2010 Winter Solstice and the Lunar Eclipse as Metaphor

A holistic vision and an esoteric education have enhanced my life and are part of the reasons I practice a symbolic life. A bonus is an urban life-style which offers up ample time to reflect upon the results of my deep noticing. At this time, after my second Saturn return, my needs are taken care of and I feel completely at rest until I am called upon for whatever comes along.

As I pondered what to write on my blog, few things inspired me. As someone who has read most of her life, what could I write about that hadn’t been said many times before? After contemplating for days on what to write, I came to realize that I did have a few personal perspectives to impart to old friends and the next generation of healers.

First a little bit of astrology: In the Natal charts of the “veteran” and the “baby boomers” you will find a creative and passionate Pluto passing close to old man Saturn who represents the traditional structure of our time. It has been our Nature to be creative iconoclasts and break open the hard shell of tradition. Just as we were “the ones” of yesterday, you, the young of today, are “the ones” who come next. Our ways have dovetailed and you will carry on the work of healing the world.

On the Winter Solstice, December 21st of 2010, I heard on the nightly news that a lunar eclipse was about to occur. This kind of event is rare and it has been several hundred years since the last one. The ceilings in my house are 18 feet high with big windows the full length. We can look at the sky anytime of the day or night. This night, I greeted the big and beautiful full moon in the nighttime sky with more appreciation than usual. A few clouds threatened but thought I might get lucky. As it turned out, the cloud cover moved just about the time of the eclipse and wiped out any hope of actually witnessing the lunar event.

Slightly disappointed, I decided to focus my attentions to my intuitions and learn about this event from my gut feelings and inner vision. As I closed my eyes, the eclipse was taking place on my inner landscape…only much faster. In my imagination, it was over in a couple of minutes. In my mind’s eye, I saw the beautiful full moon and then a shadow coming over it. A moon sliver showed for a moment pointing to the left. The shadow continued and eventually encompassed the entire lunar surface. Then it began to move on. Another, but reversed, sliver pointing to the right appeared for a moment. During this time, I felt a sense of waiting….and then a pause in the dark…a stillness that was completely empty…and then a forward movement. With the image and feeling still resonating, a thought came: “Out with the old feminine and in with the new feminine.” It occurred to me that this eclipse was a “threshold” because it certainly felt like a movement from one room to another. I thought about my Saturn return and how different my ego was from before…during my youth.

Pairing this experience up with the condition of my ego after my second Saturn return, I would say this is a point in my personal history (I can’t claim to speak for the collective.) that I take my seat as an archetypal grandmother offering comfort, encouragement and wisdom to the next generation. With this lunar event, a torch has been passed. Of course I will still be around to counsel and advise but, most of all, to watch lovingly as the younger “ones” play the games we are meant to play during our time on Mother Earth.

Blessings to all, Toni
www.tonigilbert.com