The lunar eclipse occurs on the 10th December 2011 at 14:36 (UT) at 18GEM10

“Beware of the Blood Moon” my Grandmother used to say.

Deeply superstitious by nature, she would even wake me up if moonlight drifted through the curtains onto my face. She said it would send me mad. Maybe it did

But a Blood Moon as she called it (or a lunar eclipse) was something that made her shiver and turn the silver*. Ancient Romany ways through her Father’s blood clashed with devout Christian beliefs. The feminine twisted to fit the purpose of the masculine.

The Lunar Eclipse is more subtle than the Solar, sensed or experienced on an emotional level. In mundane astrology, the Moon represents the mood of the people, the public, woman. It shows what is capturing our attention as a collective. Occurring at Full Moon, the lunar eclipse has a way of showing what is already there – we are halfway through a cycle. We feel it our gut. At Full Moon, our intuition is heightened. As the shadow of the Earth passes across the face of the Moon, so our shadows become real and tangible. This is the gift of the lunar eclipse – and sometimes what people consider to be the curse.

Lunar Eclipse December 2011

The Moon in the eclipse chart is square Mars, quincunx Venus. Like the recent Solar eclipse, Mars once again is singled out with a square. In this aspect to the Moon, it can trigger anger or aggression – often misplaced under the eclipse. There is an abrasive energy at work: a clash of ideas and/or beliefs, the information we are fed is unsettling, arguments over the right way to do things.

 The quincunx to Venus with the Gemini influence, indicates frittering away money or trying to keep up with the Jones’s. But the quincunx says we need to adjust. Peace cannot be found in pennies or pounds.

Mercury, ruler of the Gemini eclipse sits on asteroid Okyrhoe. Okyrhoe, daughter of Chiron and Chariklo was a prophetess. As punishment for voicing her visions, Chiron changed her into a horse, therefore taking away her power of speech.

Mercury and Okyrhoe are in Sagittarius which emphasises the prophetic visionary aspect of this eclipse. It is offering us a picture of things to come. Perhaps the difference here is that by seeing the future, we can work towards changing or redefining what we see. Mercury, the planet of communication is still retrograde. It talks of inner knowing, reviewing, re-visioning yet it may be hard for us to express what we feel inside. On mass, we the public may feel that our voice is not being heard. Spurred on by Mars, perhaps we will shout louder.

The Sun is conjunct fixed star Sabik. Robson describes this combination as “Sincere, honorable, scientific, religious and philosophical interests, unorthodox or heretical, moral courage.” Okyrhoe was punished for her ‘heresy’ yet she spoke the truth.

The Sabian Symbol for the eclipse degree is:

A Large Archaic Volume Reveals A Traditional Wisdom

“The wisdom you seek is already there” says the Moon.

In our modern world, we have such reverence for the new: the spangley gadget that will revolutionise your life, the new hottest club in town, the new name in the papers, the new invention. Yet in our constant thrusting forward, there is the quiet knowledge of the ancients – wisdom passed down through generations from Grandmother to Mother to child.

Somehow we have to have the willingness to look forward and the humility to look back. Ancient peoples lived in tune with the land and the creatures upon it. Most often there was a strong spiritual belief where the feminine was on equal footing to or placed higher than the masculine deities. Whilst some may think of these ideas as quaint, based on superstition, ‘uncivilised’ or just times past, there is a need to acknowledge that modern society isn’t necessarily any ‘better’. With Mercury highlighting the female ‘heretical’ visionary talent of Okyrhoe and the Moon reminding us of ancient wisdom, perhaps this eclipse is a way for Mother Earth to find her voice in each an every one of us – whether male or female.

Photo by est smiltis no ausim on Flickr

*My grandmother would turn silver – i.e. if laying a table during an eclipse she would turn the knife facing outwards so the Blood Moon wouldn’t ’cause harm’ to the person eating. At New Moon she would always turn a silver sixpence in her pocket and make a wish. I still have the sixpence.