Eclipses on Music Monday

What journalists have been calling "The Great American Eclipse" will occur today. In Oklahoma we're not in the direct track of the solar eclipse - we're a little too far south, but I think it'll be happening in full sight, at the nearest point to us, at around 1PM.

Eclipses of the Sun are dramatic events, fertile ground for imaginative writers, they have featured in a few novels and movies - Wikipedia has a list. I do recall "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court": Bing Crosby (playing a time traveller to the past) convinced adversaries of his power by using knowledge of an imminent solar eclipse.

There's another story involving an eclipse of the Sun in Borodin's opera "Prince Igor", set in Russia. The synopsis goes something like this:

The Prince is mobilizing his army against the Polovtsians (a nomadic people) who have been attacking and raiding the Russians' territory and carrying away their people into slavery. There is an eclipse of the Sun, the sky grows dark.



The people see this as a bad omen and plead with Prince Igor to abandon his mission. Igor sees it as an omen - but whether good or bad is yet to be seen. His wife, Yaroslavna, begs him to stay home but he is not persuaded. He must defend his and Russia's honor. Things go badly, Igor's brother plans to depose him in his absence, Igor and his son are taken captive by the Polovtsians. In the end though, Igor escapes and returns to his wife and to defend his city. There's a sub-plot involving his son's love affair with the daughter of the Polovtsian leader.

So....there was bad news, and there was good news, after that eclipse. I understand that Igor's story is based on historical events. See HERE -

"There was apparently opposition to this campaign among members of Igor's retinue. On May 1, 1185, there was an eclipse of the sun, which the Nikonovskaya Chronicle describes: "A Portent. That same year, in the month of May, on the fist day, there was a portent in the sun; it was very dark, and this was for more than an hour, so that the stars could be seen, and to men's eyes it was green, and the sun became as the [crescent] moon, and from its horns flaming fire was emitted; and it was a portent terrible to see and full of horror." Although the Russians interpreted this phenomenon as an evil omen, Igor insisted that the campaign continue, saying, "No one knows the mysteries of God. God is the maker of this sign and of the whole world. And whether that which God does to us is for good or for ill, this too we shall see."

Regarding outcome of the current eclipse, for good, for ill or SNAFU: "this too we shall see".

It's Music Monday, music from Borodin's Prince Igor fits the bill today. First the original, then a slightly more modern variation of part of the piece, as used in the 1953 movie Kismet to form the song Stranger in Paradise.

North Korea; Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, & Astrology.

Angry words have been flying hither and thither on the North Korea issue. Should we worry? This from the BBC website yesterday is only vaguely reassuring, bearing in mind that a solar eclipse, mentioned in Tuesday's post, will occur on 21 August, and will, unusually, be visible across the USA, and has links to President Trump's natal chart.

North Korea-US tensions: How worried should you be?

For further reading (if any passing reader has the stomach for it) I'd recommend the posts dated 8th and 9th August, (Is the Korean war scare real? and Reviewing the Unthinkable) at a blog called Sic Semper Tyrannis, written by a retired military colonel:

Colonel W. Patrick Lang is a retired senior officer of U.S. Military Intelligence and U.S. Army Special Forces (The Green Berets). He served in the Department of Defense both as a serving officer and then as a member of the Defense Senior Executive Service for many years.

I'm re-posting, here, my February blog about Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. He was briefly in the news this week, commenting on the North Korea situation. I decided to do a re-post after using Google search to find out if and where my February post had landed, after being mangled and spat out by that mysterious Google algorithm. I searched "Rex Tillerson, astrology". It didn't show up at all on first try, in the 14 or so pages, but when I clicked on the link available the end of the last page, it led to a fuller list including posts omitted as being "similar" to those listed; my old post then came up on page 2. Perhaps because my post received too few hits and no comments it didn't warrant initial inclusion - but how the heck are readers ever going to find the post if it's not there?

Anyway, this seems like a reasonable time to re-post it - here it is again:

A look at the natal chart of the USA's new Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, noting a few pointers from online sources as to the kind of guy he is, as perceived by those who know him.

