Libra Solar Eclipse & In the Wake of Helene

Remember

that the best relationship

is one in which your love

for each other exceeds

your need for each other.

The Dalai Lama

The Solar Eclipse on October 2, 2024, at 10 Libra calls us to show up for relationships.

It marks the culmination of a yearlong process to release patterns of how we engage with others that deplete, diminish or overextend us. The outcome of this naturally opens us to weaving new dynamics into relationships so they are more balanced, built on a foundation of trust and fairness, where we can honor ourselves without threatening the relationship. 

This eclipse marks a powerful new beginning, a potential fresh start for all relationships. If a current relationship is turbulent, the eclipse may accentuate the discomfort so we can address the issues, communicate what we need, and shift out of habits that disempower. A relationship that cannot flex or grow may end at this time.

On the flip side, we may attract a new type of collaboration, partnership or new connection, unlike what we have known before, that inspires and empowers us.

We have a glimpse of how to be fully ourselves through relationship. When relationships invite and celebrate authenticity and honesty, we are called out to show up and be seen. Rather than overly compromising or overextending and becoming a shadow of ourselves, we become more than who would have been doing everything on our own. We find a balance between listening and considering others with letting ourselves to be seen and asserting what we need, feel, see, want. Relationships become more a partnership and less an experience of giving ourselves away or losing ourselves to another’s need.

Mercury conjunct the Eclipse

Eclipse Ruler: Venus in Water Grand Trine with Saturn and Mars

Cardinal T Square – Mars squares the Eclipse, Mercury and Nodes

and

A Contemplation of the Eclipse through the lens of my experience in a world decimated by Helene

We don't learn love,

which is already etched

on our hearts;

we do, however,

begin to unlearn fear.

And with every change

we make from blame

to blessing, we pierce

the veil of illusion

that separates us

from the world we want.

Marianne Williamson

The Solar Eclipse occurs on a New Moon conjoined with the nodal axis. The New Moon is an optimal time each month to set an intention for what we will initiate and grow for the coming month. The Solar Eclipse amplifies this as a time for a shift that has us embark in a new direction. The area of our life primed for a new beginning and the quickening of our heart's desire is revealed by the nature of the house in our natal charts where 10 Libra resides. Those of us with planets between 8 and 12 degrees of cardinal signs (Libra, Capricorn, Aries, Cancer), may experience a seismic shift in how we engage relationship.

This is the third and final South Node Libra eclipse since last October.  The South Node represents the past and what we are moving away from.  In Libra, we look to dissolve issues related to the lower vibrations of Libra. 

I imagine we can recognize ourselves in at least one of the following Libran tendencies that we can successfully address and shift at this time:

• weak boundaries,

• being more aware of others than ourselves,

• self-worth tied to pleasing others or others being pleased with us,

• tendency to maintain peace at all costs,

• pattern of comparing ourself to others,

• overextending ourselves to others,

• weighing pros and cons ad nauseum and never making a choice or taking action.

 The eclipse supports us in honoring what we need and what we bring to the table so that our relationships are healthier and more balanced.

It is an excellent time to initiate a conversation, be honest, and look at ways to uplevel our satisfaction in relationship. Dynamics that disempower one or both parties can be seen and released. The North Node in Aries has us feel an inner strength that has been growing. We are willing to risk losing a relationship rather than losing ourselves in one.  We don’t feel tied to the approval of the other in order to validate ourselves but are willing to risk displeasing another in order to stand strong and true. Authentically and honestly giving of ourselves to relationships nurtures new levels of connection, trust and harmony with others.  

Trusting our Heart's Knowing

Eclipse Ruler: Venus

Water Grand Trine with Venus, Saturn and Mars

There is a smooth and steady flow of water, of feeling, of intuition. This is the water that cleanses and moves out old debris and stuck energy. Trust issues are being healed and we are better attuned to our emotions and intuition as we move within our daily life. There is new potential for new or renewed relationships to be built on a strong foundation of trust and genuine connection.

