August Eclipses Dominate the Hero's Quest or the Descent into Chaos? by Art Gianfermo, who is actively engaged in AstroJournalism "The course of true love never did run smooth". - (Act I, Scene I). from Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream Entering August we reach the blazing height of Mid Summer, a time of great Leonine drama and spectacle when solar energies peak. This month is so over the top with astrological signatures and significance that I will only cover a few high points. August is traditionally a time of celebrations, a time to mark the abundant harvests and when massive gatherings occur around the world. The Olympics are being held on an auspicious day and time of 8-8-2008. The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing will begin at 8:08:08pm CCT (12:08:08 UTC). Despite all the elaborate preparations by the Chinese government, the unexpected and dangerous energies of Mars-Uranus separating from a deadly opposition on 6-8-08 will continue to create havoc. Mars is applying to an explosive Square on August 16th the day of the Lunar Eclipse. This signals attempts at subverting the ceremonies with destructive acts. Even though some disruptions may occur, the theme of admiration, love and spiritual ideals are present. Notice that the asteroid Eros in Leo, demanding the spotlight and unfailing love, is closely opposing Neptune's ideal vision. Mars Opposition to Uranus - The Challenges from Virgo/Pisces In August it is not just the stubborn, fixed signs that will create roadblocks for all us heroes in our journey. The perilous Mars-Uranus Opposition looms and is known to be the harbinger of accidents, violent acts, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, electrical blackouts and explosions. This is the axis of the Victim/Perpetrator or Savior/Service with Virgo Mars representing a militant force and Uranian Pisces an insanity or loosing one's mind. Already by the eve of the eclipse Thursday night two ghastly acts of murder and mayhem. In Niagra, Wisconsin, a gunman opened fire (Mars-Virgo) on a group of young swimmers gathered along a riverbank (Pisces) killing three of them and wounding one. Even more gruesome is the 40-year-old man who witnesses said stabbed and beheaded his seat mate on a Greyhound bus in Canada (Mars-Virgo public transportation). Power was brought to court is shifting along with tectonic plates. After the July 29th 5.4 Magnitude quake in the greater Los Angeles area concern is growing particularly with Neptune culminating at MC and Venus at IC on the West Coast solar map. Geo political power is also changing direction at an alarming rate, aided by this Mars-Uranus exact opposition on August 6th at 22 Virgo//Pisces. This is an opposition which will cross both the US Sibley chart's Mars-Neptune square and George Bush's nodes of destiny. Thus the potential for war and conflict is magnified but also with the Solar Eclipse Sun-Moon moving over the Mercury-Pluto conjunction at 9 degrees Leo in GWB's chart. Herald a fall from grace for a petty dictator. Mid Summer Dreams or Nightmares? August, is a time when the valiant, heroic sign Leo, is ready to risk his/her life for true love but not always his/her pride and dignity. For many us this month will be a time of beautiful dreams coming true and for others a series of nightmares The Eclipse Season resumes with the New Moon on 8-1 at 6:13 AM ET. Our heroic paths may not be all that clear with Neptune, the esoteric ruler of Leo now in the sign of community Aquarius opposing personal planets. This is a time when we need to cooperate with the divine. Venus is separating from a difficult opposition to Neptune (exact on July 31st) a time of idealistic love along with defeats, the acceptance of losses which includes resignations of the famous and infamous. On July 30th the "Wannabe Machiavelli" Karl Rove who befriended the Idiot Prince was cited for contempt of Congress. There are rumors (Neptunian energies) of Rove being publicly pursued for possible punishments including an array of alleged past and present Bush administration misdeeds. On August 6th Mercury opposes Neptune adding to the examples of deception and scandals. On Aug. 15th Sun opposes Neptune exactly right before the next eclipse a Partial Lunar Eclipse @ 24 Aquarius. Both Eclipses fall across Rove's (born Dec. 25, 1950) Ascendant Descendant making him the next scapegoat