Two key factors routinely mentioned by commentators are Tillerson's long career in ExxonMobil - at retirement at the end of last year he was the company's CEO; and that, via his Exxon career, he has crafted close ties with Russia's President Putin. Neither factor is seen as being beneficial by many Democrats. He does consider that climate change is real - that's an improvement on the ideas of some of his colleagues in President Trump's cabinet. However, he qualifies his belief: “The increase in greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is having an effect. Our ability to predict that effect is very limited,” he answered to a question posed in his confirmation hearing.

What little I've gleaned about Secretary Tillerson's personality from a handful of articles online tells of a man who quietly projects power, discipline and control (NPR). Those who know Tillerson consistently describe a disciplined and effective communicator with an engineer’s logical approach to solving problems and the ethical compass of a Boy Scout. “What you see is what you get,” said John Stuart, a longtime Dallas banking executive who has known Tillerson for a decade. “He’s a straightforward, honest, honorable person.”

Tillerson is an Eagle Scout himself, and a longtime booster and national leader of the Boy Scouts organisation. He helped to engineer a recent change allowing gays to join the Boy Scouts.

From Dallas News:
SNIPS

More than 40 years after Rynd and Tillerson met, the memories that stand out for Rynd surrounding his former housemate revolve around one central concept: work. The Tejas Club was an old house that needed many repairs, and Tillerson would organize the projects, then complete them.

“He wasn’t just a delegator. This sounds corny, but he led by example. There was no project that was beneath him or too hard for him,” Rynd said. “He was busy -- if not busier than the rest of us. ... If it needed to be done, Rex signed up and got it done.”

Tillerson graduated in 1975 and weighed a higher-paying offer at a steel company. But in Exxon, he found a company whose highly regimented approach mirrored his own.

“It’s very demanding and competitive,” said Coll, the author. “It’s a very rule-driven institution. But it also requires something on the dealmaking side, a little bit of a sense of subtlety and resilience because most of these places where they work, these things don’t come easily.”

Tillerson worked for Exxon’s upstream division -- the rough-and-tumble business of exploring and developing new resources. His early days found him in East Texas, a time he later described as “sheer joy” in solving complex problems out on the oilfield.

He steadily rose through the ranks and by the 1990s, he landed career-defining assignments in places like Yemen and post-collapse Russia.

Well....in theory that all sounds like good news! Does his natal chart reflect the above?

Born on 23 March 1952 in Wichita Falls, Texas. No time of birth known, chart is set for 12 noon.

Without knowing his time of birth only a sketchy outline is possible, Moon's exact position and rising sign cannot be established. First thing I noticed - no planets in Earth signs, I found that surprising. The unknown rising sign might provide an Earthy footing.

His lifetime career closely connected to oil is nicely represented by Saturn and Neptune close together, close enough to be termed conjunct, in Libra. Saturn links to career, Neptune links (among other things) to oil.

His natal Sun, Mercury and Jupiter are all in Aries, sign known as the initiator, with the Saturn/Neptune conjunction opposite, providing a balancing, steadying factor to any native Aries impulsiveness. Mercury conjunct Jupiter in Aries reflects the important part international travel (Jupiter) has always played in his career, and will continue to do so as Secretary of State.

I see that, in his natal chart, there are two challenging square aspects to Uranus, planet of the unexpected and eccentricity - in Secretary Tillerson's case this is no bad thing. We have quite enough eccentricity and unexpectedness emanating from President Trump - we need no more, and especially not from the Secretary of State! It's interesting, though, to note that transiting Uranus, at 21 Aries, is currently conjunct Tillerson's natal Mercury/Jupiter. Change is, indeed, visiting his life, both planet-wise and in reality!

At 12 noon on Secretary Tillerson's date of birth Moon was at 5 Pisces; for natal Moon to have been in Aquarius his time of birth would need to have been in the very early hours - not a lot later than 1 AM; it seems most likely that natal Moon was in early Pisces, reflecting a more gentle and imaginative inner-self than his dynamic Aries core-self.

Due to comments on his personality quoted above, I'd bet on a solid Earthy rising sign (Capricorn, Virgo or Taurus), alternatively Saturn in Libra sitting on the ascendant with Neptune close by.

