Four years ago at this time, I became president of my local astrology group. It might help you appreciate the significance of this if I told you that I’ve never been comfortable in groups and never desired in the least to be the president of anything.
But an eclipse had just cast its shadow on my 10th house Mars, and another was about to square my Venus, the planet that rules my 11th house (groups and organizations). And so, circumstances conspired to put me in that position. This is how eclipses sometimes work– they move us unexpectedly in a direction we wouldn’t have taken on our own, but one that teaches us something we need to know.
I did learn a lot about myself, and about leadership, from playing Madame President. I knew when I took the position that I’d give it my all, but what I didn’t know is that I’d actually do a pretty good job. As an inveterate lone wolf, I was shocked to find I had some solid instincts and leadership ability. On my watch, our group thrived.
But I never enjoyed being Madame President. I took over a group in crisis, and I spent much of the past four years feeling trapped and overwhelmed. For a time, with no successor in sight, I seriously considered moving away so I’d have an excuse to step down!
In the end, all I had to do was announce my resignation. And I found, as countless other leaders have, that once I did, the succession team magically fell into place. Last week, just shy of the Christmas Day eclipse – which opposes my Venus – I passed the crown to my successor. It was the happiest, most peaceful moment I’ve known in four years.
I share a lot about my life in these essays, but I’ve written very little about this experience, even though it’s absolutely dominated the landscape of my life for four years. I’m not sure why. But it’s absolutely on my mind at this New Moon is a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn (Dec. 25, 2019, 9:13 pm Pacific – click here for time and date where you live), a sign of worldly ambition and leadership. This latest in a series of eclipses in this formidable sign (the others have been in January and July 2019) is a call to each of us to think about authority – how and why we do or don’t exercise it, and what we expect from those who lead us.
This latest in a series of eclipses in worldly Capricorn is a call to each of us to think about authority – how and why we do or don’t exercise it, and what we expect from those who lead us.
In some areas of life, we might shirk from taking on authority; in others, we’re tempted to think that if we don’t continue holding the world on our shoulders, everything will devolve into chaos. But that’s rarely true. Eventually, the time comes when we need to let someone else hold things up for awhile. This eclipse occurs at the Moon’s South Node, a point of release; if you’ve been unhappy in a position of authority, or if it’s become clear that you’re needed more elsewhere, it’s a fitting time to let go.
If this eclipse point at 4 Capricorn is within a few degrees of a conjunction, square, or opposition to a planet in your birth chart, think about what that planet means. Think about how it affects your relationship to leadership and authority. And think about the houses of your chart that are ruled by that planet – because those indicate the worlds that you may have been attempting to hold up, perhaps single-handedly, in the misguided belief that you’re the only one who can do it. The house that the eclipse point actually falls in (see this blog post if you’re not sure how to find it) is the one where your strength and leadership are actually needed most right now.
A lunar eclipse next summer will complete this cycle of Capricorn eclipses, but this is the last Solar Eclipse in Capricorn until July 2027. The symbolism of Solar Eclipses is humbling; the eclipsed Solar will must bow to lunar instincts. So I propose that in your gut, you know exactly what you need to let go. Now, all that’s left is to surrender your will and let someone else hold up the world for awhile.
© 2019 by April Elliott Kent
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