A word on Lunar Eclipses and Eclipse season
AÂ Lunar Eclipse is when our two luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, are in opposing signs at the same degree much like a Full Moon. What makes it an eclipse instead of just any Full Moon is the proximity to the Lunar Nodes, the points where the Moon's orbital path crosses the Sun's annual path. During a Solar Eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth casting a shadow on the Earth, but a Lunar Eclipse is when Earth is between the Sun and the Moon casting a shadow on the Moon. To put it oh so poetically, we are involuntarily taking a bite of a luminary sandwich.
Taking a bite of the luminaries means that we're getting a mouthful of fate, our path, Moira. Sometimes the eclipses are these shocking, intense, life changing revelations and... sometimes they're just checkpoints. Even if there is tension, much like the overwhelm one might feel in an airport line, that doesn't mean that it's always unexpected– for some, particularly for our mystical folk, it is simply part of the routine. Does this mean that the Eclipses are trivial or unimportant? Certainly not. I only mean that the day of the Eclipse itself is just the line to get into the terminal, the gate that we haul all of our baggage to, the plane we're about to board. The real magic of Eclipses happens over the six months following (the journey, as you would have it) and largely over the entire Nodal cycle.
We are already well into this Nodal cycle which I suppose gives us the advantage of awareness, it is likely that you already know and have been experiencing the effects of this cycle, but that doesn't mean that there isn't more to learn. Plot twists are imminent at the Eclipses and because of the changes that are occurring, I tend to throw my hands up in surrender at these times, there isn't much you can do while you're on the plane, right? You've given your life over to some other entity flying you thousands of feet in the air and all you can do is wait till you land and trust that you'll get to wherever you're "supposed" to be.
The Lunar Nodes in Aries and Libra have been as archetypally straightforward as you can get: War and Peace. Diplomatic agreements. Anger as a mirror for our pain. New relationships formed, old relationships dissolved. New ventures and the difficulty that arises at the beginning of anything new. Impossible choices. It's all happening globally and personally.
Reflections on the Solar Eclipse in Libra (October 2023)
Since this is a Lunar Eclipse, there is more significance in its relationship to the previous Solar Eclipse, Full Moons escalate whatever cycle began at the New Moon six months before. This heightened, energetic wave that you may be experiencing now in the Libra (and Aries) sector of your chart is a direct result of the previous six months of build up from the last Eclipse. I wrote about that one, you are welcome to read it, but I have also taken notes on that previous article and the themes I felt are relevant to us now:
One of my predictions was that we would be leaving safety of some kind (emotional, spiritual, physical) over the six month period between October and April but that there would be so many instances where we might cling to comfort by making active choices not to see toxicity or the misalignment of our own principles. I also emphasized the laziness of our own choice to misunderstand or to not follow through with our principles (it is easy to fall into human nature when principle becomes inconvenient).
There was a concern about direction, about the newness of it all. Feeling the fear of trying something new but simultaneously feeling as though we can't stay where we are currently forever. That has lead to impossible choices, wanting to make the "right" choice and not seeing one clear "right" answer. The only thing that we could do was trust new relationships or to trust the choice to leave relationships that were misaligned with our principles and hope that all works out in return... but also, how do you know if you're being too trusting? How do you know if you're withholding? Is there a difference between self preservation and closing yourself off to opportunities? Venus in Virgo was the ruler of the Solar Eclipse, perfection is Virgo's downfall and yet, I don't blame you if you struggled to let go of "perfect" ideals about your path. Really, it all came down to the health of our situation. Focusing on what was healthy, realistic, and growth oriented likely brought movement in the Aries, Libra, and Virgo houses.
The Lunar Eclipse in Libra (March 25th 2024)
Major aspects
• Venus in Pisces sextile & mutually receiving Jupiter in Taurus (1º orb, separating)
• North Node in Aries conjunct Chiron in Aries (3º orb, separating)
• Venus in Pisces conjunct Saturn in Pisces (4º orb, separating)
• Sun in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius (separating, 4º orb)
• Moon in Libra trine Pluto in Aquarius (separating, 4º orb)
• Jupiter in Taurus conjunct Uranus in Taurus (5º orb)
• Mercury in Aries conjunct Chiron in Aries (5º orb, separating)
Delineation:
I keep thinking about mistakes. Like, what does that mean. Is it possible to make mistakes? Should I be upset at myself for making a mistake or is this a bit of fate at work? Maybe it's that I can't see the beauty in a mistake just yet.
I think I have come to the conclusion that, with the North Node in Aries, "mistakes" (whether actually misguided or not) are inevitable and maybe even necessary. I did consult my principles in starting new ventures over these last six months and it felt as though a few of these principles and belief systems were maybe, unrealistic for the direction I was desiring to travel in. I chose to compromise on a few of these things for the sake of a larger plan and for the curiosity of what it might bring. Being an Aries dominant person, that was difficult. The possibility that something can't go my way, that I can't hand craft and create exactly the thing that I want without making some of those larger compromises that are native to Libra. You mean I have to be uncomfortable? You mean, I have to work with other people again? I can't just exist as an island and still get what I want? That's fucked! As I said before, there has been this Nodal-Saturnian dilemma between staying in our comfort or escapist tendencies and trying something new. Trying something new does not guarantee that there won't be challenges, that there won't be these aforementioned mistakes, that it will all click into place instantly, but what it does promise and what it did deliver (for me, at least) was this very necessary movement out of a state of fear and suspension.
