 by C. Ravin, Esq. The coming Solar Eclipse on August 11, 1999, in the Fixed Sign of Leo, is the most talked-about planetary alignment in years. So allow me to spill even more bytes on this powerful lunation. What is the big deal, anyway? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, 1999 has been quite a disruptive time in the heavens, and, well: As Above, So Below. We have all been subjected to an end-of-the-Millennium body-slam, and it would be fair to say that the eclipse will mark the count, and hopefully we will all be able to get up off the mat and finish the fight. Will it really be that bad? It depends on who you are. Chances are you have not had the easiest year, and may have suffered many setbacks already. Not that the eclipse will make things worse, yet it will bring certain issues that have been brewing all year to a boil. My hope is that no one gets scalded. The most important idea that you can get out of this eclipse is that like all eclipses, it represents change. If there has been any question about an issue that has been central to your life, this year, the eclipse will point out the path that you should, in fact, must take. You may have been moving even closer to this decision for a while. Chances are, you know exactly what it is. Well, basically you have one month to tie up the loose ends before the need to put this new change into effect is upon you. So do just that starting now. You cannot have it both ways, and now, more than ever, if you do try to have your cake and eat it, too {or, to have Kate and Edith, too}, you will be thwarted, and suffer a loss greater than if you make this change from a mature standpoint, and follow the path that you have been contemplating all year. Those who will be most affected are those with planetary placements in the middle degrees of Fixed Signs. That would indicate folks with: Ascendant (Rising Sign) Sun (your "sign") Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto in the signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius between 15-20°. Each sign has a total of 30°, when multiplied by the 12 signs equal 360°, the entire wheel of the Zodiac. What can we do? Here is some advice, from noted astrologer Kim Rogers-Gallagher: Set a goal or a project, and work like hell at it in July and August. Make sure it is something that you consider worthwhile and not minor. The planets, you see, especially Saturn, will provide you with a special prize if you do good, hard work. Plan for a healthy outpouring of blood, sweat and tears. Do not think that you can ignore it. You have missed too many opportunities over the years to maximize, and probably even to recognize, the particularly useful energy that eclipses provide to facilitate change. Now more than ever, you can see what you’ve been missing so that future eclipses will be more significant and useful to you. Should you find that you would like this for yourself, then please read on. So, let’s examine this planetary supplex, and see just what types of energies we will face. Square Numéro Un Mars Square Uranus - a trigger-happy aspect that indicates rebellion and a detachment from its own affect. Picture Doug and Steve Butabi from A Night at the Roxbury, oblivious to the people they knock down as they spaz out on the dancefloor. It’s a dizzying, uncontrollable physical energy that doesn’t notice the pain it inflicts, nor cares much for the mess it makes. Square Numéro Deux Saturn Square Uranus - this energy pushes the most conservative and stolid among us into uncharacteristic measures. Picture Clint taking a bullet for the kid. Reckless, out of character, but lives are at stake, so sudden, drastic action is required - for a noble (Leo) purpose. Square Numéro Trois The Eclipse Square Mars - any eclipse square anything at all is a power-pack of energy, especially an eclipse in Fixed, fiery, and dramatic Leo - which is also square Mars, who’s square Uranus. Think murder mystery weekends, or your favorite tragic opera. To call it 'energizing' would be a British way of expressing it. Square Numéro Quatre The Eclipse Square Saturn - insists on unemotional action, possibly from a position of authority. Prideful, bossy and fiery (Leo) energy in abundance grinds against sturdy, stubborn and conservative (Taurus) energy. Picture the opening scene in Face/Off, The John Woo-directed scene where arch criminal Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage) 'squares' off against star FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta), or any scene where the brash lawbreaker runs 'square' into the wall of the seasoned cop’s chest, and they battle for their lives. Each energy has its own need to be victorious, at any cost. The heart of this eclipse, which falls in the sign of Leo, zodiacal ruler of the heart, is an opposition between Saturn in sturdy, stubborn Taurus and Mars in intense, no-holds-barred Scorpio. Both planets are almost exactly opposite. Saturn is the most elevated planet in the chart, at the top, guarding the Midheaven, where he is most comfortable and considerably strong in Taurus, and not at all willing to compromise. Mars, the Roman God of War, is poised by the IC, or Nadir, banging at the door to the 4th house like a drunken boyfriend at 2 a.m.. The 4th house is ruled by Cancer, so his position in Scorpio blends more easily with Cancerian 4th house issues, like power in the home and comfort in our daily surroundings. He is wearing his Scorpio outfit, which is basically lots of chain mail, a broad sword and a mace. Scorpio knows how to wait, which Saturn, the elder, demands, yet both signs represent drastically different urges-in fact, altogether opposite urges. Think of any Scorpio-Taurus people you know, and meditate on just how opposite they are. Now picture Mars and Saturn wielding those energies, acting like those folks when they are not happy. Now, no matter what sign Mars is in, he simply cannot wait for too long. At some point, he wants and will demand action. Mars rules the sign Aries. Think of the Aries people you know. The most patient people you know, right? ...not! Exact opposites always manifest clearly. This will be the case beginning the week of August 8th, and the opposition will be exact starting Monday, the 9th. Further, the opposition is at 17°, meaning that both planets are at 17 degrees of their respective signs. This represents the midpoint of the eclipse at 19° Leo opposite Uranus at 15° Aquarius. The degrees near to the centers of the Fixed Signs are the most powerful of the Zodiac. This is where power is the most 'fixed'. Astrologer Maya del Mar reminds us, "The four seasons, when the Sun crosses these zones, are celebrated by many cultures, and in this eclipse, we have every one of those zones occupied-an awesome Fixed Grand Cross primed for action." I agree, yet I would modify the word 'primed' and replace it with the word 'begging'. The Fixed Signs--Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius--accumulate, maintain and use power. They represent strong will, determination, and difficulty with change. Maya del Mar states, "In a chart [the Fixed Signs] refer to desire, resources, and values. We are basically value-driven and it is the fixed cross that shows our underlying motive power. When Fixed Signs are in challenging aspect, stress and tension build up as values conflict. Think of fixed Earth, and how tension builds up in all its natural systems, as well as in the crust itself. Release of that tension is finally inevitable, and in Fixed Signs that release is big time. Earthquakes and volcanoes are examples." I tend to disagree that we are value-driven. It is my belief that we are more driven by desire. Human beings are desiring machines. That is why selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors such as Wellbutrin and Prozac are so successful, also in their use in smoking cessation. Not all desire is bad, however. All humans have issues in the department of desire and the Fixed Signs are no different. The Mutable Signs desire change, the Cardinal Signs desire action, and the Fixed Signs desire the status quo. They don’t like change, and those of us who have important planetary placements in the Fixed Signs, with respect to the issues indicated by those planets, are no different. And it is our desires, as well as our values, that will be on the cross next month, so to speak. 
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