Temporary Darkness

There was a lunar eclipse yesterday, at around 15 Aquarius. A more interesting eclipse, solar, will occur on 21 August, at around 29 Leo, and will be visible across the USA - something that doesn't often happen. What makes the 21 August eclipse interesting is that it "hits" the position of Regulus, the "Royal Star" on President Donald Trump's Leo ascendant. Astrologers are quite clear that they are expecting...well...something; if not immediately then within coming months; some say perhaps as long as a couple of years hence. That latter prediction seems a bit of a cop out though. Anyone, without benefit of astrology, could confidently foresee that something of importance affecting President Trump will happen between now and mid-2019. Heck, the way things have been trending, something happens affecting the Prez in each 24-hour period! He himself sees to that!

This piece is a good read, it's by by Max Kuttner (not an astrologer, but he quotes several):

The Solar Eclipse Could Mean Disaster for Trump, According to Astrologers

I'm not generally a fan of astrological predictions based on eclipses, they seldom bear as much fruit as expected. I suspect astrologers try to be too precise - looking for trees instead of forest, but even so, I'll be watching to discover if this particular eclipse, on 21st, with its specific features seeming to relate to the USA, and to President Trump, provides some kind of evidence - maybe it'll change my mind! We're already plodding through a pretty deep forest, politics-wise, perhaps once the eclipse has passed lighter days will emerge. Oh dear - was that my inner Pollyanna peeping out? Maybe so. There's a poem titled "Eclipse" by Azubuogu chinwendu chukwudi (HERE), and it begins with a similar thought:

The eclipse does not become endless night
The reappearance of light is the same as the survival of soul
The eclipse
Such indeed a character of the historic hour through which
the world was passing

Ecliptically

There's a penumbral lunar eclipse today.
Explanation HERE.

Here are Astrology King's astrological thoughts on the eclipse.

I like the Yod the astrologer points out (I have a thing for Yods!) This one links Aquarius Moon to Aquarius' ruler, Uranus with the Yod's apex at the Jupiter/Mercury conjunction in Virgo. The astrologer talks about a karmic mission - not sure about that - but if it floats your boat, fine!

And: another astrologer's take on this eclipse: Kate Rose at Elephant Journal.

Primarily today...

Another smattering of primaries today - states coloured pale green on the map:

Michigan's result is going to be interesting. Flint's terrible poisoned water situation will be at the forefront of voters' minds. Hillary Clinton is ahead in the polls there currently, but with a tighter margin than was the case a few days ago. In Sunday evening's Democratic debate in Flint, which we watched in full, I thought both candidates gave an impressive performance.

Bernie's wins in Kansas, Nebraska and Maine over the weekend have been encouraging to his supporters, myself included. He still has a steep uphill task delegate-wise, but states still to vote are likely to be more Bernie-friendly than some already primaried southern states where, for some strange reason, he's been less enthusiastically received, especially among African American groups.

Later today there'll be a solar eclipse, in Pisces, at around 18 degrees.

There are lots of astrological writings on the topic around the net, I've picked this piece from the many for a link. The astrologer, Clarissa, at Viva Combusta (cute blog name!) currently lives here in Oklahoma.

Real Time Astrology: New Moon Solar Eclipse Supermoon in Pisces March 8, 2016

There's a selection of other good stuff accessible from the sidebar there too.

Tripping over yet another eclipse...

Partial Solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio coming up tomorrow! It should be visible in the United States.
A table of viewing times is HERE. In Oklahoma the eclipse should begin to be noticeable at around 4.40pm.

Everyone and their dog has already predicted, interpreted and pontificated at length on astrological implications. I'm not about to add much to the astro-chorus.

Back in 2008 I had the cheek to announce on this blog my own half-formed (more likely half-baked) theory about eclipses. They are relatively quick phenomena, I wrote, as compared to a transit of one of the outer planets : Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and even Saturn. When those planets, in transit, hit a sensitive point or planet in your natal chart you know it. They stay long enough to make waves in your life, you can recognise their presence; results are often profound. Faster moving personal planets touching a sensitive spot, are much less recognisable, if at all, in my experience. This is why I doubt that effects of an eclipse, Solar or Lunar, upon the individual are likely to be as dramatic as is sometimes supposed. Recognisable? Yes, maybe sometimes, but not life-changing.