Strong Libra energies, which are masculine and can put us in our head are balanced out by the Grand Trine.  We can see the merits of all sides of an issue and can endlessly weigh pros and cons without making a clear decision (Libran tendency). Yet, we can drop beneath the weighing of options to feel and to trust the feeling that is guiding us towards one decision or another (Water Grand Trine). A teacher of mine once said, “If you are choosing between two things, you are in your head. If you know what you need to do, you are in your heart.” The Water Grand Trine is supporting us to listen to our heart and let the mind then serve the heart’s knowing. 

This is everybody’s journey:

to be experienced and witnessed

within the confines of this frailty,

which is our human body

that moves towards

its inevitable end.

The only way to strengthen

this frailty is to know exactly

who you are and do exactly

what you know you need to do.

To claim your power this way

 is the only worthwhile journey

 to be undertaken as a human being.

Lujan Matus

 

Actively Securing Nurturance and Safety

Cardinal Grand Cross

Mars Square Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and oppose Ceres

Mars in Cancer stirs up insecurities and concerns for our safety.  Deep feelings can surface related to our childhood, to the aging process and to feeling adequately nurtured. We are motivated to take bold action to protect and defend our interests, our family or our country. The challenge becomes how to do this without becoming selfish or insensitive to the needs of others.

Ceres, the dwarf planet that signifies Nurturance, is the earth goddess herself. She rules agriculture and food production. In the Grand Cross, food insecurities are amplified. Whether it is the rising prices at the local supermarket, failing crops, accessibility to pesticide or hormone free foods, the breakdown of global food distribution networks, or the shifts taking place in our budgets, tension is increasing. Our thoughts about food concerns are increasing.

The Libran energies of Sun, Moon and Mercury stir up our value for fairness. We want our fair share.  But we are also considering the larger picture. Libra is about balance. And so, what is the measure of our fair share in balance with nature and all living beings who also share in the bounty of our earth. We contemplate what is fair and balanced and how can live in better alignment with this awareness. This can result in actions we take for ourselves or our families. It can also lead to activism and how to create a more balanced, just and fair world for all.

Mars is typically in a sign for 6-8 weeks, but because of its upcoming Retrograde cycle, it will be in Cancer for 8 months sparking insecurity, defensiveness and anger around issues of nurturance.  We may become frustrated with our perceived inability to protect what we love or ensure our sense of security. Persistence and tenacity will pay off, but only if we slow ourselves down, practice patience, take things a step at a time, and not get ahead of ourselves.

when the storm passed,

she heard a voice,

soft and clear:

a quiet heart

can hold it all…

 

and after that,

she never hid away, but

faced into the wind &

rain & loved the way

her hair streamed

out behind her.

Kai Skye

 

In the Wake of Helene

The Current State of Things Here on the Mountain

I live in Burnsville, a small town in the North Carolina mountains just north of Asheville. As you are probably aware, we have suffered catastrophic damage in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Our small town is miraculously standing when it seems every town north, south, east and west are all but wiped out. So, our little town, population 1600, has become a hub for FEMA, the National Guard, shelters, makeshift hospitals and relief efforts. Besides Asheville, there are dozens and dozens of small towns that rose up alongside one of the many rivers and creeks that run down off one of the many mountain faces. So, when they all overflow, as they have done in this one in a thousand-year occurrence, the devastation is widespread and it is difficult to comprehend the enormity of what has happened and the challenge that lays before us in the weeks, months and even years to come.

As I write this, now six days after the storm has passed through, helicopters are flying overhead nonstop continuing to rescue people from their homes. There are no roads in or out of our town that are operable. Many roads and bridges have washed away. A makeshift bridge was erected east of town and is open only to emergency vehicles. There was a route available in the neighboring town that could take us down the mountain, open to emergency vehicles, but it is now closed due to erosion and the road giving way. So, for better or worse, my whole world is now confined to a five-mile perimeter.

We have power, but no internet or cell service.18 Water Treatment facilities on the mountain were washed away. Water flows from our faucets from the many rivers and so the treatment centers were built along these rivers. These facilities will need to be rebuilt before we have running water again, which is projected to take months. Storefronts, churches, hospitals and schools have been washed away. Children are expected not to return to school this year. The distribution center for all big grocery store chain on the mountain is under water. There are no normal services like mail delivery, trash pickup, banking, medical clinics… Two days ago, FEMA set up an internet station in the center of each town, so I am hoping I will be able to post this eclipse newsletter there.

