BEYOND THE SEA ~ SOLAR ECLIPSE IN PISCES – February 26th, 2017
Aeolian Heart
Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waitin’ for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin’
On February 26th, there will be a Solar Eclipse in Pisces, with the Sun, Moon and Neptune all conjunct. This is the second eclipse this February. Mercury will also be included in this melange of Piscean energies. Thus many rivers of thought will lead back to the vast ocean where everything is adrift and dissolving. In this ebb and flow, your memories will be purified, sanctified, or sunk into the darkness of oblivion.
Your imagination might easily drown all your other senses, giving you the visionary power to live in a timeless state of creation somewhere beyond the sea.
The symbol of Pisces, the fish, is a primal image of the collective unconscious: the prima materia of the dreamworld. And with the added influence of the planet Neptune, these dream images will lure you deeper into the sea with the lore of immortality. Thus, at this eclipse, expect to feel cast adrift, dissolved into visions and voices of time present and time past, both perhaps present in time future.
This is a celestial event that contains the power of huge metamorphosis. In astrology, a Solar Eclipse represents a time when the faithful rhythm of planting seeds and birthing new conditions, routinely observed at a New Moon, becomes exponentially magnified!
In ancient alchemy, a total Solar Eclipse was referred to as The Alchemical Marriage, which is the most sublime and powerful expression of Duality (Sun and Moon) merging into Unity through intimate exchange.
Somewhere beyond the sea
She’s there watchin’ for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I’d go sailin’
This total Solar Eclipse in Pisces represents a union of opposites powerful enough to give birth to new beliefs, new emotional responses, and of course, new creativity. From this cosmic intercourse, your rational side (Sun) will become married to your primordial intuition (Moon). Under the influence of this rare concord, sublime and ethereal dreams may emerge.
It’s far beyond the stars
It’s near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
The Sun and Moon conjunct Neptune, will inebriate you with imaginative power that opens up new dimensions of possibility. This is a time when a floating fragrance can transport you to a lost era of your life, where a fragment of radio music can transform into an orchestral arrangement, and where a stranger can shape-shift into an ideal romantic partner. While these conditions are ideal for any invocation of the muse, there is also danger, for when the flower of imagination is in full bloom your vulnerability to delusion widens.
We’ll meet beyond the shore
We’ll kiss just as before
Happy we’ll be beyond the sea
And never again I’ll go sailin’
The influence of Neptune at this Eclipse in Pisces will very likely test your resolve to resist delusion in favor of nourishing the soul and developing the spirit. Neptune’s influence can be seen in all human pursuits towards bliss. It is Neptune that lulls you into meditative trance, offering glimpses of the divine beckoning from somewhere beyond the sea. And it is also Neptune that warms your blood after every sip of alcohol, tempting you towards drunkenness.
Neptune’s waters are very murky, offering both transcendence and stagnation in many disguises. It is commonplace to believe that any act which displays the visionary gifts of imagination represents a path to bliss. This is simply not true. But because the imagination in any form has been sanctified and romanticised, there is a pervasive idealization of the wayward soul and the tortured artist.
In true Neptunian fashion, these beautiful images act like a siren call to lure many to their ruin.
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
Though there is something truly precious about getting lost in imagination, when the ghosts of the past begin to haunt you and dreams are used to escape waking life, you are suffering from delusion. Imagination can be used creatively or destructively, like any other power. Thus, at this Solar Eclipse in Pisces you will be challenged to discover what powers of imagination are leading you into fulfillment and which are leading you towards your death.
What Piscean influences are really all about is experiencing yourself as a ripple in a vast ocean, which reveals the interrelatedness of ripples to all currents and waves. With this vision of unified consciousness comes a surge of compassion for all life in the cosmos. Because eclipses tend to be quite cathartic, you very well may have a spiritual crisis or epiphany that alters your course significantly.
The effects of this eclipse may create a necessary confrontation with whatever is hollow and dead about your current spiritual practices. Like imagination, spiritual practices are not all healthy and often lead into delusion. So, if you are wasting precious time with a destructive practice or belief, it will likely be revealed to you in the wake of this eclipse.
In preparation, take some time to enhance the quality of your meditation, your health, and your reading. Prioritize nourishment for your soul.
For those who fear they may get totally lost on a loop of sentimentality at this eclipse, thankfully there will be some catalyzing motion to direct you forward. There will be fire added to all this water as Mars in Aries will conjunct Uranus and oppose Jupiterretrograde in Libra. Though these aspects do not connect with the Sun and Moon directly, there will be a rebellious willpower behind all these deeply emotional and imaginative Piscean tones.
To understand the feel of a Neptunian Solar Eclipse with a Mars/Uranusaccompaniment, listen to Bobby Darin’s lovely pop hit, Beyond the Sea from 1959. A sad song you can dance to about lovers parted by unfortunate circumstance (or death) waiting to reunite in a timeless place beyond the sea.
Happy we’ll be beyond the sea
And never again I’ll go sailin’
The music for Beyond the Sea was taken from an older song of French provenance, called La Mer by Charles Trenet. However, Bobby Darin (in the spirit of MarsconjunctUranus) refused to record the song as a lilting ballad, insisting on giving it a much more swinging sound that was thoroughly American in style.
The lyrical and romantic verses sung over a rhythm section, alternating with soft strings and thunderous instrumental breaks describes the energies of this Eclipse so well. Yes, you will be called to travel far beyond the stars, but MarsconjunctUranus will keep you awake enough to bid farewell to fear and make some impactful changes in your life.
No more sailin’, so long sailin’
Bye, bye sailin’
If you have been afraid to move forward in life, take inspiration from other people’s courage. Look at the painful truth of Bobby Darin’s life. . .
Despite his exuberance as a performer, his heart was damaged by rheumatic fevers in childhood and thus he always knew he would die very young. As a result, Bobby Darin must have embraced the implicit references to the afterlife in the words somewhere beyond the sea. Moreover, it was prescience of his mortality that inspired him to succeed and graced his voice with subtle wisdom.
Everyone has to face their mortality, with or without foresight, which is why the development of the spirit calls to become a priority. During this upcoming lunation cycle, re-orient yourself towards a fearless life that honors every day.
This Solar Eclipse in Pisces will illuminate the truth that there really is no time to waste doing half-hearted work. Use your imagination to follow the winding path all the way back to your center, envisioning a life of real reward and fulfillment.
