It’s also the next in a series of Saros 145 eclipse cycles. This is an 18-year cycle that completes numerous moon-earth sub-cycles, ending in a full solar eclipse. The last of these was in August of 1999 and the next, as mentioned above, will be in 2045.
These eclipses are part of a larger cycle of planetary unfoldment. I have included a copy of an article I wrote about the August 1999 eclipse and its corresponding astrology chart. Comparing this chart to the one for the upcoming eclipse in August of 2017, I find it uncanny how many of the very same themes are highlighted in both eclipse charts. You may find it fascinating to read both articles and see the common threads.
We are all psychic, whether we know it or not. It would seem that the interest boiling up out of the collective unconscious is a sign that there may be something very significant about this particular solar eclipse. In eastern Oregon, so many people are expected to arrive to watch the eclipse that officials are concerned the highways will become blocked and emergency vehicles will not be able to respond to fires, accidents, and so on. Lodging is sold out all along the path, and eclipse glasses are a hot item on Amazon.
I was guided to cast the eclipse chart for St. Louis, Missouri, because it is at the center of our country, on the Mississippi River which divides it, and is an example of a city steeped in the degradation that is becoming more evident in American culture. St. Louis has the highest crime rate in the country and is exceedingly depressed, economically. It is a place in which the social, political and economic problems we face as a nation are very evident. The riots in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, earlier this year spawned a firestorm of conflict about racism and police brutality. Black Lives Matter was birthed as a result. As you will see, eclipses illuminate the problems/crises we face; perhaps St. Louis is an appropriate focal point for examining the eclipse, since it offers a microcosmic representation of the many issues we face.
Traditionally, eclipses have been considered bad omens. Solar eclipses were viewed as signs that a nation’s (and its leaders’) vitality and power would diminish. There is some basis for this as the moon, which represents the dark feminine, literally moves in front of the sun, the light, masculine symbol, and blots it out. The feminine balances and purifies the masculine, and vice versa. Considering that we live in a world — and a nation within it —steeped in patriarchal, dominance-based consciousness, this eclipse could portend welcome changes. While basic human needs are being ignored in America, its policies toward the rest of the planet continue to be suffused with egregious imperialism, aggression and wealth attraction.
I didn’t feel satisfied with the simplistic, traditional interpretations of eclipses as malefic, so I sought out a more conscious, in-depth understanding of eclipses in general, and solar eclipses in particular. I was led to an excellent site where I found an article called "All About Eclipses: A Guide to Coping with Them” by Susan Miller. I'll summarize the essence of what Susan Miller conveys and encourage you to read this excellent, in-depth article for more understanding.
Eclipses tend to be radical turning points, bringing events that catalyze unavoidable and inescapable change, usually involving deep karmic issues. There is no turning back from what ensues from these events, which may appear to be random, but are not. Eclipses often catalyze a cascading series of circumstances which initiate the necessary transformation that life is intending. Even when we already understand there may be an issue or problem, eclipses bring the issue to the forefront. The elephant we were blind to was previously in the room. But now it stands revealed and unavoidable. Not only is the bubble of denial popped; we are forced to deal with the issue much more quickly than we might have chosen — usually, right now.
Susan Miller eloquently describes this:
“The job of an eclipse is to shine a glaring ray of truth to the part of your life that is being touched, and truth will likely arrive in a startling way. Eclipses are brilliant illuminators, revealing a truth about a condition that you never in a million years knew existed. Once you are given the information, the news can act as a catalyst to a major decision or action you will take. Most often we are shocked or surprised by the information that comes to us, for the eclipse is one of the most dramatic tools the universe uses to get you to sit up, pay attention, and take action. Eclipses are always your friends, for they are there to help and protect you. Always be grateful for truth.”
Considering the state of the planet in light of Miller’s words, I wondered if this eclipse might trigger a shift in the collective unconscious that pops the bubble of denial about the myriad crisis we face. We are in a potentially terminal situation. Life is in danger, and this can longer be denied and suppressed. More and more "experts" in many different fields are saying the same thing: we face unavoidable issues which portend abrupt and possibly catastrophic changes — economically, environmentally, socially and politically. While some of us are deeply aware of how serious these issues are, we may be entering the time of the “Hundredth Monkey” effect as humanity wakes up and realizes that life as we’ve known it cannot continue. The seemingly stable fabric of our lives is going to disintegrate if we do not wake up and address our human-created problems. Eclipses can not only provide this kind of shocking revelation, they can also illuminate the path to something new, a more stable, sustainable and soulful way of living. We touched on this in the introductory article in this newsletter, Awakening at the End of Time, and we sense that this eclipse may catapult us into this time.
