Two mammoth cosmic events take place this week, both of which highlight the mercurial messenger in all of us: the Solar Eclipse and Venus retrograde.
Solar Eclipse in First Degree of Gemini
An annular eclipse occurs on May 20th at 4:47 pm pacific time. Annular eclipses occur when the Sun and Moon are exactly lined up, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than the Sun’s. This creates a bright ring, or annulus, from the Sun, like a halo surrounding the Moon.
The eclipse path begins in Southern China and travels across the Pacific Ocean to the western parts of the United States. It will be visible in places such as Alberquerque, NM, Reno, NV, far northern California, and southern Oregon for 3 – 4 minutes.
There is a strong sense of destiny to South Node eclipses such as this one, and one in an air sign such as Gemini portends geophysical events such as winds and storms, and geopolitical events such as the release of important information and social upheaval.
This solar eclipse conjoins the South Node of the Moon, a symbol corresponding to completion, release, and karmic fulfillment. Whichever house the eclipse falls in, as well as any planet the eclipse touches, portends the area of greatest transformation and change in the coming 6 months, strongest in the weeks before and after the eclipse. There is a stimulating, exciting, but also destabilizing, and sometimes chaotic component to the eclipses, as karma is churned and the next phase of evolution unfolds. Tibetan Buddhists teach that the two week window between solar and lunar eclipses is an important time to act with mindfulness, to curb reactivity, and to increase meditation.
If you or anyone you know has their birthday between May 13 and May 28, this eclipse will directly impact their Sun and signifies a year of profound importance in the person’s life, as identity, individuality, creativity, and significant contacts are highlighted. Health and vitality are important to watch for those whose Sun is impacted by the eclipse
The Solar Eclipse aligns exactly with ALCYONE, the central star of the seven weeping sisters or the seven doves, the Pleiades, also known as those six stars on the Subaru logo. 😉 Astrologically, the stars have always signified ecstacy and feminine power, but also turbulence, tears, and sorrow, likely because they signified the approaching floods. For the Mayans, the rising of the Pleiades before the Sun marked the beginning of the rainy season.
Interestingly, the Sabian symbol for this eclipse is a “A Glass Bottomed boat in still waters…” This symbol suggests the treasures that lie within us if we are still enough to listen to the voice of the muses, as Gemini is associated with gathering and disseminating information, embodying ideas, filtering, analysing, and teaching in a humorous and playful way. Appropriate word choice will be very important to give attention to during this eclipse cycle.
The fertility which may be symbolized from this eclipse has a mental nature to it.
We are invoking the archetype of the shapeshifter storyteller, the trickster teacher, the mythmaker magician. How we craft our information so that our story has a poignant message is each of our sacred tasks at this time.
Venus retrograde in Gemini
Venus is now sneaking out of the night sky as she burns brightly in the shadow of the sun, beginning her retrograde cycle.
Venus in Gemini is the ideal time to reflect on our love needs, our relational patterns, and the stories we carry about the Beloved. During this cycle, beginning May 15th at 23 Gemini and ending June 27th at 3 Gemini, the language we use to discuss love will be highlighted.
Expect to be mentally stimulated and at times saturated. Because Venus is retrograde in a sign ruled by Mercury, there may be a few Mercury retrograde-like kinks in the system, such as travel delays, tech challenges, and communications obstacles. Sometimes, under Venus retrograde, certain social situations can be a bit awkward, but maintaing the Geminian sense of play, discovery, innocent curiosity, and most importantly humor will keep us out of harm’s way.
Remember that Gemini loves diversity. Relationally, this may be an opportune time to open our relationships up to experimenting with other individuals so that we may learn both what is truly important to us in intimacy, but also to understand the fullness of who we are. Gemini is a naturally polyamorous sign as it learns through synthesizing diverse experiences. If we find ourselves drawn to multiple lovers, we must discover what we have come to learn and teach in this intimate opening.
Remember the lessons of the recent Mars retrograde in Virgo, which compelled each of us to cultivate a more sacred relationship with all that we do. How can our “kin-nections” help us craft the spirit of Bhakti, or devotion? Can we recognize the specific soul-contracts we have with those we share with?
This retrograde cycle invites us to journey into the webwoven magic of our souls by exploring our Synastry and Composite charts with our beloveds, tools to specify our sacred work with the Other.
This cycle may make us very aware of the hundreds of soul mates we may have. Since the Goddess is dancing backwards, we often find ourselves reconnecting with previous lovers. Why? To more clearly reflect on our motivations in partnership and our patterns of magnetism.
Connections which begin during the Venus retrograde cycle suggest more of a karmic nature, and the sense of teaching us some important soul lessons, but this is not a time to make long-term promises or commitments.
Also, we should reflect deeper on the entirety of our value system during Venus retrograde, which includes the fashion we wear and what these aesthetics communicate about us, our artistic and creative pursuits, and why we use our money to purchase what we do. As the sign of trade and negotiation, this Venus retro in Gemini could also open up new possibilities for exchange and barter in our communities. We could return to the idea of commerce as a sacred act, as it was perceived in the ancient world. Whenever money was used or trade occurred, it took place at a boundary spot, called a herm, marked off by a stack of stones. This is where the God Hermes (Mercury) was present to observe the shared value offered between two traders. What if we chose to invoke the spirit of Mercury each time we exchanged money for goods or services? Could our relationship to money and to our brothers and sisters become more spiritual?
May this eclipse season and Venus retrograde inspire all of us to remember to play and enjoy the endless process of learning.
image by zeevveez, courtesy of Creative Commons license.