This Full Moon in Aquarius in Satabisha nakshatra begins on Wednesday August 26 at 8:39 pm pacific time and culminates at 9:18 pm Thursday. At the tail end of the Full Moon we will have the second eclipse of the season. The height of this eclipse occurs at 9:12 pm on Thursday pacific time, beginning and ending approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes before and after this time. Eclipses come in pairs (and sometimes threes) making not only the events themselves significant, also but also the two-week window of time between them. Eclipses are created by the shadowy nodes, Rahu and Ketu, and can intensify and accelerate events. Because the nodes are connected with both shadowing and intensifying, eclipses often have a way of carrying with them rapid change or bringing hidden situations into the light. They can be marked by sudden endings, culmination and completion- and because of this, they can also create the space for something new to begin.
The Full Moon in Aquarius connects this moon with themes of our place within the group or community and our collective responsibility to one another. Aquarius asks us to look beyond our individual identity and consider where we belong within something larger than ourselves. At its best, there is service, contribution and a willingness to work toward the good of the whole. On the more challenging side, we can become disconnected or isolated, or so identified with the collective that we lose touch with our own individual experience.
Satabisha, the nakshatra where this Full Moon and eclipse occur, is deeply connected with healing- its name translates as “one hundred medicines” or “one hundred physicians.” It carries the impulse to seek out what can restore order and wholeness. It is connected with Varuna, lord of the cosmic waters and a deity associated with maintaining order and balance.
Yet, a true return to balance can be a painful process, forcing us to let go, sometimes before we feel ready. Satabisha’s symbol of a circle can represent that which is hidden or been concealed. The healing path often requires exposing what we would rather keep hidden or do not want to deal with. At the same time, the circle can also suggest the containment and protection that may be required during the healing process.
This particular eclipse carries considerable support for that process.
Mercury, the planet of intellect and understanding, is in Leo with the Sun and Ketu, opposite the Moon and Rahu in Aquarius. While Mercury’s involvement in the eclipse could suggest that our thinking or analysis becomes distorted, it is also possible that what is revealed now has the potential to eventually be understood differently.
Jupiter and Venus, the two teachers, on either side of the sign of Leo add another layer of support. Jupiter brings wisdom, perspective and guidance, while Venus can help us move toward balance and connection.
The tension between the individual and the collective is central to the theme of this eclipse. We may consider where we have become too isolated, as well as where we may have lost ourselves within the needs or expectations of the different groups we inhabit. We can note and examine the fine balance between our responsibility to ourselves and our responsibility to others.
There can be something unsettling about an eclipse because we cannot always see clearly while we are inside of it. But Satabisha reminds us that revealing the wound can be the first step to healing it, and the beginning of the process of returning to balance.
Love and Blessings,
Mrin
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