Partial Solar Eclipse: Straddling the Divide

In numerology, 2025 is a 9 year: 2 + 2 + 5 = 9. It’s all about endings, wrapping up loose ends, completing old projects, letting go of what no longer serves us, like old grievances, attitudes and outworn beliefs. 2026 is a 1 year – new beginnings: 2 + 2 + 6 = 10, which reduces to 1. The partial solar eclipse on Sunday Sept. 21st, brings us into the home stretch in our escape from the past, and it does so dramatically.

New Moon Eclipse

This eclipse takes place on the 29th degree of Virgo. As I’ve mentioned before, the first and last degrees of signs are the most powerful. This is Virgo 5.0 and it connects with all of the transpersonal planets that are moving between signs, concluding their transits from Earth to Air like Pluto and Uranus, or from Water to Fire, like Neptune and its traveling companion Saturn.

So let’s break this down, beginning with the opposition of Sun and Moon to Saturn and Neptune. As I wrote earlier this year, the Saturn Neptune conjunction throws us into paradox. Saturn creates structure. Neptune dissolves it. Saturn creates institutions, boundaries, rules and laws. Neptune draws us beyond into the realm of spirit, into the quantum field where we all are One. Saturn wants the facts. Neptune inspires imagination and dreams.

So how do we reconcile these two? Months ago I suggested several possibilities. For instance, the religious institutions that claim to intercede for us with the Divine, who translate “God’s will” into restrictions and block our direct experience of Spirit, are losing their authority along with their membership. Pisces, among other things, is about herd mentality. For millennia we have believed we are fallen, sinful beings. We’ve been told men take priority over women, that we have to follow their rules to get into heaven, and donate the fruits of our labor to the church. What a great system of control and extortion!

With Pluto in Aquarius now, the focus moves from following the herd, to striking out on our own, claiming our individuality, expressing our uniqueness, rebelling against control, seeking freedom to be our true selves.

So one possibility is that Neptune will remove the control of institutions and lead us into direct contact with spirit. Another is that the Patriarchy will lose its grip, our paradigm will shift into a broader perspective. Each and every one of us has been conditioned by the restrictive and damaging assumptions of this paradigm. Women in particular have suffered.

There is also the potential to redefine what it means to be male. Next year both Saturn and Neptune will take up residence in Aries, ruled by Mars. They make their exact conjunction on February 20th next year. Could it be that Neptune dissolves the old image of the macho man who holds power through force? Is it possible that the Divine Masculine pierces the veil of illusion surrounding the role of “real men” in our world.

And finally, there is the very real possibility that Saturn will begin to manifest our dreams of a kinder future, a society that includes everyone, a true spiritual community in which everyone’s value is recognized as an inherent part of their divinity.

Saturn and Neptune are in the USA 3rd House, the house of information, concepts, ideas and communication, opposite the Solar Eclipse in our 9th House which focuses on the bigger picture. In the 9th House we turn our research from the 3rd House into a philosophy. This is the house of higher thought where we formulate a world view. It is also the house in which we exercise our aspirations, envision a better future, connect with our higher self and with our spiritual heritage.

The 9th House is associated with the sign Sagittarius – shooting for the stars. And it is “ruled” by Jupiter. I learned from Gary Caton today that Jupiter crosses the ecliptic heading south on September 19th, which happens to be my 50th wedding anniversary. I must admit I do not work with latitude, although I know it is important, but Pluto, whom we’ll discuss shortly, is in the southern latitude as well. According to research astrologers, when Pluto moves south of the ecliptic, the power shifts to the people. This is also Pluto’s function in Aquarius, the Zodiac sign devoted to humanity as a whole. Furthermore, Pluto is out of bounds and that means he is unpredictable, shaking us up in new ways to wake us up to reality.

For the next decade, toward the end of each year, Pluto will move out of bounds, hanging out in the south, reinforcing the themes of Aquarius – the return of power to the people, the end of tyranny. The next ten years will enable us to shift our consciousness into a higher frequency as we take back our power and slip the bonds of patriarchy. This is exactly what the political establishment fears, and why they wage a war on “woke.”

Kite Pattern

Neptune and Pluto are midway between Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus/Sedna in Gemini. What we have is a trine, or triangle, with Pluto 120 degrees from Uranus and each planet sextile Neptune. When we hook up this pattern with the solar eclipse, we get a perfect Kite.

Neptune is trine the eclipse, Uranus is trine the eclipse, and Saturn/Neptune are opposite forming the spine of the kite. Essentially this is an Air trine built on an Air trine. Even though the Sun and Moon are at the 29th degree, beaming Virgo energy, they are within one day of moving into Libra, as the Sun lands on the ecliptic at the Libra Equinox.

