This month begins with a lunar eclipse in Leo in a nakṣatra or lunar mansion called Pūrvaphālgunī. This nakṣatra is ruled by a deity called Bhaga, who is a lord of wealth and happiness, luck and fortune (as well as one’s fate and destiny). In particular, this deity is connected with love and marriage. The full moon and lunar eclipse here amplify these themes, and the mantra to bring in its potential benefits is:
Auṁ Bhagāya Namaḥ
The effects of this lunar eclipse will extend through Thursday of this week, closing out this eclipse season. The few weeks after a series of eclipses are auspicious for beginning new endeavors. It as if we’ve just been through a cleanse, and are feeling a bit lighter and clearer after having moved through what can be the dark tunnel of eclipse time periods.
The major events unfolding on the world stage during this time are no-doubt related to the intensity and vulnerability that can come about as a result of the luminaries being weakened. The Sun’s weakness during a solar eclipse (which occurred February 17th in the early morning) makes leaders and those in positions of power vulnerable—not only to making mistakes, but also to being exposed. The sign Aquarius—natural place of obstacles and things that are hidden/poisonous—shows the source of vulnerability and the themes surrounding the eclipse-effect for these people.
Since Mars entered Aquarius on February 22nd, he instigated significant combinations for military activity (Sun-Mars) and war or battle (Mars-Rahu). What will remain throughout March is dishonesty and manipulation (Mercury-Rahu), as the hoard of planets that’s been traveling together for months now gradually trickles into Pisces throughout March and April. On the positive side, Mercury-Rahu is an excellent combination for technical writing—or any positive manipulation of language.
Aquarius is both a sign of rebellion and a pot of poison. It is the sign of ‘the collective,’ where revolutions come from, as well as a place of storage. It could be thought of as where revolt against what has been stored for too long happens. This may be occurring collectively, but it will also be present on some level in your personal life. It can be a productive time to carefully examine what in your life might be showing signs of rot. This can be physical possessions but also emotions or habits of thought and action. Getting outside of your normal routine, doing some spring cleaning and donating old and outworn objects can be a great way to facilitate this process. The upcoming transits to Pisces will also help with ‘letting go’ of the stagnancy that the transits to Aquarius have helped to identify.
If you are frustrated with feeling stuck or overburdened, it may be helpful to know that the karma of Aquarius is extremely complex. It is the natural ‘blind spot’ or bhadaka of the zodiac, which means it is a place can be easily ignored, is inherently difficult to understand and where we can get in our own way. The deity Ganesha is one of the most helpful energies for any Aquarius-related confusion.
The solar eclipse here highlighted issues that may not be at all new, but have remain somehow concealed and lost to the public view. These issues will be coming into more and more light over the next couple of years as the coming eclipse cycles re-cur along this Aquarius-Leo axis, which is fundamentally concerned with the relationship between individual authority and power (Leo) and its impact on the collective (Aquarius). Eclipses tend to churn up the themes of whatever axis that they re-cur in (generally for a couple of years at a time) and will be especially challenging and transformative for people with significant planets in the signs under influence.