photo: Bruce Lhuillier
Perhaps you already feel the unsteady motion of this moment. The whirling energy of eclipse season can be delicious or overwhelming. Either way, you can still celebrate, Leo style. Sometimes we just need to rock and roll with the waves of time and space. After all, nothing is permanent, which is probably a good thing. But a party on a houseboat has two kinds of motion, the water beneath our feet and the joyous human energy of a special occasion under the stars. ‘Party on a Houseboat’ is the Sabian Symbol for the new Moon on Saturday, which will eclipse the Sun. You have to live in far northern lands to see this one, but, as always, the energy of the solar eclipse is an opportunity for a fresh start.
And we are in the middle of the Perseid meteor shower, another reason to look up from the ‘party on the houseboat’ into the summer night sky. If we are sensitive to all this movement, there are many ways to keep our balance. The Two of Swords is one way:
By sheer force of will and the discipline of the sword, she holds the moment still. Yet the tiny crescent Moon says this will be a very short exercise, her blindfold keeps her from disorientation, and she must remain seated to keep her balance.
In contrast, the Two of Pentacles pictures a way to keep in balance as an eternal dance, equilibrium through movement, the Lunar cycle set to music, a sailor’s hornpipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff0X8blt3Ks.
Featured in this new Moon and eclipse is an opposition between the lovely Venus in her sign of balance (Libra), and the warrior version of Chiron in Aries. Can love only be learned through heartbreak as pictured in the Three of Swords? This final eclipse of the year sets in motion a heart opening with Venus in Libra and Chiron in Aries. Leo rules the heart as well as the spine. Aries rules the head. All this Leo eclipse energy might release through the opposition between these two points….
I felt some of that Chiron healing recently after listening to an interview with novelist and philosopher Alain de Botton. I feel better about my imperfect marriage, my flawed attempts to be a good parent, and my lackadaisical career. Perhaps he’s right: we’re here to learn from all of these heartfelt attempts rather than to perfect them. The dance on the houseboat continues, and we can participate as in the Two of Pentacles or hold tight as in the Two of Swords.
” Love is a painful, poignant, touching attempt by two flawed individuals to try and meet each other’s needs in situations of gross uncertainty and ignorance about who they are and who the other person is, but we’re going to do our best…. the acceptance of ourselves as flawed creatures seems to me what love really is. Love is at its most necessary when we are weak, when we feel incomplete, and we must show love to one another at those points.” https://onbeing.org/programs/alain-de-botton-the-true-hard-work-of-love-and-relationships-feb2017/
The wisdom of the Tarot pictures the moment of the Alchemical marriage under the sign of the caduceus and the winged Lion’s head. Caduceus is the wand of Mercury, and yes, at this moment, Mercury is in Leo within a few degrees of Sun and Moon in Leo, the Lion. This card speaks of love between two people, or an internal moment when a painful opposition is accepted in wholeness. Clearly these lovers are taking part in a sacred ritual of healing.
Leo is the Sun’s happiest location. Yet this is at a time of year when the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere is headed South, and we who live here are losing daylight hours. Leo is the sign of theatre, actors, the heart and grand gestures. It’s the sign on my Ascendant, my soul’s entry point. People with a lot of Leo energy in their chart struggle between the desire to manifest their soul’s fire, and to find a way to channel that energy without singeing themselves or those around them. The ego needs to be acknowledged and then released.
Many powerful planets line up to participate in this moment. We won’t see the new Moon, and most of us won’t see the eclipse of the Sun created by the Moon’s shadow. Yet it takes place in each of us. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat as you dance under the stars.
Keeping our Ancient Wisdom Alive
The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 652 9880 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com. In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.
Sarah Fuhro Star-Flower Alchemy 