Full Moon Eclipse in Aries and the Phoenix Astrology of September

The full moon eclipse in Aries will occur tomorrow evening.  Energetically, we’ve been building for some time now to this crescendo, and astrologically, there are several major players that have been contributing.  You may have noticed the presence of this change energy strongly in your life of late.

The main theme involves self-work and letting go of outdated patterns and beliefs and in general what is no longer serving in your life, in order to begin a new way of being that is more empowered and authentic, and it’s happening in the area of significant relationships.  

This started back in late 2012 when Saturn moved into Scorpio.  In general, this is the energy of the Saturn – the teacher, Lord of Karma – churning through Scorpio’s deep waters.  This would’ve brought deep psychological patterns or issues up for review and healing.  Just last week, he passed through the final degree of Scorpio and finally made it into Sagittarius, which will provide a much lighter and more expansive atmosphere for our lessons. This could play out over the next couple of years with more focus being put on expanding our belief systems and incorporating more of a world view. Sagittarius focuses on higher learning, philosophy, and expansion.  So think back about your life from late 2012 until now and see if you can pinpoint what you’ve uncovered psychologically that now could lend itself to a broader view of the world and how your belief systems are shifting.  The area of life this has played out in is personal to you and is determined by what houses Saturn has been and will be transiting for you.

In April 2014, at the same time we had the Grand Cardinal Cross, fueled by the ongoing battle of the Uranus-Pluto square (a ninety degree angle) that had seven exact hits in 2013 and 2014, we had our first blood moon full moon eclipse in a series of four on the Aries/Libra axis.  

Uranus the planet of freedom and unpredictable change, and Pluto, the Great Destroyer, planet of power and transformation were already forming a tense aspect, and then the Grand Cardinal Cross brought Mars and Jupiter into the mix with all four planets creating a sort of intersection as they squared off against each other. A square is the aspect two planets make when they are at a right angle to each other and it’s can present obstacles in our lives as the planets’ energies oppose each other.  

This planetary standoff was the stage for the the first eclipse of this current series, and the final and fourth one is happening tomorrow, September 27th. The sun and moon opposing along the Aries/Libra axis means self versus relationship.  Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, fiery, maybe with a selfish impulsive streak.  Libra is all about balance and partnership.  The first eclipse was about breaking patterns in relationships, but also, being in Libra, finding equilibrium in the relationship. The second eclipse occurred October 2014 and this time was in Aries.  This one was about new beginnings, taking action and being in your power.  Maybe you were finding a new way of being in life at this time.  The third eclipse was once again in Libra, emphasizing self-love within our partnerships and releasing old beliefs and patterns in our love lives.  This was in April 2015.  And tomorrow we have the final eclipse, with the moon in Aries. This is the culmination.  What patterns have you come to realize in your relationships?  What is it that you need to release now?  Where do you need to step into your power?  This eclipse in Aries has a “Phoenix” type energy. Where has the self become lost in the relationship?  How can you empower yourself?  Can it happen within the framework of the relationship or maybe not?  Once again, looking at what houses of your personal birth chart the sun and moon are now falling in would give you an idea of what areas of your life could be at odds with this.

On July 25th, 2015, Venus went retrograde. This, I feel, forms the core of this astrology along with the eclipse cycle.  Venus goes retrograde every eight years, so this may have brought up a theme from the last time this occurred, in 2007.  When Venus goes retrograde, she makes a celestial journey, beginning in her evening star or love goddess aspect, traveling very close to the sun (and therefore out of view from Earth) and then returning in the morning sky as her morning star aspect, the warrior goddess.   She began her journey on July 25th, and turned direct on September 6th.  She will be out of the shadow phase of her retrograde on October 9th, so that will be really when this energy fully dissipates.  

The Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent explains the retrograde journey of Venus.  Inanna leaves her kingdom in the hands of her consort in order to journey to the underworld to visit her sister.  She dresses in the seven garments of civilization and as she goes through the seven gates of the underworld she must remove them one at a time.  These represent the seven chakras.  They are also representative of all of her power in the civilized world.  Those things mean nothing in the depths of the underworld however.  She is stripped bare and vulnerable upon entering and then is attacked by her sister and left on meat hooks to die.  She is there for three days before her servant’s pleas are heard and she is restored to life.  Now having been to the depths of the underworld to confront her shadows, having died and been reborn, she is fierce.  In order to leave the underworld she must find someone to take her place.  She decides on her consort who has not been concerned with her absence and has been engrossed in ruling her kingdom as his own.  

