As fairy tales know full well, in the Land of the Singing Sky there is a restorative Fountain of Dew. This land is at the top of the silver ladder that hangs from the from the Full Moon. This week, the last Full Moon of the Summer will occur overnight Thursday, August 27 to Friday, August 28, but here’s the trick, it will be eclipsed over most of North and South America! So what to do? How do we find the silver ladder when it’s cast in shadow? John Keats left us an epic map, but before we go there, here are some things to know:
The Moon is referred to as Earth’s only natural satellite, the closest celestial body to us, describing an elliptical orbit around the Earth month after month. In the Paradise of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the area described by the Moon’s orbit was referred to as the First Heaven. The Moon, then, is imagined poetically like the protective guardian of this First Heaven, and from its place in our sky, it reflects all available celestial light to us, and it serves as a filter for all that streams earthward in this light.
But on occasion, the Moon is eclipsed, as it will be overnight Thursday to Friday this week, and something else happens. Let’s think of it like this: When we go out in the dark, our eyes have to adjust. This adjustment to “night vision” happens in stages: first the pupil dilates to allow more light to enter in; then, within five to 10 minutes, the cone cells in the eye adapt, to allow us to recognize shapes/outlines; and finally, about half an hour later, the rods take over completely, and night vision is achieved. That’s the technical part.
But I want to think about the Moon at eclipse. If we think of the Moon like the “eye” used by the cosmos to discern the Earth, then at eclipse, it’s like the cosmos has to adjust its “night vision” to see us. And here we are, on Earth, cast in our own shadow, reflected to us by the Moon. At such a time it’s like something is freed in an uninhibited, or an “in the dark” kind of way. There’s no light of the cosmos woven through what streams from humanity on Earth at such a time, and the cosmos looks down as though through the dark to discern what reveals itself. When the cosmos adjusts to its “night vision” at eclipse, then we are seen uninhibited by outer appearance and the light of day.
This week’s eclipse will happen with the Moon in the constellation region of Aquarius, where nearly all the stars are associated with good fortune: the alpha star is the lucky one of the king; the beta star is the luckiest of the lucky; there’s another star with a name that means the lucky star of hidden things or hiding places; and then there’s Skat, in the shinbone of the Aquarian water-bearer which means a whisper, or a wish ~ it’s the star at the foundation and it will be just below the Moon when maximum eclipse occurs.
All of this begs the question: what does it mean for the Moon to be cast in Earth’s shadow when it’s moving through this region of lucky stars? Are we doomed?
Enter John Keats! And his epic romance poem Endymion. The myth of Endymion comes from ancient Greece and tells of the nightly descent of the goddess of the Moon to kiss her beloved where he lay spellbound by the grace of Zeus. When the light of the Moon fell upon Endymion, she fell deeply in love and asked Zeus to grant him eternal youth so they could meet each night in dream.
In 1818 Keats published his epic achievement of 4050 lines, which reaches its crescendo in book IV.
But first, let’s consider the opening lines, which are probably Keats’ most-quoted: A thing of beauty is a joy for ever, and if we listen closely, we can sense that built into these lines, Keats has placed the Moon in its rhythm of waxing and waning. He writes Its loveliness increases (that’s waxing Moon), it will never pass into nothingness (that’s waning Moon), But still will keep a bower quiet for us, full of sweet dreams and health and quiet breathing. This is our epic journey in the arms of the Moon each night as we pass through the First Heaven in sleep and dream.
Then there’s an eclipse. And this week, an eclipse in Aquarius. But look what Keats did! In Book IV he cites the position of the Moon in this tale of celestial romance in the most amazing way:
Crystalline brother to the belt of heaven,
Aquarius! To whom King Jove has given
Two liquid pulse streams ‘stead of feather’d wings,
Two fan-like fountains,~
Thine illuminings for Dian’s play.
Dian is the goddess of the Moon, and Keats places her among Aquarius stars when she beholds her lover; the two liquid pulse streams are actually the human legs ~ in ancient astrological tradition, Aquarius is related to the shins and calves in the human form. There’s so much in these few lines. As human beings we are given legs and limbs instead of wings, to walk about the Earth and realize our true nature, blessed by what flows from the Aquarian waterman toward the future.
When the Moon is eclipsed, the brightest star in its vicinity will be Fomalhaut, one of the four guardian stars of the heavens, the sentinel that watches over the stars that was at one time considered the central star of the universe, bestowing eminence, fortune, power, and heightened humanitarian conscience. Fomalhaut figures in Dante’s Purgatory as one of three stars aligned to the Theological Virtues faith, hope, and love. For Dante, Fomalhaut is love.
John Keats writes in his Endymion “Goodbye to all but love.”
What can we do with all of this?
First, find out Moonrise and Sunset time in your location. Where I am situated in the Eastern Time Zone, the nearly Full Moon will rise about 1o minutes before the Sun sets on Thursday, August 27 and two and a half hours before the eclipse begins, at 10:33 pm. Unlike a solar eclipse, which lasts only a few minutes, a Lunar Eclipse takes much longer, and in this case it’s underway from 10: 33 pm on Thursday until 1:52 am Friday. This will be visible across most of North and South America, and at greatest eclipse 93% of the Moon will be cast in shadow. It will peak at 12:13 am, in the midnight hour, as we are slumbering toward heaven’s gate.
After you’ve got these particulars, then, find an evening poem or prayer, to recite at the in-between moment when Moon has risen and before the Sun sets on Thursday. In Dante’s Purgatory, there are two angels in the scene, accompanied by the 9th century Latin Hymn: to thee before close of day. Read your favorite Moon poetry, even Book IV of Keats’ Endymion; write a wish and hide it overnight, or better, mail it to yourself, or to a friend or loved one, so that it goes out from you across the night, to return with the light.
As we slumber toward heaven’s gate at eclipse,
Mary
Hear this episode of The Storyteller’s Night Sky on podcast here, or wherever you listen. The cover image is from the Sky Walk app, and shows how Moon is fully embraced by the stars of Aquarius at eclipse. Speaking astrologically in the tropical zodiac, the Moon is in the sign of Pisces at eclipse, but observationally, it will be among the stars of Aquarius, as shown here.