A solar eclipse is a super powerful New Moon, a time of major endings and beginnings. Sun and Moon are in earthy, sensual Taurus; the sign that celebrates our bodies, mother earth and our relationship to the physical world. Intellectual Mercury, in Taurus, is conjunct the New Moon, making a supportive trine to transformational Pluto in Capricorn encouraging us to find new ways of working with nature. Venus, the goddess of love and ruler of Taurus, is currently in inspirational Pisces the sign of divine love and compassion. What we need right now, she seems to be saying, is radical, unconditional love and forgiveness for ourselves, for others and for the earth that is in peril. Ceres, the dwarf planet, and two asteroids Vesta, and Juno in the chart of the New Moon stress the need for feminine values to heal our rupture from nature and each other.
Eclipses repeat themselves every nineteen years. On April 29, 1995 we had a solar eclipse at the exact same degree. What was going on for you then; what is calling you now? We all feel the energy of the eclipse but for those of you will planets around 8 or 9 degrees of Taurus the message is stronger; so is the potential to make a quantum leap.
We are still under the influence of the potent cardinal grand cross and recent Full Moon eclipse. What has it taught us? Hopefully it has shaken us, rattled us and maybe even woken us up to what’s important and essential in our lives. We are all on a big learning curve right now. Change is non-negotiable; not changing who we are but becoming who we are.
“Myth is something that never was but is always happening. It is the nuclear cell in the entelechy, the wake-up call from Central: “It’s time! Time to wake up now! —Jean Houston
The legend of Parsifal and the Holy Grail is a myth for all time but it is especially relevant right now. According to the story, the Holy Grail resides in the castle of the Fisher King who suffers from a wound that will not heal. The king is dying and his country has become a wasteland. The Knights of King Arthur’s roundtable pledge to quest for the Grail yet only one, the pure-hearted Parsifal comes close. Unfortunately Parsifal forgets to ask the prescribed question; “Whom does the Grail serve?” As a result he is destined to wander for five more years through the wasteland. Eventually he returns to the castle and this time he poses the question correctly and receives the answer: “The Grail serves the Grail King.” At that moment the Fisher King is healed and the land is restored to fertility and well-being.
“Searching for the Grail today involves readmitting exiled feminine values into our lives, rebalancing scientific culture, and ending the alienation from nature. It means pursuing inner directed values, rather than a carbon-copy existence that dishonors our creativity and uniqueness. It means discovering a new myth.”
This New Moon eclipse in fertile and lusty Taurus is calling out for us to reconnect with the feminine values, to reclaim our home, our earth. We begin with ourselves. According to Joseph Campbell, “The Grail is the fulfillment of the highest spiritual potentialities of the human consciousness, actualized when people live authentic lives.”
“Listen, whatever it is you try to do with your life, nothing will ever dazzle you like the dreams of your body.” –Mary Oliver
When the Sun is in Taurus the earth is rich and abundant; birds and flowers are thriving and nature is bursting with new life. Taurus celebrates the senses; this week celebrate the earth and your own bodies. Plant a seed – literally; create a garden, plant a tree or fill your home with flowers; flood your sense with beauty and the natural world. “I am in love with green earth.” —Charles Lamb
When we get out of the glass bottles of our ego
and when we escape like squirrels turning in the
cages of our personality
and get into the forest again,
we shall shiver with cold and fright
but things will happen to us
so that we don’t know ourselves
Cool, unlying life will rush in, and passion will make our bodies taunt with power,
we shall stamp our feel with new power
and old things will fall down,
we shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like
burnt paper.
—D.H. Lawrence
