2 Eclipses in June

Hey everyone, 
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I hope you are all healthy and enjoying all the extra time we have at home. While most sports seasons have been postponed this year, there’s still one season that will definitely be played… Eclipse season! In the next few weeks, we’re going to have 3 eclipses, and this newsletter will cover the first two. 

Eclipses are generally not a good time to start something new, but are really useful for spiritual endeavors. This is true especially for the 3 days before and after the eclipse, and is also true regardless on whether you can see the eclipse or not. In addition to this, eclipses can affect certain individuals for up to 6 months if it occurs over a prominent place in their birth chart. To learn more about eclipses, please click here.

Before we dive into the eclipses, I have an announcement to make. I am now on Instagram and Facebook! If you have been enjoying my newsletters, I think you’ll enjoy following those accounts too. Also, I have a huge favor to ask - if you have ever received a reading from me, please consider leaving me a positive review on my Facebook page. It would really help me out, and is a great way to express your inner altruism :) Thank you so much in advance; please click here to get to the Facebook Reviews desktop website, it seems to accept reviews better than the mobile app. ​

Now back to your regularly scheduled astrology - the first eclipse takes place on June 5th from 10:45AM to 2:05PM PDT (June 6th from 3:45AM to 7:05AM in Melbourne). This is a lunar eclipse, visible in most of the world outside of the Americas:

The eclipse is taking place in Jyeshtha, a constellation ruled by Indra. Pictured at the top of this newsletter, Indra is the King of the Devas (the higher beings in our universe). He is the prototypical conquering hero, slaying demons with his vajra (thunderbolt weapon), conquering their worlds, and is often pictured intoxicated with lots of women. When applied to modern life, this is a constellation about business, competition, and achieving your material desires. Consequently, because eclipses disrupt material energy, the time around this eclipse is especially bad for starting a business or a relationship. Instead of channeling your desires outward, it will be more productive for you to redirect your consciousness inward and towards your true self. 
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The second eclipse takes place on June 20th from 8:45 PM to 2:35 AM the next morning PDT (June 21st 1:45PM to 7:35PM in Melbourne). This is a solar eclipse, visible in Africa, parts of Europe, Asia, and the Northern tip of Australia:

The eclipse takes place in a constellation called Mrigashira, which means “to hunt”. To help you understand Mrigashira’s name, I have very professionally drawn out the constellation on my computer (this is what a Vedic Astrologer does in his free time during shelter-in-place): 

Please click here for the original photo if you wanted to see the stars without the lines. As you can see, Orion’s Belt is also in the division of the sky marked by Mrigashira. This division was extremely important in many ancient cultures - for example, the Vedic people assigned the power to bring fulfillment to Mrigashira, and the Egyptians honored Orion’s Belt with the Pyramids of Giza. ​

There is a story related to Mrigashira that involves Rohini and Ardra (the previous and next constellations). Once upon a time, Brahma the creator of the universe was sexually attracted to his daughter Rohini, a beautiful girl who loved to sing and dance. To be fair to Brahma, he didn’t really have a lot of options - because he was the universe’s first being, every girl in the universe was his daughter. 

As Brahma began pursuing her, Rohini cried for help, took the form of a deer, and ran away. Brahma then took the form of a stag and chased after her. Rudra (the ruler of the constellation Ardra) heard Rohini’s cries, and shot Brahma to stop him from chasing her. In the skies, you can see Rudra shooting the arrow from the constellation Ardra. Mrigashira is in the middle symbolizing the forbidden seductive chase, and the beautiful Rohini is off in the distance running away. 

The symbolism suggests that the days around the Mrigashira eclipse may bring up intense desires, perhaps desires related to relationships like in the story, but also possibly with other parts of your life. It could make you feel some urgency to accomplish something or prevent you from seeing alternatives. If you recognize this, being conscious of the desire and letting go will probably make you happier long-term (and prevent you from being shot by Rudra 😀). 
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How the ancients came up with this story and linked it to the constellations, allowing astrologers living thousands of years into the future to use these symbols in the modern world - that is truly a wonderful mystery. So, the next time you look up in the night sky and see Orion’s Belt, I hope you are reminded of this story and the intergenerational experiences we share through astrology. 

Wishing all of you the most spiritual eclipse experiences, 

Ken