As is true in all solar eclipse charts, the Sun and Moon are conjunct, this time at 28 Leo in the ninth house, also conjunct the North Node and Mars. This is a powerful grouping of planets and the North Node of the Moon, which is the indicator of where this karmic journey is going. All the planets are in Leo, a fiery sign, in the fiery ninth house ruled by Sagittarius. All this fire is an indication of passion, action, and the blazing forth of a whole new direction. On the shadow side, this abundance of fire might also indicate selfishness and an overbearing nature.The ninth house is all about our highest aspirations, visions, and higher purpose; it is symbolized by the arrow shot from the bow of the centaur aiming out for the stars. The shadow side is dogmatism, blind zeal, and religiosity.
Fire is the most volatile element, which life brings to consume that which no longer serves us. Many native and spiritual traditions have prophesied that at the end of this age, the death and rebirth process would be caused by fire. Could it be that we stand at a major doorway in this process?
Sabian Symbols provide deep, soul-based understandings of particular degrees in the zodiac. The interpretations of these symbols that were brought forth by the astrologer-mystic Dane Rudhyar reveal the nature of the eclipse chart dynamic. In discussing these symbols, I will at times quote directly and at others paraphrase Rudhyar’s words.
The symbols for the conjunct Sun and Moon indicate a time of many new potentialities and a ray of light arriving after a time of frustration and darkness. An intuitive impulse from the unconscious, coming directly from the source of creation, brings forth a new, illumining and transformative understanding. Solar eclipses in particular, according to Susan Miller, “bring a time of bright new ideas and possibilities.” A new initiation of possibility may arise out of the collective unconscious to birth a whole new way of living and being.
This is further amplified by the fact that the North Node is conjunct the Sun/Moon eclipse, which signifies that a new karmic destiny is unfolding. The Sabian Symbol image for the degree prior is "totally concentrated upon inner spiritual attainment, a man is sitting in a state of complete neglect of body appearance and cleanliness.” Here we have the yogi, mystic or adept who has released all attachment and identification with the physical world to focus on spiritual awakening. The symbol for the next degree continues the theme: "…that in order to be released from bondage to the ‘old world’ we should be completely self-contained emotionally; having absorbed the mental food which the old culture has given us, we are ready to face ‘the desert,’ nothingness, Sunya… until we reach the New World.” The karmic direction or destiny is asking us to become totally focused on our spiritual attainment, letting go of all attachment and identification to the material world and our bodies, and willing to enter into the desert of nothingness to reach the New World.
This fits very well with what the myriad crises we are facing portend. Barbara Marx Hubbard has called them "evolutionary drivers,” and believes the dangers we face are going to catalyze us to evolve spiritually. Many scientists describe this time as the sixth great extinction, and insist that abrupt, catastrophic climate change is a looming probability. The environment is breaking down in many areas, a worldwide economic collapse appears imminent, and it seems unlikely that we have sufficient remaining fossil fuels to transition in an orderly way to renewables. The path before us may indeed be a more spiritual one, as we face the likelihood that humanity’s numbers will be greatly reduced by the coming storm. No matter how we analyze or attribute causality for the numerous crises we face, the singular cause at the core of them all is the fact that most humans have been asleep, living in a materially-identified level of consciousness, largely oblivious to their souls and the Divine. While we must seek solutions on the outer, physical level, we must also come to understand that the only real solution is within, where we will discover a vaster, wiser level of consciousness than the one that created the dilemma in which we find ourselves. It is also through the higher mind that creative impulses from the superconscious realms are accessed. Nothing new and truly luminous can arise from even the highest levels of intellect.
Returning to the Eclipse chart, let’s move on to Mars. This planet symbolizes personal will, the force that drives the ego, the energy that causes us to act and externalize in the outer world. The energy~consciousness of the personal self needs to assert and enforce its will, even to the point of being aggressive when necessary. In its highest expression, Mars uses all its physical, mental, and emotional resources to protect and forward life, so that what is righteous and just triumphs. The role and symbol of the spiritual warrior is the highest archetype of Mars.