before GWB finally falls. Lammas Besides the much promoted 2008 Beijing Olympics which has become the lightening rod for Tibetan freedom, another celebration happens on the day of Solar Eclipse. From the Druid and Wiccan traditions, we have two holidays in one. On July 31st. Eve and August 1st Day is Lughnasadh-Lammas, one the Celtic fire festivals. First of all "Lugnasadh" is the name of the holiday that comes to us from Gaelic, referring to the feast celebrating the games of the Irish sun god, Lugh. Reading the lore, we find that Lugh actually is commemorating the death of Taillte, his foster mother. "Lammas" means, "loaf-mass," giving us the tradition of baking loves of bread from the first grain harvest which resonates with the asteroid Ceres in Cancer now applying to a quincunx with Neptune. A common custom during this time is the handfasting that lasts a year and a day. Couples use this time to decide if they can live together for life or to part ways. This custom of handfasting goes well with the romantic fifth house of Leo where seeking a partner for life is emphasized. The magnetic, self confident, great hearted Leo's quest is about finding someone to warm up and shine upon - a personal journey which can lead to deeper understanding. Solar Eclipse and the Saros Series 10 South This year the Solar Eclipse event on August 1st. is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth and belongs to the so-called midnight Sun eclipses The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. All these territories are earthquake prone this year. The partial lunar eclipse on August 16th begins with the penumbral eclipse at 18:23 UTC and the time of greatest eclipse is 21:10 UTC. This eclipse will be seen by all of Europe and Africa. In South America and Australia their will be partial visibility. Both August Eclipses are part of the Saros Series 10 South which began on March 10, 1179 AD and end on April 13, 2423. Bernadette Brady in her classic The Eagle and the Lark (page 323) sums up: "This Saros Series concerns itself with breaking out of very negative situation, where no hope can be seen to a more positive space containing many options. A worry that may have been affecting a person will suddenly clear up. " First we have a Total Solar Eclipse on Friday August 1st at 9+ Leo with a Sabian that speaks of rejuvenation: "Early morning dew" from Dr.Marc Edmund Jones Sabian Symbols page 278. A more modern version tells of the power of universal love channeled via the sun to dispel evil, taken from The Zodiac by Degrees by Martin Goldsmith page 130: "In front of a marble temple wide-eyed Isis holds up a golden ankh, from which shining rays of light fan outward. Next to her stands the stern pries t of Re, his eyes closed." Solar Eclipse Fixed Stars. The summer's light grows shorter as the power of the eclipses grows stronger. The August 1st eclipse set for 5:21:08 AM in Washington DC. This is the time of greatest eclipse where two powerful fixed stars are rising and setting: Sirius - Heliacal Rising Star and Ras Alhague the great healer from the constellation Ophiuchus aka the Serpent Bearer is the Heliacal Setting star. Sirius the brightest star in the sky said to emit seventy times the quantity of light and to be three times more massive than our Sun. In this chart Sirius is in paran with the Sun Rising with a close orb of 01 mins 03 secs. This is known to create "Sudden success which can burn" The Sirian Star Gate which occurs every year around July 23, and lasts until about August 8 is the doorway of fame. Sirius is known to be the marker of great deeds and fame - a time when the mundane becomes the sacred. This is a time when the small action (Mars-Virgo) of the individual can have a huge effect on the collective or society as a whole. The figure of Ophiuchus is identified as Aesculapius who was said to incarnate in the form of snakes. Although capable of destruction with its poisonous bite, the snake's ability to shed its skin also makes it a potent symbol of healing and regeneration In relationship to Leo, Strength, the 8th card of the Tarot's Major Arcana - key characters are that of a woman and a lion, with the woman looking calm and gentle, yet dominant over the lion. The woman in this card is the symbolic Goddess who is returning to earth as the culmination of the Virgo (Virgin) and Pisces (Savior-Victim) axis begins. Ophiuchus stretches