Thinking about this new Moon-eclipse, an old song I haven’t heard in decades played in my head all afternoon. The year was 1971. War, a multi-ethnic Longbeach fusion band, was touring in London when Slippin into Darkness was conceived.
Guitarist and band frontman, Howard E. Scott, a Compton CA boy, was trying on a pair of boots that were too small. Employees at the store yanked them off so hard, it threw out his back. At the hospital, as the sedation took effect, Scott found himself slipping into darkness, peeking over the edge of reality into an altered state of consciousness.
This bizarre event inspired Scott to contemplate that borderline place between genius and insanity where creativity is often birthed, and the gifts and dangers that live in close proximity to that uneasy edge.
Slipping into Darkness you Tube
Slippin into Darkness was written for our times, too. It was released in 1971, the year Mars was last retrograde in Aquarius. The name of the band, War, evokes Martian energy; the music’s fusion of genres and the musicians’ multi-ethnicity both have a Mars in Aquarius quality. Finally, world and national news reports are currently inundated with the utterances and exploits of a man who calls himself a stable genius. The song’s warning is clear: pretty soon ya gonna pay.
Eclipse season has officially begun, my friends. The powerful energies of Pluto opposing tonight’s dark Moon prod us to appreciate where we’ve been. By remembering our past downfalls and triumphs we gain clarity about what nourishes and drives our creative impulse so that we can explore that edge with sacred awareness. I’ll see you there!