Lynda Hill's Sabian Symbols

Early Morning Dew Salutes the Sunlight: August 1 Solar Eclipse

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. Bern Williams

One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night. Kahlil Gibran

The darkest hour is just before dawn. Thomas Fuller

The morning pouring everywhere, its golden glory on the air. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This month's new moon is a total eclipse of the Sun. Occurring on August 1, the path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia.(See NASA's site for more details).

With the Olympics starting on the 8th August, it is rather telling that this eclipse stretches across China. This could portend all kinds of happenings at the Olympics - I imagine some will be surprising, some less so and rather more predictable. Certainly I can't imagine how some athletes are going to cope with the smog and the shocking air quality, not to mention the strains hanging in the air around China's policies towards Tibet and their business dealings with Sudan (and blind eye to what's happening in Darfur).

Certainly the big issues at this Olympics is the issue of human rights. A symbol that is commonly seen in relation to human rights is the white dove. At the opening ceremony of the Olympics, after the cauldron is lit, doves are released as a symbol of truce; all people coming together in peace and harmony. With all the concern about these Olympics with human rights issues, protests and the issue of people having the right to protest, terrorists attacks, who's going to attend and who's going to boycott, etc, it's insightful to note that Chiron, the 'wounded healer' and the story teller is on Aquarius 20: A Big White Dove Bearing a Message. It will be interesting to see just what the message of these Olympics will be. Certainly, a lot of concerns about human rights and abuses are being swept under the carpet. Note that the Olympic flame is also a major component of the meaning of the Olympics and the Moon's North Node, a karmic point, is on Aquarius 19: A Forest Fire Finally Quenched. The image shown to the left is the Olympic dove seen on the background of flames. How synchronous that the Beijing Olympics has Chiron and the North Node on the Sabian Symbols of the Dove and the Fire.

Interestingly this eclipse is called a 'midnight Sun eclipse' as it will be visible in places that have a midnight Sun (in the case of this eclipse, those countries that are close to the Arctic circle).

This solar eclipse is in Leo. It may be called a 'midnight Sun eclipse', but the Sabian Symbol is Leo 10: Early Morning Dew Salutes the Sunlight. One could wonder what the "early morning dew" in China might be composed of. 'Particulates' is sadly one word that comes to mind.

Mars also throws out an interesting challenge, not only to the Olympics, but to the world at large. The Sabian Symbol is Virgo 19: A Swimming Race - the keyword being 'competition'. Playing by the rules of the game are also inherent in this degree, although Mars likes to throw some curve balls. Right before the opening ceremony of the Olympics on August 8, Mars is on Virgo 23: A Lion Tamer Rushes Fearlessly Into the Circus Arena. Apart from the obvious that athletes from all over the world will be in the 'arena' - and the fact that they need to be in control of their energies, well rehearsed and well-trained, all kinds of wild, and, possibly untamed, energies are likely to be flying around. Mars will be directly opposite Uranus on Pisces 22: A Man Bringing Down the New Law From Mount Sinai. Laws and regulations and prohibitions are likely to be thick on the ground. The Chinese have apparently allowed three small parks well away from the Olympic arena for people to protest. They have to register with the authorities first, of course. No protesting here, nothing to see, move along. I'm driven to draw a parallel to the Christians and the lions. While the 'Christians are wrestling with the lions', the corrupt officials of the empire are twiddling their thumbs or making further plans for domination.

The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Traditional proverb

One can draw hope from the fact that the Olympic's chart set for August 8 has Venus on Virgo 3: Two Guardian Angels Bringing Protection.

Ascent in Consciousness: July's Capricorn Full Moon

First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is. Zen Aphorism

It is the ultimate wisdom of the mountains that a man is never more a man than when he is striving for what is beyond his grasp. James Ramsey Ullman

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought. Basho

July's Capricorn full moon falls on the 18th and promises to be interesting and challenging and confronting and uplifting and cleansing - and probably all at the same time.

The Sabian Symbol for the full moon is Capricorn 27: A Mountain Pilgrimage, which brings a sense of spiritual retreat, striving for a destination or a desired outcome, wanting to surpass previous efforts, the desire to leave behind the complications and complexities of life in order to reach for something better, higher, purer, more rarefied perhaps.

The Mountain Pilgrimage is a wonderful image, especially for a Capricorn Symbol as it fits in with the archetype of the mountain goat, the image of Capricorn. (It's interesting to remember that Elsie Wheeler, the spiritualist medium who gave birth to the Sabian Symbols in 1925, did not have any conscious awareness of the sign or degree of the zodiac she was seeing when she described the images she saw in her mind's eye for the Sabian Symbols. This shows, again, how astoundingly amazing the Sabian Symbols and the method of their birth was).

It seems that, at this full moon, there is, or needs to be, a bit of "mountain goat" in all of us. We have to be sure-footed, persevering, able to withstand the rigors that life puts in front of us, prepared for our journey and taking it willingly, being and staying on the path, and, often, having to or choosing to go without some of the things or comforts we normally have in our lives. We are often asked to have expectations, but to let go of them at the same time - quite the paradox. 

Recognising Greatness Within: July's Cancer New Moon

A little body often harbors a great soul.
Romanian Proverb

Every man is a divinity in disguise.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We hear about the birth of a child and ask questions like, "What did she have? How much did it weigh?" and "Does it have any hair" The Athabaskan Indian hear of a birth and ask, "Who came?"
Lisa Delpit

Where are you searching for me, friend? Look! Here am I right within you. Not in temple, not in mosque, not in Kaaba nor Kailas, but here right within you.
Kabir

He whose face gives no light can never become a star.
William Blake

The Cancer new moon occurs on July 2 in the United States and July 3 in Australia and Europe. The Sabian Symbol is Cancer 12: A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby Whose Aura Reveals Him to be the Reincarnation of a Great Teacher.

Dane Rudhyar, the astrologer whose work popularized the Sabian Symbols, said of this degree that it's "The promise to all men that God may take birth within their souls".