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 solar eclipse is another partial eclipse, and I posit, belongs to a sequence of eclipse waves that initiated at the last total solar eclipse back in December 2021 in Sagittarius, all contributing to an expansion of awareness, a reconnection with natural law, enhanced intuition and a broadening of philosophical understanding. This eclipse will be the last of that cycle; the next solar eclipse in 2024 will be a total eclipse in Aires and initiate a new primary evolutionary impulse toward action and self-discovery. For now though we are still completing a cycle connected with expanded life-understanding, from which we will later begin to take action and forge new life journeys.
This Solar Eclipse in Libra stimulates learning and development connected with feedback and objectivity. We might find ourselves in key relationship opportunities or challenges this month and for the next 6 months; how much do we honour our own desires versus pay attention to other peoples needs? What can we learn from other people?
Higher-self impulses this lunation may draw us to reflect on what is most needed in order to get the balance right; there may be key decisions to make now. If we have been too internalised and immersed in our own thing, we may need to bring energy out into the world and engage socially with others, or pay more attention to those already in our lives. The evolutionary emphasis is on feedback given from others so that we can better understand ourselves and our motivations, in order to stay on track with optimal growth and wellbeing. Perhaps someone out there has a message for you that will alter the course of your actions… Let's take a deeper look at the Solar Eclipse chart to unpack some of the main themes.
Chart cast for the Libra Solar Eclipse on 14th October 2023 at 18.55 BST/ 13.55 EDT
For a guide to the astrological symbols click here
Astro technicals:
(skip this section if you aren't familiar with the astro jargon)
Conjunctions:
Saturn conjunct Gonggong in Pisces
Ixion conjunct Icarus in Capricorn
Eris conjunct the lunar North Node in Aires
Jupiter conjunct Albion in Taurus
New Moon/Solar Eclipse conjunct the lunar South Node
Oppositions:
Eris and the North Node opposing the New Moon/Solar Eclipse
Uranus opposing Typhon
Venus opposing Gonggong and Saturn
Orcus opposing Nessus (exact)
Squares:
Eris and the nodes square to Pluto
Inconjuncts:
Uranus inconjunct the New Moon/Solar Eclipse
Eris inconjunct Typhon
Yods:
Neptune sextile Uranus with the New Moon/Solar Eclipse and the South Node at the apex
Varda sextile the New Moon/Solar Eclipse and the South Node with Uranus at the apex
Varuna sextile Makemake with Gonggong at the apex
Sextiles:
Saturn sextile Ixion and Icarus
Nessus sextile Jupiter and Albion
Collective Overview
Recently the lunar nodes changed signs, moving from Taurus/Scorpio where they have been for the last one and a half years, to Aires/Libra. A change in the nodes represents a change in the way we collectively process karma, and it defines to some extent the likely modus operandi of future forward progress in life. The good news is that we have finally moved away from the South Node in Scorpio (which means a change in the eclipses also), which energised deep transformational passages to power, not to mention darker controlling and power grabbing tendencies [especially on the world stage]; all of us have been to some extent dealing with the darker side of existence and going through deep emotional processes as we evolve. This is now lightening up as the South Node moves into Libra, the sign that encourages greater balance, fairness and harmony. This means much of the next two and a half years will be pivotal in some sense, with the onus on paying karmic debts as a means to moving forward, and moving into the unknown is definitely on the cards for the world as a whole, now that the North Node is in Aires, but we will have to work toward this with a degree of effort.
The big collective questions becoming ever more salient are:
What kind of world do we truly want to live in?
What are we prepared to do to change things?
What old patterns of thinking and behaviour are we willing to leave behind in order to get there?
Pluto is now direct at 27˚ Capricorn as we enter the last phase of the Pluto in Capricorn collective lessons, which have been exposing hidden corruption in our systems and stimulating a collective maturation toward greater self responsibility and personal inner authority. There will be just 3 more New Moons with Pluto in Capricorn, until Pluto makes a permanent move into Aquarius in early February next year.
