Soccer World Cup Eclipse, 11 July 2010, 19h34 GMT

I'm no expert on eclipses, but they are certainly interesting, and important, and I'd like to understand them better!

As a resident of South Africa it's hard to remain uninterested in the Soccer World Cup, but amazingly only at this late date have I noticed that the World Cup final will be played during a Total Solar Eclipse (which won't be visible at the site of the match though)!!

I find it intriguing that the "path of totality" of this eclipse, most of which passes through the pacific ocean, ends at the southern tip of South America, and the shadow would (as far as I can tell as an eclipse non-expert) be "visible" right up to the middle portion of the South American continent; very close to Uruguay and Paraguay, both of which at this moment are potential contenders to play in the final... Uruguay is through to the Semi-Finals, and Paraguay faces Spain 30 minutes from now, and if they win they go through too.

Also, the astrocartography map for the moment of the eclipse shows Mars on the MC ("aggressive pursuit of success") close to Uruguay and Paraguay. Could that be a red card?!

The Netherlands and Germany (interestingly located close together like Uruguay and Paraguay) have both been doing very well and have made it through to the Semi-Finals. The Netherlands beat Brazil yesterday I think, and today Germany beat Argentina (4-0!). The Sun and Moon are on the Descendant around the Netherlands and Germany at the time of the eclipse. What could that mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_July_11,_2010

Mars-Neptune and "Invisible Daggers"

Transiting Mars has just arrived to within orb of a Square to my natal Neptune. There's still a day or so of this to go, but I have been quite intrigued by the manifestations thus far.

Last night I got inspired to paint an "Astrology Readings" sign on a square piece of board, and worked on it almost obsessively till after 2am. I woke up feeling quite exhausted, but pleased with the result.

It's been a while since I've smeared colours around with a brush, and although I was not painting a pretty picture for pure self-expression's sake, I think there was a hint of artistic sensibility involved in the process.

Mars is action; Neptune is imagination: combining the two often manifests as an alignment of physical action and an attunement to an ethereal, subtle or intangible world. Artistic self-expression is a common result.

However, this is not all. Last night I had a bizarre dream that I can only vaguely remember:

I was in some sort of vault or hall that seemed to be made of a yellowish stone surface, a bit like some ancient Egyptian temple, and there were snakes and strange salamander or lizard like creatures in various nooks and crannies. Then I found myself in a large open room with three or four men who all seemed to be similar in that they all possessed varying forms of magical weapons. Then one of these men, who may or may not have been me (I couldn't differentiate between what I was doing and what I was observing) brandished something that sort of released some energy in his hand, but I understood that he was controlling something invisible at a distance, and then I saw a blade suddenly slit the throats of the three other men. I also either heard this man say or think that it had to be done and couldn't be delayed any longer, as if it was a case of slay or be slain. I awoke from this dream rather shaken and it took me a while to get back to sleep.

Mars and Neptune are very different. While they can manifest positively through artistic our "soulful" activities, they also seem prone to potentially "hazardous mystical experiences", which my dream seemed to verge on.