Weekly Tibetan Astrology: December 20 - December 26, 2010

Note: There is an old Chinese saying -- could be T'ang, could be older, but it feels like T'ang -- taken from poetical norms, and we can translate this -- more or less a gloss -- as "So red it is purple." When my friend, the seal carver in Shenzhen, was carving this on the side of a seal for me, he remarked, "When a thing reaches its fullest expression, it is done becoming, and must of necessity change." Pretty interesting seal carver, eh? This jumps to mind because I was thinking about the Violet Shining Seer.

The biggest story in this week of big stories is a total lunar eclipse coincident to the Winter Solstice. The event is not unprecedented: the last such occurrence took place in 1638, the year of the Earth Tiger.

For the Western Hemisphere, the eclipse will  begin on Dec. 21 at 12:29 a.m. EST (9:29 p.m. PST on Dec. 20) as the moon begins to enter Earth's outer, or penumbral, shadow. This total lunar eclipse lasts 72 minutes from start to finish. Changes in the moon's appearance will begin about 45 minutes into the event, when a slight shading becomes evident on the upper left portion of the moon's disk.  The entire eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America, the northern and western parts of Europe, and a small part of northeast Asia, including Korea and much of Japan. In terms of North America, we'll have to wait until 2014 to see another total lunar eclipse quite so clearly. It will also be visible from the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii. We all know that positive or negative actions are multiplied by a factor of one thousand during this event.

"So red it is purple."

So, what does this all mean? Well, Rahu -- the master of deceivers and poisons -- swallows the moon this week, so what else can we say? Break out the offerings of lead and hessonite? (If you want to go that route, you should have done it yesterday, on Sunday.) In terms of the impact on the year -- and here I will resort to strict Vedic terms -- it does not get much worse. The year is being pounded by a troublesome Mercury-Ketu circumstance to begin with, and Rahu is entwined with both Mercury and Ketu. The interpretation could be that Rahu, the malefic, will imprint them both, and in context, this is not a good thing at all.

That is the quick and dirty assumption. To be more precise, the eclipse will occur with the Southern or descending node Ketu in the sidereal zodiac sign Gemini, and the ascending node Rahu in Sagittarius. According to Vedic astrology, this is severe for those who have sidereal Gemini or Sagittarius rising or Gemini or Sagittarius as moon sign. You will recall that we also had meteors in Gemini last week.

On the world stage, this week marks the beginning of a period of extreme tension and sudden events. 

The last total lunar eclipse was in 2008, coincident to Chotrul Duchen. Far from being the auspicious event one might suppose, this heralded the advent of an extremely negative, and manipulative force that has been spreading havoc ever since. Perhaps you will recall that in our general remarks for 2010, we referred to what might with equal measure of grace and truth be called "spiritual warfare." As a practical issue, this has presented as sectarian strife and internecine wrangling that approach sheer madness. With this week's eclipse, either one of two things is going to happen: a chapter will close, or another chapter will open before the first chapter is concluded. You can accept that in general terms as one episode gets finished, and another episode begins in result of the first. I'll "Americanize" that as, "what goes around comes around."

What we may singularly wish to recall, at this point, is Padmasambhava's subjugation of Rahu, and the special relationship of Rahu to particular lineages and traditions. Like everything else, there are those who feel the need to make claims and those who do not. Plotters and schemers abound, for plots are the hallmark of the envious. We can promise significant developments in this area. What we cannot promise is that the developments will be to universal acclaim. Stars have indeed fallen from the sky. The meaning of this will become clear to stubborn individuals and groups alike. I truly hope that ongoing discord can be solved by diplomatic means, but perhaps that awaits next year. The death of a top diplomat, proximate to last week's meteor shower, was no small sign. The death of pilgrims to Maratika cave was no small sign. There have been other signs. There will be more signs.

