03 Jul America: A Prophesy ~ Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn- July 4th, 2020

July 4th, 2020 brings the final lunar eclipse in the sign of Capricorn, concluding a cycle that began in 2018. This year, the star-spangled exuberance of America’s Independence Day will be swallowed by darkness.

Lunar eclipses are extra potent Full Moons, summoning a climactic moment of culmination and release that will ripple out for many months. The mood will be heavy as the climate of plague and authoritarianism seems to mock the story of America’s Independence. 

Emotionally speaking, there is a special kind of agony when the Moon journeys through the sign of Capricorn, for this is where she feels most exiled and alone. 

But in this Saturnian terrain, the Moon discovers its most tenacious survival instincts. The warmth and light may disappear, but Capricorn digs deep, tapping into the molten heat of the earth’s core.  

This eclipse represents a final test of your character and your willingness to sacrifice the past for the future. Your heart will ask to be freed from the crushing burden of secrets. And your mind will crave liberation from the whirlpool of your escapist fantasies. 

As the door closes on this eclipse cycle, the clarity of truth will urge you to embrace humility and simplicity. Like the Zen proverb says:

“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” 

Since November of 2018, the eclipses in Cancer/Capricorn have been initiating a collective soul retrieval, predicated upon an immersion into the past, into the ancestral layers of living memories and dead languages.

With the malefic influence of Saturn and Pluto alongside the south node in Capricorn, these eclipses have unearthed ancient chasms of darkness. Ghosts have risen from the scorched earth, seeping through the cracked foundations of the civilized world. 

Since then, dark secrets have slipped out into the light. And many structures have crumbled beneath the weight of truth. 

Capricorn governs the world’s institutional foundations. And right now, many of those foundations have fallen into decay. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust: the soil for future growth is remineralized.

Power rises and falls, ebbing and flowing upon the cycle of time. But however the shape of the world may change, there is a bedrock of sacred wisdom that has eternally supported the evolution of humanity. And it is this primeval stratum of power that Capricorn is forever in tune with.

Just as with the Solar Eclipse in Cancer, this lunar eclipse on Independence Day is an important moment to meditate upon the legacy of America. Last month, I examined the existential crisis of America through the words of Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman.

But this culmination of the Cancer/Capricorn eclipse cycle calls for a final reflection upon the mythic power of America, in its triumphant proclamation of humanity’s right to be free. It is true that the full vision of America has yet to be realized. But its ideals of equality and liberty still point towards true north.

The great visionary poet and mystic, William Blake, was deeply inspired by America. In the late 18th Century, the American Revolution and the subsequent revolution in France seemed to anticipate a sweeping liberation from monarchy in every European country. 

But Blake saw how the bright spirit of revolution quickly hardened into new forms of tyranny. When all was said and done, slavery remained an integral part of the American economy and in France, a new monarch rose to return the rebels to imperialism.

In America: A Prophesy Blake acknowledges that according to all cycles of history, the Promethean fire of liberation eventually burns out, casting the former rebels into the role of oppressors.

The poem describes the War between England and America through a pantheon of wrathful spirits and apocalyptic angels. And he opens the story with a painful truth about the fiery nature of the revolutionary spirit. The name he gives to this spirit is Orc, described as a

‘Lover of Wild Rebellion, and transgressor of God’s Law’.

This is poetry, not a political tract. And so rather than trying to arouse the reader into naive heroism, Blake demands that you acknowledge Orc’s destructive qualities before the journey begins. 

Orc has suffered a long imprisonment in the caverns beneath the earth. Overcome by rage, he finally breaks his chains and transgresses God’s law by raping the young woman who had been his caretaker.

Round the terrific loins he seiz’d the panting, struggling womb;

The reality of war is laid bare. It is not a Romantic ideal, but a tragic act of violence that truly initiates the war between America and England.

Fiery the Angels rose, and as they rose deep thunder roll’d

Around their shores, indignant burning with the fires of Orc;

England is defended by Albion’s Angel, who recognizes Orc as the Antichrist or as Mars, the Roman god of war. Albion reflects upon England’s own past as a conquered people who eventually overthrew the Romans. Thus, Blake remembers that England was once possessed by the same spirit of revolution and that the cycle of history is repeating.

In the prophecy, the sovereignty of America is defended by thirteen Angels who proclaim divine truth that defies all tyranny on earth. They say…

“ . . .What God is he writes laws of peace, and clothes him in a tempest?

What pitying Angel lusts for tears, and fans himself with sighs?

What crawling villain preaches abstinence and wraps himself 

In fat of lambs?  No more I follow, no more obedience pay!”

Blake wanted the reader to revel in these words, feeling the bliss of truth breaking through the darkness. 

So at this final eclipse in Capricorn, let the bliss of truth break through whatever is clouding your vision. Amidst the turmoil of pandemic and civil war, America has descended into a fragile and threatening state. It is essential to challenge anything that degrades your humanity. But a long hard remembrance of the past will urge you not become drawn into war. Then as now, the rebels of today are the tyrants of tomorrow.

William Blake once said that, “War is Energy Enslaved”, for it chains humanity’s creative genius to a destructive and degrading purpose. And if war is slavery, how can it ever liberate anyone?

A heartfelt response to the abuse of power avoids the trap of war. Passionate debate and ideological resistance require the human virtues of empathy, reason, instinct, and imagination. This is why Blake’s art and poetry invites you to elevate your vision of humanity far beyond the mind control of empires.

At the conclusion of this eclipse cycle, you may imagine yourself being free from all that seeks to enslave you. With the force of apocalyptic angels, you can declare your independence from all institutions that are building a future that you don’t believe in. 

The wisdom of Capricorn concludes this cycle with an urge to simplify your wants and needs. If the weight of the world has been on your shoulders, let it fall away. The business of saving the the world is ultimately the same self-aggrandizing delusion as the business of conquering it. Instead, focus on finding ways to be of service to others.

In your meditative moments and daydreams allow yourself look forward to the future, imagining that, like the country of America itself, you have not yet reached your full potential. Anticipate the coming years with contentment, knowing that the best is yet to come.

Happy Fourth of July!

Much Love,

Rachel