The crescent Moon standing out in the night sky fascinated humanity since ancient times. Its mysterious, pale silver light has always been associated with the milk of the Great Mother. And her relationship with the waters and the tides immediately recalled a feminine imagination.
In a previous post we discussed about the Earth and the Four Ethers as the representatives of the Phsycal-Etheric World. In this article we are going to continue our exploration of the Planetary Spheres. We are going to talk about the Moon in relation to the so called Sublunary Sphere. And we’re also going to introduce the higher reality of the Soul World (or Astral World) as described by Rudolf Steiner.
But before jumping into this topic we need to introduce the concept of the Planetary Spheres. This because from a spiritual perspective a “Planet” is something very different from what in Astronomy usually means. This fundamental misunderstanding brought a lot of confusion concerning the way we view today the ancient conception on the Planets.
So let’s first and foremost introduce this concept that is going to accompany us through out all this series of articles.
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.
Previously, we’ve talked about the Saturn-Pluto Conjunction for China and Italy. In this article we are going to discuss about the same issue in regards to India. We are going to focus not only on Saturn, that rules three important points related to health issues, but also on Mercury. Being in the Tenth House, Mercury activates issues related to the rule of democratic law. Let’s check it out.
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.
Previously, we’ve talked about the Saturn-Pluto Conjunction for China. In this article we are going to tackle the same issue in regards to Italy. We are also going to compare the two situations, specifically by looking at their Moon. In fact, we are going to find an interesting correlation between the two, as they are both going to be receiving similar transits.
Now, we all know at this point that this is a pandemic. So, does it make any sense to consider the situation just for a single nation? The short answer is yes. Even though this is a world wide issue, we don’t have to forget that the outbreak hit first—and more violently—some nations and not others. Italy has been the first and most involved among the European countries, so it definitely has a leading role in fighting the outbreak.
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.
In PART 1 of this series of posts about Anthroposophy and Astrology, we have discussed about the Horoscope from an anthroposophical perspective. We have also talked about Steiner’s point of view on Astrology. We have pointed out the differences between spiritual science and symbolic interpretation, and explained why their approach is fundamentally different.
In this article we are going to tackle one of the main issues for astrologers interested in Anthroposophy. What is the “right zodiac” to use in astrological charts? This is an old debate in the astrological community. But what has Anthroposophy to say about it? Let’s jump right into it.
Signs and constellations are not the same thing. Explaining the differences between Tropical and Sidereal Zodiac is not the purpose of this post, so if you are new to the topic you can deepen it further here. Long story short, we can say that zodiacal signs are not strictly speaking a group of stars (constellation) but a uniform division of the ecliptic into twelve segments. They depend on seasons, not on the actual position of the stars.
This is a very well known topic for astrologers. Tropical Zodiac is the zodiac that refers to signs, whereas Sidereal Zodiac—sidus meaning star—to constellations. Every year the two zodiacs slowly separate, to the point that right now they are one sign distant from each other (see the picture below).
Both zodiacs are used by ancient and respectable traditions. It would be inconclusive trying to demonstrate which is the “right zodiac”, simply because they are the result of different types of investigations. But what does Anthroposophy say about it? What’s the zodiac used by Rudolf Steiner?
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.
Reading Time : 3minutesI used to like eclipses. They are dark, mysterious—glamorous, in a way. But now that I am a little bit more aware of what they represent, I have become immune to their charm. More or less.
They are indeed a very cool phenomenon. But in ancient times they were also seen as an omen of doom—or even worse. Actually, it must have been terrible to attend to a Solar Eclipse. The very source of all life on earth suddenly faded away. Only priests and astrologers could give them a deeper meaning—exorcising the fear.
But we are not going to talk about a Solar Eclipse in this post. [ictt-tweet-inline]On February 10 a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is going to occur[/ictt-tweet-inline]. Basically a dark shading will appear on the Moon’s face. During the peak of the eclipse the shadow will be larger and darker.
Lunar eclipses always happen on a full moon night. This because the Sun, the Earth and the Moon need to be aligned properly. When they are, the Earth casts its shadow on the Moon.
Full Moon in Leo
When the Moon is full its cycle reaches the peak. It is the culmination of both energy and light, a moment of revelation. The night is lighted at most—as it is our unconscious mind. [ictt-tweet-inline]It’s time for lucid dreaming, core shadow work and deep understanding of the psyche[/ictt-tweet-inline].
The Full Moon in Leo brings a subtle golden light which gently marries the pure white silver energy of Imbolc. It relates to the archetype of the Good Queen—loved by all the people as the mother of the realm. She brings abundance, generosity, magnanimity, protection and a golden legacy.
A Good Eclipse
This is going to be a good eclipse. For starters, the North Lunar Node is involved. If you are not familiar with lunar nodes, you can think of them as the spots in the sky where eclipses can occur. They are the North Node and the South Node, opposed to each other. In a nutshell, astrologers of old regarded the North Node as a Jupiter-like energy point (which is good); the South Node, as a Saturn-like one (which is bad). Please note I am oversimplifying here.
The North Node is about expansion, new energy, and material wealth. Combined with the Lunar Eclipse, it is going to reveal shadow aspects or dysfunctional behaviors in order to enable positive change. This doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy—eclipses never are. Nevertheless—although your discoveries may be hard—in the end it will be worth it.
As always, your Natal Chart houses will provide the context (work, family, romance, etc.). But generally speaking this eclipse is saying: not all that glitters is gold. Or vice versa, things we usually look down on may turn out to be very valuable.
Grand Trine of Fire and Mystic Rectangle
The second reason that brings me to say this is going to be a good eclipse lies in its beauty. The Moon is going to close two major planetary configurations: a Grand Trine of Fire (Moon in Leo, Saturn in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aries) and a Mystic Rectangle (Moon in Leo, Sun in Aquarius, Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries).
They are both easing configurations that are going to affect the ongoing Cardinal T-Square. The Grand Trine of Fire represents a positive cooperation between forces of the same element. It’s like having the Good Queen (Moon in Leo) giving the representative of the people (Uranus in Aries) an audience to listen to his complaints with the advice of the old High Priest (Saturn in Sagittarius).
On the other hand, the Mystic Rectangle combines the dynamic energy of two oppositions with the balancing contribution of two trines and two sextiles. It’s like funneling a bad tension towards a constructive outcome. The main tension here is the well known opposition between Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries. To put it simply, what it is legally right (Jupiter in Libra) doesn’t necessarily correspond to justice for the people (Uranus in Aries).
In Conclusion
We can expect a “moment of truth” coming—a bolt from the blue that turns your world upside down. What we believed to be valuable had no solid foundation; what we considered worthless will prove to be worthy. At first, it will feel like having the earth missing under your feet. But eventually, everything is going to fall into place.
Please note that the effects of an eclipse take some time to manifest. This kind of event creates a sensible spot (22° Leo) that should be monitored for the next months. Upcoming transits will definitely trigger it again in the very next future.
The Eclipse is going to occur with the Moon and the Sun at 22° Leo and Aquarius respectively. It’s going to be visible from America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Start Time: FEB10 @ 22:34 (UTC) — FEB10 at 5:34 PM (New York Time)
Eclipse Peak: FEB11 @ 00:43 (UTC) — FEB 10 @ 7:43 PM (New York Time)
End Time: FEB11 @ 02:53 (UTC) — FEB 10 @ 9:53 PN (New York Time)
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.
