Welcome back, folks, to the through-the-looking-glass part of the year, when portals of change, marked by great beginnings and endings, seem to open like doorways.
Aka eclipse season.
We last chatted about eclipses this spring in Part I of this year’s guide, with our first pair of mixed bag eclipses in April and May.
The mixed bag description of this year’s eclipses is because they straddle two series of eclipses, the Taurus-Scorpio ones that began late 2021 and the Aires-Libra ones that started earlier this year.
Briefly put, the former are finally wrapping up while the latter are getting going this year.
The two eclipses earlier this year, the April one in Aires and the May one in Scorpio, offered a preview of both the current Aires-Libra eclipses and the beginning of the finale of last year’s Taurus-Scorpio series.
Venus Rules
This fall, following the shift of the nodes of the Moon into Aires and Libra over the summer, we have our first full-on eclipse in the Aries-Libra series, an annular solar eclipse (new moon) at 21° Libra on October 14th.
Two weeks later, we get the final eclipse in the Taurus-Scorpio series on October 28th with a partial lunar eclipse (full moon) at 5° Taurus.
In a nice contrast to the earlier two eclipses of this year, which were both ruled by Mars, the fall pair are both ruled by Venus, highlighting venusian themes of connection, relationship, the arts, and women.
But, there’s a twist. Venus will be in Virgo for both of these eclipses, her sign of fall, where she lacks reputation. Planets in fall often behave differently than expected; in Virgo, Venus has to work hard and think outside the box to bring about her topics of relationships and aesthetics. Consequently, these eclipses may involve venusian topics that are somehow contrary to conventional expectations or upset the status quo.
Cosmic Dragons
Eclipses occur when a new or full moon occurs near the lunar nodes, mathematical points on the elliptic that are always opposite each other and move in retrograde motion through the signs.
The North Node, known as the Dragon’s Head in Indian astrology, currently in Aires, denotes a point of hunger, growth, and energy. Eclipses happening here can act like a power surge in this part of your chart, lighting it up like a power station.
By contrast, the South Node, or Dragon’s Tail, which is now in Libra, acts as a release or purge point. Think of a bathtub without a drain, unable to fill up — that’s the feeling of the South Node. Wherever the South Node alights is territory for release, loss, endings, or letting things go.
Let it Go
While the South Node sometimes gets a bad rap as a sinkhole, it’s important to remember that endings can be positive, as can moving on.
Reframing our thinking around the topics associated with the Libra house of our charts can help as this eclipse season gets underway.
What things there are your ready to move on from or set free? What could you do without?
Changing Things Up
In general eclipses are times of great beginnings and endings and, therefore, change along the two opposite signs they activate and the topics tied into those houses in our charts. (See Part I of my guide for eclipses season horoscopes by rising sign.)
If you can, it’s good to try to keep your schedule light in the weeks around an eclipse to allow for unexpected events and more time for rest1. There can be a sense of restless energy and things (or people) coming out of the woodwork during eclipses or, conversely, people and things being eclipsed out of our lives.
Also note that eclipses don’t effect everyone the same. People whose charts are more triggered by the eclipse configuration will likely feel them more strongly. In this case that means people with late degree cardinal sign placements (Libra or Aires especially but also Cancer/Capricorn), as well as early degree fixed placements (Taurus or Scorpio in particular but also Leo/Aquarius).
A Fallen Eclipse
The October 14th eclipse in Libra strikes me as the most dramatic and potentially disruptive of the two. The Sun-Moon conjunction at 21° Libra is only a few degrees from the South Node, energizing this eclipse for release. The lunation is also loosely opposite asteroid Chiron, the wounded healer, suggesting themes of revisiting past pain and wounding.
Furthermore, the Sun is in fall in Libra, opposite its sign of exaltation, Aires, and therefore lacks resources and reputation2. Planets in fall have a hard time asserting themselves in terms of the particular planetary goal — in the case of the Sun, to express a higher self.
This is the type of eclipse that would have ancient astrologers warning about a fall from grace or power for a king, with the leader, symbolized by the Sun, both fallen and eclipsed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw news connect to those themes, both in the larger world and on a smaller scale in our own lives.
Compounding the fallen nature of this eclipse is its ruler, Venus, also fallen in Virgo, in aversion to Libra and unable to provide support, and just coming out of a limiting opposition to Saturn. Translation: we’re on our own in the event of a leadership failure.
More personally, we may not need any sort of external leadership any more in the topics that Libra governs in our charts. It might be time to take up the reigns ourselves, to stop deferring to others in this area of life.
Taking the Bull by the Horns
If we’re left frazzled by the earlier eclipse, the one on October 28th at 5° Taurus feels more helpful, even if it’s merely a cleanup crew for the previous one.
With the full moon exalted in Taurus with abundant Jupiter nearby, and ruled by Venus, still in Virgo but waving helpfully from a trine aspect, there are supporters aplenty.
Overall, it’s an optimistic conclusion to the last year plus of eclipses in Taurus and Scorpio. Have a think about any changes that have come up along the topics associated with this axis — there may be some upsides or silver linings you haven’t considered.
Wishing you a safe (and boring, if possible) eclipse season!
I for one am terrible at following my own advice during eclipses.
Note that this doesn’t mean people with the Sun in Libra are “bad” - they are often nice to a fault partly because they lack the emphasis on individuality of Aires. They are the opposite of self-oriented, which is why Libra has a reputation as being all about relationships.