I am doing okay and better than most. I have water and food and a full tank of gas (though there is nowhere to go). Until I get internet, I will not be able to do astrology readings. For those of you whose reading I missed, my apologies. With the FEMA internet set up in our town’s Farmer’s Market pavilion, I will check emails once a day. I am happy to hear from you and want to continue to support you with astrological perspectives as I am able. I just ask for your patience as our town and the surrounding mountain is just beginning to pick up the pieces and find a way to function again in the 21st century.

Helene and the Eclipse

The Pisces Eclipse two weeks ago had a strong theme of water with a notable potential for flooding somewhere. I figured I would see in the news that someplace had flooded but naturally thought it would be somewhere else, somewhere not here.  And the strong Piscean theme indicated loss and a way of life coming to an end. Again, I didn’t think it would be so dramatically manifest in what is happening here on the beautiful mountain where I live.

Over the last many days as I have contemplated what to write for the Libran Solar Eclipse, my perspective on the invitation of this Eclipse has shifted, based on the surreal, extraordinary and unusual circumstances in which I find myself living. Above, I gave a more traditional interpretation of the Eclipse…

and now, I offer the interpretation of the eclipse born of my experience the last six days:

Libra is about our relationships with others and how we operate within them. Those of us who have a strong Libran signature in our chart believe that if we all looked after and took care of each other, we would all be taken care of. So, these people naturally tend to consider others and respond to their needs, often to a fault. In this process, they often develop a habit of not honoring or including their needs and wishes in the equation of what needs to be considered when making a decision or looking to make a relationship work. So, yes, this Solar Eclipse in Libra is about how to bring balance to how we engage with ourselves and how not to lose sight of ourselves, and our needs and wishes. 

But…

what I have seen and experienced these last days, has me feel that we have been shaped by a culture that has us hide and insulate ourselves, rather than overextend and compromise ourselves in response to others. Many of us wear masks that do not allow others to really see us for who we are. There are many reasons we may do this: lack of trust, not wanting to be bothered, self-protection. Many of us now work from home. More and more we take classes, have doctor appointments, and work virtually. It’s not that we are over-giving in relationship, it is that we have gradually removed ourselves from engaging with others in the same space, in person, where we can be fully present and responsive.

Here on the mountain, when the storm was over, I, and most, had anticipated that there would be no power and no water. But I, like others, did not imagine that phones would be down as well.  Suddenly, there was no way to communicate with loved ones, with the outside world, with anyone other than the person standing right in front of us.

For a good bit, it seemed to me that we had all forgotten how to communicate without the assistance of our devices. We had forgotten how to gather information or make decisions or get things done without the assistance of cell phones. At first it seemed that the community was not going to come together to support each other. We had forgotten how to coordinate groups, events, anything without the use of our technological devices. Of course, with them, mountains are now being moved literally in the rescue and recovery. But without them, are we really ‘dead in the water?’  We discovered slowly that no we are not.

Our relationship with our technological devices has grown over time to overshadow and supersede our being in direct relationship with the world around. They have become the conduit in which relate to, talk with, and interact with others and the world.

Before the storm, I filled my bathtub with water, got out batteries, purchased supplies and made sure I had a way to keep my cell phone perpetually charged. Yet, in the days that followed, my cell phone was worthless and of no use to me. At first, I was amazed how much time this opened up. But what to do with that time? I first just sat on my stoop and watched time pass.

I live right near the town square, so I am surrounded by people. But the first day it seemed everyone was staying inside. A few people drove by, rolled own their car window, and asked, “Are you okay?” Perhaps that first day we weren’t in much of a talking mood. We were in a collective shock, beginning to come to terms with a new normal and sensing the collective trauma that was just starting to let itself be known.

At twilight, I began to walk around the neighborhood. With the sun having set and the inside of our houses about to descend into darkness, I expected to see people coming onto their front porch.  I did not see one person in front or on the street. I thought how sad that we have all become so insular. So even when our devices and entertainment systems were inoperable, we had forgotten how to come onto our front porches like our grandparents or great grandparents used to.

