Having entered Aquarius Pluto interacts with the Air element. There is much thought about the future, as well as a veil of darkness that conceals it from our sight, making this period a time in which our awareness in the present moment can become more intense. Following the Spring Equinox the sacred process of rebirth is in motion, and so is our participation in it.
During this lunar eclipse the Moon in Libra participates in a triangle with Pluto and Sedna.
Sedna has an inconceivably long orbital period and seems to govern the foundations of entire civilizations. Sedna is also not yet in an Air sign, but in the final stages of her ingress into Gemini. Pluto is also going to retrograde out of Aquarius later this year, only to ingress again for the final time in November 2024. So this triangle of Air is also marked by a future that is close, but not now / here yet. What interests us most is the sequence of support that the harmonious triangle expresses: we have the shortest cycle in the zodiac – Moon – interacting with and supported by the outermost major body in our solar system – Pluto – itself interacting with Sedna, which visits us every 11,400 years, bringing with it things beyond human comprehension. This is a real challenge for the mind; to accept it cannot know.
However, it is as if the Creative Intelligence of the Universe is stooping down, lending us a hand, bringing Sedna down to Pluto, and Pluto down to the Moon, making an instinctual understanding of our times more accessible. The Moon in Libra, while being a little uncomfortable expressing emotions (Air), is clearly about relationships.
“On learning how to relate truthfully, with grace and beauty,” this eclipse seems to be saying, “the future depends.” Everything on this chart points to an “Eclipse of the Heart”.
At this point our gaze must by obligation turn to the goddess of relationship, Venus, who has recently entered Pisces where she receives a higher vibration of love. She is freshly moving out of a conjunction with Saturn, which means that the lessons we are about to learn could be a little uncomfortable, probably linked to karmic relationships that need to be shed. The goddess gets herself into another pickle during this eclipse; a conjunction with centaur Nessus. Here the ways we have been reduced and subdued in relationships, as well as how we might have done so to others, should come under the spotlight.
Luckily Venus is trine fixed star Sirius, and both are in harmonious sextiles to Jupiter and Uranus. This interaction is extremely positive, providing us with a rare power, at once explosive and balanced. It should prove handy as the Moon is under the elliptical plane (South Node), stirring oppressive karmic patterns that we need to release through engagement with the vibration of the Sun in Aries: who am I as an individual? what really makes me tick?
The presence of Mars in Pisces, as well as Neptune acting as scout planet, allows us to acknowledge our individuality on a deeper level, discovering our identity in our true being. These placements are very valuable because they can help us to avoid the trap of too much focus on “what I want” at the expense of “what contributes to my feeling of completeness” and “what is it that the world needs and I can give?” This is very consistent with the symbolism of fixed star Sirius, known as our Spiritual Sun.
The theme of relationships is further emphasised by the beautiful opposition of Sirius and Ceres.
Ceres represents the relationship of mother and child, including the birthing of the child, the loss of the child, and the return of the child (who by now is no longer a child). Her daughter Proserpine – much like our vision of the future – was kidnapped by Pluto and hidden in the underworld. The goddess of agriculture, being so naturally nurturing, suffered greatly the loss of her child, her pain and depression creating famine in the world of men. Eventually a compromise was found and Proserpine, now more a woman than a child, would tend to the dead in the underworld for 6 months, and join her mother in bringing the dead souls to experience rebirth during the other half of the year.
Sirius, the light of awareness, accompanies us through the inevitable process of death and rebirth, loss and attachment, the letting go and the return. During this eclipse all these elements are wrapped up in the fabric of relationships, and even Ceres is linked to Venus through the sextile. Connections we can now move beyond, and new ones we can move into. The Spiritual Sun also enlivens our willingness to nurture others and the wisdom to accept to be nurtured, reminding us that the essence and fulfilment of human life is unconditional love.
Ro-Wan