Lunar Eclipse May 26 2021

Below is the chart for yesterday's Lunar Eclipse:



This is the first eclipse chart of any kind I've done here. My thought is to approach it as a lunation chart: We'll discuss the eclipse itself; the first house and its significations; and any other details which stand out.

A few notes on eclipses, before we begin:

In Mundane Astrology, eclipses of the Sun and Moon always indicate trouble. The nature of that trouble is shown by the eclipse's placement in the chart; the duration of the trouble is shown by the length of the eclipse. At least in theory, a lunar eclipse is active for a number of months equal to the number of hours the eclipse lasts. The duration of our eclipse is a little over three hours, so its effects will be active through the end of August.

That said, let's start with

The Eclipse

Wednesday's lunar eclipse occurs in the sign of Sagittarius, in the Sixth House. This gives us a good deal of information right off the bat.

In a Mundane chart, the Sixth House rules public health, the working class, and the military. Sagittarius, meanwhile, is a mutable sign of the element of Fire. Eclipses in mutable signs have effects that are hard to predict-- their effects are subtle, with many hidden causes, rather than one large event or catastrophe. Fire signs, meanwhile, indicate fiery events-- violent crime in the social sphere, actual fires in the natural world.

All this suggests that this summer, we will see a steady, slow burn of bad news. Violent crime is currently rising throughout the country; expect the hot months to exacerbate the problem. Public health troubles are clearly predicted, but the cause may be obscure-- part of the country has a vested interest in it not being the vaccine, and another part has a vested interest in it not being Covid, so we may see the matter ignored or denied in the official media. Unemployment is going to continue to be a problem as we move into summer. Trouble with the military is also likely, probably related to the Biden Administration's ongoing purge of its political rivals.

I don't expect a return to last summer's rioting, because 2021 is an odd-numbered year.

I do expect a major outbreak of wildfires in the Western United States. In theory, a lunar eclipse's effects are more potent where the eclipse is actually visible, and this eclipse was visible throughout the Western and Mountain Time Zones.

The First House and Its Ruler

The great mitigating factor in this eclipse is the First House. The First House rules the people generally, especially the common people who aren't able to make their voices heard, and in this chart it is ruled by the sign of Gemini. Gemini's ruler is Mercury, and Mercury has a very great deal of power in this chart. He is located in Gemini, the sign of his rulership, right on the First House cusp.

Here is a theory that I'm working with. Each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac corresponds to one of the Twelve Olympian Gods in Graeco-Roman theology. These twelve gods shape the whole of the created world. You can read more about them in Sallustius's On the Gods and the World. In the Phaedrus, Plato suggests that each of us is basically governed by one of these twelve gods, and it is to that god that we ultimately return, at the end of our long earthly sojourn. Lately, I've been thinking about this while looking at natal charts, and paying close attention to the signs, houses and elements which predominate, rather than the planets alone. I know, for instance, a person who has Scorpio as their rising sign, and whose chart has five different planets joining in a Grant Trine in the three Air Signs of Libra, Aquarius and Gemini. Scorpio corresponds to the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus; Hera is said to rule the element of Air in Sallustius.

In my own chart, on the other hand, the planets Mercury and Jupiter are extremely powerful, but are square to one another. And my personality strongly reflects both Mercury and Jupiter-- that is, Hermes and Zeus. But hidden in the background of both of these is Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, who rules the sign of Virgo and also the Sixth House, which between account for six of my nine planets. Considering the role of Hestia and her cognate deities in my life has expanded my understanding of myself and my fate in this lifetime in a way that's been very helpful.

So I am wondering if we can apply that same logic to mundane charts. If so, it might be said that the eclipse itself and its difficulties are ruled by Zeus himself, but that the common people are under the protection of Hermes, with Zeus's blessing.

As I said, Mercury-- Hermes's planet-- is very powerful in this chart. He is in the First House, conjunct the House Cusp, conjunct the benefic planet Venus and trine Jupiter. All this suggests that, despite the ongoing bad news, the average person will be spared the worst. The only fly in the ointment here is a square to Neptune. The latter planet is also very powerful in this chart. He is in his own sign of Pisces, and in the Tenth House of the national government. This suggests that the sense of good times that many of us will have is illusory-- Neptune rules delusion-- and that our government is working against our own best interests. The bubble will burst in time.

Other Indicators

The role of Jupiter is rather interesting in this chart. He rules the eclipse itself, as it is positioned in Sagittarius, his sign. Jupiter, meanwhile, is positioned in the Tenth House-- closely conjunct the house cusp. The Tenth House represents the national government, especially the executive branch; more metaphorically, it represents the sky, and, more metaphorically still, Heaven. Jupiter is distantly trine Mercury-- a blessing aspect-- but he afflicts both the Sun and Moon by square. To my mind, this suggests the judgment of the God of Heaven upon both of those planets-- or, rather, the people ruled by those planets.

The Sun and Moon taken on their own are in rather bad shape in this chart. Both are in cadent houses, which greatly weakens them; both are afflicted by squares to Jupiter. The Sun represents the president of the United States, and the Moon represents the people-- but especially those people who have the wealth or the power to be involved in the national conversation. Both of these will suffer during the period indicated. President Biden is likely to see at least one, and probably more than one, major scandal come to light over the summer, and it's quite possible that a foreign government will be involved, as Jupiter rules the Seventh House of foreign affairs in this chart. Speaking of which, I expect to see at least one major setback in US foreign policy this summer.

The Sun and Moon also rule the Third and Second Houses, respectively, in this chart. The Third House rules the media, and the second, the national economy. The media can also expect to see scandals coming to light, probably related to their coverage of the pandemic. The economy is going to struggle, and all the more so given Mars's presence in the Second House, but the Powers That Be are going to do their best to ignore it.

Conclusion

God is not mocked, and no one can escape justice forever. The wrath of the Father of the Gods, taking the form of wildfires, weather-related disasters, rising crime and unemployment, worsening public health and foreign policy setbacks will afflict both the people of the United States and their leader this summer. However, the common people can expect to see sheltered somewhat by the protection of Hermes, with the blessing of Zeus. The exception to this only is the curse of Poseidon, which is indicated in this chart by the square of Neptune to Mercury. This probably indicates the ongoing role of government money in daily life, and possibly also an earthquake or hurricane which will afflict the people generally.

Speculation: If you wish to avoid the wrath of the Gods, involve yourself as much as possible in activities governed by Mercury, and probably also Jupiter and Venus. That means being involved in the market, that is, the productive economy of making and selling things; writing; art and music; gardening; and even working for large corporations. Employment by the government itself is dicey, as this is ruled jointly by Jupiter and Neptune in this chart. Being on the government dole through unemployment or being involved in either activism or non-profit organizations is likely to be a very bad choice at this time.