In a strange way, since this falls on the solstice, we can think of this eclipse as the shadow of things to come in 2011, the Year of the Iron Rabbit. Why do I say this? To an extent, the Winter Solstice puts a "lock" on certain spirits that will become active once the Summer Solstice rolls around. In the interval, and absent the caprice of spirits, the window of throwing karmas comes to fore, unimpeded by the influence of artificiality, or contrivance. Since much of 2011 will be spent undoing that which commenced in 2010, or at least coping with the results of 2010, I find this interesting. Anyway -- the book is open, and here we go. Consult our general remarks for 2011.

On the bright side, highly developed practitioners will experience the rapid evaporation of obstacles. Theoretically, this can include being immediately transported to the Glorious Copper Colored Mountain, so always keep in mind that anything is possible. There is a difference between change and transformation. One is reversible; the other is not.

Bottom line? The great Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan astrologers did not like this sort of scenario -- traditionally, it points to great instability of rule. The effects of this eclipse will be felt well into 2011, significantly impacting 2011's normally expected peaceful energies, while many "reds" will "turn purple." The Iron Tiger starts to bite and claw now, and this will extend until at least the February - March time frame. Certain consequences will be felt until the summer. Here, then, is the appropriate prayer for this event.

By the way -- the next time this happens, 21 December 2094, I won't be around in the present format, and chances are, neither will you. However, the above-linked prayer will still be reverberating, so make it heart-felt -- and for the benefit of all sentient beings.

December 20, 2010 - Chinese 15th, M-T-K 14th. Dragon, Dwa, Red 9. Generally favorable energies, so make the most of daylight hours. Watch out when evening rolls around. Avoid travel.

December 21, 2010 - Chinese 16th, M-T-K 15th. Snake, Khen, White 1. Winter Solstice. Total Lunar Eclipse. Today is zin phung. Hello Capricorn. Rapid events, including the possibility of extremes. Today's guiding word is "sudden." Abrupt reversals possible. Violence probable. Avoid travel. If you spend one entire day at practice this year, make this the day, and make it motivated by intense compassion. If, on the other hand, you are by nature wicked, then go gambling. Either way, you will receive a message.

December 22, 2010 - Chinese 17th, M-T-K 16th. Horse, Kham, Black 2. Enemies may reach the gate. Fear should be replaced by confident practice on this day. Travel possible, but absolutely avoid traveling at night.

December 23, 2010 - Chinese 18th, M-T-K 17th. Sheep, Gin, Blue 3. This can be a useful and successful day. Good day for Vajrakilaya practice.

December 24, 2010 - Chinese 19th, M-T-K 18th. Monkey, Zin, Green 4. Dudjom Rinpoche's Anniversary. Those of us who knew him definitely miss him -- not to gossip, but a good friend of mine once quoted Tarthang Rinpoche as saying, "When Dudjom Rinpoche passed away, all the ngakpas' heads were cut off." Regardless, please understand that he is always with us, even if we are sometimes a little cloudy from the neck up. Today is yan kwong. Unfavorable energies. Governments experience stress. Possible geological upset. Beware of thieves.

December 25, 2010 - Chinese 20th, M-T-K 20th. Bird, Zon, Yellow 5.  Christmas. Note omitted day in Tibetan practice. Enjoy yourself.

December 26, 2010 - Chinese 21st, M-T-K 21st. Dog, Li, White 6. Extremely unfavorable energies, quickly mitigated if you stay home.

Naga observations for the eleventh month. The best offering days are the 1st, 9th, and 21st lunar. Don't make offerings on the 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 19th, or 28th.

Consult our extended discussion of 2010 astrology by clicking here. Consult our extended discussion of 2011 astrology by clicking here.

Published every Monday at 00:01 香港時間 but written in advance and auto-posted. See our Introduction to Daily Tibetan Astrology for background information. If you know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can get information about your positive and negative days by clicking here. If you don't know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can obtain that information by clicking here. For specific information about the astrology of 2010, inclusive of elements, earth spirits, and so forth, please consult our extended discussion by clicking here.  Click here for Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. Weekly Tibetan Astrology copyright (c) 2010. All rights reserved.