Lunar things happening

Credit: NASA

In the late night hours of Feb. 20, 2008, a total lunar eclipse will dazzle the night sky. And this lunar eclipse may be worth staying up for, because it will be the last one until December 2010.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow over the moon's surface. The February 20, 2008 eclipse will last for nearly 3 and a half hours. For a full 50 minutes of that time the moon will be in totality - the period when the lunar surface is completely covered by the Earth's shadow.

During an eclipse the moon changes color, going from a light gray color to an orange or deep red shade. This is totality. The moon takes on this new color because indirect sunlight is still able to pass through the Earth's atmosphere and cast a glow on the moon.

* a video from lunar eclipse last year in Hawaii



Residents of the Americas, Europe and Africa will have the best view of this eclipse.

Here in the United States, the entire eclipse will be visible for the majority of the country. However, residents on the West Coast will miss out on watching the early stages of the eclipse, as it begins before moonrise.

This Wednesday night, hope for clear skies, try to stay awake and enjoy a spectacular lunar eclipse. Laura Motel
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


And now for the part I say is AWES. I am literally shaking with nerd excitement. This is a lunar eclipse in Virgo, my birth sign. I think I just peed in my pants.
Astrologically speaking TADAA:

7:31pm PST 1º 53’
Total Lunar Eclipse
7:26pm PST 1º 50’

This is the Full Moon of healing and service. Virgo understands that disease manifests itself in societies as well as in individuals. There is so much dis-ease in our world and we all need to awaken to our role as healers. This is especially true on this Full Moon in Virgo, with a total lunar eclipse. The soulful, peacemaking Pisces Sun opposes the scientific, nature-based healing Virgo Moon. What a perfect night to release your New Moon in Aquarius intentions for radical change (especially if they revolve around health issues) and celebrate the hard work you have done over the last two weeks toward these goals.

The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as Western Europe. The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America. Western Europe and northwest Africa also see the entire eclipse. Go to NASA’s Eclipse page for more information sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclips...8Feb07A

Eclipses co-mingle the energies of Moon and Sun, often creating disturbing or intensified effects. The Pisces Sun rules a spectrum of experience ranging from pure transcendence, selflessness, unconditional love, to addiction, co-dependency, denial and fantasy. These energies literally cover and hide the energy of the practical, analytical Virgo Moon; veiling this Moon’s clarity and grounded reality-based thinking.

On this Full Moon, the Sun in Pisces opposes the Moon/Saturn conjunction in Virgo. This opposition enlivens the integration of healing through transcendence and attending to bodily health. But it may also bring up more negative feelings of inertia/limitation due to the perfectionism of Virgo and the negations/denials of Pisces.

This year the Moon and Sun are joined respectively by the South Node in Leo and North Node in Aquarius. Along with Pluto in Capricorn (transformation through concrete action) and Mars in Gemini (swift diversified actions) these planets create a powerful mystic rectangle. This configuration requires us to walk the path of mindful inquiry, in a fully-embodied yet open-minded way, in order to realize our unbounded potential. The Venus/Mercury (heart/mind) conjunction and Chiron/Neptune (transcendent healing) in Aquarius provides the fuel for the mind to awaken to Buddha nature. On the other hand, if your agenda is wasting time partying with drugs and alcohol, Saturn in Virgo and Pluto/Jupiter in Capricorn will bring you right back to reality by showing you the true harmful and useless nature of substances.

So let’s talk a bit about Virgo, which most people consider perfectionistic, critical, analytical, organized, discriminating, scientific, empirical, and calculating. In truth, we all express our Virgo side when we strive to be our best. Virgo is the healer, the doctor, the nurse, the teacher, the therapist, the worker, the researcher, the scientist, and the engineer. Virgo is the true healer of the zodiac because in its mind, if it causes pain, it warrants attention and a cure. For Virgo, caring comes in the form of finding workable solutions to everyday problems.