The Sabian Symbol for Mars in the eclipse chart is the image of “Zuni Indians performing a ritual to the sun, a return to the glorification of natural energies.” This signifies rediscovering our connection to nature and the sacred ways of native peoples. A "reversal of our socialized activity opens for us the way to the deepest release of our long-denied root energies. Natural man links himself consciously to the source of all life on Earth.”
What could be more fitting and appropriate, at a time when humanity has become so disconnected and ungrounded from the natural energies of the Earth, which supports and sustains us, as to put the entire species at risk? Native peoples were deeply awakened in their belly soul centers, also known as the Hara/Tan Tien. When we are awakened to this soul center, we are capable of deep spiritual communion with the earth as a living, sentient being. We experience a state of oneness with her life-supporting intelligence and life rhythms. How can we ever expect to create a sustainable society when our awareness is disconnected from the feminine intelligence that informs us how to live in harmony with the Earth? No amount of intellectual information, not even the most sophisticated, advanced technologies will turn this around, without a spiritual awakening to the deep feminine/goddess domains of consciousness.
These Sabian symbols present us with a seeming dichotomy — the yogi ascetic, disconnected from body and physicality in the quest for spiritual enlightenment, alongside a native tribe in complete union with the consciousness of Life, another form of spiritual realization. Could it be that we are to embrace both as the path forward? Our challenge may be to commune equally with the transcendent spiritual domains and the imminent spiritual consciousness of the Divine Mother. Many see this unification of apparent dualities as the path of full soul-awakening, or Self-Realization.
In the eclipse chart, two other planets are in strong aspect to the primary planetary configuration described above. Both are in trine aspect (120 degrees), which signifies a harmonious, amplifying energy. Saturn in Sagittarius trines the North Node and Mars, providing grounded, practical support for bringing everything this eclipse is about into concrete manifestation. Uranus also trines the configuration, sans Mars, and brings the energies of the higher mind and direct spiritual illumination into play. Uranus has the potential to catalyze creative, higher-dimensional insights and impulses that will inform, reinforce, and spark the eclipse dynamic. Saturn and Uranus trine the Sun in the eclipse chart adds in a powerful, fiery, reinforcing energetic. This suggests that humanity’s collective superconscious mind has the potential to inspire practical manifestations of the highest possibilities this eclipse portends.
Let’s turn our attention to one final point in the Eclipse chart — the Ascendent, symbolizing outer personality expression, the precise focus through which the soul comes forth into manifest expression. The ascendant in this chart is at 21° Scorpio, the sign of death, rebirth and transformation. The Sabian symbol is “Obeying his conscience, a soldier resists orders.” The keynote is “a readiness to face the results of refusal to follow the authoritarian patterns of aggressive society. The issue it presents is clear. Society and the situation seem to be all-powerful; yet the individual need not be spiritually bound, even if imprisoned. He can still display inner freedom and prove himself an individual.”
It appears we are being asked to become truly individualized and free in our soul’s expression, no matter the price. Even when social and governmental influences threaten opposition to what we know to be true, we must act. Over the last decade, our government has become more controlling and dominating. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights have been deeply infringed upon. Those intent on enforcing a totalitarian one world government seem to have more control than ever. Is this the point at which a break must occur? Will a sufficient number of awakened human souls decide to march in the direction of righteousness and truth, no matter what?
Summary
The August 21 solar eclipse chart seems to point to the possibility of the beginning of a collective awakening, perhaps catalyzed by the realization of the multitude of intractable and potentially cataclysmic crises humanity faces. When we find ourselves standing at the edge of a cliff looking at the abyss, there are only two choices. Either we work harder than ever to go back to the sleep of denial, or we open our minds and hearts and embrace a new vector of consciousness. Could this be the time when a sufficient number of us choose the latter, propelling this evolutionary process into a planetary crisis of awakening?
The eclipse may be asking us to awaken to our multidimensional nature as souls, aspects of the One — and, like the yogi, to turn inward, releasing our body identification so we can soar into the transcendental realms. At the same time, we are challenged to ground ourselves into the Earth, embracing the deep domain of the feminine, goddess consciousness that is connected with all of life. While this awakening occurs, we will likely be coming up against the resistance of the outer structures of governments, institutions and organizations whose goal it is to maintain a psychospiritually pathological status quo at all costs.