So what does it all mean? As an astrologer I’m blown away by the power of this chart and the potential for our world. I listened to Pam Gregory’s video on this eclipse chart and apparently it falls on sensitive spots in Great Britain, France and Russia. She suggested we may see some regime change.

While that is interesting, I’m focusing on the USA chart, and the messages are significant. In terms of this kite formation between the eclipse and all the transpersonal planets, we learn that there is a cosmic shift in progress. The heavenly bodies have fallen into resonance and are working together to hold a context of transformation, an awakening comparable to the moment the ego was born in our pysche. This is the evolutionary event mythologized as the Garden of Eden expulsion, when humans became self-aware and succumbed to shame. We are on the threshold of another awakening, one in which we recognize our innate divinity and our Oneness with All That Is.

We can’t control this process. We are surfing a wave of evolution right now. This wave is parting our population into polar factions. It triggers seismic activity on our planet. It creates a frequency that we aren’t used to, and so we get irritable, impatient, contentious. I’ve noticed my own impatience. Sometimes it feels almost overwhelming, but then I remember coherence.

Coherence is the key to navigating the next few months. I have written about heart/brain coherence for years. It’s a way of lifting your frequency. As we do this brief meditation, we move closer to the contextual energy which is LOVE.

Everything that is going on now is a product of our reactions to the energy shift. The more we resist it, the more agitated we become. Energy is building within. We want to conserve it, not explode it into the world in frustration. It takes energy to awaken. The cosmos is providing it in abundance. Bottom line, the rest of this year is about adjusting our frequency to the energy field surrounding us.

A good way to begin is the heart/brain coherence exercise. Every time our thoughts turn negative, our emotions rise to the surface and our nervous systems start firing, we need to stop and readjust our frequency through gratitude. Gratitude is just one of the paths to take. You can read my article about this meditative tool here. Or you can go directly to the HeartMath Institute.

This takes mindfulness. We appear to be mired in a nightmare right now, and the only way out is up. We can lift out of our low energy thoughts and emotions by raising our frequency. It only takes a few minutes to recalibrate, and we may have to do it several times a day, especially as we tire. When fear or anger rises up, ask yourself, “is this the energy I want to broadcast?” A few minutes of breathing through the heart, getting in touch with caring, compassion, appreciation or gratitude can change your experience instantly.

Finger of God: More Good News

All through this decade, while Pluto has been uncovering secrets, exposing corruptions, hacking our society apart, it has been squaring Haumea, the dwarf planet working behind the scenes conceiving our rebirth. Haumea is the creator goddess of Hawaii. Her creations are prolific and diverse. She represents the innate creative and self-regenerative power we have within us.

A Yod, or Finger of God is created when two planets are sextile one another and 150 degrees away from a third, which forms the focal point. In this case Saturn and Neptune are sextile Uranus and Sedna and point toward Haumea. The theme is spiritual awakening and rebirth.

At the eclipse Mars will be rushing toward Haumea – only 2 degrees away. Whatever Mars touches, he energizes. Mars brings the divine masculine energy to cooperate with the prolific feminine energy of Haumea. The balancing of masculine/feminine energies at the Libra Equinox is echoed and reinforced by Mars and Haumea. Seems a good omen to me. I feel reassured that this horror show we’re watching now will not last. A new world is gestating. And that brings me to Mercury.

T Square with Mercury

Mercury at 5+ Libra, in our 10th House, is square bad-boy Ixion which is opposite Hygeia. In my opinion, and my experience, this T-Square is emphasizing the impact of our thoughts on our actions as well as our health.

I say my experience, because I had a mindless moment of self-loathing which manifested almost immediately as shooting pains in my body. I realized it was time to be impeccable in my thoughts. So difficult in these times – so much to complain about, so much triggering our fear and anger. When I saw this configuration, it all made sense.

Mercury in Libra suggests peace of mind. We all can benefit from taking breaks through the day to check in with ourselves. Virgo is right there to point us in the right direction. Mindfulness is key because our reality is created out of our thoughts, and also the intensity of emotions that accompanies them. But also our frequency. As we elevate our frequency, certain emotions fall away, and more loving ones replace them.

On the one arm of this T-Square is Ixion. At lower frequencies, Ixion is the thoughtless rebel, uncaring about his impact on others, selfish and entitled to whatever he wants. At a higher frequency of energy, he operates differently. He leads us to our passion and helps us break down restricting beliefs about ourselves and our potential. He conquers taboos. He leads us to think outside the box, to innovate.