As an old blog-buddy (R J Adams)once commented, "Or, it could just be one chunk of rock passing between another chunk of rock and a large fiery thing?" My response: Could be, RJ! But have you ever driven along a highway listening to the radio when the station fades because you passed through a tunnel or near a high hill - could be something akin to that, not exactly, just an analogy. Nobody knows, so it's as well to investigate and keep an eye on what happens, in case we might learn something.

My take on eclipses in general hasn't changed much over the past six years. An additional thought occurred today : it's very difficult to attribute stuff specifically to an eclipse unless there's nothing else at all going on in a natal (or mundane type) chart. There's never going to be a point at which "something else" in a chart could not also be seen as reflecting a change or event which could also be attributed to an eclipse. Would the same events or changes have happened had there been no eclipse ? Impossible to say.

Pink Moon. & Another tragedy with a link to our town.

We stayed up binge-watching old episodes of Homeland so's we could go out and see the total lunar eclipse in the early hours of this morning. We saw the eclipse during its early stages then again when total and beautifully pink, in a clear sky, from our driveway, temperature around freezing. I've tended not to get excited about eclipses since a solar eclipse occurred slap bang on my natal Sun's degree some years ago -and nothing at all, nothing even vaguely interesting, happened. This one was a lovely sight, anyway.

The lunar eclipse, was in Libra. I read around the net, found this, part of a piece at About.com by David Emery:

As it happens, there's a total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014, which means we'll experience not only a "Full Pink Moon" (any full moon that occurs in April, per Native American tradition) and a "Paschal Full Moon" (the first full moon after the vernal equinox, per Christian tradition), but also, thanks to the eclipse, a "Blood Moon."

Some Christians attribute a prophetic significance to the Blood Moon of April 15, because it will be the first of a lunar tetrad — four total lunar eclipses in a row — occurring in 2014 and 2015, and because each of those eclipses will fall on an important Jewish holiday, Passover or Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles).

Could it be a sign of the Apocalypse? Most Blood Moon prophecy advocates — Texas megachurch Pastor John Hagee, for one — won't commit to specifics, preferring instead to speak in terms of a "world-shaking event" or "the end of an age." Other Christians aren't so sure the Blood Moon tetrad has any biblical significance at all.

I doubt it - I'd say it's simply part of a pattern.

Yet another horrible shooting incident occurred on Sunday, in Kansas City. Dr W. Corporan, a family doctor in our SW Oklahoma town for many years, and my husband's family GP during that time, was one of the fatalities of the shooting, along with his grandson; a female, killed in a different location was the third victim. Dr Corporan and his grandson were, apparently, attending some auditions being held at the Jewish Center - though they were not themselves Jewish.

Sincere condolences to the families involved.

From Chicago Tribune

A man suspected of killing three people when he opened fire at two Kansas City-area Jewish centers on Sunday afternoon has been formally identified and is expected to face federal hate crimes charges as well as state charges, authorities said on Monday.

Jail records identified the suspect as Frazier Glenn Cross, 73 – a name also used by Frazier Glenn Miller, whom a major civil rights group on Sunday called a former grand dragon for the Ku Klux Klan with an extensive history of hate against Jews, among others.

Cross was arrested Sunday after a shooting spree that killed a 14-year-old boy and his grandfather outside a popular Jewish community center, and a third victim outside a nearby Jewish retirement home.

These recurring incidents are ugly and tragic symptoms of sickness pervading this country. Raw, senseless hatred against some other group based on ethnicity, colour, religion... whatever, flares up regularly. Maybe, though I hope not, it arises from something lodged permanently within the DNA of this nation, a DNA also containing old elements of my own native land, it has to be said. If only it could be bred out!

Eclipse and Saturn in Scorpio, Pluto in Capricorn, MIC - Hmmmm!

