eclipse, therefore this is an eclipse linked to ideas, negotiations, agreements, communications, young people, education and travel. This Mercury lies within 3 degrees of the eclipse point, and therefore some of these parts of life may suffer in the first few months of the year. In truth, this is just the continuation of situations that are ongoing, as international and local travel has suffered hugely in 2020, higher learning and education too has been severely hit, young people have been held back, negotiations and agreements have been put on hold or have been unsuccessful. There will be chances for new beginnings to flourish, but I would not put much hope on these taking hold until the effects of this eclipse have started to wane.
Now this triple conjunction makes trines to Mars in Aries and a square to Neptune, so a mix of positive and negatives here. Let's start with Mars. There is a lot of drive and enthusiasm linked into this eclipse. Mars is now moving forwards in Aries, although still in the shadow zone of the previous Mars retrograde, so there is a sense of going over old ground in trying to make the best of what is to come. Maybe you will be trying to resurrect something that was decimated in the months before, however there is a possibility that despite all the new energy and drive that you put in, things may still be undermined in some way, or take a lot of time to recover. The reason for this is Neptune being square to the eclipse point too. The Neptune square shows inherent weakness and the virus conditions that will still be prevalent well into the New Year.
Neptune can also bring false hope, deception or outright suffering, and I suppose the outcome of what may be in the first part of 2021 will be how strong you are, and how long that you can hold out so that the invigorating influence of Mars can take an effect. It surely looks like the survival of the fittest will be the story of this eclipse.
At the moment of the eclipse, Saturn and Jupiter in the last degrees of Capricorn, (before conjoining exactly one week later in the initial degree of Aquarius) will make a sextile to Venus in the latter degrees of Scorpio. The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction is one of simultaneous expansion and contraction, the giving with one hand and taking away with another, and this principle will extent on to relationships, as well as our values. To keep on going and to expand in the future, we will have to accept restrictions and take a hit first or go off into the unknown and try your luck. You may be pushed into a corner and forced to accept something that holds you back. Then you will have a choice to make - will you play safe or risk everything on the turn of the next card? There are chances to win here, Venus sextiles to Jupiter can be inherently lucky. Venus Saturn aspects don't inspire half as much, but they are far less risky too and almost guarantee long term, if rather meagre, rewards.
Mars and Pluto will be making a difficult square aspect at the time of this eclipse, a simmering rather menacing connection that will be working very much under the surface of everything that is going on here. Literally this is taking any action that is necessary (Mars) to survive (Pluto), and if this means crushing weaker opposition, taking over someone else's territory, using manipulation and dirty tactics to succeed, then this aspect will only but encourage such methods. There is obsession here, lust, the need for power and self-determination. This is an aspect of breaking something apart to create something new too, and you may find that you have to destroy something now to give yourself a chance to move on in the future. Again, this aspect brings forth the idea of the survival of the fittest, with the most powerful and astute operators keeping going, and those who are vulnerable being wiped out.
Lastly there is an important connection between the eclipse point and a fixed star to look at. The eclipse at 23 degrees Sagittarius will conjunct the star Ras Alhague. This is incredibly pertinent for the moment, as this star sits in the head of Ophiuchus, the serpent holder. As you will be aware, the snake curled around a pole is a signal of the medical world, and this star is one of healing, and of the healing professions. The stories of the serpent holder go back to the Old Testament, as Moses was told to get a fiery serpent on a pole, and all who saw it would be healed. This is a star of wisdom, rejuvenation and rebirth, and the eclipse here may see some casualties because of pandemic conditions, but there is healing here too, and new found understanding that we can take on and thrive with, so long as we can get through the difficult moments first.
My view of this eclipse is that is going to be a tough one to take, and you will have to ride out the storm for a little more time to come. There is hope, we have a solution to the problems that we faced up to, and even if things are not very good right now, then the potential is there for recovery. It follows on all the messages that I have been giving out in the past few months. Remember, we are starting out this road to recovery from a much lower base and a much weaker position than we were in a year ago, and it will take patience and hard graft to get back that which we lost. We may be given a choice in the meantime - take the long safe route, or the faster more dangerous one, and in this we will have to make a judgement. Make the wrong one, and we may be wiped out completely, so assess all your options before you make a definitive move...
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