But gradually, small changes happened. It began with the question: are you okay? This question cracked the ice and opened the way for connection and conversation. People began to share with each other what they knew or had been told or had found out. On a walk, I bumped into someone who let me know that the volunteer fire department had water and was letting anyone fill up containers from their well. This was news that has made all the difference to my overall wellbeing in the days that have followed.

The morning after the power came back on, I stood in line for two hours to get into the grocery store. Those of us in line began sharing with each other what we knew or had heard. The woman who runs our town’s Water Treatment Facility was a couple people in front of me in line. She let us know that our facility had not been washed away like others. It had simply lost its intake mechanism and while it will take time to purchase another, get it here and then get it installed, it does mean that we will not have to wait for water as long as other towns on the mountain who need a whole new facility built from the ground up. This information was comforting and then something I passed onto others I have met since then.

Then there was the couple I met in the town square, and as we talked, they let me know they had hens. So, when FEMA was grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone,  I grabbed two plates of burgers, chips, and coleslaw and drove it to their house.  In appreciation for the meal I brought them, they gave me a dozen eggs. I was delighted.

These are just a handful of the conversations, connections and interactions that began to weave a powerful grapevine of information up and down the mountain, connecting us one to another.

News of what was happening elsewhere on the mountain began coming through a grapevine into our isolated little town. What was going on in the rest of the country or around the world was way beyond our grasp…or perhaps, even interest. We wanted to know what was happening in Micaville.  Gone?  Yes, all gone. Bakersville?  Swept away.  Spruce Pine?  Under water. Green Mountain? Gone. Marshall?  The whole town under water. Same with Swannanoa.  Weaverville? It has the highest death toll. This leads to talk of where bodies have been found, and comments on how they were found in their own home at the bottom of a ravine. Cattail Creek? One of several areas where all residents had to be airlifted to safety. Asheville?  Bad. No matter what we asked about Asheville, people don’t have specifics. They just say, it’s bad, real bad, This road or that road?  Swept away. This bridge or that bridge?  Swept away or buried under mud. This invariably led to questions about people we knew who lived up certain roads that no longer exist. There are so many backroads, dirt roads, small and winding roads that come off the mountain into town, and it seems more than not have been washed away or buried under mud.

One of the most calming

and powerful actions you can do

to intervene in a stormy world

is to stand up and

show your soul.

 

Soul on deck shines

like gold in dark times.

 The light of the soul

throws sparks, can send

up flares, builds signal fires ...

causes proper matters to catch fire...

Struggling souls catch light

from other souls

who are fully lit and

willing to show it.

If you would help

to calm the tumult, this is

one of the strongest

things you can do.

Do not lose heart.

We were made

for these times.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

And so…how does this all relate to the Solar Eclipse?

The Libran Eclipse speaks to something out of balance in how we relate to others, how we engage with relationships.

Over the last two decades, our electronic devices have increasingly facilitated our interactions with others. The growing dependency on them has gradually replaced a more direct, face to face, organic way of connecting. Virtual relationships have come to feel natural. Our home entertainment systems and streaming services can keep us endlessly engaged without having to communicate with others.

Here on the mountain, we still do not have cell connection or internet in our homes six days after Helene. Most people are not working. We are gathering now in public spaces. More and more people are gathering in the street and interacting. People are discovering ways to contribute.  And the way we find out what we need to know or do next, is we show up in person.

Yesterday, for instance, the local pizza place was giving out free pizzas. So, I decided to take several pies to the assisted living facility where Dad lived until he passed away three months ago. I thought to treat the staff to pizza, but when I arrived, I realized they were in full evacuation mode. The remainder of the afternoon, I held the hand of one after another senior resident, people I had come to love in the years Dad lived with them. Many had never been on an airplane, let alone a helicopter or a Chinook. I promised three of them that I would stay with them until they were safely on the helicopter and then whisked off to a foreign facility with only one change of clothing with them.  And how did I happen to be there? I do not know what is going on, because of a text or an email or phone call, but because I show up in person.