I'm not convinced eclipses are always as significant as astrologers seem to believe, especially in personal astrology. As I've written before (click on eclipse and/or eclipses in the Label Cloud in the sidebar for evidence), I could be wrong, and stand open to correction. Mundane astrology, the application of astrology to world affairs and world events, is a different matter. I'm not an astrologer proper, I dabble, and have my own views about the whole caboodle, which don't always align with text book and establishment astrology.

Yesterday's solar eclipse took place in the sign of Scorpio where planet Saturn is currently transiting, so at the very least extra emphasis on all things Scorpio related could be expected to feature clearly in mundane matters around this time. We don't have far to seek to find some! Scorpio is said to connect to passion and secrets, among other things.

Pluto, powerful slow-moving planet of power and transformation, known to clear out and cleanse all that's rotting or past its usefulness, is currently transiting Capricorn the sign with connection to the establishment and to institutions of all kinds.

A string of incidents over the past month or so, all connected to one of the USA's most powerful institutions, the Military Industrial Complex, could clearly be reflections of Pluto in Capricorn aided and abetted by Saturn and an eclipse in Scorpio.

Several high-ranking characters from the MIC have "bitten the dust" during the past few weeks - or may be about to fall:

General David Petraeus, CIA head, former 4 star - extra-marital affair.
Rear Admiral Gaouette, commander of an aircraft carrier task force in Persian Gulf - drunk in public.
General Carter Ham, commander of Africom - relieved of duty after not following order to "stand down" regarding Benghazi.
General John Allen, commander of all US and NATO forces in Afghanistan-caught up in Petraeus' scandal, not yet gone but could be about to fall.
Christopher Kubasik, CEO of Lockheed - sex scandal.

Whether the above list has connection to anything other than matters astrological is something left for further perusal!

(Illustration: "Astronomers Studying an Eclipse" painting by Antoine Caron (1571).

SOLAR ECLIPSE

There's a solar eclipse coming up - or it has happened already - depending on where you are and when you're reading this. For details see HERE.
We're unlikely to have a view of the eclipse here in Oklahoma, we have thunderstorms this morning with more forecast.

Astrological prediction of events relating to eclipses occasionally prove to be partially, or even wholly accurate, but sometimes they don't. If ever I feel depressed after reading eclipse predictions I dilute that feeling by remembering that eclipses are a regular part of life on Earth. It's a bit like the slight feeling of risk involved in flying (by plane, not broomstick!). If ever I felt nervous I'd think of the number of flights in a day, all over the world, of the staff on board all those planes - the stewardesses or whatever they are called these days. They fly many times a week, month in, month out, without problem. Why would anyone feel nervous about one single flight - or one single eclipse?

Eclipses of the Sun are dramatic events, can't argue with that. They feature in several novels and films - there's a list of some of them at Wikipedia HERE. The only one from that list I can recall is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", in which Bing Crosby (playing a time traveller to the past) convinced adversaries of his power by using knowledge that a solar eclipse was due to take place.

There's another story involving an eclipse of the Sun in Borodin's opera "Prince Igor", set in Russia. The synopsis goes something like this:

The Prince is mobilizing his army against the Polovtsians (a nomadic people) who have been attacking and raiding the Russians' territory and carrying away their people into slavery. There is an eclipse of the Sun and the sky grows dark.



The people see this as a bad omen and plead with Prince Igor to abandon his mission. Igor sees it as an omen - but whether good or bad is yet to be seen. His wife, Yaroslavna, begs him to stay home but he is not persuaded. He must defend his and Russia's honor. Things go badly, Igor's brother plans to depose him in his absence, Igor and his son are taken captive by the Polovtsians. In the end though, Igor escapes and returns to his wife and to defend his city. There's a sub-plot involving his son's love affair with the daughter of the Polovtsian leader.

So....there was bad news, and there was good news, after that eclipse.

I understand that Igor's story is based on historical events. See HERE -

"There was apparently opposition to this campaign among members of Igor's retinue. On May 1, 1185, there was an eclipse of the sun, which the Nikonovskaya Chronicle describes: "A Portent. That same year, in the month of May, on the fist day, there was a portent in the sun; it was very dark, and this was for more than an hour, so that the stars could be seen, and to men's eyes it was green, and the sun became as the [crescent] moon, and from its horns flaming fire was emitted; and it was a portent terrible to see and full of horror." Although the Russians interpreted this phenomenon as an evil omen, Igor insisted that the campaign continue, saying, "No one knows the mysteries of God. God is the maker of this sign and of the whole world. And whether that which God does to us is for good or for ill, this too we shall see."

