“. . .by my prescience
I find my zenith doth depend upon
A most auspicious star, whose influence
If now I court not but omit, my fortunes
Will ever after droop. . .”
– William Shakespeare
The Tempest (Act I scene ii)
These famous words belong to the character of Prospero, the great magician of the mysterious island in The Tempest. In these lines, Prospero admits that his considerable powers are a gift from nature which are therefore strengthened and magnified by adherence to natural rhythms, including those of auspicious stars.
Knowing that your creative powers are also magnified by rhythms and cycles of nature, it is important to keep in tune with auspicious moments for setting certain intentions for your life.
We are now at the dawn of a new eclipse cycle and this particular one has many auspicious qualities that you can use to great advantage.
On February 10th, 2017 there will be a penumbral Lunar Eclipse at 22 degrees Leo. Suffice it to say that Lunar Eclipses are super magnified Full Moons that offer a shadowy portal into the unconscious. This eclipse is auspicious for all those who wish to develop a stronger sense of creative control over their life’s narrative.
This eclipse marks the beginning of the end of the cycle of energies that began during last September’s eclipses, which were notably turbulent. Thus, you can now release yourself from whatever has been repressed in the unconscious including anger, despair, and loathing.
Have faith that this darkness will be crowned by a glorious sunrise. A whole new repertoire of emotions and intentions will ripple out from this moment, influencing your experience for the next six months.
Lunar Eclipses have a lot of personality, for good or for ill, but this one in Leo has an extraordinary amount of winning qualities. One might even describe it as charismatic!
This Leo Moon will be appearing within a Mystic Rectangle, which encases the tension of two oppositions (Sun/Moon and Jupiter/Uranus) with harmonious aspects. Thus, the dissonance of impending conflict will be transformed into beautiful consonance.
It is also worth noting that when you connect the dots between the Mystic Rectangle and Saturn, a beautiful pentagram appears. Sitting high atop the rectangle, I see Saturn as being like the director of a play.
Saturn’s influence on all four corners of the Mystic Rectangle will instill a sense of good timing, discipline, and common sense. A discernable method to your madness will emerge. Thus, your growth over the next six months may be slow, but it will be deliberate and elegantly executed. Many deeper and more subtle aspects of your character will emerge.
Saturn’s presiding influence represents a tremendous shift towards building something very strong and very positive. Not castles in the air, but instead realized dreams made manifest through concentrated effort and inspired action.
Filled with the ingenious qualities of Aquarius and the warm courage of Leo, imagine what great strides you can make towards realizing your potential as a creator. With these powers combined, you can become both the actor and the author of your life.
With the axis of Leo/Aquarius and Aries/Libra connected by such integrative structure, this fructifying union of opposites will be sure to inspire new ideas, fresh insights, and a powerful sense of equilibrium.
There will be a nurturing warmth to guide you through this eclipse. The Sun in Aquarius will be trine Jupiter in Libra and the Moon in Leo will be sextile to Jupiter. Expect to be filled with philosophical questions and a radiance which portends a great blossoming of your spirit.
The Sun will also be sextile to Uranus in Aries at the same time that the Moon is trine to it. Thus, you will be elated by the notion of liberating yourself from the past, letting an old self-image die and be buried deeply into memory. You can now re-write your character, with revised motivations and a sparkling new raison d’etre.
At this eclipse, the Moon in Leo will inspire a need to express the individual self with renewed power. But the Sun in Aquarius will demand that your self-expression somehow speak for the whole of humanity in reifying and demonizing tones.
“What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”-Hamlet (Act II, scene ii)
In order to gracefully integrate both sides of this polarity, consider the philosophical metaphor of Theatrum Mundi or Theatre of the World. In Western literature, the metaphor of comparing the world to a stage traces back to the pre-Socratic philosopher, Democritus, who said:
“The world is a stage, life is our entrance: You came, you saw, you left.”
It was Democritus’ intention to inspire increased objectivity by envisioning the world as a stage: a very Aquarian perspective.
But our more modern conception of Theatrum Mundi has been largely bequeathed to us by William Shakespeare, who made this philosophy a major cornerstone of his work.
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts…”
As You Like It – Act II, scene vii
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater was a “theater of the world” that expressed the relationship between microcosm and macrocosm. Thus, every play is to be understood as a microcosm of universal narratives and every actor’s performance is to be recognized as an expression of the whole human condition.
Thou seest we are not all alone unhappy.
This wide and universal theater
Presents more woeful pageants than the scene
Wherein we play in.
As You Like It – Act II, scene vii
At this eclipse, the entire spectrum of Leo and Aquarius can become better understood. By gracefully blending the gifts of creative imagination and theoretical knowledge, true realization begins to glimmer on the horizon.
And when the Self and the World are harmonized as synecdochic reflections of one another, then it is possible to become a passionate performer of your role in life without over-identifying with it. Likewise, you can embrace a wider vision of the world without being hardened by alienation.
An example of this depth of human character is illumined by William Shakespeare, who was both actor and playwright, embodying both subjective and objective points of view.
To compose his works, he became an observer of the world with an extraordinarily high level of insight and perspective. Yet to be a great actor, he was also fully immersed in the drama of human emotion. The prolific and ingenious repertoire of work that was born from this consonance of skills is beyond praise.
Thus, at this Lunar Eclipse in Leo, you may draw inspiration from the genius of William Shakespeare and enchant for the power to remain inwardly aware of the illusion of sense perceptions without sacrificing any of the feeling. You may set the intention to become ever more engaged with the world, while never relinquishing the sense of authorship over your own character.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air . . .”
-The Tempest (Act IV, scene i)
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