The New Moon on July 11 occurs with a total eclipse of the Sun, making it a powerful indicator of new beginnings.

At 19 degrees Cancer, the eclipse is too far from the early degrees of the cardinal signs to make contact with planets in the cardinal T-square. Nevertheless, it feeds into the T-square in a very significant way. The New Moon generally is a time for starting over, and this is all the more so when the Sun and Moon are in cardinal signs, which favor action. Further, eclipses in and of themselves tend to bring sweeping change.

Throw that all together in one pot, and we’re in for a collective reboot.

It’s hard to make predictions when there are so many variables in this astrological equation. Nevertheless, I do want you to be aware of the potential of the upcoming T-square and of this eclipse period as markers for dramatic developments. In the past, influences such as these have coincided with major earth events, along with landmark geopolitical, social, and economic upheaval.

Now, it’s quite possible that we’ve already had our eclipse-related earthquake. On February 27, there was a magnitude 8.8 mega-quake in Chile. It is well known among astrologers that eclipses can have an influence several months in advance, and yet when analyzing astrological charts, we typically look at present or recently past alignments and forget to look into the future.

There are a couple of startling factors in the chart for the Chile quake that link it to the July 11 solar eclipse. The Ascendant in the earthquake chart is 19°17′ degrees Capricorn, with the lunar North Node in tight conjunction at 20 degrees Cap (the transiting nodes determine when eclipses occur). The July 11 eclipse takes place directly opposite that degree, at 19°24 Cancer. It’s also interesting to note that the earthquake chart ruler, Saturn, is tightly conjunct the Midheaven at 3° Libra. The early degrees of the cardinal signs are where the T-square will peak in late July and early August.

The eclipse will pass directly over the southern tip of Chile. Historically, there are correlations between the path of powerful eclipses and subsequent events. The difference here is that the earthquake happened several months before this eclipse. Why not? Time isn’t linear, and eclipses often open windows “out of time.”

I hope this means we can relax a little, although we do have some serious predictions by government scientists of an above-average hurricane season and a peak in solar storms between now and 2012. We also still have a gaping hole in the floor of the Gulf of Mexico spewing thousands of barrels of oil a day. OK, so maybe this isn’t doomsday, but it’s plenty dire enough. Are we so accustomed to seeing the world blown up in Hollywood films that anything less barely gets a yawn?

I’ll have more in my weekly forecast tomorrow about planetary aspects in the eclipse chart that will be active during the rest of the week as well. I’ll also report on similarities between this year’s cardinal T-square and the planetary alignment of 1989. For the rest of this post, I’d like to focus on the two direct aspects to the eclipse.

The closest aspect is a sextile from the Sun and Moon to Mars at 19 degrees Virgo. We usually view trines and sextiles as favorable and would conclude that positive outcomes are likely. The only trouble with this interpretation is that “positive” and “negative” are human constructs. What’s good for us may not be good for the rest of the planet. Moreover, trines and sextiles can represent the path of release for pent-up cosmic energies. Fortunately, Virgo is not a warlike placement for aggressive Mars, and we should be able to find more productive outlets for our frustration. Indeed, this could represent a concerted effort to come up with real, practical solutions to some of our more pressing problems.

The second close aspect is a conjunction with Juno, an asteroid I haven’t written much about.

In Roman times, Juno was venerated as the wife of Jupiter and, therefore, queen of the gods. She held a special place in the hearts of the Roman people, who believed the goddess warned them of an impending raid by the Gauls in 390 B.C. Thus she was called “Juno Moneta,” one who warns or protects. Because Juno was associated with money, her nickname ended up as our modern word for cash.

When I saw the conjunction of asteroid Juno with the Sun and Moon in this eclipse chart, I immediately wondered whether we were being warned of an impending event. Could it be financially related? Something to do with our money supply? A communications glitch that shuts down our ATM system, or something like that? Speculating is useless, of course, but emergency planning is smart. Living on an island in an earthquake zone, I’m always conscious of having some basic necessities stashed away. Instead of fretting about what might be, channel that energy into practical steps to increase your security.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Sun and Moon at 19°24′ Cancer is gondoliers in a serenade, with the keyword SENTIMENT. Happiness has little to do with money or things and everything to do with the fulfillment we get by contributing our unique gifts to the world and cooperating with each other for the betterment of the planet and everyone on it. When we do so, it’s like an elegant, complex symphony. When we don’t, the discord vibrates into every corner of our existence.

We are all connected.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmond Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in the early 1920s. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.

Related posts:
Weekly Forecast, July 5
Saturday Extra! July 10