Solar eclipse in Aries: Trusting the unexpected plot twist
In the ancient world, the sky was seen as a tablet upon which the Gods wrote messages. Eclipses and other phenomena were viewed as portents of the divine. Even today, beyond words or logic, when we look to the sky for signs, we do it instinctually because a deeper part of us knows the truth; there is something bigger going on, a larger mystery unfolding, and we are all part of that weaving.
Tomorrow, April 8, at 11:20 AM PDT/2:20 PM EDT a solar eclipse in Aries is sweeping across the sky of the US. Eclipses usher in change, often bringing unexpected twists of fate.
Even though a solar eclipse takes place during a New Moon it does not have the same energy as a New Moon. Here the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and temporarily blocks the rays of the Sun. It is symbolically ‘eclipsed” out, and for a brief period the Moon, our instinctual nature takes center stage. Because of this, some have described such eclipses as Full Moons on steroids.
Aries knows that it is the hero in its own story.
The eclipse takes place at 19° of Aries and Chiron is right there are the eclipse point, adding an additional oomph to its impact.
What is Chiron’s role in this?
Chiron is nicknamed the wounded healer but we tend to forget that his primary function in myth was as a teacher and healer. Chiron was the maker of heroes; Achilles, Hercules, and Jason of the Argonauts, all apprenticed themselves to him. Yes, he trained them as warriors but he also taught them healing, alchemy, astrology, and astronomy. And yes, Chiron was wounded but by a poison of his own making. How often have we unwittingly repeatedly stymied our lives with a poison of our own making? The wound is but an incident in the Chiron story, a plot device to get us to the final pages. If we’ve learned anything from Chiron, we learn that the wound is actually the key to the end of our earthly suffering.
What Chiron asks us to do is to take a step outward, outside of the perspective of the ego, and see what it is the soul is asking of us. It is asking us to open our hearts, move past our wounds, and use its light to illuminate our soul’s purpose.
Aries as a sign is connected with questing….the hero’s quest specifically. The need to find purpose. Finding our path takes commitment, motivation, and courage but it isn’t a direct path. As J.R.R. Tolkien said in The Lord of the Rings “Not all who wander are lost.”
The word courage is often associated with Aries. This is another word whose origins I love;
Courage: c. 1300, corage, "heart (as the seat of emotions)," hence "spirit, temperament, state or frame of mind,"from Old French corage "heart, innermost feelings; temper" (12c., Modern French courage), from Vulgar Latin *coraticum (source of Italian coraggio, Spanish coraje), from Latin cor "heart" (from PIE root *kerd- “heart").
It didn’t evolve toward bravery until the late 14th century. It was associated with our innermost feelings, our hearts.
Coming from the heart about sums it up. Something that is ostensibly easy but in truth we must apprentice ourselves to this process over and over again. It mirrors the Aries/Libra polarity; the balance between ourselves and others is also an ever-evolving dance. It is where we once again get to apprentice ourselves while asking, how do we balance our needs with those of others? How do we develop a beautiful relationship with ourselves?
So, if the eclipse is hitting your chart directly what will your plot twist be? That’s the question, isn’t it?
This eclipse is part of a larger saros cycle, which is a cycle that describes the life of an eclipse as it moves over time from one pole of the earth to another. This particular eclipse cycle began in 1501. We last had it in 2005, and Pope John Paul II died within a week of that eclipse.
Eclipses bring change. In the eyes and mind of the ancient world, divinely inspired change. Our power lies in how we meet that change. Will we use it to propel ourselves forward or will we try to swim upstream against the current?
Remember Aries knows that it is the hero of its own story. It’s not the sidekick. The hero knows the story is about them. Perhaps it is time for a little healthy selfishness. Where in your life are you resisting or avoiding the story being about you? How can you act on your own behalf? It doesn’t need to be a large leap (Although this is an eclipse so it might be…).
It’s funny, courage is a noun. A person, place, or thing. Desire on the other hand is a verb. An action word. The etymology of desire is one of my favorites:
"to wish or long for, express a wish to obtain," c. 1200, desiren, from Old French desirrer (12c.) "wish, desire, long for," from Latin desiderare "long for, wish for; demand, expect," the original sense perhaps being "await what the stars will bring," from the phrase de sidere "from the stars," from sidus (genitive sideris) "heavenly body, star, constellation”
Desire = “await what the stars will bring.” As a verb. How very thought-provoking.
This is whimsical, I know but when I add this to the Mesopotamian cosmology that the sky was a tablet that the Gods wrote messages upon I cannot help but think that our desires too are a message from the Gods. Our true soul desires fuel us. Consider how many times in your life you have been compelled to act even though it didn’t make logical sense. In contemplating those moments it is easy to see desire as a verb. You just had to do something.
Perhaps it is through acting on our desires that we acquire courage.
If this eclipse hands you an unexpected plot twist recognize you are being guided down a new path. One that is divinely inspired.
