Dec 10 delivers the final lunar eclipse of the year. An average year will have a total of four eclipses; we’ve had six this year (four lunar, two solar.) No wonder we have had such an intense year.

The lunar eclipse of Dec 10 is particularly hot-wired. This is due to the trigger Uranus which stations direct and ends a five month retrograde cycle, on just before midnight PST on Dec 9. Expect circumstances to accelerate and intensify. Eruptions and disruptions are to be expected. The European Union is expected to meet to discuss unification measures, Dec 9. Egyptians may hear the results of recent elections. Syria and the growing situation between England and Iran are currently building steam. The daily news continues to churn out big headlines.

A full moon polarizes and illuminates. Occurring across the Gemini/Sagittarius axis, this lunar eclipse brings communications to a critical peak. Are we saying one thing and demonstrating something else? Are we speaking the same language? How do we get on the same page? Among the possible issues for this eclipse: the many against the one; compromising tomorrow for today; going the distance, too many opinions or variables, how to keep everyone on board and happy. Also on topic: currency measures and money exchanges, religious differences, alienation, isolation, language barriers, immigration, import/export, travel, transport, social networks, the media.

Mars in Virgo and Ceres in Pisces also flavour this eclipse. Mars in Virgo suggests a major complaint can be that of “not enough and not fast enough”. When Mars is in Virgo, more fixing, improving and refining becomes necessary. Positively, Mars in Virgo intensifies the drive to keep plugging away for better solutions. Head-on and with both feet on the ground is the only way to face the moment. It speeds the way to correction.

The influence of Ceres in Pisces suggests we are all in it together. No one is immune. Nothing remains in isolation. Collective consciousness is a lively breeding pool now. Will there be more disillusionment, confusion, and loss, or will resurrected hope find its safe harbour? In its positive application, Ceres in Pisces can be unifying and operate as merger or synthesis point for the eclipse. It offers a potential for currently polarized worlds or differing viewpoints to live side by side, to put aside differences long enough to find a workable and productive accord.

The Full Moon is always the alignment of the Sun and Moon in opposite Zodiac signs. The lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is smack dab in the middle, altering how the Moon reflects the solar light. Eclipses come in pairs, and usually come every six months, as that's when the Moon's orbit hits the ecliptic.
There's a mysterious, underworld quality to the lunar eclipse. The Moon turns orangey or blood red, because of the shorter wavelengths being filtered through the Earth's atmosphere. This frightened people in earlier times, as the cool lunar surface turned a malevolent red. Some cultures believed the Moon was swallowed by a three-legged toad (China) or a jaguar (Maya), and was a herald of demonic or destructive energies afoot. They shouted, clanged pots and pans, and banged drums to dispel the dark spirits lurking around.

What does it bring? Since full Moon's are a time of illumination, the lunar eclipse momentarily throws up shadows of darkness. And often it's the shadows of the "unlived life," buried potential, being brought to the surface. It's a bit like the rich void of the New Moon, where you're in touch with a well of psychic material. It can be disorienting, as your feet are often leaving the ground of the known!
If you've been living in a fantasy world, you're knocked back to earth. It can be destabilizing and rock the foundations. You are forced to be fully present to some event. You may get shattering news. It takes awhile to fully understand what's happening, and to find your footing again. Sometimes the events of the eclipse are worked out over a long period, say six months.

Full Moons are times of super high energy, and surging emotion across the spectrum. The eclipse intensifies the sense of being overwhelmed, and events are experienced in vivid color. You'll get this hit in the house in which the eclipse is taking place. It also loosens the moorings of any planet it touches. You're in the rapid transformation chute, and clues to how it'll manifest come from the Zodiac sign of the Sun and Moon at the time. Eclipses liberate us from the status quo, and get things moving. It's a time to trust, though the outcome may be uncertain, that all things work toward progress in the end.
Mercury retrograde ends on 12/13 at 8:43 PM, but new projects will launch more powerfully after the New Moon on 12/24.


The extra energy required to keep relationship and money issues in balance Dec. 15-24 will be worth the effort!


A fresh approach to relationships and creativity may serve you well 12/20 thru 1/13. Be sure to follow your intuitive flashes in these areas!


It's an especially good time for spiritual immersion, inspired creativity, and flowing unconditional love to others around 12/20.
The year draws to a close on a note of change and with a hint that something new and positive lies ahead in 2012.