Jennifer Hoffman – Eclipses are portals between the past and the future that show us simultaneously where we have been and the possibility of a new potential. That portal to the future is brief but compelling and when the eclipse passes, we have to decide whether we are going to repeat the past and what we know, or release it for the new and unknown.

The glimpse of the future is surrounded in mystery, especially with Neptune in Pisces now, but it is a chance for us to explore new potentials that is not always a smooth flow of information. And eclipse energies usually last for 6 months or more, although the long-term effects are not always as strong as the actual eclipse. We can make the most of eclipse energy if we are flexible and balance our expectations with our intention.

We have had some potent eclipses in February, especially the one on February 26, which was at the same degree, at 8 degree of Pisces, of one on February 26, 1998 and at a degree that has historically been a catalyst for global change, although not always in a beneficial way. What makes this week’s eclipse special is that for the first time since 1847 Neptune is in Pisces, and it is joined by Mercury, the planet that rules our karmic cycles, and that sheds a whole different light on this eclipse.

This eclipse features a balance of planets in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, and Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, a clarion call for endings and beginnings. With its conjunct to our karmic south node, karma, karmic cycles, soul groups, soul promises, and our karmic journey is called up for review. Since 2004, I have been writing that this is the lifetime in which we have come to end karma and that’s why our lives have been so challenging. This eclipse and its endpoint at the end of this particular 19 year cycle, opens the portal so we can complete that mission.

Also, Mars is activating the Uranus/Pluto square of 2012 to 2015, the current Uranus/Eris conjunction and opposing Jupiter in Libra. With Mars in Aries and Neptune in Pisces, we have the alpha and omega in place; human and divine are ready for congruent, inspired action. But not the free flowing action that we think our divinity brings us to, this action is choppier, not very free flowing, and can feel like being in a strobe light.

In a solar eclipse the Moon covers the Sun; in a lunar eclipse the Sun covers the Moon and in both we have the two lights in the sky, the Sun and the Moon, overshadowing each other. Eclipses also move in 19 year cycles, and the February 26, 2017 eclipse was the end of a 19 year Pisces/Virgo cycle that also encompassed the beginning and end of the 12 year spiritual awakening cycle which began in 2003 with Jupiter in Virgo, and ended in September 2016 when Jupiter moved into Libra.

A lot has happened in this 19 year period and we’re at the end of that cycle so we can begin a new one. We have completed the Martyred Healer and Christ Consciousness paradigm, with the end of the Virgo/Pisces eclipse cycle to enter the Empowered Master and Christed Awareness paradigm, ushered in by the Leo/Aquarius eclipse cycle.

Eclipses can be very difficult, especially if they touch a natal planet or strongly aspect the natal chart. But overall, they are cosmic awakeners and happen when we need to consider new directions and new potentials, impacting us individually and collectively. Because they affect the ‘lights’, they impact everyone in some way, usually by turning off the light in one part of our life while turning on the light somewhere else.

Here are some ways to survive eclipse energies and make the best of the enlightened darkness, new potentials, and energy shifts.

1. Try to avoid judging any situation in the short term. Like a Mercury retrograde, eclipses are an invitation to re-consider, re-lease, re-do, and re-vision, and rest. If something isn’t working, don’t push it. On the other hand, if new opportunities suddenly arise, explore them without putting all of your eggs in that basket. Eclipse energies last 6 months or more, so a lot of back and forth movement can happen during that time.

2. Self judgment is not helpful so whatever comes up from the past, let it go without getting out the judgment microscope. Know that if something from the past does come up it is tied to something new in the future and will involve a choice to change or not, which you can’t see yet.

3. Avoid expectations that the eclipse will be good or bad (which are also judgments). A bad or difficult event may happen which shows you what you can release or transform so you can allow yourself to have something far more joyful and fulfilling.

4. If you stay in your intention for the energy you want in your life, such as peace, joy, love, and prosperity, the eclipse will open the way for those energies to enter, usually by pointing out all of the blocks that stand in the way of new energy.

5. This is one time to take the long view and be the observer, as eclipses act as a mirror of our emotional energy. We use our emotions to filter energy and those filters get clogged with our past trauma, which eclipses can help us clear up. First, they show us what the mirror is reflecting and then ask us to consider alternatives.While a great outcome is possible during a 6 month eclipse cycle, the energy is not smooth, so the outcome is possible once we release our limitations and that is generally what shows up first. Avoid judgments along the way and stay in the intention you want for your life that will help you make the best use of the nature of eclipses, which opens and closes portals of opportunity and forces some emotional and energetic housekeeping on us, all for the purpose of moving into greater aspects of our being.

Eclipse energy stays in force for 6 months or longer, so we’ll be feeling the February 2017 eclipses until August, when the next set of eclipses occurs. The August 21 eclipse is of particular interest to anyone born in the Pluto in late Leo/early Virgo generations, from 1955 to 1963, as it is exactly conjunct your natal Pluto, so expect some interesting events for this generation. These could include a life transformation such as starting a business, moving, divorcing, breaking ties with family or friends, or similar life events. Anything you have been putting off in the way of life transformation could be moved forward then. And the February eclipse cycle will pave the way for those events, so pay attention to what happens during these next few months.

The Universe blesses us with new potentials for joy, love, peace, and prosperity which takes us out of our comfort zone, where we aren’t always comfortable but we’re surrounded by what we know and what is familiar, into new territory. As long as we’re open to change, stay fluid with how our outcomes are fulfilled and firm within our intentions, we can manage the energy movement that is catalyzed by eclipses and use it to our benefit, to create a more joyful, joy-filled, fulfilling life that we enjoy.

 

Copyright (c) 2017 by Jennifer Hoffman. All rights reserved. You may quote, copy, translate and link to this article, in its entirety, on free, non-donation based websites only, as long as you include the author name and a working link back to this website. All other uses are strictly prohibited.

SF Source Enlightening Life Feb. 2017