The Fallacy of Totalitarianism
Musings on tonight's lunar eclipse
Eclipse season is about to get under way again, with tonight's Full Moon (exact 02:34 18/09 UTC) occurring in late Virgo-Pisces as a partial lunar eclipse, followed by a solar annular on 2nd October. The usual two-week window between a pair of eclipses can get pretty intense, at times feeling as if we're living a full year in that brief period. What with the US election shenanigans already reaching clownish levels, such information seems virtually needless; though, if you're considering making substantial life changes or furthering a long-term project, the next fortnight is likely to give you at least a subtle headwind.
Meanwhile, the present lunation takes place amid various indicators of tension besides the event itself. Mercury is opposite Saturn, also across Virgo-Pisces, and both will be closely square a deep space point named the Great Attractor (more information in this entry from last year). In astrological terms, the area can represent our capacity both to be 'drawn in' (as to a specific opinion or perspective) and to become polarised (as when opposing views clash). It can facilitate the human tendency to oversimplify and over-categorise the world; to fit it into entrenched and often outdated belief systems, rather than evolving our ideas to meet reality and an increasingly sophisticated collective understanding.
Such a quality explains somewhat how social media disinformation can be so effective. The urge towards oversimplification is generally emotionally driven, and can be underscored by prompting on the visceral level. One seeks the comfort of an atmosphere familiar to earlier times, usually childhood, and of a fixed and unchanging framework, in which everything makes sense. This nostalgic yearning, sometimes exacerbated by difficult life circumstances, and often assisted by uncritically accepted prejudices, can appear powerful indeed. It certainly feels good - to those, at any rate, who might have enjoyed ease in such a world; not so much to the marginalised, perhaps - but it is a fantasy. It's cosplay at best, and repressive and stultifying at worst.
It would be wise just now to apply critical thinking constantly in the face of such impulses. Mars opposing Pholus, as both are square the lunar nodes, provides a sense of urgency additional to that stoked by the eclipse itself. This configuration is exemplified by the right's various desperate moves and their repeated attempts at fabricating a modern-day Reichstag fire. Clearly, they will stop at nothing to control the narrative, and it is incumbent on us all not to cave to their falsehoods and manipulations.
But we are none of us compelled to sink into delusive and wilfully ignorant somnambulism. We can develop and learn at any age; our brains are versatile and wonderful organs, and we need never cease to stretch them. It has long been my personal philosophy that humanity has a duty to do so, insofar as possible, alongside that of understanding what moves us. If we foster rectitude, compassion and truth within ourselves, these will serve as effective beacons through the fog of deception and confusion we all must navigate, both personally and politically.