Regarding outcome of the current eclipse, as Prince Igor said..... "this too we shall see".

Benchmarking

Considered logically, there's really no good reason to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, anymore than we should celebrate every sunrise and sunset. It's custom and practice, an excuse to give and receive, just a personal benchmark on the waves of time. Birthdays give us an excuse to eat cake, have a celebratory drink, or do something completely different.....so no blogging for me on my birthday tomorrow - that'll be different. I'll be a day older when I return, not a year older - that's my story.

A solar eclipse fell right on the degree of my natal Sun last year, though it happened on the day before my birthday. "What happened?" I hear you cry. Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary. The least normal event I can recall around that time was that I chipped a (dental) crown and had to have it replaced, at great expense. My husband's younger daughter has a birthday on 26th, so her natal Sun degree was affected by the eclipse too. She had had health problems for the past couple of years, but her health improved gradually throughout the year - so only positive things, if anything at all, from the 2009 January eclipse for her. I'm not at all convinced that eclipses should be a cause for consternation in personal astrology. The only thing I've noticed is the 19-ish year cycle of the Moon's nodes tends to coincide with life changes - for me, anyway. This may not work for everyone though. I have Uranus conjunct South Node of the Moon, which could act as a trigger.

Next post Thursday.

Over My Shoulder

This post could well turn out to be nothing but one almighty whinge. What follows may or may not be linked to celestial events or planetary transits, but as the principle of astrology, "as above, so below", can often be seen working, it's worth conidering. Perhaps a connection to recent eclipses? Or to another transit to my natal chart?

Back in June, I started having some pain in my right shoulder. I mentioned in a post on 2 July that I was teaching myself to use the mouse left-handedly because of the discomfort. I kept putting off seeing my doctor because I've a routine annual visit and tests coming up late this month, and thought to do everything at once. I absolutely detest going to see the doctor, always have, from my first memories - probably always will.

As my shoulder seemed to be getting worse, and my own doctor is on vacation at present, a family member suggested a visit to a respected local chiropractor. I consulted him on Friday. I was told, after x-rays and examination, that I have what's commonly called Frozen Shoulder, correct term for the condition is adhesive capsulitis. Recovery will be very slow (months or even a year or more), and will necessitate a major, and painful, effort by me - stretching exercises. Oh joy! Believe me, the exercises are very painful, but I must do them regularly several times a day. On his advice I'll also consult my own doctor, as apparently "proper" doctors can sometimes offer helpful aids such as cortisone injection, as well as a variety of therapies, and some more effective pain killers. Over-the-counter tablets in the USA do next to nothing for me.

I'm wondering whether recent eclipses are connected to this outcome. Both linked to Aquarius, my Sun sign, and the first occurred very close to my re-located Aquarius ascendant. The pain in my shoulder first was felt long before the eclipses though. The remedy, painful as it turns out to be, was confirmed on the day before the lunar eclipse in Aquarius. I'm now wondering if it will take until the next solar eclipse, which will occur conjunct my natal Sun next January, to heal the offending joint: about 5 months, around the time the chiropractor seemed to estimate for recovery of full flexibility.

Looking elsewhere in my natal chart, I notice that transiting Saturn (rules the skeletal structure) is at 9 Virgo (Virgo = health matters) quincunx (irritable aspect) my natal Sun (6.46 Aquarius), the aspect would have been exact in mid-July. There are three other planets in Virgo now, as well as Saturn: Mercury, Venus and Mars. These will move on more quickly than Saturn, as they do perhaps the situation will ease. I can only hope so!

Washing my hair has become a painful chore, as is pulling up my jeans, sleeping on my right-hand side, and, as the chiropractor put it delicately, but to English ears hilariously - "potty stuff". English translation = "loo stuff". Potty on the other side of the pond describes someone who appears to have gone slightly mad. So when the husband announces, "I'm just going potty", it never fails to raise a smile.

