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This is a very special full moon! This came to my inbox today.

From Pam Younghans at www.NorthPointAstrology.com

The first of a trio of eclipses is our primary focus this week. Although Tuesday's Lunar Eclipse is not a total eclipse, we can still expect to receive an extra impulse of energy as compared to a regular Full Moon.

If these were "normal" times, we might tend to downplay the influence generated by this particular eclipse. But, as most can feel by now, we are in truly extraordinary times, and the planets are playing a key role in helping us define each step along the way.
There was a tangible shift at the time of the Solstice (on June 20/21) and the New Moon just a day later. That New Moon was the initiation phase leading up to a culmination in this week's Lunar Eclipse.

A New Moon generally establishes a theme or plants a seed, and the Full Moon two weeks later reveals the growth of that seed. Knowing that this Lunar Eclipse is the follow-up to a very powerful energy shift gives us reason to believe that we may see significant developments in our evolutionary progress this week. With this week's eclipse, we see a shift in the cosmic intention. Eclipses run in cycles, and stay in one pair of signs for about 18 months, or for three pairs of eclipses. The signs involved in each eclipse pair set a theme for our common growth and learning as humankind.
Since February 2008, the eclipses have been working with the Leo-Aquarius polarity. With this week's Lunar Eclipse, they begin the shift into the Cancer-Capricorn polarity.

A primary message of this particular eclipse may be to remember the importance of balancing achievement, discipline and responsibility (Capricorn) with time for nurturing, self-care and renewal (Cancer). We might also consider the need to find balance between the adult's perspective, which often sees reality as something to be molded, and the child's point of view, which tends to be fully in the moment and to take life a day at a time.

And, given that Michael Jackson's public memorial is on Tuesday, we also will be remembering our own adolescent years, and the joy, freedom and power the artist embodied at the peak of his career -- as well as the childlike persona he carried into his adulthood.

One more interesting note about this week's eclipse, that I wrote about on my blog last week: It is a "first-timer." Eclipses have a 19-year cycle, which means that most times, we can go back that many years to find an eclipse at the same degree of the zodiac as the current event.
But this week's Lunar Eclipse was only a Full Moon in July 1990 -- another indication that we are stepping into new, uncharted territory. And we can feel that sense of anticipation, that something new is afoot -- and we may also be feeling some entirely human and completely understandable anxiousness about stepping into the unknown.

The chart for Tuesday's eclipse contains many of the planetary interactions shown in our "highlighted aspects" list for the week. Of particular note is that the Triad (Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter) are exactly square Mars at the time of the eclipse.

In general, this means that personal desires may need to take a back seat to the common good -- and yet, the knowing is within each of us that they are really one and the same. The Triad-Mars square also encourages us to think outside the box, and to take actions in alignment with the guidance of our higher selves.
My hope is that this planetary arrangement means that war-like posturing (represented by Mars) is diffused by the strength of the higher vibrational energies (represented by the Triad). These higher frequencies can be reinforced and stabilized by those who consciously hold the intentions of healing and compassion. This opportunity to create a shift in a stubborn situation (Mars in Taurus), and the flexibility needed to bring it about, is shown by an energizing Uranus-Mars sextile in the eclipse chart.

The three planets that comprise the Triad are again very close to each other this week -- in fact, Neptune and Jupiter are exactly conjunct for the second time on Friday. The first time these three aligned this closely was during the last week of May, at which time intentions for healing and spiritual awakening were set.
We may find this week's eclipse, along with the Solar Eclipse on July 21 when Jupiter exactly conjoins Chiron, to be pivotal times in fulfilling those intentions. This is our year to heal the wounds of separation and duality, on both individual and global levels. The worldwide response to the recent passing of beloved celebrities is just one reminder that the same heart beats within us all.