An Old American Prophesy

…On Blake’s visions and how they may be related to eclipses

“The Sun has left his blackness, and has found a fresher morning And the fair Moon rejoices in the clear & cloudless night;
For Empire is no more, and now the Lion & Wolf shall cease…”

plate 8 of America a Prophesy by William Blake

The year was 1792. The Western world was thrashing between two enormous revolutions, Pluto was transiting Aquarius, and a young William Blake was gathering ink and words for a couple of visionary prophesies — one for Europe, one for America. It had recently become a crime of sedition according to Parliament to offer any such writings that may seem sympathetic to the colonies. So Blake — for the first time in his career — published America a Prophesy with his full name on it with location and went on to write in his notebook, “I say I shan’t live five years. And if I live one it will be a Wonder. June 1793.”

The spirit of this true revolutionary act can maybe be traced to an eclipse. It was on March 8th of 1792 when a lunar eclipse shadowed Blake’s Uranus to the degree (19º Pisces; source: Ovason’s Eclipse book; pg.134). It was after this eclipse that he immersed himself in the creation of America a Prophesy.

• the Chandra Symbol is interesting for this eclipse: Pisces 20. A truck stop specializing in Gnostic texts; How American can you get? I bet this exists somewhere. Nevada? Louisiana? Send me a pin if you know.

America was a nation founded on the ideals of freedom and liberty, which are Uranian ideas. Blake was a supporter of this side of the vision. But as far as the other side of the dream of the young nation, he was deeply critical of the oppression, the slavery, and he was also saddened by the lack of sensual liberation he was hopeful for. One can only wonder what he would say today, one whole Pluto orbit later, about the state of the Union.

Whether Blake was aware of the eclipse to his Uranus or not (which is possible; he was close friends with astrologer John Varley, who cast his chart for him; Uranus may have also been called George then, in that it was just a decade since the discovery) it’s still a wonderful display of how eclipses assist in keeping our stories interesting. Would he have published his prophesies without it? Would he have risked his life if it weren’t for the Promethean push and a touch of dragon powers with an eclipse? Or, is it all coincidence? A cherry-picking of evidence to support a theme?

In Ovason’s book, he mentions this eclipse, but also mentions another eclipse in 1804 on Blake’s angles which he correlates with the publication of Milton and how Blake also loved using eclipse imagery in his paintings after this time. It’s all compelling and makes you wonder if some souls are more sensitive to eclipses than others? In my view, we are all susceptible to the wyrd light and the changing shadows, yet for those born on eclipses or in the season or for some other reason unknown, there could be signatures to show an attraction to them — or them to you.

All this to say, as we linger on in this Dragon Hole (eclipse season), it’s wise to study where these eclipses will be falling in our own charts. I promise it will prove fruitful. And if you need help or want to learn more about them, there are links below.

Oct 14th: Total Solar Eclipse; 21º Libra

Oct 28th; Partial Lunar Eclipse: 5º Taurus

• If you’d like to have a reading around these eclipses, I have a few openings still; you can sign up below

Eudaimonia,

Adam