Today begins the 3-week Mercury retrograde period, and it couldn't have come a moment sooner. Generally, retrogradation periods are about reviewing life material that we've recently experienced, contemplating the deeper meaning of these events, and integrating them into our psyches and beings. With the weightiness of this past week's events for myself and my partner, we are feeling ready to take a step back and settle into the aspects of life that feel new and different; varied from the rhythm we were used to. This, in itself, calls upon many a Geminian theme. So does the quickness with which life unfolded as the eclipse season made itself known, and the chaos that ensued in a short amount of time.

Last year began an eclipse cycle on the Gemini-Sagittarius Axis. Because these signs oppose each other and thus provide each other with complementary contrasting energies, they will always be considered as signs that share an axis in Western astrology. They both need to experience a lot of life and its varied explorations, but their approach to these happenings is quite different, which is why they share an axis! Gemini needs many diverse situations and occasions to keep its mind curious and open, and it seeks situations that allow it to be completely mind-blown. Sagittarius, on the other hand, wants to dive as deeply as possible into one modality, methodology, or topic in order to expand its understanding of life and its epic significance until that subject has been deeply integrated and fully understood. Gemini needs short trips and short courses/workshops/learning opp's that shift perceptions of reality, and Sag needs both long voyages and long educational experiences that provide paradigm amalgamation.

The following material will describe the relevance of eclipse cycles by using the story of Grommus the dog. Please be forewarned:: if you choose to read ahead, there is sensitive content that may cause discomfort and other strong emotions on the emotional spectrum. I feel honored to be the one who tells his story, and I find the timing of events synchronistic in ways that only Life can orchestrate. So, here we go.

Eclipses are times when things that have been brewing beneath the surface come to light in a new way. The current Gemini-Sag Eclipse Cycle began last year on June 5th, 2020. This cycle will last until December 4th of this year, with one more taking place on June 10th, 2021, and then the last in December, aforementioned. The eclipse cycle on the Taurus-Scorpio axis will start in November of this year and continue on for about 2 years. But back to our story...About one year ago in May 2020, my partner, Cheyne, and I were taking a couple dogs for a walk down Sheep Creek Road, a logging road that provides regular nourishment for our spirits, hearts, minds, and bodies. It goes on for many kilometers with a lovely river (not a creek by my standards!) and beautiful forests, many of which have not been logged, and these forests host a slew of animals, many of which we've caught on our trail cam:: grizzly and black bears, cougars, coyotes, wolves, moose, elk, deer, rabbits, birds, and likely more. In other words, where we live is truly wild! And, as such, the experiences in these forests are much more wild than I was used to when living in the 'burbs. So, Grommus and Tema (Tay-mah) the dogs were walking down the close-to-our-house part of Sheep Creek Road, when they spotted a male and female deer. The dogs were off leash and bolted down the road after them. Tema, on a beep collar for times like these, came back pretty quickly. Grommus continued on after the deer. My voice hurt from calling after him, and my legs couldn't keep up. We had to let him go, "yipping" his way down the road, as was his tendency when giving chase. After walking for awhile, we decided to come back home, where Grommus joined us about 15 minutes later, panting intensely, limping a good limp, and blood spilled all down the front of his body. I didn't think it possible for him to have taken down a deer; after all, of our 4 dogs, he was the "house dog" who just wanted to be wherever we were. Fluffy and unassuming, he was not the type! I had to teach on Zoom shortly after, so I prepared myself for that and wondered if he'd just killed a rabbit instead. I was soon to find out.

The next day, Odin and Loki and I were out walking the same terrain, when the two Livestock Guardian Dogs went into a field because something had caught their attention. I followed them to a certain spot in the field where the chase had happened the day before, and there, before my very eyes, was the carcass of the deer Grommus had taken down. I was both astonished and deeply saddened; I didn't want to think that MY dog would kill another animal, but this is often what we humans think, often uncomfortable with the cycles of life and death. Yet Nature has its own set of rules and circumstances, and with all of the beauty and magic it provides, its abilities to wreak havoc and create suffering are just as potent. This was something I had to respect, and I could choose it in that moment or not. Within a week, the deer carcass was gone, having provided food for many of the animals on the land. All that was left were her bones, which I saw in such a short time after her death. I was left mind-blown at the power and ferocity of Life.

