The Mirror of True Love

Lunar Eclipse – March 23rd, 2016

By Isaac George
March 22nd, 2016




"In true love, happiness is not an individual matter. There is no distinction between the one who loves and the one who is loved. Your suffering is my suffering; my happiness is your happiness. Lover and beloved are one." ~Thich Naht Hanh

The bookend to the Solar Eclipse of March 8th-9th will arrive tomorrow at 12:01pm GMT. This is a partial or annular Lunar Eclipse of the Full Moon, with the Sun at 3 degrees 17 minutes of Aries, and the Moon opposite at 3 degrees 17 minutes of Libra. As I recounted in my Sunday blog, “Creative Chaos”, there are strong connections to what happened six months ago during the Solar and Lunar Eclipses of September 2015. You can read or re-read that post here.  Suffice it to say that this is a fundamental reset of the “game”, and it will not only set the tone for the next six months, till the eclipses of September 2016, but quite conceivably for many months beyond that juncture. Time will tell, as it always does.

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Into the Way Back Machine!

I’ve been looking back to when there were any lunations (New Moons, Full Moons) or eclipses in Aries and Libra between 2011 and 2013. I selected 2011, because Uranus entered the sign of Aries on March 11th, 2011…the day of the massive temblor and tsunami that devastated Sendai province in northeastern Japan. I found two charts, one in March of 2012 and another one also in March of 2013 that are very close to the one this is coming up this Wednesday, and is also strongly connected to the “Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipse of September 28th, 2015. In all of the four charts the Sun and Moon are tightly arranged between 2 degrees and 7 degrees of these two signs. I’ve included them with the chart for our Lunar Eclipse tomorrow at the end of this blog.

Finally, the last blast from the past to reveal was that there was a Lunar Eclipse at almost the exact same degrees of Aries-Libra as the next one this Wednesday (chart below as well). If you can reel in the years and go back to March 24th,1997,  reflect on what was happening for you at that time, it may put a huge spotlight of understanding on your current situation, and provide you with the wisdom and courage to act in accordance with your Inner Truth.

"With Aries-Libra, relating is the name of the game. The challenge is how do we balance the needs or desires of the Self (Mars-Masculine) with the needs and desires of The Other (Venus-Feminine)?  The seemingly eternal dance between these two forces makes for a lot of interesting poetry, music, art, fables…and tragedies."
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Oh, You Again…”

Simply stated, Aries is all about the Self…”I Am.” Equally simple is that Libra is about “The Other.” There is always a relationship happening in everything…throughout the Cosmos, from the subatomic level to the galaxies themselves. Some physicists theorize that there are bonds and bleedthroughs between parallel Universes. Anyway, the Aries-Libra polarity represents the astrological version of The Lovers card in the Tarot, or the Sacred Marriage from the mystery schools. It manifests from the strictly personal level to the Universal Level.  Beyond the duality of form, they are Divine Principles that emanate into all manifest forms, and yet are completely fused in the Absolute and are completely indivisible. That’s big supra-metaphysical theorising on my part, but feels right as a model.

With Aries-Libra, relating is the name of the game. The challenge is how do we balance the needs or desires of the Self (Mars-Masculine) with the needs and desires of The Other (Venus-Feminine)?  The seemingly eternal dance between these two forces makes for a lot of interesting poetry, music, art, fables…and tragedies.  From an evolutionary astrological perspective for the past four years we have been on a revolutionary road of dismantling and reforming our psyches through the uncomfortable crucible of intimate and challenging relationships, and all of them have been steeped in a shamanic unravelling and healing of our relationship karma. When I use the word “karma”, I’d like for you to reference that word in a new way. Think “unconscious patterns based on equally hidden vows or beliefs”.  Throughout time and space, we have met ourselves again and again with many of our “other selves” and have sought to balance the eternal dance that is ultimately about realising Love as a state or condition of being.

"Perhaps the age of digital love is about to have a rude awakening, or perhaps we are awakening to the rudeness of digital socialization."

Is there a manual for this thing?

Okay, it hasn’t been easy, and it’s not a process that is culminating with Wednesday’s latest edition of Aries-Libra lunations/eclipses. I don’t have a crystal ball, or a road map, or even a factory issued user’s manual, but I do sense that this event on Wednesday may be a gateway to the final purification of eons of relationship trauma and drama. At least that’s what my instincts are saying just now. We are being given an evolutionary push to change our beliefs, and more importantly, our understanding about the purpose and potentials of human intimacy and conscious partnerships. It can be sometimes difficult to discern, but almost every challenge our species now faces, from how we care for ourselves or look after each other, to how we reinvent and reimagine our economic, political, scientific and societal structures… to how we end our mistreatment of the planet and her resources, hinges on how much we trust in ourselves and the ones we love the most.

We pump the message that we need to love ourselves, and yet we are starving for connection. In his cynical and disenfranchised tone, Elliot, the hacker in the new television drama “Mr Robot”, bemoans the current state of human love: “[…is it because we’re] spamming with our running commentary of bullshit masquerading as insight, our social media faking as intimacy?” Perhaps the age of digital love is about to have a rude awakening, or perhaps we are awakening to the rudeness of digital socialization.

"I feel that real spiritual love, one that is rooted in mutual respect and deep honesty, is extremely romantic. It gives us that sense of “coming home” that we all long for…and know we deserve."

