ARE YOU AN EXPERT IN DESENSITIZATION?
Feeling pulled in a new direction? Mercury is retrograde, conjunct risk-taking Mars and square unruly Uranus. The soul is restless for change. Alas, we have some emotional homework to complete before moving forward.
Is life buzzy, with doors flying open, pushing you to expand your emotional comfort zone about being in the public eye? Is life challenging you to feel safer in positions of greater recognition and exposure? Do you need to overcome anxiety about learning new skills (or learning how to delegate them) so you can realize a dream that’s been festering in your subconscious for years? These are the kind of themes that arise when Mercury retrograde in Leo dances with this month’s Solar and Lunar eclipses.
Our Inner Carrie Lam
Notice how we entered into July with this “balance the personal with the professional” theme already inserted into the dreamscape. The setting: Hong Kong. A Capricorn political figure grows out of touch with the Cancer “feeling on the streets,” prodding us to confront our inner Carrie Lam:
In positions of public leadership, the soul is tasked to demonstrate “tenderized authority.” Which side of the Cancer/Cap polarity do we tend to err on: too self-conscious and emotionally-involved or too remote and dryly official?
Don’t get me wrong. July is not a time to critique flawed authority. Quite the opposite. Truth is, we asked for Carrie (and Donald, and all the rest) to show up precisely as they are in our dream so we could more humbly accept that there is nothing in this world but flawed authority. By looking mercifully upon these wounded Titans, we give ourselves permission to professionally “move forward” and make messy, fresh starts in our own career.
July wants us to face the facts: We all parade (and process) our festering childhood wounds on the public stage. No embarrassment; no success. Everyone sees our insecurities, but most are too moved by our soul’s noble intention to give them much thought. July urges us to make peace with the quirky personality that our karmic wounding has shaped us into, so we can shake free of our past – not on the therapist’s couch- but on the world stage. Why? So we can break the dystopian, “expert in desensitization” trance that passes for “power” and become something truly remarkable: a “reputable lover.”
The One-Two Punch: The meaning of eclipse seasons.
Solar and Lunar eclipses come in pairs and work together in a process of transformational tag team.
On the July 2nd New Moon solar eclipse in Cancer, the present (Sun) is blotted out by the past (Moon). Whereas, on the full Moon lunar eclipse on July 16th, the past (Moon) is obscured by the present (Sun). Notice the curriculum is unfolding. The unconscious, undigested feelings from our past (Moon) and the conscious, Sunlit desires of the present are attempting to join hands and work together. July gets our conscious and subconscious talking to each other.
During the July 2nd Solar Eclipse, Pluto and Saturn are opposing the Sun/Moon conjunction. The Pluto wounds and crippling beliefs of our Lunar past (normally hidden behind the seamless sheen of our solar ego) leak through so we can feel ourselves free of adolescent smallness and allow our timelessly loving soul to shine freely.
The July 16th lunar Eclipse, on the other hand, moves us forward in the world. This time, Pluto and Saturn are conjunct the Moon. The vexing pain of our past– along with the compromised lifestyle choices that were born from them– are blotted out by our conscious solar will. This lifestyle upgrade could mean a change in residence, a break-up or a breaking free of the fear of personal and professional commitment. Either way, the past has less of a pull on us, allowing us to dream bigger and map out a fresh vision for our lives.
Wow. Please tell me that this one-two punch (shadow-purging, then purpose-birthing) could only be the work of some benevolently guiding Intelligence!
Eclipse Inquiries
The July 2nd Solar eclipse takes place at 10 degrees Cancer. If you have personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars) or an important house cusp (ie., Ascendant) at 9-11 degrees Cancer, this Eclipse has painted a transformational bulls eye on you.
Time to ask:
What normally numbed feelings from the past am I willing to publicly wrestle with until they release their soul-constricting grip on my life?
The July 16th Lunar Eclipse takes place at 24 degrees Capricorn. If you have personal planets or an important house cusp at 23-25 degrees Capricorn, this is a time of profound self-empowerment. Get ready to flush yourself free of a life (or story about your life) that has a choke-hold on your career or relationship.
Time to ask:
What bold and enlivening life vision would I like to meditatively amplify during this Full Moon Solar Eclipse?
No one can bridge this ego-orphaning gap!
During the second half of July, Venus opposes Saturn/Pluto. Will we grasp at personal relationship to provide a sense of security and union that only divine presence can deliver? Or will we stop numbing ourselves to the existential pain of separation and confess that nothing (and no one) can bridge this ego-orphaning gap? By allowing the sharp cut of space to break our orphaned hearts, the soul takes refuge in the fullness of Being, freeing us of desire and agenda. This visceral “giving up” on relationship is, paradoxically, the most attractive quality in the universe. Viola! Singles are whisked into serious, karmic couplings and committed couples are reborn.
Eclipse Themes by House placement
Each eclipse happens in one of six possible house polarities. Only a professional reading could accurately assess how this pair of eclipses is playing out in your chart, but here’s a thematic overview to get you started.
Houses 1 and 7: Am I so immersed in relationship that I’ve forgotten key aspects of who I am? Or do I studiously retain my independence and avoid giving others the power to hurt me, such that I have no lasting intimacy in my life?
Houses 2 and 8: Am I so economically or emotionally tethered to an outgrown house, bank account or job that it feels like a miserably secure, slow death? Or have I so let go of material security and stuff that I’ve lost my grounding and peace of mind?
Houses 3 and 9: Am I so preoccupied with the little details of everyday life (gossip/internet?) that I’m suffering from a drought of revelatory insight or mystical feeling? Or am I so immersed in ego-transcendent aspirations and philosophies that I’m numb to the god in everyday repartee?
Houses 4 and 10: Has my focus on emotional and domestic security become regressive, such that that I’ve become estranged and disempowered in the world? Or am I so involved in the outer world of ambition that I’ve numbed my desire for home, family and a satisfying inner soul life?
Houses 5 and 11: Am I leading and giving all day to the wider community but paying scant attention to my need for personal appreciation and and the bonds of play? Or has my leadership role become so seamless and isolating that I’ve grown out of touch with the community and friends that I claim to care about?
Houses 6 and 12: Am I so wrapped up in everyday routines and responsibilities that I’ve lost contact with the timeless presence of spirit? Or am I so involved with the subtle energy realms that I’m not psychologically grounded and organized enough to take on the details of a workaday life?
Eclipse Affirmation
Our #1 “job” is to let hurtable humanness color — and give personal style to — the otherwise immaculate and transcendent face of the divine. Why stand up straight? Because the Unfathomable went shopping for fashionista’s — and came up with us!
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