The major force of the eclipse is now behind us, although its influence will linger for the next few days.  Eclipses are often associated with the “unmasking” of something that has been hidden – in the solar eclipse, the power of the lunar unconscious force unmasks that which has been hidden from the conscious mind.

So here we have the revelation that Professor Henry Louis Gates, arrested last Thursday (July 16) was arrested for trying to open the front door of his own home in Cambridge Massachusetts after a passer-by called the police to report a break-in. There is some debate over whether Dr. Gates provided identification when asked, but I know from personal experience with friends how sensitive these things can be, and I can just imagine how Dr. Gates would feel, returning from a long trip to China and probably exhausted, being confronted on his own front porch and asked for identification.  

The eclipse fell about five degrees from the 8th house Mercury (communication) in the US chart, provoking discussion and inquiry (Mercury) about the hidden motives and power imbalances (8th house)  that are still alive in the US.  I sometimes think that it’s the African Americans who hold the cards now – we have a black president, everyone wants to be hip and talk like black people, and our most powerful cultural leaders are black.  But evidently there are still pockets of prejudice left to be cleansed.

The Chiron/Neptune conjunction (together with Jupiter) occurred within a degree from the Moon in the US chart.  The Moon in a national chart represents the heart of the people, and the Chiron/Neptune conjunction is serving to open up old wounds (Chiron) to be healed so that a more soulful experience (Neptune) can be achieved.  This is an essential process and one that should be welcomed so that real healing can occur and the past can once and for all be left to history.