Total Solar Eclipse in Aries
Solar eclipses happen when the new moon occurs close to the nodes of the moon - the points where the moon and sun's paths meet. The sun is "swallowed" by the moon, the dark moon eclipses the light of the sun. Traditionally, people feared eclipses - they believed they marked times of disaster and upheaval. Generally astrologers advise resting during eclipses, to avoid looking at them or being outside when they occur. They are not the time for spells or for charging crystals… Eclipses are times of profound change and twists of fate...some say when eclipses occur, it opens a portal, for souls to enter and leave the earth plane... eclipses certainly shake things up - in my experience there is a cosmic-reorganization that occurs. We meet people that are important for our path, old acquaintances/friends come back into our lives, or there is a severing of ties, or both... sometimes when big shifts need to occur, it can feel like a catastrophe, like our life is falling apart... but really it’s coming together...
To say that big shifts are happening is an understatement. This New Moon is not only the second Aries New Moon, it is a Total Solar Eclipse, AND it is occurring at the anaretic degree (if you’ve been following we’ve been bringing this up a LOT because we’ve had a lot of lunations with star players at the anaretic degree - see my previous posts) - the cosmos are calling for cord-cutting, purging, profound transformations - Pluto is squaring the nodes of the moon and will not let us skate by unchanged. We are clearing our vessels and gathering power for what’s to come. You know deep down what you are capable of, you can hold more than you know. What’s stopping you? What’s in the way? What is draining your vitality? Something has to go…
Eclipses are a time for Shadow Work, as in the case of solar eclipses, the moon is literally creating a shadow on the sun. What old habits, beliefs, attachments are keeping us from growing? Find the root of the emotion connected to these attachments. Fear is likely hiding under there… The shadow of Aries is narcissism, egotism, and believing you don’t need anyone, that you couldn’t possibly need to rely on anyone else, and certainly not compromise for anyone else…The medicine is in relationship, collaboration, inclusion, gathering, and linking arms with your fellow weirdos. Participating in relationship and community does not mean sacrificing individuality. There can be both.
We have been doing a lot of prep work leading up to this Total Solar Eclipse in Aries… we have had a lot of potent activity in Aries this year, with the Chiron-Jupiter conjunction, Jupiter cazimi, Chiron cazimi, and a New Moon in Aries last month! We likely have already been experiencing some challenges, heartbreaks, transformations in the area of our charts occupied by Aries. We are getting a clearer vision of who we want to become and the deficit between our reality and that vision… Living in our old worn out identities, in this weird, toxic construct created out of capitalism and the patriarchy, is becoming increasingly more painful… many of us, some of us very quietly, are planning our escape… collectively we will become louder and louder as we decide that we will not, and cannot, live like this anymore…
This Solar Eclipse is square to Pluto in Aquarius, adding some extra electricity to this transformative portal. Pluto gives us the power and the courage to destroy that which is in our path so that we can rise as a better, more evolved version of ourselves, both individually and as a collective. This eclipse season will be an initiation in many ways - the energy of Aries has us wanting to initiate, but we may be initiated in a way we did not expect. Pluto will be squaring the nodes for a few months, making this energy a slow burn. Pluto is demanding we release for the sake of evolution… will you play tug-of-war with the God of the Underworld, or will you let go willingly… the choice is yours. The more we resist our evolution, the more difficult it will be. The world is changing whether we like it or not. We will likely have some significant decisions to make that could result in a drastic reorganization of our lives - we will without a doubt need an immense amount of courage to proceed with integrity and in alignment with our soul’s path.
Aries has us following desire, but Aries often operates without thinking about the consequences of our actions - we have to control our impulses, to first examine them, and get to the root of the emotion driving the desire. Does it come from fear? From a need to fit in? To conform? To sustain? Or is it from Love - from a desire to evolve, to improve, to find a better way, to thrive… This is part of our shadow work. Saturn in Pisces sextile the north node, and trine the south, supports our path and reminds us to choose love…Saturn gives us the faith and staying power to be in service to our higher selves, and to the highest evolution for all. Saturn in Pisces has us facing our unconscious fears and old ways of thinking that keep us from taking charge and becoming the Master of our own lives. We are saying “no thank you” to lives void of purpose and meaning, of balance and rest. Burnout is becoming a more common topic of discussion, and people are choosing their mental health over their jobs (what a concept!). Saturn in Pisces has us getting serious about creating the foundations for regular energetic recharges, more time to just be, so that we can process and digest our experiences and emotions effectively and experience more ease, more awe, more expansion. We must release the need to please society, our parents, friends, coworkers, bosses… what we seek is seeking us. Trust passion. Jupiter sits very close to this Eclipse, giving us the optimism and co-orchestrating the serendipities we need to push forward courageously…
Although this eclipse occurs in Aries, the North Node is still in the early degrees of Taurus, reminding us to stay in our body. Ground down, touch the earth, breathe deep, be still or move, whatever inspires presence... Mercury is slowing down and is about to go retrograde on April 21st, less than two days after the eclipse, at 15 degrees of Taurus, reinforcing a full stop - a permission, if you will, to take the time to get really intentional and strategize how to proceed through our expansion. Uranus sits two degrees ahead of Mercury, offering whispers of revolution to the messenger, who doesn’t quite reach Uranus. Mercury slows down and retreats, delivering to Earth food for thought as they retrograde through the sign associated with our material life, what we are invested in, and what feeds us. This retrograde will be a time to assess what we value - what is getting your money, energy, resources… Our values have likely changed, or at least our awareness and point of focus on our values has shifted over the last few years. We may have been realizing that the way we create “value” in the world (in exchange for money to put a roof over our head and food in our bellies) needs to shift, for the sake of our own peace. Perhaps it’s time to diversify our efforts. What skills do you have that may be lying dormant? What wants to be awakened? Dust off those passions you tucked away in the dark depths of your soul…or perhaps something new wants to come forth - what has been calling to you? The new moon solar eclipse in Aries is offering us a new beginning, to forge a new path, but we will hang on Pluto’s hooks in the underworld until we willingly release what must go. With this newfound lightness, there is a deep yearning to initiate, to charge forward without reservation, however now is not necessarily the time to act. Resisting impulse and practicing patience will pay off. Take the time to FEEL into your visions… Intentionally unplug, get into nature and away from technology, and sense into the world around you. Listen. What do you hear when you silence the noise? Who might you meet if you lifted your face from your phone? Take the time to make sure that what comes in to fill the space is worthy. Think bigger, let yourself expand. Imagine what will bring you life force, vitality, joy? What will sustain you?
I hope I am not sounding like a broken record, but these are incredible times to be alive. We are witnessing a huge shift in humanity. It’s not all onward and upward, we will move forward and back, there will be peaks to climb and valleys to traverse. We will have milestones to celebrate, and tragedies to mourn. We will be disillusioned, and also sometimes pleasantly surprised. No matter what, we must believe. We cannot stay stuck in old ways of operating because we don’t believe we have the power to change our trajectory. Let your small, conscious, intentional everyday actions be a prayer for the world you wish to create. We all have to do our part, do our shadow work, and alternately shine our light, follow our inner Voice, and move in the direction of our dreams.
Stay weird. Stay kind. Stay curious. Sending ya’ll so much love!
