Keeping with our recent theme, here’s the Free Weekly Audio focusing on eclipses from today’s Planet Waves blog. Eric describes these events as thresholds, with the first eclipse in this pair about ‘releasing’ and the second about ‘expansion’. So without further ado, take it away, Eric:

Hello….your audio is done. Note, it’s in two parts due to a low battery warning. The segments should roll over from one to the other.

On my hunting trip today through the Planet Waves Archives, I stumbled across this piece titled “Understanding Eclipses” and its dramatic formatting with a black background. Fittingly enough, Eric writes there, “It’s a little like when a blackout happens in New York City. Everybody gets a chance to remember something obvious. You can see the stars and planets above the skyscrapers. Nature descends on the busiest place on Earth. People meet one another, especially the ones who only have an electric can opener. I propose turning the power off for one night every summer. But nature has figured this one out already, and twice a year, we get to go through the ritual of eclipses.”

Apparently when they turned the power out, the date for this article got lost in the dark. Judging from the context of the piece and a quick trip to Google, it seems to be spring 2003, leading up to a pair of eclipses in May of that year.

Since we’re in the midst of a pair of eclipses right now, I figure most of us could use all the insight into these phenomena we can get. After all, as Eric also notes, “Eclipses work on three levels, broadly speaking. The first is personal. The second is collective. The third is where the personal and the collective intersect.”

That “third level” will sound familiar to anyone who’s been reading along lately: it carries the same theme as the Aries Point, which is a central factor in our current astrological setup. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get working.

Hello Cosmic Confidential Visitor. This is the daily blog associated with Cosmic Confidential, the 2010 annual edition of Planet Waves. There’s lots of info about Cosmic Confidential along the margin to the right. We are back to updating daily, and looking for interesting features to keep the content fresh and interesting. One of the things we’re going to do is select horoscopes from the past and let them see the sunshine. Unlike on the Planet Waves Oracle, where the horoscopes are selected at random, these will be selected by an editor – usually Amanda Painter. Here’s one from May 1, 2001 with an eclipse twist.

May 01, 2001 – Cancer – Monthly

There are pivotal moments in everyone’s life, and it’s a good time to alert you to one June 21. The technical reference is a total solar eclipse the day of the summer solstice, which is an rare and beautiful combination of events. For Cancer Sun, this occurs right before your birthday; for Cancer ascendant, when the Sun and the Moon align exactly with your rising sign. What this means in practical terms is that it would serve you well if everything you do for the next two months were designed and conducted in preparation for that moment, and the season that follows. It is vital that as few trivial matters as possible interfere with your life now, and then. This will take discipline; treating yourself as something of an athlete preparing for a major match is an apt metaphor. Keep your focus. Drop the projects that don’t work for you — other influences will help you do this like never before. You surely want to make the most of this time, and you’ll know a lot more about why in the weeks just before and after.

In all of the (justifiable) fuss over yesterday’s eclipse and cardinal grand cross, we haven’t paid much attention to the Capricorn Moon itself — a Moon the astrology books love to hate. Eric has a slightly different take on it, as you might guess. Here is a great article on this Moon.

In this piece, Eric says of people with this natal placement, “There may exist a deep contradiction within them where being kind reminds them of the kindness that was never offered to them. It can take a long time for them to realize that they can afford to be kind, and that they will prosper spiritually when the people around them prosper materially, so they might as well help out. In truth, practicing compassion and kindness, which are learned skills as often as not, are the best therapy for this moon.”

If you’ve been wondering about this complex Capricorn Moon in someone you love or have it yourself and have been traumatized by what you’ve read in astrology books, this piece is a must-read.

And just for kicks, here’s a recent photo of Eric’s friend Chris McGregor, whose friendly mug graces the top of the article.

Hello Cosmic Confidential Visitor. This is the daily blog associated with Cosmic Confidential, the 2010 annual edition of Planet Waves. There’s lots of info about Cosmic Confidential along the margin to the right. We are back to updating daily, and looking for interesting features to keep the content fresh and interesting. One of the things we’re going to do is select horoscopes from the past and let them see the sunshine. Unlike on the Planet Waves Oracle, where the horoscopes are selected at random, these will be selected by an editor – usually Amanda Painter. Here’s one from 2007 worth taping to the bathroom mirror as a daily reminder.

Apr 09, 2007 – Leo – Monthly

We have all kinds of influences pushing us to be sexy, but very few encouraging us to relate to one another with sex as a means of celebrating and communicating. We’re told that sex is about power and commitment, not a gift we can give or receive freely. You of all people have the confidence in yourself to make up your own mind about what your own sexuality means to you. In so doing, you will inspire others to feel their own strength and beauty. Many have pointed out that sex spreads karma around, as if it were a trap; few have noted that it can be the karma of liberation, throwing off old fetters and being truly free.

Dear Fellow Traveler:

This weekend, Saturday at 7:30 am EDT (4:30 am PDT, 12:30 pm BST) is a partial eclipse of the Moon in Capricorn. [Most ephemerides list this as the time of the Full Moon; others list the eclipse separately eight minutes later.] This is an eclipse on the Aries Point, with many planets involved. Said another way, we have an eclipse close to the change of seasons, which always brings something, or many things, that are truly unusual.

It’s as if we stand at an event horizon but can’t see just over the curve of the Earth. These events are likely to precipitate out pretty rapidly over the next few days and weeks, so get ready to make decisions and open up your heart and soul to allow for both progress and its twin, change.

I’ve said just about everything I have to say about this eclipse, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned anytime lately one thing in particular about eclipses in general. Do what you want the day of an eclipse. Focus on what is the most meaningful to you. We often wonder how to change our lives, how to make real adjustments and how to get our desires to manifest. Using astrology as a model, one way is to work with eclipses, which are one of the most fundamental elements of evolution. They are psychic and physical magnifiers.

Therefore, focus on what you want the day of an eclipse. Do what you love best; be with, or be in contact with, the people you love the most. This factor of eclipses is so dependable it’s a wonder there aren’t books and articles written about it, but I’ve never seen one. For most of the world this eclipse happens on a weekend, when most of us have a little more flexibility with our time. Even if you have to work, make sure you invest some of your time and thought into what you love.

One last thing. A South Node eclipse of the Moon in Capricorn has the feeling of the past losing its grip. It’s as if a dimensional portal opens and old emotions can drain out, allowing in a new spectrum of feelings. I dare say we drag around plenty of accumulated anxiety from our ancestors. We’re so accustomed to doing this that we barely recognize what’s going on; we totally take it for granted. You don’t need the fears of your parents and your grandparents, nor of the people who came before them.

The combination of Pluto and the eclipse in Capricorn looks like an opportunity to release ancestral guilt, control and a sense of burden in relationships. Our parents, grandparents and their predecessors had ideas about relationships that they passed onto us — but we need our own basis for relationships. You’re entitled to live your life free of what encumbered them, and you can. One simple formula for exchange to consider is that here in our world of opposites, compersion is the opposite of guilt. It seems to take time, but really it’s a fairly simple choice.

Yours & truly,