Here we are again, staring down the start of another eclipse season!
Eclipses, when the moon or sun appears to disappear momentarily, have long been recognized by astrologers as moments of change and potential upset, when our lives can experience sudden shake ups.
This spring we have two powerful eclipses on the horizon; the fall will bring another pair.
Eclipses 101
In ancient times eclipses were interpreted as ominous events. The sight of the luminaries going dark understandably made people nervous.
Even today, astrologers who use traditional methods tend to view eclipses as potentially disruptive, though, as always, the specifics of how they play out in an individual chart vary widely. (Want to know how these eclipses may affect you? Book a consultation with me!)
Eclipses come in groupings of two or three, and occur about every six months, during new or full moons. They happen in the two signs where the nodes of the moon, the two points where the moon’s path crosses the ecliptic, are currently transiting.
When a new or full moon falls within 15 degrees of one of the nodes, an eclipse occurs, though they may be considered “partial” eclipses, not fully obscuring the luminary.
Over the course of about 18 months, the time the nodes spend in any given pair of opposing signs, several eclipses take place along those signs (usually around six). The nodes move slowly in retrograde motion, backwards in zodiacal order, through the signs, and eventually move into a new pair of signs, which become the site of the next eclipse series.
The last series of eclipses lit up the mutable signs of Gemini and Sagittarius from the middle of 2020 through 2021, when the nodes were in those two signs. People with mutable rising signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces), as well as those with personal planets and important chart points in these signs, likely felt these changes quite strongly.
This year, all four eclipses are happening in Taurus and Scorpio.
The whole sign houses of our natal charts containing these fixed signs are marked for a series of changes over this year and into next.
Broadly speaking, the sign where the North Node is transiting, which is Taurus currently, is where we can expect to experience a narrative of increase, growth, and development. Meanwhile, Scorpio, where the South Node is currently transiting, is slated for a reduction or decluttering.
Mark Your Calendars
The first eclipse of the year is a partial solar eclipse on April 30th at 10 degrees Taurus:
This eclipse features the conjoined moon and sun within a few degrees of Uranus, indicating even more of a shake up than usual. It also activates the ongoing Saturn-Uranus square, corresponding to tensions between conservative and change-seeking elements, suggesting a moment of intensity along various ideological divides currently playing out worldwide.
The moon is exalted in Taurus, which adds a positive dimension. The ruler of this eclipse is Venus, exalted in Pisces and conjunct her ruler, Jupiter, an aspect that goes exact just after the eclipse. Normally, this would be a lovely and fortuitous moment of the two benefic planets joining in a sign in which both are blessed.
Unfortunately, the simultaneous eclipse takes away some of the unalloyed benefits of this somewhat rare meeting of these two in Pisces. Nice things may happen; it’s just that there’s also a wheel-of-fortune quality to the moment that makes it difficult to work constructively with this configuration.
The second eclipse is a total lunar eclipse late on May 15th or early on the 16th (depending on your time zone) at 25 degrees Scorpio:
Personally, I’m not loving this second eclipse, which doesn’t have even the facade of positivity that the earlier one boasts, courtesy of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction.
The moon in Scorpio is opposite the sun, since it’s a full moon. However, Scorpio is its sign of fall, a challenging position for the moon. Uranus is activated again, this time by opposition, as well as the same Saturn-Uranus square as the earlier eclipse, indicating a doubling up of themes relating to change vs. the status quo and divisiveness in general.
The ruler of this eclipse is warlike Mars, which is conjunct illusionist Neptune in Pisces, creating a “fog of war” aspect. Mars and Neptune form a trine with the moon in Scorpio, which potentially eases some of the effects.
Nevertheless, I don’t like the sense of sliding easily into aggressive propaganda or misinformation that seems to be suggested. Jupiter, which by this time has moved into Aires and is thus ruled by Mars, seems to be pulled into the equation, expanding that which it touches.
While the first eclipse almost seems to want to convince us that it isn’t a trickster eclipse (“look at my pretty Venus-Jupiter conjunction. . .”), the second one isn’t playing around.
Paging: Fixed Signs
People with fixed rising signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) will likely feel these eclipses most strongly, as the active and pivotal angular houses in their charts will be activated:
Taurus and Scorpio risings will feel these eclipses along the all-important first house of self and identity and the seventh house partnership and open enemies.
Leo and Aquarius risings will experience these eclipses along their fourth house of home, roots, and parents and the tenth house of career, reputation, and public actions.
Those with cardinal rising signs (Aires, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) will experience these eclipses along their succedent houses — the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh. These houses have a latent power as they are rising up to the active angular houses but are considered to be less active. Nevertheless, expect some changes in the topics of these houses:
Aires and Libra risings will feel these eclipses along the second house of personal income and the eighth house of shared resources and death.
Cancer and Capricorn risings will feel these eclipses along the fifth house of children and creativity and the eleventh house of friends, groups, alliances, and hopes and dreams.
Folks with mutable rising signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) will experience these eclipses along the cadent houses — third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth. These houses are traditionally considered the weakest houses in terms of bringing about the topics they signify, though the effects of the eclipses will likely still be felt in the topics signified by these houses:
Gemini and Sagittarius risings will feel these eclipses along the sixth house of daily work, physical health, injury, and routines, and the twelfth house of mental health, loss, suffering, exile, spiritual practice, and secret enemies.
Virgo and Pisces risings will feel these eclipses along the third house of siblings, local neighborhood, and communication, and the ninth house of ninth house of international travel, religion, philosophy, and higher education.
It’s also possible to be strongly affected by the eclipses if you have personal planets (sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars) near the degrees triggered by the eclipses, particularly by conjunction, square, or opposition.
Translation: Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, and Aquarius sun and moons, and anyone with other personal planets or important chart points (like the Midheaven or IC), in the degrees affected can expect some eclipse action.
Envisioning Change Positively
Because the eclipses ping back and forth between opposing signs, the changes wrought by eclipses can be experienced along both signs/houses (in this case Taurus and Scorpio).
However, over time, as this eclipse series wraps up in 2023, there is likely to be a narrative of increase in the Taurus whole sign house and a corresponding decrease in the Scorpio whole sign house.
Keep in mind that there can be positive manifestations of reduction or loss. Sometimes we need to shed unnecessary or harmful things, such as a toxic relationship or a career that leads to stress and burnout.
Envisioning a positive manifestation of what “doing less” in the Scorpio area of your chart can help prepare you in advance for potential changes on offer there.
Eclipse Advice
In general astrologers advise against initiating new ventures or projects around an eclipse. However, most of us have to continue living our lives and can’t wait out the eclipses in a cave somewhere, as tempting as that sounds. Here are some suggestions to get through eclipse season with a minimum of drama:
Try not to over schedule yourself. Leave room for things that come “out of the blue” as they tend to during eclipse season.
Rest, if you can. The energy can be chaotic during eclipses. The less you have to do, the better.
Don’t freak out. The narrative of an eclipse series, particularly at the beginning of a new 18-month period, can often be unclear. Don’t jump to rash conclusions if you can avoid it. We still have future eclipses coming up that will shed more light on the issues at hand. (On the other hand, do what you need to do! Don’t delay anything important just because there’s an eclipse.)
As Pink Floyd sings in Eclipse:
“And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. . .”
Stay safe and stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, coming this fall!