As did many people here in the West End, we walked out by the inukshuk at English Bay to see if we could get a glimpse of tonight’s Lunar Eclipse. But at 7:30 pm, we were still too early. We wandered along Denman Street, glancing up the side-streets and alleys, but still couldn’t see the moon. Finally, as we meandered back home, a small group of folks were staring up at the eastern sky, and there we saw it. Red and mystical. Captivating but so very quiet. Suspended in the sky between apartment towers.
I tried taking pictures of tonight’s eclipse with my meager camera-phone, but it just didn’t do it justice. (The picture I’ve used above comes from a stock photo I purchased awhile ago.) Binoculars, too, weren’t all that helpful; they muted the colour too much. Seeing the moon with the naked eye was the best. I ditched the phone, put the binoculars away, and even removed my progressive-lens glasses. There was something about seeing this phenomenon in a truly unobstructed way that was very magical.
Ironically, the best view we got of the eclipse was when we returned home. From our own patio, we saw the eclipsed moon, ruddy with a sliver of white light returning, rising over Safeway and the BC Liquor Store. Somehow it pulled our attention away from the city noise, lights, and movements, and it asked us to be still and watch. It asked us to connect.
From an astrological viewpoint, a Lunar Eclipse functions as an extra-intense Full Moon. Knowing in which house 4 degrees of Aries lies in one’s natal chart can suggest the area of life that will experience the focus of tonight’s eclipse. For me, that’s the 7th house. Perhaps that’s why I felt the need to be connected or attached to someone, to something. The 7th house is about relationships and commitments.
I am eager to listen to the stories of clients and astrology friends over the next weeks to see how this eclipse might bring awareness and understanding. Although a Lunar Eclipse happens twice a year, actually to see it, to be moved by it, seems to have packed an extra element of magic.