Are you ready? By the time you read this, the Sun will have gone through one of the longest eclipses of the next couple of millenia. Then a few hours later, on the morning of Friday, January 15th, at 9: 43 am MST, our friend Mercury will also turn direct (go out of retrograde movement). You may think to yourself "whew! The worst is over!" but the big news is that this eclipse is powerfully poised to bring about some major transformation to our lives. Eclipses, whether lunar or solar, always bring about change. As I wrote a few weeks ago, lunar eclipses tend to affect our emotional state more strongly. Solar eclipses tend to upset our mental and physical equilibrium, and bring about transitions and transformations in the way we live on a day to day basis. Many people will find their lives transformed by this eclipse, and since we are still in the earthy, responsible sign of Capricorn, the lessons of the New Year's Eve blue moon are reinforced even more strongly today.
Many people will undergo transitions of their lives which will change them very dramatically over the next few months. For some people, the transformations will have already begun with the energies of the lunar eclipse two weeks ago, but those changes are just a shadow of what lies ahead. Since this we are still in the Earth sign of Capricorn, this will tend to affect people most in the areas having to do with careers, homes and finances. Jobs will be changed, lost or gained, some people may move, buy or sell a home, or have their money affected. For some this will be a time of great financial windfall when they wind up with more than they expected, and for others, they may find themselves shelling out money for large and unexpected expenses. The reverberations of this eclipse began several weeks ago, and will continue to resonate far into the future. Mercury turning direct will help to ease the transformation somewhat, but we will be in the shadow until Feb. 4th, so you can expect to still feel some of the same effects, but they will not be quite as strong or as noticeable as during the past few weeks.
In that earlier article, I also talked a little bit about the eclipses that shine a spotlight onto what is most important to us, and again this is even more true with the bright sun eclipsed into an annular ring of light. This ring of light will shine it's energy into our lives, showing us what is truly important, and also illuminating what we may need to leave behind. (Be on the lookout for clues to some of these changes in your life, they may be marked or signified in some way by the symbol of this eclipse, a ring or circle)
Whether it is outdated patterns of thinking, relationships that are no longer healthy, negative habits of behavior or even friendships that are not supportive, transformation will come. Even if it is initially painful for the change to occur, you may look back on this time and wonder at the intensity of the changes, and how much better they made your life. IF that is, you manage to ride out the storm with tranquility.
We are limited human beings, and as such, change is always frightening to us. We hold on to things that are not healthy for us, just because they are comfortable and familiar. So if this eclipse brings change to you, and instead of walking into your future with a bright sense of wonder, you try to hold on to the past, and reject the new state of being that you are being brought to, well, things are not going to change for you. It is hard to leave our comfortable environment and go somewhere that is scary and unfamiliar, and very often we must encourage ourselves to consciously embrace this energy precisely because it is so unsettling.
This is why it is so important to cultivate a sense of tranquility, even in the face of the chaos of change. With a sense of tranquility, we can accept that change is inevitable, and indeed, according to the Buddha, change is truly the only constant in the universe. All things, everything, will eventually change. The mountains wear down to sand, water evaporates into rain and then falls back to earth as water. If we can learn to accept and embrace the inevitability of changes in our lives, particularly when they are brought by these powerfully transformational eclipses, we can learn to be happy, no matter what the Universe brings to our door.
This is why it is so important to cultivate a sense of tranquility, even in the face of the chaos of change. With a sense of tranquility, we can accept that change is inevitable, and indeed, according to the Buddha, change is truly the only constant in the universe. All things, everything, will eventually change. The mountains wear down to sand, water evaporates into rain and then falls back to earth as water. If we can learn to accept and embrace the inevitability of changes in our lives, particularly when they are brought by these powerfully transformational eclipses, we can learn to be happy, no matter what the Universe brings to our door.
Namo, Kuan Shih Yin Pu Sa!
(The mantra for Kuan Yin, which is highly recommended for practicing tranquility. Pronounced as follows: nah-MO KOO-awn she YIN pooh-SAH)