On the other arm is Hygeia, the guardian of our health and hygiene. She’s all about self-care. My experience showed me that it’s important not to dis myself. Self-love is key at this time. We have been divided against ourselves. Part of us envisions success while another part scoffs that we aren’t good enough to get there. All this gibberish is disempowering. We need to watch these thoughts and catch them before they catch us.

The same holds true for our thoughts about others. This is a tough one in our divided nation, but the bitter thoughts we think about others come back to haunt us. They damage our integrity. We are getting a huge boost here in the direction we want to go. It’s time to commit to the future we want and live as if it has already happened.

Greg Braden shares a story about going into the desert with a Native American who performed a ceremony for rain. When Greg asked about it, his friend said that he stood in the center of that circle and envisioned himself standing in rain. Then he thanked the gods. He claimed we don’t understand prayer. It’s not supplication from weakness, it’s a declaration of purpose from strength. And sure enough, a couple hours later it began to rain. The moral here is, act as if. Be the person you envision in the future. Act as if you are living in a world of love.

Our health suffers from our negative thoughts. So does the health of our society. Yes, everything is falling apart, but we can begin the rebuilding within.

Great Cross in Mutable Signs

Venus is at 2 Virgo square Vesta in Sagittarius which is square Gongong in Pisces making a square to Sedna in Gemini. Venus in Virgo is helping us reassess ourselves, our lives, and our relationships. Venus symbolizes beauty, harmony, grace and all the others qualities of the Divine Feminine. She is opposite Gonggong, the Chinese god who had to learn to moderate his emotions. Vesta is a symbol of spiritual devotion, after the Vestal Virgins who guarded the sacred flame in the temple. And Sedna is our spiritual path. She teaches us the most important lesson for this time – letting go. The Sedna myth reveals this theme when Sedna, an Inuit maiden, attempts to hold on to her life and her father chops off her fingers to save himself. Sedna’s fingers became marine life, and Sedna transformed into a sea goddess. We can’t create a new reality for ourselves by clinging to the past.

Mutable signs are the final stage of a process. We begin in a Cardinal sign, Aries for instance, in which we are innovating and creating something new. Next is a fixed sign, like Taurus, which helps us integrate and solidify what we have created. When we reach the mutable signs, we are ready to let go, move on to create something new.

This Great Cross emphasizes our spiritual strengths – Venus as love, Vesta as devotion, Gonggong as awareness of our impact on others, and Sedna, our spiritual path to enlightenment.

Other Aspects

At the solar eclipse, the dwarf planet Orcus is conjunct our South Node. We know that the South Node is the repository of unfinished business, what some call karma, from past lives as well as this one. Orcus is the dwarf associated with the skill to transmute darkness into light. The most obvious way is simply to bring it up out of the dark, to face it. Beyond that we can learn to find the treasure within it.

An example from my own life is anger. I was an angry child. When my mother died I spent 9 months digging deep into my psyche to make peace with all aspects of my life and relationships. I had been ashamed of my anger, but after deep reflection, I realized it was the only tool I had to support me through those difficult years. That was illuminating and I was able to forgive myself.

The South Node is going to release a lot of information over the next few months. We can keep in mind that this is all part of our awakening. It’s a gift of assistance to transmute the shadows of our lives.

The North Node, meanwhile, is moving slowly toward our natal Sedna. The doorway to our future is opening. We need to lighten our load to enter.

On September 24th, Mercury will conjunct Makemake and we all should be seeing a bigger picture. With Uranus electrifying Sedna, and awakening our minds with flashes of insight, our spiritual path will be illumined.

In the meantime, be mindful. Monitor thoughts and counter negativity by replacing a judgment with a positive message. Monitor emotions and apply calming techniques when you begin to feel overwhelm. Practice Heart/brain coherence unifying your consciousness, bringing in the wisdom of the body and heart. And trust. Jupiter is on the ecliptic right now and heading south, having created a new Jupiter South Node. This only happens once every twelve years. Jupiter, the planet of abundance, good luck and fortune, optimism and faith, is letting us know he has our backs.

3I/Atlas (pronounced 3-eye-atlas)

We have a visitor heading for our solar system at the speed of 60 km/second. It appears to be a third comet that will sweep through the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but its behavior is a bit quirky for a comet, causing astronomers to wonder if it’s an alien space craft. You can read more about it here. This object will be closest to Mars on October 3rd, and will reach perihelion at the end of October, when it is closest to the Sun. As for its significance – who knows what message it brings. A mystery ingredient.

I hope this has been helpful. Stay true to your best self and do not despair. Behind the shadows a great light is building.

On a personal note, I leave on October 1st for a month of travel. During that time, I plan to post some essays I wrote in a series called, “Practicing the Future.” The series focuses on spiritual tools that can help us navigate troubled waters.

Blessings to you all at this Libra Equinox.