Using the computer, according to the chiropractor, shouldn't make the shoulder worse, but I suspect that long hours sitting in the same position might well have contributed to the problem in the first place. I'll continue to blog, but perhaps less frequently, until I have a second opinion on the matter. Without the diversion of the internet and blogs, I could well "go potty", English style, before this exercise regime is over!

Eclipse

I feel I ought to write about today's solar eclipse, though astrologers and astrology bloggers have already said all there is to say about it, and with a lot more expertise than yours truly could muster.

For me, the jury is still out on eclipses in general - at least as they affect us individually when they happen to hit a natal planet or sensitive point in a natal chart. I'm open to being convinced by persuasive argument and examples, but to date have nothing of my own to offer. Perhaps this will change shortly though. Today's eclipse hits the husband's ascendant (always supposing that his time of birth is absolutely exact- something about which I'm always wary). It also opposes my natal Sun, but probably a little widely (around 3 degrees). House position, in my case, isn't clear. In natal chart I have Sun in 8th, but relocated to the USA it's in 12th - so in opposition the eclipse falls in 2nd (natal) or 6th(re-located).

Eclipses are generally thought to herald change of one sort or another. I could say that this time around we seem to be ahead of the game, having just last week experienced a significant change by my having become a US citizen, and this indirectly affects the husband too, I guess.

I have a half-formed theory about eclipses. They are relatively quick phenomena, as compared to a transit of one of the outer planets - Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and even Saturn. When those planets, in transit, hit a sensitive point or planet in your natal chart you know it. They stay long enough to make waves in your life, you can recognise their presence, results are often profound. Faster moving personal planets, when they touch a sensitive spot, are much less recognisable, if at all, in my experience. The full Moon is an exception. I do tend to feel Full-Moon-ish on occasion, perhaps due to a natal Cancer ascendant (ruled by the Moon) but any effect is relatively fleeting. This is why I doubt that effects of an eclipse, Solar or Lunar, upon the individual are likely to be as dramatic as is sometimes supposed. Recognisable? Yes, perhaps sometimes, but not life-changing. That's my current take on it anyway. I could be completely wrong.

I'll have a better chance of putting it to the test next January when a Solar eclipse hits my natal Sun directly within minutes. As far as I recall nothing of import happened on the previous occasion this occurred, or in that year, but this time I'll be watching more closely.

The Challenger Astronauts

On January 28, 1986 America was shocked by the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger, and the death of its seven crew members. See Wikipedia entry.

After I bought my astrology software last year one of the first exercises I did was to study the charts of the astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster. I had recently decided to use the subject for a blog entry. I noticed that Out The Comet's Ass blog carried an interesting article about astronauts on 6 September - "12 Men Who Walked on the Moon". Anyway, here's what I found:

What I was looking for, when I studied the seven charts, was any link to eclipses.
The closest 1985 eclipses were:
Lunar 5 Scorpio/ Taurus (28 Oct 1985)
Solar 20 Scorp/Taurus (12 Nov 1985).

First, here's the chart for the time of the explosion: 28 January 1986, 11.38AM at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Pluto was just 3 degrees from the Moon's South Node, and 2 degrees from the lunar eclipse point of the previous October.



There do seem to be links to the eclipse pattern in several of these charts. Also,
in 6 of the 7 charts there is some emphasis on the solstice axis (Cancer/Capricorn) either natally or natal + transit. I am not sure how relevant this is to the subject in hand, if at all. It may be connected to fixed stars in Cancer. Several of the charts have Procyon/ Sirius prominent.


Commander F.R."Dick" Scobee born 19 May 1939 Cle Elum, Washington.

Michael Smith born 30 April 1945, Beaufort, North Carolina.

Judith Resnick born 5 April 1949, Akron, Ohio.

Ronald McNair born 21 October 1950, Lake City, South Carolina.

Gregory Jarvis born 24 August 1944, Detroit, Michigan.

Christina McAuliffe born 2 September 1948, Boston, Mass.