from the head of Hercules in the North to Scorpio in the South. Hercules, being the son of Zeus, is an archetype of strength which is needed at this time as the law giver representation of banking, Jupiter is now retrograde. Hercules is a Solar Hero, noted for his archetypal 12 labors – each one standing for one sign of the Zodiac. During this eclipse powerful aggressive Mars is setting when Ras Alhague is Culminating in close orb 00 mins 47 secs - Bringing order and wisdom to difficult problems, we hope. Obama and The Eclipses of Destiny Leo as a sign signifies both the consumate celebrity and the psychological hero whose Lion-Hearted behavior cannot help but grab the public eye. Each year a Leo personage dominates over his brothers and sisters and this year it is Barack Obama, whose birth certificate reads August 4, 1961 7:24 P:M AHST + 10:00 for Honolulu, HI. The politicazation of the corporate media in 2008 demands that we fixate on a rigged horse race especially with Jupiter in Capricorn retrograde joining Mars-Saturn by trine/ The Aigist 1st eclipse for Osama is about how others especially partners-supporters will view him with transiting Moon-Sun-Mercury in Leo all applying to his descendant at 18 Leo. We have to question the idea that he is possibly a true Manchurian candidate ala the transiting Venus-Neptune opposition over his S Node and those much maligned Saturn-Mars having him dance to the tune of the Brzezinski-Trilateral faction per Webster Tarpley, a political author and astute observer of DC politics.. The total solar eclipse on August 1st has North Node of destiny at 18 Leo 31 Rx applying to a close conjunction with Osama's ascendant 18 Aquarius 03 yielding a Sabian Symbol with a dramatic, theatrical description apropos for Osama: "A rapt audience watches a great actor who rehearses the final scene of Macbeth Though there is no set, the audience can clearly visualize the burning castles in the distance." This is descriptive of the personal myth that Osama the hero is playing out other's beliefs and fantasies The image of burning castles not only demonstrates a wild imagination evoked by the crowd but it also hints at a self-destructive, passionate nature or power lust whch could even destroy. This degree of Aquarius is the same as the Sun for James Dean and the Moon for Orson Wells. Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 16th. Lunar Partial Eclipse on August 16th is filled with as many mixed portents from divinity to revolution. Election issues are highlighted with Full Moon Partial Eclipse. The maverick Chiron and mighty healer is conjunct the N Node 18 degrees Aquarius. This relates to the earlier Feb 7th 2008 eclipse with Sun-Moon at 18 degree. This eclipse has Moon-Neptune together at 22 Aquarius evoking the Sabian Symbol: "A big bear sitting down and waving all it's paws." per Dr. Marc Edmund Jones page 293.. This image relates to the Little Dipper or Little Bear that stirs up the heavens and earth with revolutionary agenda and social reform. As the idealism (Neptune) of the people (Moon) is charged up we may see a greater need to kick out the bad guys. In terms of manifesting the principle of revolution and change we see Saturn-Mercury-Venus and Mars all in earthy in Virgo. This Virgo grouping is conflicting aspects to both Uranus-Pisces and transforming Pluto. The deck may well be stacked against having a fair election as the Saturn-Uranus opposition looms on November 4th along with the historical 17-18 Aquarius /Leo Axis. Looking back at the 2000 election the 17-18 Aquarius/Leo axis was prominent. Looking back at the 2000 election the 17-18 Aquarius/Leo axis was prominent. (I go into more detail in my blog entries for February 2008). Former US Vice President Al Gore who conceded the presidency to George W. Bush on Dec. 13, 2000 after a tug a war with Mercury retrograde. Gore had his converse secondary progressed Sun at 18 Aquarius 10. Transiting Uranus on that day was at 17 Aquarius 51, conjunct transiting Vesta was at 17 Aquarius 51 The Sabian for 18 Aquarius:"An ominous silence falls, as the last man at a masquerade prepares to unmask. Outside , a thunderstorm is brewing." This potent Sabian symbol of unmasking of falsehoods, political corruption is prominent this Fall and another challenge for all of us heroes to meet with intrepid style. This Site is Hosted by Site Action Web Hosting for the Real World