Great bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin Temple in Kamakura; photo by Fg2 via Wikimedia Commons.
Full Moon/Penumbral Eclipse @ 24 Pisces 20'
September 16, 2016
12:05 PM Pacific
3:05 PM Eastern
September’s Full Moon is a penumbral lunar eclipse in the tropical sign of Pisces. As with all Full Moons, you may notice things coming into clearer focus now. Whatever you have put into motion two weeks prior, will begin to manifest, culminate, or reach a breaking point. The lunar eclipse will often amplify this process. In the sign of Pisces, the Full Moon/eclipse points to the power of your perception and the quality of your conscious state. As the final sign of the zodiac, Pisces embodies the truth that what we experience throughout life is always filtered through our own biases, judgements, or quality of awareness.
In a conjunction with Chiron, the Full Moon/eclipse can also bring to your attention deeply buried wounds related to feelings of disconnectedness from life, God/Goddess, or the universe as a whole. The opposition of the Moon/Chiron and the Sun create a t-square with Mars in Sagittarius. The tension of this Full Moon may feel uncomfortable. It may ignite a subtle crisis of meaning as it illuminates an existential void that exists within each of us, but contained within this Full Moon/eclipse is the potential for much healing and resolution.
How you choose to respond to this Full Moon energy is the key. Pisces’ deeper, esoteric truth is that the outer world doesn’t actually exist as we experience it. What we see is only a perception of the universe, not what it actually is. The vast majority of spiritual teachings suggest this. While ultimately that’s probably true, experientially, life is pretty damn convincing. Subjectively, the world appears to be real, and we’re kind of stuck with that for a while. So, what do we do with such a realization? We could yield to nihilism and write life off as meaningless, or we could use such insight to engage with life in a more conscious and meaningful way.
The choice is always ours. And whichever choice we make will be reflected in our perception of what happens to us. The centaur asteroid Chiron, aligned with this Full Moon/eclipse gives you an opportunity to change your perception and squaring Mars, it amplifies the need to actively engage in that process. The best way to resolve this Full Moon/eclipse is through the practice of mindfulness. As we move throughout life, things happen to us and we have reactions. From our perspective, our reaction is actually all that we experience.
Chiron’s message is that pain is an inevitable part of being human. Our reaction to pain can lead to suffering or it can serve as a catalyst for change in our lives. Consider what is presented to you at this Full Moon/eclipse with mindfulness. Instead of reacting as you normally would, see that it’s possible to notice your feelings without identifying with them.
Use this final eclipse portal of the year as an opportunity to shift your view, maybe even your attitude towards some difficult things in life. You may realize that while difficulty and pain are sometimes inevitable, your response actually lies in your hands. In other words, we can’t control life, but we can control how we see life and how much we allow it to dictate our choices. As Buddha so wisely stated, “Your worst enemy cannot hurt you as much as your own thoughts, if you have not mastered them.”