Preamble:
The eclipse cycles trigger waves of energy that influence all of us internally and externally. The imprint of energy as captured by the chart calculated for any eclipse, tends to get carried forward in time on a wave for about 6 months, and so makes for a useful method of forecasting.
All eclipses represent a break in the normal transmission of light from the sun, and that means the transmission of spiritual information received at the soul level of our beingness. For me the eclipses represent changes and shifts in the way our self-realisation process unfolds, keeping us in tune with our pre-intended life-purpose prior to incarnation. In essence, eclipse energy imbues us with an impulse, which when acted upon makes us feel like we are on track, energised, and purposeful. How this affects us in detail can only be determined by cross-referencing with a natal birth chart, but we can look to the overall themes to see how the world in general will be influenced, to give us a sense of the psychic weather patterns shaping things over time.
A Solar Eclipse takes place during the new moon, so it can be viewed as an enhanced new moon. Not only can we receive Higher-Self seed impulses for the coming month, we also can receive awareness that alters our growth path, or new lessons can be initiated, which will carry beyond the month over a 6 month period of time.
This Aries Solar Eclipse (also a New Moon) represents a rebirth of the new moon cycle, bringing both a completion to some of last years growth opportunities and initiating new growth themes. Typically the Aries New Moon generates Higher-Self seed impulses toward new experiences, and we may find ourselves reflecting or taking action on what we truly want in life.
The essence of desire is critical to spiritual evolution; to master ourselves, we have to learn to discern the difference between true desires and false desires, which is to say desires that are in alignment with the soul evolutionary directive, as transmitted to the ego via the Higher-Self, versus egocentric “false” desires, which are desires that surface in relation to social conditioning and the need to solve perceived problems. For example the desire to be rich can arise as a perceived solution to scarcity fears, and such goals don’t necessarily lead to fulfilment, long term meaning or happiness.
This new moon, we can expect insights and messages from the Higher-Self, via meditation and contemplation, or simply strong gut impulses, to initiate new growth pathways. Some of these may be minor, while others can be life changing.
What are we going to do different this year, and how will we take action on intuitive impulses toward new experiences?
As a result of the Aries energy, we may find ourselves withdrawing to consider who we are, who we want to be, and where we next want to go in life. If we’ve been loosing ourselves in the needs of others, this is an appropriate period of time to pay more attention to ourselves in order to stay in balance.
The Aries Equinox last month marked the beginning of a new astrological year, and so the Aries energy toward the new and emergent has already been active within all of us. The equinox chart was busy and complex with many aspects and conjunctions. In contrast this Aries New Moon, amplified by the solar eclipse, is simpler and more focused.
Chart cast for the Aries Solar Eclipse ~ April 8th 2024 19.20 BST/ 14.20 EDT
For a guide to the astrological symbols click here
Astro-Technicals:
Conjunctions:
Saturn conjunct Mars in Pisces
Venus conjunct Manwë and Hygeia in Aries
Chiron conjunct the Solar Eclipse in Aries
North Node conjunct the Solar Eclipse in Aries
Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus
Oppositions:
Varda opposing Asbolus
Orcus opposing Saturn and Mars
Squares:
Varda and Asbolus in T-Square with Neptune at the apex
Uranus square Praamzius
Yods:
Chariklo sextile the North Node, Chiron and the Solar Eclipse, both inconjunct Orcus at the apex
Trines:
Mercury trine Praamzius
Inconjuncts:
Neptune inconjunct Praamzius
A new eclipse cycle
This Solar Eclipse is also a total eclipse, which I posit initiates a new theme for the next eclipse cycle, which will continue until the next total eclipse in 2026. We are currently in a greater fire cycle, with all the total solar eclipses from 2020-2028 occurring in the fire signs. The fire element promotes differentiation, driving individuation through self-discovery, creative self-expression and personal truth.
The previous solar eclipse cycle initiated in Sagittarius in Dec 2020, and for the last four years a primary evolutionary theme has been the development of personal truth, intuition, and expanded understanding of life, in the context of a global meaning crisis, where truth is not only relativised, but also obscured through the weaponisation of information, misinformation, and echo-chamber delivery systems via social media that typically show us more of what we like, and under expose us to information we don't show interest in. With the arrival of A.I. we now live in a world where nothing we see or hear within the media can be fully trusted to be real or true. In my view the opportunity throughout the period has been to cultivate the intuitive function as a means to navigate the information arena and to more efficiently tune in to the relevant information relative to personal growth at a time when information overload is a common side effect of modern life.
