Eclipse Season Incoming
Solar eclipse in clouds. Photo credit Romolo Tavani.
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Libra (Full Moon)
On Monday, March 25, 2024, at exactly 3:00 am Eastern Daylight Time, we will experience the first eclipse of 2024 – a penumbral lunar eclipse – which will occur at 5°07’ Libra, opposing the Sun at 5°07’ Aries. This is a mere five days after the Spring Equinox/Ostara and the ingress of the Sun into Aries, the marker of spring and the turning of the wheel. If ever there was a time for “spring cleaning,” this is it.
Eclipses are full moons (lunar eclipses) or new moons (solar eclipses) that are conjunct the Nodes of the Moon, also known as the Nodes of Destiny or Fate. Eclipses are portals that usher in endings and beginnings in tandem with one another, with the lunar eclipses and full moons being more focused on endings and the solar eclipses and new moons focused more on beginnings – but eclipses are extra. Whatever is not aligned with our destiny, future, or higher self will be sometimes ripped out from under us, ready or not, and our better direction shoved in our faces. Knowing what is coming often helps us prepare for what we know we need to release and lean into what we need to cultivate in our lives.
This lunar eclipse will be a time of big changes and seeing the past for what it truly is, as the Moon is eclipsed on the South Node (the past) in genteel Libra, whose focus is one-on-one relationships.
The Moon will be quintiled (creative problem solving) by Mars, sesquisquared (compulsive conflict) by Uranus, opposed by Neptune (which will be conjunct the Sun), and trined (harmonized) by Pluto.
The Sun will be conjunct Neptune and the North Node, conjunct Hygeia, semisquare (unconscious conflict) Uranus, and square (conflict or challenge) the Ascendant in Capricorn at the time of the eclipse. Astraea, the goddess of truth and morality, will square the Sun and Moon from the Descendant in Cancer.
Chiron, Mercury, and Eris will all be conjunct the North Node in Aries in the third house, empowering us to stand up for our wounded selves in thought and self-expression.
Ceres plays a big role in this eclipse season as it squares both eclipses and Mercury retrograde.
(More on Ceres in Capricorn further on.)
Vermont statehouse dome with Ceres statue.
This lunar eclipse will open the portal to realizing how we have self-abandoned in relationship settings, and begin letting go of unhealthy relationship dynamics, dysfunctional means of getting our needs met (such as codependency, an unfortunate part of many a Libran experience), and moving ahead with a healthy determination to self-individuate and fight for one’s autonomy and self-protection. We are learning how to say No, and how to make changes in our lives that begins with rediscovering our self-worth.
Saturn in Pisces conjunct Venus in Pisces in the 2nd house will help us have healthy boundaries around our hearts in ways that both protect and elevate us toward a higher love.
The South Node will be quintiled by Jupiter, which is conjunct Uranus in Taurus and quintile Mars in Pisces – essentially forming a Quintile Magic Wand that empowers us to see and discern the truth and have faith in knowing that what we discover will empower us to take action that will free our tender souls.
This lunar eclipse is the opening of the portal, being topped off and closed by the Total Solar Eclipse incoming two weeks later on Monday April 8, 2024, at 2:19pm EDT.
THIS (the solar eclipse) IS THE BIG ONE.
However, in the middle of these eclipses, Mercury goes retrograde in Aries, throwing our confidence into question and giving us time to stand on our heads and see things differently before committing and marching on. Mercury retrograde can be helpful if we go with the flow. Below is the retrograde timeline:
Mercury Pre-retrograde Shadow: Begins March 18, 2024, at 11:26 PM EDT at 15°58’ Aries, conjunct the North Node, Chiron, and Eris – this is the vibe that will carry us through the eclipses! – and square the Moon, Ceres, and the Vertex.
Mercury Station Retrograde: April 1, 2024, at 6:15 pm EDT at 27°13’ Aries, conjunct Eris, semisextile Venus, semisquare Saturn, semisextile Neptune, square Pluto, conjunct Chiron, while the Moon squares the Sun and the Nodes – halfway between the full moon and the new moon, the halfway point in the eclipse portal – and conjuncts Ceres, trines Juno and Jupiter, and sextiles Mars and Saturn.
Mercury Station Direct: April 25, 2024, at 8:54 am EDT, at 15°58’ Aries, conjunct the North Node – SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE NEW MOON IN ARIES WILL BE CONJUNCT THE NORTH NODE, INDICATING THE FRESHEST OF FRESH STARTS AS ARIES IS THE FIRST SIGN IN THE ZODIAC – Hygeia, Chiron, Eris, and Venus, square Ceres (a key player in this eclipse cycle), semisextile Saturn, and biquintile the Moon.)
Mercury exists retrograde Shadow: May 13, 2024, 4:59 am EDT, 27°13’ Aries (conjunct Eris, Chiron, and the Ascendant, semisextile Jupiter, square Pluto, inconjunct Lilith).
Total Solar Eclipse in Aries (New Moon)
On April 8, 2024, at 19° 23’ Aries, there will be a total solar eclipse, conjunct Chiron (exact by 1 degree!), North Node, Eris, and Mercury Retrograde, semisextile Uranus and Jupiter (conjunct in Taurus), square Ceres, and sesquisquare both Pallas and Juno, which are square one another, forming a Thor’s Hammer.