 Because of this, I see the Eclipse from a different angle. What I see is that the ways of relating that we need to say goodbye to are not habits of overextending ourselves, but habits where we have allowed ourselves to become unavailable. Our relationship with technology needs to be balanced out with our ability to interact and find out things before technology gave us everything at our fingertips. We have only to remember.

It’s not so much that we need to guard ourselves from a habit of looking to please others, but that we need to identify where we hide and insulate ourselves from letting others see us. We need to look at what we are afraid of that keeps us sequestered in our homes. Are we afraid that relationships will rob us of precious time we don’t have?  Or is it that they might ask something of us we don’t want to give?  Or is it that we have decided that relationships are more work than they are worth, and we wish to just take care of as much as possible ourselves?

More and more, many of us have sought to be fully self-sufficient, to need others as little as possible. The byproduct of this is that we become less and less available and connected to others. I have wondered these days, if so many of us feel so tired because we are trying to do everything ourselves. What are we creating for ourselves by pursuing a life where we do not rely on or need others? It takes a disaster to realize how fruitless and misguided this desire truly is.

It feels good to give ourselves to relationship. It feels good to help others. It feels good to be of service and to meet a need. It feels good to be connected and not isolated. We can do this in a balanced way where we honor our bodily needs, rest, exercise and take care of ourselves. For the truth is that the wellbeing of human beings hinges on our individual ability to contribute, to help others and live in a world revolves around relationship.

Now, in our closest, daily relationships, there may be some cleanup to do. We may need to say goodbye to someone and release them from our life. Before we do, we can try to communicate. Perhaps we have tried many times before. And perhaps, there is a new way we can do this that is authentic and vulnerable, with a sincere belief that trust can be mended. And then, if that doesn’t work, then let them go. 

I live in a big house that is divided into five apartments. My upstairs neighbor has not said hello to me for over two years until two days ago. And then I almost fell over when we had a couple sentence exchange about best places to get food. The neighbor who lives in the basement apartment drinks too much and is known for his raging fits. Yesterday morning, he hauled off and began yelling at me but in the afternoon, for the first time, he apologized for yelling and let me know he was on edge. 

Changes in relationships are happening. Even the small ones are significant. It takes putting down our devices.  It takes leaving our homes and coming onto our porches or driveways, and into our community spaces. It takes more than just thinking the one or three people we are close to are going to satisfy our relationship needs. Perhaps this puts too much pressure on these relationships and asks way too much of them.

Beyond this, there has been a dawning realization over the course of the three Libra eclipses this past year that will change how I engage relationships. I invite you to look over the last year and look to what you have let go of and what you are inviting in that is new to you in how to engage relationship. My realization has to do with my relationship with the greater world.

In the face of the current circumstances in which I find myself, my whole world has suddenly become very small and very immediate. I cannot imagine or open to anything outside what is happening in my town and the several towns that are within, at the most, an hour’s drive.

Typically, my devices open a window into the news of the world. I have had a value for staying informed on what is happening in warring, developing, and like-minded countries; grass roots movements to address world issues; new inventions; and stories of heroism and corruption. In a nutshell, I have pursued a basic understanding of what is currently happening in the world. But at present, it all feels abstract, distant and irrelevant.

As some sense of normalcy returns, I do see myself opening again to news in the world, but I will seek to better moderate how much I look through that window. Instead, I will give added value and more balanced attention to the world that is tangible, not virtual or conceptual.

And it’s not just about staying informed but giving myself more to a world I can experience, interact with, and directly participate in. I will also tune down my virtual worldwide community connections and turn up the volume on connections in the local community with people I can hug and get in the car and go help if they have a need.

Technology has created a world community, a feeling that we are connected and can be aware of what is going on anywhere in the world. But it is abstract and mental. It exists in our mind, but not in a bodily, tactile experience. So, in summary, I invite you join me in unplugging for periods of time, going on a media fast, getting out of our houses when we are not working, and engaging the world directly without the assistance of technology. This is not about all or nothing, technology versus being off grid. For instance, I greatly value my community of astrology-minded people who share my passion and interest in this ancient and magical art. Libra is about balance. We can seek greater balance in how we relate to technology juxtaposed to how we relate to everything else.

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Liv By Design Astrology