The shift of the eclipse energy into Aries continues to emphasise individuation as a core theme for many on the planet, and a movement away from a focus on personal truth and meaning, toward a focus on personal self-discovery and a greater momentum toward new paths of development, new initiatives and experiences, with an emphasis on the question "who am I now?" or "who am I becoming?" And this over-lighting influence will continue via the partial eclipse energy waves for the next 2 years.
Breaking free from the past and stepping into the new are ongoing themes
Eclipse energy tends to reverberate in the field for up to 6 months, and this solar eclipse in Aries occurs close the the lunar North Node, indicating that for the next 6 months the evolutionary onus is on moving forward, breaking free from old patterns, and initiating actions that lead to new life experiences.
There is a sizeable stellium of planets in Aries that amplifies the upthrust of energy toward new action and the pursuit of what we want.
Most striking about this eclipse chart is Chiron in exact conjunction with the Sun and Moon, which means that the archetypal energy of Chiron will be infused into the eclipse energy wave adding a particular flavour. Chiron is the initiator, teacher and wounded healer; his primary teaching at this time is the healing of the mind-body split - the perception that what goes on in our minds has nothing to do with physical reality. In metaphysical truth, the mind and the body are the same, and seamlessly connected; the body can influence the mind, and the mind can most definitely influence the body. Chiron at the forefront of the eclipse wave will put holistic healing as a key co-factor of forward evolution.
Chiron in Aries has been for some time now activating the past-life wounds connected to male-dominance, violence, and war, and through this activation all of us have the opportunity to work with past-life wounds of this nature, and of course recent outer events connected with war such as occurring in the Ukraine and Gaza are bringing the issue of war yet again to our attention.
Healing is of course breaking away from the past; to heal is to liberate from the old limiting stories to a more open vista of potential. Chiron’s presence at the heart of this eclipse wave highlights the personal healing journey as pivotal in how we each move forward into new life experiences, and how we access new creative potential within ourselves.
The Orcus Yod
A Yod is formed when 2 planets are 60˚ apart, and both are simultaneously 135˚ from a third planet forming the apex of an isosceles triangle. The planet at the apex plays a key role in the way this energy dynamic is resolved. Yods are generally internal stressors that require us to make adjustments in order to secure energy flow. Orcus in Virgo at the apex, highlights the role of the spiritual path and the healing journey in relation to how humanity evolves and moves into the future. Orcus in Virgo has many levels of expression, and one of these is the path of the spiritual initiate through service and healing.
Chariklo in Aquarius speaks to the power of sacred space; how healing and change become effortless, when we cultivate the correct environment. In myth, Chariklo is the wife of Chiron, and both these celestial objects are categorised as centaurs, which in astrology take the role of bridging realities and spaces to bring more wholeness. Chiron especially connects the personal realm of the unconscious with space-time reality, and his role is to act as a channel for awakening through bridging the past and the present with the future intentions of the soul, and to initiate healing through the release of repressed information held at the unconscious. At times Chiron works through crisis and can activate cathartic processes, which leave us ultimately liberated.
On a collective level, this Yod closely aspected by the solar eclipse, suggests that many will find themselves spiritually or psycho-emotionally activated toward healing in the next 6 months. In the context of an ascension paradigm, this means more people will be stimulated to look within and begin waking up to the greater spiritual reality they belong to, and the consequential change in life perspective that this generally creates.
In the Aries Equinox chart, Venus was in conjunction to Saturn, and in the Aries Solar Eclipse chart it is now Mars that is in balsamic conjunction with Saturn, while also opposing Orcus. Its interesting to note that both Venus and Mars have been activated by the equinox and eclipse energy waves. In addition both Venus and Mars came together with Pluto in Aquarius for the first time in 200 years (Venus and Mars make the conjunction to Pluto separately every year and 2 years respectively, but together at the same time is a much rarer event with its own symbolic value). We are seeing here the beginning of a new collective growth cycle in relation to how we relate to ourselves and how we relate to others, and this is now energised with more Aquarian energy for the whole of this next cycle. So we can expect to see more evolutionary pressure at the soul level to liberate from social roles and values to become more flexible, open and tolerant - especially in relation to gender, masculine and feminine traits, sexuality, freedom of expression, individuality being more valued, new ways of coming together in love relationships, and new ways of coming together in cooperative egalitarian groups.
