Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus 2022 — An Astrosophy Perspective

In the last article we discussed about the upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus. The event is going to take place on November 8, closing eclipse season two. The eclipse will feature a super rare Mercury Cazimi, with the planet dwelling in the heart of the Sun. You can check it out at this link.

In this article we are going to approach the eclipse from another angle. We are going to use Astrosophy principles in order to understand the deeper, spiritual meaning of the mundane events we’ve described in the last article.

In order to do that we’re not going to be looking at the signs of the tropical zodiac. Instead, we’re going to take the actual constellations into account, delving deeper into the spiritual meanings of the starry world. This means that we’re not going to use the regular division into 12 sectors of the sidereal zodiac. But we are going to be looking at the actual stars. To learn more about this approach you can read my article about the Three Zodiacs.

Beyond the Sign of Taurus
the Stars of the Constellation of the Ram

By looking at the stars beyond the tropical sign of Taurus, we find the constellation of the Ram. As you can see in the picture down below (click to zoom), during the eclipse the Moon is on the North Node, in tight conjunction with Uranus. Everything we’ve said in the last article about it still applies. But what’s its deeper meaning from a spiritual perspective?

The image the cosmos is picturing here is the following. The Moon turns into a blood red in the constellation of the Ram, wounded—or devoured—by the Head of the Dragon. The Ram is a constellation profoundly connected to the Christ, the Second Logos, the Son principle. Whereas the Head of the Dragon, the North Node, refers to Ahrimanic forces which bring darkness.

We have here a living image of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (being the lamb the ram). In fact from an esoteric perspective the Cosmic Christ, understood as the Mystical Lamb, includes 7 constellations. Starting with the Ram, the Bull, the Twins, the Crab, the Lion, the Virgin and the Scales are part of it (see Rudolf Steiner, The Influence of Spiritual Beings Upon Man, Lecture II).

Forces of Thinking Clouded by the Eclipse

The constellation of the Ram corresponds to the cosmic forces of the First Spiritual Hierarchy (Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones) who molded the figure of the human head, which relates to our thinking. And the theme of thinking is pointed out by two other factors.

The first one is the lunar eclipse itself, since as we know Steiner referred to it as a moment where nasty forces are drawn down to the earth, clouding human beings in their thinking. And the second is given by the presence of Uranus—the generational planet of cosmic thinking.

• The Ram, forces of the head;
• Lunar Eclipse, when human thinking is clouded by dark forces;
• Uranus, the planet of cosmic thinking.

It is very interesting at this point also talking about the Mercury Cazimi from a spiritual perspective. Mercury in fact is dwelling together with the Sun in the constellation of the Scales, standing out beyond the tropical sign of Scorpio. This means that the Sun and Mercury are at the opposite side of the Moon, which is in the Ram.

In general, the constellation of the Scales has to do with the forces of the Cosmic Christ taking action. This is because the Scales corresponds to the lowest member of the Mystical Lamb (again, see The Influence of Spiritual Beings Upon Man, Lecture II). This member in fact is the Life Spirit, which as we know is made of etheric forces transformed, processed by the “I”.

Let’s see now how the etheric forces of thinking (from the Ram) are mirrored into etheric forces of healing (in the Scales).

The Sun and Mercury
in tight conjunction with Zubenelgenubi

As you can see in the image below, Mercury and the Sun are together in close conjunction with the fixed star Zubenelgenubi. The name of the star means “southern claw” and it refers to the fact that the constellation of the Scales was once merged with the Scorpion. As they say, the claws of the Scorpion transformed into the pans of the Scales.

Traditionally Zubenelgenubi is a malefic star. It has to do with violence and diseases and—interestingly enough—danger of poison. After all Cauda Draconis, the Tail of the Dragon, with its poisonous sting is there. So what does it mean, having the Sun and Mercury conjoining this bad star during the eclipse?

My interpretation focuses on another theme that I see unfolding here, which has to do with cosmic forces of spiritual healing. In this regard the Mercury Cazimi (superior conjunction) can rightfully refer to the forces of Archangel Raphael. As Steiner said this Archangel draws its forces from the planet Mercury (see Esoteric Lessons). And in autumn the forces of this archangel can be found “below”, with man:

Winter: Gabriel above, Uriel below.

Spring: Raphael above, Michael below.

Summer: Uriel above, Gabriel below, with man.

Autumn: Michael above, Raphael below, with man.

See The Four Seasons and the Archangels, GA 229

In autumn we always receive powerful forces of healing from this spiritual being. So the pattern that I see here is this: the human etheric body is transformed and healed by the forces of the Cosmic Christ, into Life Spirit. Through the aid of Archangel Raphael, these forces are fighting against the poisonous effects of the eclipse that tries to darken humanity thinking.

These poisonous effects are brought by both the Tail of the Dragon and the star Zubenelgenubi. And in this regard Archangel Raphael turns poison into a farmacon, a medicine.

Etheric Forces, Thinking and Healing

It’s interesting noticing that on one side of the cosmos, etheric forces are expressed through the polarity of thinking. Here the Ram, the Moon, Uranus, and the lunar eclipse tell part of the story. Whereas on the opposite side of the cosmos, we find the etheric expressed as forces of healing that bring back balance (the Scales, Raphael-Mercury) in our subtle bodies.

In conclusion, we can understand how the problems we are confronting, such as the supply chain issues, the lack of natural resources, and so on (on the Taurus-Libra axis) are “just” the result of our materialistic way of thinking.

On an exterior level the Mercury Cazimi may improve the situation by fighting financial speculation. Whereas on an a more inner level, Mercury-Raphael acts through forces of spiritual healing that strengthen us and prevent ahrimanic forces from attacking us, leveraging a weakened etheric body.

Thanks for reading, as always if you enjoyed this article please subscribe to the Astronomicon Newsletter with the bar at the top of the website to receive weekly updates and not to miss future posts about the main astrological events and further astrosophical insights. Thanks again and have a good week.

Roberto Corona

I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.