Everything seemed fine at home for a long time. We knew that Grommus had gotten kicked by the deer in a last effort to save her life. So while he would limp here and there, the talented visceral and cranial therapist, Cheyne, would work on him. He would be fine after this, and the cycle went on. In the winter after a deep snow, we went snowshoeing with the dogs, and Grommus came home more uncomfortable than usual. Cheyne worked on him, giving some freedom to his spine and organs, and he was fine. Yet about a month ago, Grommus began limping almost daily. First it was one paw, then another, then another. Cheyne and I both began working on him regularly, able to provide him some relief, but never enough. A trip to the vet didn't give much other insight, and had us feeling better about our capacity to help the little dude.

And then the eclipse cycle began again. Generally, we can feel eclipses 3 days before and after, and certainly more when they impact an important part of our birth charts. And remember, things that have been brewing beneath the surface, perhaps for a year, come to light in a new way during these times. On Saturday the 22nd, Grommus' pain was at its height, and he was acting super weird because of it. Cheyne had worked on him for almost 2 hours per day that week, with nothing seeming to really help. Some dear friends had come over, and thank goodness they did. Grommus walked up to them, almost saying, "can you please help me? I'm not doing so great," something he'd never done before. And we noticed. He hid himself under our trailer in the side yard so he could feel more comfortable, and when we all started moving to the front yard and Cheyne tried to help him out from under the trailer, something wild happened. He was trying to get out from under the trailer, and he definitely tweaked something and began wailing in the worst pain I've ever heard in a dog. Our other dogs didn't understand what was happening, and Cheyne had to fight them off. He got bit in the process, and once we got things "under control," Grommus couldn't move because if he did, he would go into intense pain that also blocked blood flow to his head, as his tongue would turn white. He was also biting his own tongue, almost in a seizure-like scenario. We were beside ourselves, not knowing if we'd have to take his life then and there to keep him from the pain. Eventually we were able to get him into our vehicle and to the vet, though it was excruciating for him.

Once there, he was put on many meds to manage the pain. Diagnostic imaging showed a partially collapsed lung lobe from a blunt trauma (deer kick would do it), as well as bowel impairment (he was in too much pain to go), spinal impingement and degeneration, and hip dysplasia. The vet said that because he was young at 5.5 years old, she was hopeful, but that things were so intense for the poor fella that she wouldn't judge us if we wanted to euthanize him then. We opted to take him home. Within 24 hours, even when the Fentanyl patch had kicked in and the Gabapentins were helping a bit, he was still in pain whenever he tried to move, and we realized that whatever had happened in his trying to get out from under the trailer the day before had paralyzed him from T10 down. He couldn't move his back end, and when he tried since he didn't understand that he would never move his back legs again, he was in terribly excruciating pain. And that was the stick for us.

We sat with Grommus all day long on Sunday. We kept him as still and comfortable as possible as we bonded with him for the last hours of his life. Even in that situation, he was as good-natured as ever. But this is just who he was. To the last moment, he was totally loving and present, watching for the next move toward the door for a walk, or for when it was time to get ready for bed at night. He was always right there with us, every step of the way. Cheyne, my courageous partner, chose to help Grommus in his transition across the rainbow bridge. I was right there, from the inside of the house, letting him know how much support he had. In the final moments of Grommus's life, the dogs, from separate rooms inside of the house, howled for a long time. And he sang his quiet, loving song back to them for the last time. Then, he was gone. We buried him under the apple tree, where he will rest in body, though his spirit is now free. And I'll have one more soul friend to greet me when I approach the other side.

Needless to say, these eclipses are impacting my own birth chart in major ways. I'll spare the details, but so much has come to light after this last week and year with Grommus's story. The whirlwind of events last weekend are taking time to digest. The shock was so intense, and the chaos of Gemini's energy was at its height in my own life. Yet I'm left with much to be integrated in the way that it will be. And I fully trust this process as the 12th House Pisces that I am. Grommus the dog lived with SUCH heart, even up to the very end. It is this Heart that I choose to bring to my own experience, over and again, knowing that no matter what life brings, when we choose to live it with Heart, we are doing the best service we can. And though I will miss this being with my whole heart, I make this commitment in honor of him and all that he brought to our pack. So while this eclipse season has been mind-blowing in ways that are even more than what Gemini would've imagined, I am still awed by Life and its capacity to take our breath away. I am amazed by the love that I have for just one being, much less all of those who live in my heart. And I am astonished at my heart's ability to remain open with the intensity of last weekend's events. For this heartbreak is the fertile ground from which love can grow even more strongly.

Thank you for letting me share this story with you. I know Grommus would be delighted, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to pass this on.

May we choose to fully open ourselves to life this eclipse season, and may we live with all of our Hearts.