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The November Star of David
By Eric Francis . Illustration by Emil Alzamora

After the astonishing personal, political, and astrological developments of late summer, we begin to come under the influence of a total lunar eclipse across Taurus-Scorpio that people have been talking about for a long time. It’s being called the Harmonic Concordance by some astrologers, and plans are underway to celebrate this event globally.

Harmonic Concordance is a reference to the Harmonic Convergence of August 16 and 17, 1987. The Convergence, one of the rare events created by the New Age movement that was quite effective at reaching into the mainstream culture, was timed to be about 25 years before the purported "end of the Mayan calendar" in 2012. It seemed to serve as a major energetic release point and, at least, was a global celebration of peace celebrated in thousands of gatherings.

The Harmonic Concordance, which happens this November 8, is an exact opposition of the Sun and Moon, with other planets arranged around the eclipse in a Star of David or grand sextile pattern. Unlike the upcoming Harmonic Concordance, the Convergence of '87 was not planned astrologically—rather, it was planned using the Mayan system of day counting (in particular, the Dreamspell count designed by José Arguelles, author of The Mayan Factor and the creator of that event).

Astrologically, the upcoming November 8 configuration consists of two grand trines happening at the same time, in this case in the earthy and watery elements. The grand trines (which are reasonably close aspects, but not exact) occur simultaneously with a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse is the cosmic trigger, as eclipses always are. Grand trines on their own are not necessarily something that people can feel viscerally, but an eclipse of the moon is something that most of the population will notice in their emotions, minds, and bodies. In a sense, the eclipse delivers the aspects that surround it, in this case the Star of David.

The star consists of the following: Luna, eclipsed in Taurus near the north node of the moon; trine Jupiter in Virgo; trine Chiron in Capricorn. That's the grand earth trine. Then there's Sol in Scorpio near the south node, trine Mars in Pisces, trine Saturn in Cancer. That's the grand water trine. Superimpose the two triangles and you get the Star of David, or the six-pointed Jewish star. The Star of David is an occult symbol that blends the symbols of the four elements of Western natural religion: earth, air, fire, and water.

A grand sextile is a friendly aspect, considered to be the most stable structure in astrology. The hexagon, or six-sided shape based on dividing a circle in six, is the basis of the geodesic dome (which consists of some pentagons and many hexagons). The geodesic dome is a structure that can support incredible amounts of weight but is itself comparatively weightless (compared to a normal building, that is).

Compared to a grand cross (something we all experienced in the summer of 1999, four planets in an X pattern), a grand sextile is harmonious, with all those trines representing the flow of energy rather than the collisions of right angles. While a grand cross aggravates, a grand sextile (which is far more rare than a grand cross, by the way) mitigates.

Might we have something that needs mitigation? Writing this on August 12, everything seems fine enough, but as I write, Earth and Mars are approaching their closest pass in 60,000 years, astrology which extends into September, when many planets will be opposing Mars. One way to assess the strength of aspects is by how rare they are, and once every 60,000 years qualifies. We can reasonably expect to be connected with a series of events both in our private lives and on the world stage. But even if the turbulent astrology of late summer has no special association with an event, it seems obvious enough that there is enormous pain in the world demanding attention, and it may get our attention somehow.

Much of the story of the grand sextile is be told by a conjunction of the sun with a minor planet, Hylonome. Discovered in 1995, Hylonome is usually associated with the healing of grief and, more importantly, the healing of senseless grief. It's also been described as "the cry of the poor" in a world where opulence and decrepit poverty coexist side-by-side even in our own neighborhoods, and where whole families could live off of what many Americans put in the trash each night.

Another meaningful minor planet aspect in the grand sextile involves Varuna, the first planet beyond Pluto to have a name (bestowed in 2000), which is closely conjoining Saturn in Cancer. If Saturn represents the mundane order and the limits that seem to be imposed on it, Varuna takes us to the awareness of the cosmic order, reminding us, however dimly, of what is beyond our perceptions. Part of what Varuna represents is demotion (since Varuna was himself a god who was demoted). Conjunct Saturn, we may witness a rearrangement of our perception of Saturnian authority—in particular, our parents, our surrogate parents known as the government, and our other surrogate parents frequently manifesting in the form of spouses.

We are certainly enamored of these authority figures, but Chiron in Capricorn—which closely opposes Saturn and Varuna—has been exposing injustice since that transit began in late 2001. And Chiron means business. I associate the scandals involving Enron, Worldcom, the Catholic Church, and the numerous "Bush Knew" scenarios in the FBI and CIA as being products of Chiron in Capricorn. The real scandal is we know but we (for the most part) would rather believe lies.

Might we be headed for a day of reckoning? I'm not going to hold my breath, but it looks like we're going to learn something unusual, and it looks like something positive might come as a result of it. In any event, watch the Internet and your community bulletin boards for Harmonic Concordance events in your area. The theme of the Concordance is using astrology constructively rather than merely watching what happens and dealing with it. In this sense, astrology is being used as a platform for ritual or ceremonial magic, and the conscious intention is about healing the pain of the world.

Remember, our personal pain is part of the pain of the world. The Harmonic Concordance gives us something to work both toward and with. It would, for example, be useful and practical to set November 8 as a point in time by which you resolve any of the deeper issues that have been nagging you. My sense is that if you can define your problems in a clear way, and in a way that a solution is possible, the solution will materialize around the time of the Concordance.

The feeling I'm getting is that of the pieces of a structure coming together, and then there's a release of energy or tension associated with the eclipse. This release of energy can be applied to patterns that we can't seem to get out of, particularly emotional and material. Here is how that works astrologically. In this event there's a grand water trine consisting of planets in all three water signs. Then there's an event—a lunar eclipse—in an earth sign, creating what's called a kite pattern. Kite patterns (planets arranged in the approximate shape of a kite) are useful because they get us out of the Bermuda triangle of a grand trine.

Grand trines are easy, but that's precisely the problem. We can get stuck in their flow, their opportunity, their luck, or whatever they offer. So if we add the missing element, in this case earth for a grand water trine, or water for a grand earth trine, we get an exit, or a doorway to a new level. Overwhelming or persistent emotional conditions may find their release in the practicality of that Taurus moon. Obsessing over materiality may find its release in the Scorpio sun conjunct Hylonome.

In any case, I feel that it's a truly positive and necessary development when we use astrology as part of a visioning process, playing with the imagery, comparing it to our lives, and using it to shift our context, even if only a little. This is not merely a mental game, because the geometry of the solar system is aligning in shapes that possess verifiable energetic qualities.

Yet the idea of using astrology to plan ritual, ceremony, and prayer is an old idea whose time has come again. If we keep doing this, we start to get not only the idea that we're part of the cosmic order, but also a taste of the experience. With the upcoming Harmonic Concordance, it may be more of a lavish feast than a sample, however.