piping hot eclipse takes

wtf is an eclipse? and some reflections on how they've shaped the world

ECLIPSE BASICS

An eclipse happens when the sun moon and earth are in perfect alignment. There are more perfect alignments than others. That’s why there are “partial” and “total” eclipses. It’s an observable phenomenon, so it’s not such a mystical aspect of astrology. Everyone can witness it and share the experience.

In a chart, an eclipse can be identified with a new or full moon conjunct one of the nodes (sun, moon, node all within the same degree range, even if the sun/moon are in a different sign from the node). The nodes are the calculation of the path of the moon’s ecliptic. The north node looks like this ☊ and the south node looks like this ☋. They are called, in evolutionary astrology, the nodes of fate.

In mythology the north node is the “dragon’s mouth” where things are growing. The dragon is hungry, greedy even. In one of her courses on fixed stars and visual astrology, astrologer Bernadette Brady described it as the front gate to our garden of paradise, where we open the door to opportunity— new jobs, marriages, graduation. The south node is the “dragon’s tail” otherwise known as “the cosmic toilet bowl.” Brady taught this is the back gate where things sneak away. We can’t have meaningful gains without pruning.

Eclipses correspond with fated, milestone events. What happens during an eclipse is irrevocable. I like to refer to them as “chaos portals”. This can be why astrologers like to evangelize not to “manifest” during eclipses, because whatever is happening during an eclipse is so eventful that it’s best not to swim against the current. Astrologers like to advise to chill and wait for the dust to settle during an eclipse period.

ECLIPSES 2020-2021: Gemini True Node

This eclipse cycle in Gemini and Sagittarius from 2020-2021 had the north node, or true node, in Gemini and south node in Sagittarius. Look at what house contains Gemini and see how things have grown in that area of your life, and what house contains Sagittarius to see what has flew the coop.

If your natal north node is in Sagittarius and south node is in Gemini, we just experienced a nodal opposition! Things that have been lost in these areas of your life are replenished, or maybe you’ve been cosmically humbled. For example, a Capricorn rising born in 1993 may have learned new things about their health that they never knew before. A nodal opposition happens every 10 years, give or take. So if we think of it this way, the 2021 eclipses replenished what the 2011 eclipses diminished.

The nodes take about 18.5 years to cycle the zodiac. The north node won’t be back in Gemini (and SN in Sag) again until 2038. What news stories corresponded with the eclipses in 2021, that are the antithesis of their nodal opposition in 2011? That relate to the last time the true node was in Gemini in 2001-3? Let’s connect the dots.

The signs of Gemini and Sagittarius correspond with communication, education, religion, and air travel. These are areas of life that have completely changed during the eclipses of 2020-21. School and church were done at home. There were travel restrictions. These themes also completely shifted in 2002, which was the last time the same eclipses were happening in these signs (nodes and all).

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 permanently changed how we experience airports and travel. It mobilized the American government to monitor the private phone calls and correspondences between citizens. The world was also dealing with a SARS outbreak.

I also want to give wealth a shout. Jupiter is the planetary ruler of Sagittarius, which corresponds with abundance and wealth. When the north node was moving through Sagittarius in 2011, there was the global Occupy movement and Arab Spring, which were protests against bureaucratic corruption and the hoarding of wealth. As the south node moves through Sagittarius in 2021, we are seeing the largest wealth transfer of all time! The rich are getting richer.

Examples in chronological order

2002 total solar eclipse: Gemini True Node

December 4 2002 8:34 AM CET 11º Sagittarius

A SARS epidemic had just begun in mainland China in November 2002, which corresponded with a Taurus eclipse actually. Although the true node was still in Gemini (as it is now, and has been throughout the majority of the pandemic), there was a full moon eclipse in Taurus on 20 Nov, 2002, at the same degree as the one that we just experienced a few days ago 27º. The SARS outbreak, which began under “mysterious circumstances,” and was kept under wraps, was recorded to begin on on 16 Nov 2002. It spread to 29 countries before it was contained in 2004.

The Homeland Security Act was signed by G.W. Bush on 25 November, which established a new organization dedicated to recognizing “terrorist threats,” in response to anthrax. It also began our color coded, traffic light system of how safe it is to travel based on terror threats, which I can remember being in airports. The aesthetic of the color-coded terror threat grade reminds me a lot of the traffic lights that we have to tell us in Germany what our risk is of coming into contact with COVID based on certain metrics.

The eclipse season at the end of 2002 corresponded with a SARS outbreak, the Iraq War, and the establishment of the Dept. of Homeland Security in the United States, which was the largest governmental reorganization since the NSA was established. The NSA also put citizens on a watch list because, you know, commies. The National Security Act of 1947 also corresponded with the south node’s transit through Sagittarius & north node’s transit through Gemini, by the way!

This Dept. of Homeland Security mobilized the Patriot Act which spied on citizens with no warrant other than the ambient “threat of terror”. It’s no wonder that a south node (toilet bowl) in Jupiter’s domicile (freedom) reflects the forfeit of freedoms in order to increase visibility of communication (north node in Gemini). We see a similar thing now where we have more visibility (north node) of people’s data (Gemini) with contact tracing.

As a side note to avoid being crucified, I want to emphasize the collective awareness of the gravity and consequences that “freedom” has during the most recent pandemic, which is reflected in Jupiter’s co-presence with Saturn in Aquarius, the sign of social structures.

2011 partial solar eclipse: Sagittarius true node

25 Nov 2011 7:08 AM CET 2º Sagittarius

This is the nodal opposition to the eclipses in 2002 and 2021. To reiterate my theory, a nodal opposition replenishes what has been diminished.

News headlines from that exact day:

• “New prime minister of Egypt appointed after Sharaf resigns after protests” A solar eclipse’s most ancient delineation is the resignation or replacement of a kingship.

The occupy movement was happening in full effect around that time in various cities around the US and the world, inspired by the protests in Egypt and Arab Spring movement. As the north node transits Sagittarius people were demanding a redistribution of resources and more visibility around wealth hoarding. Dragons literally love to guard a pot of gold.

2020 total solar eclipse: Gemini true node

14 Dec 2020 5:15 PM CET 23º Sagittarius

News headlines from that exact day

• “Hospitals Prepare for First Shots as Virus Vaccine Shipments Blanket US”

• “First US Coronavirus Vaccines Leave Michigan Plant”

• “UK Pledged to offer a million pounds to support Egypt in its battle against COVID19.”

The pandemic corresponds with the largest wealth transfer of human history, literally the antithesis of the Occupy movement. It’s no surprise that Amazon flourished and Bezos became even richer. These things all seem unrelated but they’re all actually astrological archetypes…

There’s another total solar eclipse in Sagittarius in just a few days! I wrote about how it will play out on a personal level in the upcoming weekly horoscopes for VICE, set to publish on Sunday evening EST. I will publish my hot takes and predictions for the Taurus and Scorpio eclipses next week. I think this is enough for today.