The Rest of the Story

While the foreground is the Sun and the Moon in the Lunar Eclipse, the background cast is equally important.  The day after the Eclipse Saturn will station retrograde in Sagittarius. He will move direct on August 14th at 9 degrees of Sag, and be very close to Mars at 5 Sagittarius. The upcoming Mars retrograde in Sagittarius and Scorpio is a story in and of itself, so I will save that for an April post.

On the day of the Eclipse Saturn will be in a stressful T-Square with Venus and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Jupiter in Virgo. I feel that having this happen just before Saturn goes into inward (retrograde) motion is a phase of reviewing and integrating the energies and lessons of all the previous eclipses, and indeed, or all the Aries-Libra contacts of the past four years. It’s a time for introspection, and it won’t work to be doing hard-nosed analysing (Virgo) about matters of the heart and soul. The Venus-Neptune conjunction will be the main energy here…asking us to be compassionate and forgiving, and to also re-image a Higher aspect of romantic and intimate Love. I use the word romance not in a story-book way, but in a way to celebrate the “lift” that we experience with romantic love. I feel that real spiritual love, one that is rooted in mutual respect and deep honesty, is extremely romantic. It gives us that sense of “coming home” that we all long for…and know we deserve. I highly recommend this amazing video clip to get a better feel for what my poor words are trying to express. True Love and the Four Elements of Love – Thich Nhat Hanh. The first seven minutes carries the nugget of the message.

Mars in Sagittarius will be trine the Sun and is sextile to the Moon. This adds a strong but egalitarian tone of asking that we tell the Truth…to ourselves and whomever we’re currently partnered with. Even if we are not with a significant other, our intention towards emanating compassion and love to those we are in connection with, in whatever form, will still have a potent effect. Ending conflict both from within and towards others is the idea.  Mercury will be conjoined to the Sun as well, so there may be an impulsiveness to ask questions in a very rapid-fire style, like a special interrogator questioning a suspect in a crime. Uncomfortable but necessary truths may suddenly come to light. The juxtaposition between Mars and Mercury will be daunting, and a bit paradoxical. You may be thinking, "Do I stick to the hard facts only, or do I allow leeway for compassionate understanding?" I suppose the answer to that will depend on what type of information is unearthed. If there is no longer any resonance with your current situation, then this eclipse may signal that it’s time to move on and open to a higher more resonant partnership that is based on true love, transparency and equality.

The asteroid goddess Juno is retrograde (inverted) in Scorpio, and will be in a harmonious flow with Venus and Neptune. The need for passion within our partnering is denoted by this placement. Juno typically is associated with the traditions of marriage, but in Scorpio, marriage is elevated to a sacrament through passion and sexuality. There can be no true intimacy without being naked in body and soul to the Beloved. This is soul Tantra, and is something we all possess, but has been civilised out of us and forgotten. Tantric practices were invented to reawaken us to the primal truth that is in the divine nature within our bodily forms. Ecstasy is a natural state that exists when we are in harmony with Nature, with the Goddess.

"We all deserve the love that we give away, and the love that we receive. The union of hearts will be a potent power for changing the course of the future. Give freely…it all comes back to you in some way, and at some time."

The Next Steps

Between now and the next set of eclipses in September I feel that it will be a time of greater movement and greater clarity in our understanding of ourselves, of others and what our hearts and souls truly desire to create in this world. Everything is connected, and the arena of our interpersonal relationships echoes throughout the human and planetary construct. If we truly wish to have a different future, then the ghosts of our past must be confronted and lovingly and empathically embraced. We cannot cure prior wounding without acknowledging our held emotions and deep longings. The relationship issues we had with our parents are reflections of all of our previous bonding experiences with each other as lovers, spouses, siblings, parents or even just workmates and friends. To change the story of our personal and collective past is to alter the future.

We have the potential to live the life of our dreams. I suggest that those dreams include others in many ways. To balance our needs with the greater needs of our entire species is the way forward. Everyone has a right to clean water, good food, warm shelter, comfortable clothing and personal safety. And everyone needs closeness, affection, recognition and love. Dr. Dean Ornish’s book, “Love and Survival” is a wonderful testament to the power of connection and what it means to be fully human. I recommend it to you as one of many potential guides to how we can imagine and create new and sacred ways of relationship, ways that don’t cause us to fall back into martyrdom or self-effacement. More importantly, we can end the cycle of heartache and heartbreak that is at the core of our spiritual wounding…the false sense that we are separate from our Source, and from each other.

Move forward into the sacred marriage with your inner Beloved and invite that Beloved into your purpose for being here on this planet at this time. Let your deepest dreams and yearnings be expressed. Begin with yourself, then with your beloved, then in communion with others of your “tribe”, then in wider community. It grows exponentially when we choose love, collaboration and cooperation.

We all deserve the love that we give away, and the love that we receive. The union of hearts will be a potent power for changing the course of the future. Give freely…it all comes back to you in some way, and at some time.

With Love,
Isaac

I specialize in mentoring and coaching for singles and couples in the arenas of relationship and self care.  I love to work with people and give them the tools they most need to navigate these times and to create more satisfying experiences in their lives. For more information and to make an appointment for a FREE Discovery call, just click here.

Lunar Eclipse March 23, 2016