Typically any planet close to Saturn can feel stifled and limited, and with Mars in a culminating conjunction in Pisces, I wouldn’t be surprised if outer limitations imposed upon our sense of free will, will generate a desire to either transcend or escape. If we choose the transcendence route, we will activate the spiritual side and potentially rise above and break free from social conditioning and social expectations to a new level of personal power and a new freer inner space.
The Saturn/Mars conjunction right opposite Orcus, who is at the apex of a Yod connected to spiritual initiation and healing, energises the Orcus principle to go within for answers, potentially providing an outer challenge that then stimulates an inner revelation and adjustment that allows us to move forward.
The evolution of values
Uranus entered Taurus around 2019, and since that time we have been collectively stimulated to re-asses personal values. There have been shake ups asking us to question socially accepted value-norms, and especially to bring light to what we each value the most.
What defines success?
Is money the best measure of happiness?
Is power accumulation in our best interests, or does it simply allay our fears?
Off and on, this theme has been activated by eclipses, solstices, equinoxes and new moons, and this eclipse is no exception; Uranus and Jupiter are both in semi-sextile to the eclipse Sun and Moon, and Praamzius the archetype of ‘correct action’, karma and natural order, makes a square to Uranus, adding a guiding pressure toward an impulse to evolve values as a means to find greater life meaning.
The cumulative effects of modernity and post-modernity with its ideas, philosophies and technologies has plunged the world into a palpable meaning crisis. A 2019 survey of the UK population found that 80% of people thought their lives were meaningless, which is a staggering revelation. It tells us that if we simply conform to the systems and structures offered and imposed on us, such as social media, mobile phones, and indiscriminate use of WIFI, we are going to feel awful - it is up to us as individuals to look elsewhere and to cultivate meaning in the midsts of a nihilistic social environment, which is no mean feat. Nevertheless we are all faced with this challenge.
It is interesting to note that a Swedish neuro-scientist recently explained that in the last 10 years our exposure to EMFs from mobile phones, tvs, computers, WIFI etc has not merely doubled or jumped by 10 times; we are immersed in invisible emissions that are calculated to be 1 quintillion times what they were in 2012. Meanwhile no authority has ever ventured to assess the affects on our mental and physical health.
With Jupiter soon to rebirth through Uranus in Taurus on April 21st this year, we can expect an expansive intuitive shift in awareness related to values, needs and what we believe we are worth.
The previous Uranus/Jupiter conjunction happened in 2011 in Pisces, ushering in a highly expansive spiritual awakening period, with shake ups in the collective field, helping us liberate from collective dogmatic notions of the transcendent. If we were able to run with our intuition unhindered by social ridicule and judgement, this last cycle would have been spiritually abundant.
Right now we are culminating these lessons, through a self-reliant approach to personal truth; my observation is that many many people realise they can no longer trust in what they see or are told and have had to learn to feel into information, through an intuitive faculty, in order to make sense of things.
The new cycle kicking off in April in Taurus (13 years long) puts the onus on grounded activism, and the use of crisis in the world, as a way to activate spiritual inspiration, and the building of faith toward a new and better world; one very different from the elite dystopian nightmare offered by the WEF and others.
This eclipse wave, we can expect the issue of values and needs to continue to be active, and in particular we can expect the evolutionary pressure to move us toward a more dharma orientated life approach.
How should we be of service in the world?
The shedding of inherited beliefs about what we should and should not value, and how we should or should not relate to life, can be a profound liberation, and when we come into alignment with a higher ordering principle e.g. The Logos, not only do we discover or energise new life meaning, we also begin to actively contribute to more harmony in the world.
Finally…
An exact T-Square featuring Varda, Asbolus and Neptune at the apex (with Hygeia and Manwë arguably in conjunction with Neptune) indicates that high frequency transmissions from the Galactic Logos now permeating the collective field, will be challenging us to join the dots with respect to spiritual messages and signs coming to us in daily life, and to take suitable action.
Cracking open through the limited secular-materialist mind-prison, when we suddenly find we can’t deny synchronicities and repeating coincidences, activates the spiritual side of human nature and opens us to experiences, which can have powerful healing effects. For the next 6 months, we continue to be immersed in a field that catalyses spiritual awakening in many, and nourishes spiritual awareness in those who are ready.
© 2024 Aquila Idha - all rights reserved. Please credit and reference me and this website when choosing to use any written part of this article.
Aquila offers Self-realisation mentoring, Evolutionary Astrology, and Tarot sessions for those awakening to their true potential.