The 2016 presidential election indicated that many Americans were sufficiently awake to eschew the traditional two-party system controlled by those behind the New World Order. Enough people realized a hidden shadow force was behind both parties, and looked for somebody from outside the system. The majority first embraced Bernie Sanders, an outsider, who lost the Democratic nomination through manipulation. Many ended up voting for Donald Trump, who also was not from the heart of the “Deep State” that controls both parties.
Trump may turn out to be a key figure in the process that is about to begin with this solar eclipse. His birth chart contains powerful planetary patterns that overlap and resonate with those in the eclipse chart. And recall the fact that of all the nations in the world, this eclipse will pass right over the continental US. The eclipse occurs right on Donald Trump's Ascendant and his Mars, which are conjunct in Leo. This may indicate that the dynamics discussed above will somehow manifest through the personality of Donald Trump in a very powerful, willful, and catalytic way. Considering what we have seen of his personality so far, it’s impossible to predict whether this will be for the positive or negative (if it is possible to judge anything as such).
The eclipse occurs right on Donald Trump's Ascendant and his Mars which are both conjunct. This would seem to indicate that the energetic that we've just discussed may manifest itself through the personality of Donald Trump in a very powerful and willful way as a catalyst. Considering what we have seen of his personality so far this could be potent and for the positive or negative(if it is possible to judge anything as such).
Donald Trump's natal Saturn/Venus conjunction in Cancer is also conjunct the Venus in the eclipse chart, as is the Jupiter in both charts conjunct. These are two very beneficent aspects indicating an expansive, personal and love-based dynamic. The Saturn eclipse chart is also on Donald Trump's moon and South Node conjunction which is the source of his emotional volatility and insecurity. It is interesting to note that in Donald Trump's chart he has a sun/moon opposition is the opposite aspect of the conjunction in the solar eclipse chart. There is we a conjoining of Sun/Moon energies in both charts. WithSaturn on the moon it might give President Trump the grounding and emotional stability that will enable him to act in very pragmatic, emotionally disciplined manner instead of being so reactive and quixotic. It is also possible that the shadow side of his personality could also emerge in willful, aggressive ways. However, the shadow side of his personality could also emerge in willful, aggressive ways.
Is this man, the president of the most powerful country in the world, going to be a key figure in triggering the process the solar eclipse will initiate? Trump recently met with President Putin amid a firestorm of negativity from the deep state controllers of the US government and corporate media. What if Trump and Putin were to consciously unify their efforts to thwart or even break up the New World Order globalist agenda? Such an allegiance could set the stage for one of the most significant planetary shifts in recorded history.
The “Deep State,” an arm of the New World Order which seeks a totalitarian one world government, currently controls the US Government. Donald Trump came from the outside, and is aware of their agenda. He said as much during the campaign. What he didn’t know was how pervasive and powerful this element was. Right now it appears to have him on the ropes, with many in the government and the media attacking him. A resolution was recently introduced in Congress for his impeachment. It is clear that the plan of the dark controllers is to neutralize, manipulate and ultimately get him out of office as soon as possible. Will he go out with a whimper or will he go on the offensive? This eclipse will powerfully energize his Ascendent/Mars conjunction. It portends the possibility that “the Donald” may rise up in a concerted effort to destroy those who would attempt to destroy him. He doesn’t like to lose. He is a classic “Type A” who is used to dominating. It could get very interesting. The shadow side of this dynamic could be that Trump acts out aggressively against an entity he can dominate more easily, like North Korea or Syria. There are always two sides to every expression of consciousness.
These dark beings have controlled this planet for a very long time. Their goal is world domination, and their methodology is to suppress anything that empowers the spiritual evolution of the human species. Could this be the moment when everything begins to change? Will the old, petrified, dying order start to disintegrate as green shoots of the new age of life, love, and light erupt through the rubble and make their presence known everywhere? This may be the highest possibility the eclipse presents on the outer level. The more important shift will be on the inner, as more souls awaken and consciously seek Self-Realization and a return to communion with Mother Earth.
May we all focus on our hopes and prayers for the highest possibilities to unfold as we move toward, through, and beyond this upcoming eclipse.