2024 is our year of courage and from my perspective, we've all been making decisions that are rooted in bravery whether we can see them that way or not, whether others recognize them to be or not. Perhaps if you've "failed" somewhere, you won't be as afraid to fail again and perhaps if you "succeed" elsewhere, you won't be as afraid to step into a state of bravery again. It's kind of backwards though, right? Of course no one wants to try something that will fail miserably, hardly anyone is going into a venture with that mindset. When something fails, you might respond by shutting down, locking yourself away, not wanting to relive the humiliation or heartbreak that you may have endured, it is now a sore spot in the natal promise, a heavy growth of doubt placed on your heart like a tumor. There is an equally harmful mindset of jumping recklessly into the next venture without properly processing pain, humiliation, etc. that will also wear down overtime and swing us back into a state of suspension. To fail, to make mistakes, for our relationships and projects to fall apart? All of these things are side effects to being human and, how human it is to be afraid of being human.
I keep wondering if I've betrayed myself in compromising. That's a lesson of this North Node-Chiron-Mercury conjunction, and of course, Mercury will retrograde in Aries beginning on April 1st bringing some sort of new approach that we desperately need to this issue. Usually our anger (Aries) mirrors (Libra) something integral to us. Something that I've uncovered about the nodes is that we aren't moving into one sign and away from the other, they are an axis, they are eternally bound together by an invisible rope. Aries and Libra, like the North and South Nodes, are vital organs to each other. We can only continue on our path if we integrate our past or it will swallow us whole in repeating cycles. Right now, it is possible that we're being given the chance to confront a dynamic (such as self betrayal and lack of reciprocity in compromise) that hasn't been fully processed or healed, it is likely that we face our own enduring anger and self destructive behaviors if we cannot make different choices.
Examining our decision making system is likely the key to making the "right" decision for us, for individuality. If you make a decision from the mindset of your younger hurt self, we see the cycle repeat. I make that sound so simple, like just don't make those decisions from your younger hurt self? But no, this is a hard process. Younger hurt self leads the way into your destiny, they are a vital organ to your future healed self. Younger hurt self learned that if you touch the hot stove you will be burned. It's a long way to discover safety measures, the beautiful creations that come alive with the power of the flame, the intended use of the stove: not to burn you but to help keep you alive. It is even more messy, complicated, and impossible with real people and real survival demands and real emotions ingrained into your decision making process. All you can do is try to make the correct decision for you based on what feels good, what you feel your body needs, what you feel is within your capacity at the moment and sometimes, failure and mistake is still inevitable. Perfect decisions don't exist, there is no measuring cup, no balance beam for sentient beings, you can only follow what will restore, repair, and fill up the empty emotional reserves. This requires radical honesty as finding comfort is not the same as restoration.
Venus in Pisces rules this lunation which is curious as its opposite, Venus in Virgo, ruled the Solar Eclipse in October. Maybe we are realizing that we were too strict and withholding somewhere, that's a complicated thing with Venus so closely conjunct Saturn. Maybe we shouldn't be searching for perfection by scanning with a critical eye as much as we should now search for patience. I've noticed in the months leading to this Eclipse that I've been expecting more order in chaos, not realizing that I have to actually do the leg work to create order instead. Patience is a part of ordering, you build a system overtime so that harmony can eventually exist.
I had a meeting this week with a superior at work that I was expecting to be emotionally severe on both ends, but as we talked about these problems, I realized that many of them were temporary, that I was being impatient with a situation that would have probably worked itself out on its own had I left it alone. I was expecting severity and I left feeling like, maybe I can manage this challenge. This is what I mean by patience, this is what I mean by the South Node as a vital organ to the North Node, we cannot leave Libra behind back there, Libra is the only reason why a meeting entered in tension and war left in harmony and peace.
The reason why this was such a point of contention for me to begin with was because of a younger hurt self that went to my superiors and received no support. I didn't realize until this very moment that I was still operating from a past and outmoded state. That I now, have more support than I have ever had before and more internal resources developed from that isolation as a child that is allowing me to meet this challenge. There is some aspect of this that we will be collectively working on over the next six months, it isn't as simple as switching out of a mindset. It is a constant overcorrection that has to be implemented now that there is awareness and that, as I said in the preface, is a tool that we do have now that we're imbedded in the middle of this nodal cycle. This is all apart of the Moon in Libra decan, T. Susan Chang calls this the decan of "adjustment" and I couldn't agree with that interpretation more. We are indeed adjusting our expectations, our patience, our mindsets to fit the current and updated versions of self. Indecision is a key component to this too, if you are struggling to make up your mind, consider nonaction (this is still a choice), the gentler approach will leave you with clarity later as Mercury retrogresses in April. Consider that you may not have to do anything drastic right this moment, that your patience will show you an easier unfolding than you could have imagined for yourself.
Throw your hands up in surrender this eclipse season, let it all unfold,
Your friendly neighborhood astrologer,
Katie
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Cover Art by Remedios Varo
"The Threads of Fate"