In six weeks from today, the United States will experience another total solar eclipse. This time, the path of totality will roll through my home of the past 17 years.
The Great American Eclipse occurred in 2017. It was called that because the shadow touched only this country. I don’t remember who said this, but an astrologer commented how sometimes astrology manifests almost literally. That eclipse bisected the country from the Northwest to the Southeast...and since then, America has most certainly been divided.
If you cut something down the middle, you cut it in half. If you keep on slicing, you eventually end up with a plethora of individual pieces.
In my observation, there was no greater divider than 2020-2021. That time has eradicated all fence-sitters. Everyone now knows on which side of a divide they reside.
And yet, when you discuss a multitude of topics in one sitting, you will not find that you occupy the same side of all issues as anyone else. You’ll agree on some, and disagree on others. I do not think there is a person on this planet who matches my views precisely.
Those like me are now truly individual.
I am sure there are some who do simply align with their clan, but I have not had a conversation with someone like that in a long time.
I am not going to read the astrology, but I will use astrological symbols to share some ideas.
In my opinion, every sign, as an archetype of personality, has assets (strengths, talents, or gifts) and what I call traps. If a person resonating with an archetype falls into one of these traps, the solution can be found in the next sign.
In 2020-2021, many people fell into protectionism. Whether they hid behind a mask or hid inside of their home, they, like a hermit crab, pulled away from outside influences, which were deemed dangerous. This is characteristic of the sign Cancer, which is the sun sign of the Unites States.
The positive traits of Cancer describe the ideal mother: nurturing, feeding, affectionate, and one who creates a safe space for the young and vulnerable. But a trap of Cancer is protectionism—of self and/or of others.
The answer is found in Leo.
The sun is the ruler of Leo, and is the greater representative of that archetype. The sun sits in a position created for it, namely at the center of our solar system. Its greatest action is a state of being: shining its light and radiating its energy for all to see and feel. Our sun is what enables life to exist on this planet.
Metaphysically, I would say the sun is the path through which the Universe provides. It is not the source of life, but its role is paramount. Through serving its purpose, we are provided a means to serve our own.
Insecurity (in Cancer) hides. Leo is the strongest opposite to that. Leo is called toward its place in the Universe, which is most conspicuous. Leo is meant to be seen.
In my third book, which is about half written, I start with the following quote:
Eclipses hide the light, so you can see a shadow, then turn the light back on so you can heal the shadow.
The Great American Eclipse cast darkness across the span of this country. That darkness only lasted about 2-1/2 minutes along the centerline. A different shadow was exposed for all to see, although many still do not see it.
I have known about the dark forces for decades. My research of 9/11 showed them to me. I found nearly no one to align with, and thus, in the years that followed, I focused on developing myself and my life in spite of them. I believed there was a way to live a good live despite the darkness “out there”.
2020 opened up a wound, one so deep, the bleeding took years to stop. I am not healed, but I am no longer bleeding.
Like in those 2-1/2 minutes in 2017, the bright shine of the sun was blocked and unbelievably so. I still cannot believe the injustices I saw in these years since 2020: the greed, the corruption, the assaults of all kinds, the cruelty, and the number of people who simply do not see it and are unwilling to acknowledge it. Far too many people are defending the abuses via faulty logic or because they believe false claims.
The shadow of an eclipse lasts such a short moment. The shadow of dark forces stretches the entirety of this planet. We are not even close to exposing a fraction of it.
I used to believe that the revealing was imminent and would happen rapidly. I was naive and wrong. Perhaps it is just ahead and will happen quickly in the near future, but I can no longer hold on to that idea. It is time to go back to rebuilding a life regardless.
The solar eclipse that will take place on April 8th will feature a 4-way conjunction in Aries, the sign representing sovereignty and the individual. Every total solar eclipse requires three points to come together: sun, moon, and one of the lunar nodes. This year, Chiron is also among them.
Chiron, as an astrological archetype, is the wounded healer. There is no one more motivated toward the healing arts than one who himself is wounded. When you experience a pain you cannot completely alleviate, you seek and search for relief; in so doing, you find all kinds of solutions you wish to share with others.
If the Great American Eclipse was the one to reveal a shadow, pushing us out of the limelight and into protectionism, maybe this coming eclipse will begin the process of healing that.
As an astrologer, I always pay attention the cycles. Seven years is a fraction of the Saturn cycle. Saturn, a father figure, a building, takes roughly 28 years to orbit the sun. So these past 7 years were all about the exposure of the problem. That would suggest the next 7 years will be about laying out a plan to repair it.
I had hoped the exposure would complete before the next phase, but I now understand that is neither realistic nor necessary.
My own healing is not a clearly delineated process. I didn’t simply uncover a source of pain and then heal it, and then move on to the next. No, it has been repetitive and overlapping: uncover a bit, process that understanding, then heal a bit more. Some cycles are mild, some harsh. 2020 ripped off layers masking what lay beneath.
We, as a country, will likely follow a similar pattern.
I do want to share share a personal astrological alignment to exemplify a point.
On January 30th, 2024, I had my third nodal return. The North node of the moon precisely transited the place it was when I was born. And at that time, Chiron occupied the same location.
It just so happened that on February 1st, I began a trip to visit family on the East Coast, seeing some for the first time in 6 years and seeing others for the first time in decades. Right after that trip, I traveled to the West Coast for the first time in 4 years.
I lived twenty years on each coast before moving to Texas. Each of those trips was, in a sense, a life review of those times. This matches Chiron transiting opposite my South Node.
Any transit involving a lunar node actually hits both of them. The South Node is said to represent the entirety of your past: in this life and those before. I think of the North Node as that inner calling: a carrot far in the distance that tells you in which direction to face, and along what path to travel. At times like this, our purpose is highlighted. It is as if the Universe says to you:
“This is where you’ve been, and that is where you wanted to go. Do you want to journey some more?”
It doesn’t make you go. It is not rushing you. But it does invite you and inspire you with a few nudges.
The United States can begin to heal its shadow. It can drop its protectionist shell. And it can shine its light for the rest of the world to see. We’re not going to agree on the what or the how or the who, and we don’t have to wait for the exposure to complete before we begin the healing.
During my recent travels, I found myself connecting with strangers. Some women watched me intently, and then reached out to me with conversation. The interactions were superficial, but I could feel there was something more.
Perhaps they see something inside of me that I forgot was there.
I have a past...and I am starting to see a future. Does this not apply to all of us?
I want to express my abundant appreciation for DL, who once again has inspired me to do something I had been considering.
P.S.
The lunar nodes return every 18+ years, and they opposed at 9 years, halfway in between. If you were born:
in the beginning of ‘50 (the end of ‘49),
in the middle of ‘68,
the beginning of ‘87 (the end of ‘86), or
the middle of ‘05,
you are having a nodal return right now, just like me. If you were born about 9 years on either side of the above dates, you might be having a similar experience.