Inanna leaves her kingdom on a spiritual quest.  She confronts her shadows and fears and then is given new life by her higher self.  Ultimately she has a new consciousness.  She has slain her personal demons and maybe we could say that her ego has died, so now she does not fear death.  She returns to her life whole unto herself and stepping fully into her power with knowledge of both her light and her dark, having one aspect of herself die in order for a new one to be reborn like the Phoenix.

That analogy, taken with the culmination of the eclipse series on the Aries/Libra axis ending with the moon in Aries, speaks of taking ones power back and honoring those principles of Aries:  new beginnings, a healthy selfishness, self-love, and courage.  

Saturn through Scorpio from 2012 until just recently was the part of the journey in which we confronted our shadows.  

And in support of this transformative work, the Great Destroyer and Change God Pluto enters the mix.  Lord of the Underworld himself.  I always get an image of a great dark gray wrecking ball rolling slowly through, moving so slowly, but nothing can stop it.  Pluto is transformation.  He tests.  He will only allow that which is real and true to remain.  Anything shaky, flimsy, fake, inauthentic, or not built on a solid foundation will go down.  Pluto takes the most time to transit any sign or house, and as he moves through these, they will be felt as major life phases.   He’s currently transiting Capricorn, but once again on a personal level you would need to see what house he is transiting in your natal chart to see in what area of life this is affecting you.  

Pluto went retrograde in April and turned direct yesterday.  Planets never actually move backwards, as retrograde would suggest, but they appear to slow, stall or move backwards from Earth.  A retrograde is a time for review, for reevaluation.  Over the summer, Pluto slowed things way down and gave us a chance to reevaluate something in our lives.  We were given time to dig down deep and maybe do personal work or see patterns in our lives we wanted to change.  This gave us a final push to complete the work we had begun with Saturn in Scorpio, in order to prepare for the September full moon eclipse that will be the final astrological event pushing us into a new way of being.

In addition to this, just last week on September 18th, Mercury began its final retrograde cycle of the year in the sign of Libra.   This is generally interpreted as the energies of Mercury (the messenger, planet of communications and technology), being slowed or stalled.  This is a time to slow down.  Don’t rush. Take things slow.  And the focus is Libra – sign of balance, harmony, and close partnerships, further highlighting the theme of the eclipses. Pay attention to your communications in close relationships.  Review your communications with significant others – review your reasons for communicating, how you communicate and your patterns of relating.  Understand your reactions.  Understand your motives.  This chance to take a closer look at your self supports the Phoenix rebirth and empowerment vibe set up by the other astrology, and compliments the self-examination being called for by Saturn and Pluto.

Finally, today Mars entered Virgo.  This is a supportive influence that puts plans into action.  

You’ve done the deep work on yourself, confronted shadows, realized where fears were holding you back, healed old trauma or maybe uncovered belief systems you weren’t conscious of that weren’t supportive of the reality you wanted.  You identified what was no longer serving and needed  to be released.  You examined yourself in relationship and evaluated what the self needs and what the partnership needs. You are evaluating your ways of relating and communicating.  You are now on the brink of completely releasing the old so that the new might be born.

Anytime you do the psychological work of changing a deeply held belief, it isn’t “set” until you actually take action in the real world based on the new belief.  Beliefs are the foundation of your thoughts, which create your emotions, which shape your behavior.  Your behavior (the actions you take in the world) reflects your beliefs.  Mars in Virgo supports us in taking action in the world based on our new beliefs.

Tomorrow is the full moon eclipse in Aries – the final push to finally release the old so that you may step fully into the new.  What will your Phoenix rebirth look like?  What is your vision for your life moving forward?  

Venus will move out of her shadow phase on October 9th, symbolizing her full return as sovereign ruler of her queendom, followed by Mercury turning direct and moving our communications forward on October 10th, and then the new moon follows on October 12th in Libra.  New moons are fresh new beginnings and this one, appropriately after all of this Aries/Libra action, occurs in the area of partnerships and significant relationships.  Our journey has been one of self-examination and discovery, finding our true selves, and burning up what no longer serves in our lives.  Now that we have a strong foundation in our authenticity, we are given the chance to begin anew.  We can now take that new strong sense of self and forge new ways of relating with others.  We can rise, like the Phoenix, reborn into a new way of being in the world.