So, besides the whopper of a stellium in Aries – Hygeia, Venus, North Node, Moon, Sun, Chiron, Eris, and Mercury Retrograde, all in Aries – the two standout aspects to this eclipse are the square to Ceres, the mother of the seasons herself, and the Thor’s Hammer from Pallas square Juno with the eclipse at the apex.
Ceres squaring the Eclipse/Nodes
Anytime you have a planet squaring the Nodes, it represents a life lesson, or in the case of a natal chart, a series of life lessons, relating to the planetary energies involved. Ceres in Capricorn is stoic, ambitious, practical, and reserved, and in the 6th house is focused on service and daily routines. Squaring the eclipse and North Node in Aries, and the South Node in Libra, this aspect is prompting us to examine whether the ways we offer care to others in the forms of service is benefiting our growth and healing our relationship wounds toward interdependence or whether it is holding us back in patterns of self-sacrifice and co-dependence. The cards are stacked so heavily in the Aries/interdependence corner that it is hard to see how we could possibly choose to remain in the self-sacrificial co-dependent mindset after this eclipse, but change is often difficult if we are deeply ingrained in lifelong trauma/survival patterns. Adding to the tension is Ceres’ out of bounds declination, meaning that Ceres’ energy will be off the leash and not likely to listen to reason, making getting entrenched in our heads-down, results-oriented, workaholic modes of action a real possibility. Best to know what you’re working for or towards, instead of just working out of selfless obligation or unexamined habits.
Grief will naturally be a part of these eclipses, as Ceres also deals with how we let go and process grief. Ceres (Demeter) had to first deal with the trauma of losing her daughter Proserpina (Persephone) to Pluto (Hades), shut down the harvest and growing season of the world in protest to get her back, only to face the truth that she would only be allowed to come back to her for half the year - spring through fall, spring equinox through fall equinox, two of the prominent markers of the change of seasons (winter and summer solstice being the other two major markers) - due to her having eaten six pomegranate seeds while in the underworld. It will be to our benefit to face whatever grief comes up for us and process it in as healthy of a way as possible, probably according to our own Ceres sign, as opposed to just putting our heads down and getting lost in workaholism or compartmentalizing our feelings, as Ceres in Capricorn is prone to do.
This is the lesson of the square, choosing which way to go. We can’t purely get lost in the past (Libra/South Node), and pine for the relationships we’ve lost or are losing, but we also can’t completely ignore or disregard the loss in emotional or spiritual bypassing (this is fine!) and march brazenly and mindlessly into the future (Aries/North Node) without also doing the inner work (grief and shadow work, Ceres in Capricorn at the crossroads/square the Nodes), processing, and healthy integration. Balance is key. Bow to all of it.
Thor’s Hammer in Solar Eclipse: Pallas square Juno and both sesquisquare Sun/Moon/Mercury/Chiron
If you’ve read my work on Thor’s Hammers, you’ll know that I don’t take these aspect configurations lightly! This is a heavy and compulsive aspect that can drive everyone crazy, both the people who experience it and those who live with it in their own charts. In an eclipse situation, it will bring about an unavoidable showdown that will force change. Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and strategy, here in the sign of Sagittarius/5th house and in this challenging configuration, compulsively debates and challenges others on whose philosophy is the most enlightened and “woke,” probably even annoyingly so. (Remember that Thor’s Hammers bring out the worst qualities in all the planets involved due to the challenging aspects all around.) Juno is the committed wife of Jupiter (Hera and Zeus in Greek mythology), who is also known as Juno Moneta, where we get the word “money” from. She runs the household, the finances, and in Virgo/2nd house here will be an absolute nitpicking perfectionist who cannot sleep until every penny is accounted for, and you’d better believe the purse strings will be tight. Sesquisquare the eclipse, these goddesses gone wild will trigger heated and strong emotional reactivity related to these issues, frustrations, and ego jabs and confrontations that will require awareness and careful maneuvering so as to not cause any lasting damage, or to be damaged by others who do not possess such awareness or foresight. As Pallas will be parallel (conjunct by declination) Uranus and also conjunct asteroids Lilith and Prometheus and square Mars, this ups the ante on things getting out of hand, quickly. This could potentially, metaphorically look like the fire was taken from the heavens and given to humanity and humanity losing control of the gift through sheer hubris and carelessness.
Using my Thor’s Hammer formula, we will need to use the highest energetic expression of the apex planets, Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Chiron in Aries, in order to manifest a positive outcome of this snafu. This means using this hot Arian fire energy to inspire healing, growth, decisive action, and confident leadership in ourselves – not in others, in ourselves. Libra represents the other; Aries is the self. We have to become the inspirational leaders we have been waiting for. But we can’t do that until we honestly work toward our own healing (Chiron) and take accountability for our part in how we got wounded in the first place.
It's a new start, but it will take Arian chutzpah and bravery to overcome the war within (Aries is ruled by the god of war, Mars) and rise above the fray and letting go of a compulsion to dominate others, using inspired change and healing as our guide to get there.
I hope these transits find you well and, as always, if you’d like a reading to see how these transits will affect you or your loved ones, feel free to reach out to me via contact@psycheastro.com.
Morpho godarti asarpai Peru butterfly unmounted