Ellison Onizuka born 24 June 1946, Kona, Hawaii.


In the absence of birth times, 12 noon charts are used.


SCOBEE: Tr Pluto was exactly conjunct his North Node @ 7 Scorpio, which is close to the eclipse point of 5 Scorpio. There is a cluster of planets around Oct. and Nov. eclipse areas (Mercury 8 Taurus, Venus & Saturn 29 and 25 Aries, Sun 27 Taurus, Uranus 18 Taurus. In his natal chart the Cancer/Capricorn axis is emphasised by Pluto opposing Mars.



SMITH: Tr Pluto @ 7 Scorpio opposed his natal Sun at 9 Taurus - in the area of the Oct '85. eclipse.
Tr Neptune at 4 Capricorn opposed natal Saturn at 6 Cancer (Cancer/Capricorn axis).



RESNICK: Tr North Node at 4 Taurus was within 8 degrees of her Natal N.Node at 26 Aries in the( wider) area of the eclipse.
Tr Neptune at 4 Capricorn opposed her natal Moon at 5 Cancer - but depends on exact birth time (Cancer/Cap axis).




McNAIR: His Sun is at 27.44 Libra - a little wide to connect with 5 Scorpio eclipse, but close. Natal Saturn is conjunct his Virgo-Pisces nodal axis.
Tr Neptune at 4 Capricorn opposes his natal Uranus at 9 Cancer (Cancer/Capricorn axis).




JARVIS: His natal Moon at 12 noon was at 4.55 Scorpio- any significant conjunction depends on exact birth time of birth, of course (eclipse at 5 Scorpio/Taurus) there's a chance Moon could have been fairly close though. His natal nodal axis is Cancer/Capricorn.



McAULIFFE: Tr North Node was at 4 Taurus, her natal North Node was at 7 Taurus (eclipse area), and was also opposed by Tr Pluto at 7 Scorpio.



ONISUKA: His natal Moon was at 3.56 Taurus at 12 noon. There's a chance here, again that it was fairly close to the Oct.'85 eclipse at 5 Tauurs/Scorpio, depending on time of birth, also may have been opposed by tr Pluto at 7 Scorpio.
His natal Sun at 2.46 Cancer was opposite tr Neptune at 4.35 Cancer (Cancer/Cap axis)





The shuttle Challenger flight STS-51L crew members who died January 28, 1986. In the back row, from left, mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and Mission specialist Judy Resnik. In the front row, from left, Pilot Mike Smith, Commander Dick Scobee, and Mission specialist Ron McNair.

Eclipsed

We stood outside on the driveway watching as the lunar eclipse became total, around ten minutes to five. It was a beautiful sight. We had a grandstand view, and were the only humans around apart from a lady walking her elderly Dalmation.

With regard to the Moon, and eclipses in general, I have noticed that my life has seemed to move to a cyclic rhythm, in tune with my natal lunar nodes, and pre-natal eclipse (Taurus/Scorpio) - this could be due entirely, or in part, to the fact that Uranus (Sun's ruler) is conjunct South node, so this pattern may not be the same for everybody. What I have not noticed, though, are any significant events arising from eclipses which touched natal planets or points, other than the nodal ones. I guess this is just my personal pattern.

Today's lunar eclipse occurred in my relocated first house (natal 9th house), 2 degrees from natal Jupiter. I'll remain watchful over the coming weeks, just in case I can identify anything eclipse-related.

A past eclipse that I remember particularly well was on 4 May 2004. A Lunar Eclipse at 14.42 Scorpio, just one degree from my natal North node of the Moon. When arranging for our civil marriage, I noticed that the proposed date I'd given the Registrar (back in England) was the date of that eclipse! After researching electional astrology with regard to weddings, I decided that this would never do. I went back, feeling a little sheepish, to ask to amend the date, and gave my reason. The Registrar sighed and smiled wanly as I uneasily whispered, "We don't want any bad luck, do we?" We were wed on 30 April that year, and things worked out well. That was one eclipse that changed my life - and how !

In honour of the current eclipse season, here's a video I found on YouTube -"Eclipse" by Pink Floyd, with added graphics - I couldn't have done it better myself !