Pluto is also still forming an energised T-Square with Eris and the lunar nodes (now in Aires/Libra), highlighting an evolutionary intensity to the current times as we balance the karma from the past, review and objectify past issues, make peace or reparation as necessary, while also putting energy into new life directions, and reaching for something better in our personal lives, or taking new actions toward freedom and greater autonomy at the collective level.
If you have been feeling somewhat stuck, blocked or in limbo these last few months, this is probably partly due to this energy dynamic; we are being asked to work actively with both future intentions and at the same time tidying up unfinished lessons and issues to bring our personal energy into greater balance and harmony. This influence will carry on until the end of this year, but is now diminishing.
I expect Jan/Feb 2024 to feel more energised toward moving forward with personal dreams and plans.
With Chiron in Aries quite close to the lunar North Node and Eris, for some, the way forward will come about through positive health related changes, whether physical or psycho-emotional in nature; we might need to make changes to diet and lifestyle as part of the way we step up in vibration and build energy for future forward creative impulses, or work directly with emotional patterns and mental issues.
Saturn in retrograde conjunction with Gonggong continues to stimulate the dissolution of illusions and obsolete structures, both individually and collectively; this shedding is mostly internalised and geared to move on from past patterns. We are being asked to see the world through new eyes as it truly is, and this month Venus in Virgo is in direct opposition, making this process more personal than usual, urging us to face up to realities we may have been avoiding, and to reflect on what we need to do to heal, purify and adjust for the best outcomes. This could be a window of time to be confronted with truth whether we want it or not, and to do the inner work if necessary.
A focus on the past in order to cultivate more balance and understanding
The Solar Eclipse in Libra close to the South Node, with Mercury in Libra also making a conjunction with the New Moon, indicates we might find useful answers through active recapitulation of unresolved issues, especially pertaining to past and present relationships. The key here is about gaining a deeper more objective understanding. If we are contemplating new life directions, this month may be a time when we make space to consider how our personal desires will affect others, and figure out responsible ways to implement needed changes in our lives.
On the grand stage we can also expect this eclipse wave to kick start more reconciliation and reparation processes founded on fairness. For example we may see Indigenous rights rise to the forefront in the next year, such as may already be happening with Hawaii attempting to leave the USA and go independent. We may also see more criminals publicly brought to justice.
This Solar Eclipse offers another gateway for expanded spiritual understanding
A Yod featuring Uranus in Taurus, Neptune in Pisces, and the Solar Eclipse at the apex, speaks to the possibility of deeply internalised insights initiating during this period, especially with benevolent Salacia in direct opposition to the eclipse; Uranus acting as a messenger for higher benevolent intelligences, lifting the veil and transmitting directly into ego awareness, sometimes in quite surprising or shocking ways.
For some this may correspond metaphorically with having a blindfold removed and seeing life in a radically new way. For most of us I suspect it's another opportunity to pay more attention, watch the signs and signals and listen out for hints and prompts from the inner guide. Mercury and Chiron are also in an exact opposition, both close to the nodal axis, suggesting that within this window of unveiling, some key insights could come from teacher/healer figures, or key revelations could open up awareness of where we most need to heal in the coming months.
On this note, Orcus in exact opposition to Nessus (they’ve been in and out of opposition for quite some time) keys into the Mercury/Chiron opposition via a semi-sextile and an inconjunct aspect, bringing in some more evolutionary grit for those on an active path of awakening. New personal awareness gained this month and over the next 6 months, could reactivate unresolved pain and suffering with the onus on continued purification processes, humility, healing and releasing.
A second Yod also featuring Uranus (at the apex) and Varda sextile the Solar Eclipse, further stimulates a need to liberate from limiting values and long held patterns, as new expanded understanding of the universe and how it functions, nourishes a personal and unique appreciation of existence.
Yods are generally abstract tense energies that annoy and cajole us into adjustment, healing and change, so I must emphasise that insight isn’t guaranteed without some active choice; if you insist on being distracted and too busy, then most likely these influences will be of no consequence. These Yods do however give us an opportunity, if we are ready to invite in greater self-knowledge and are willing to receive.
Plotting new courses on the landscape of relationships
This Solar Eclipse activates the South Node shortly after its ingress into Libra , and an evolutionary shift of focus to the nature of relationships and how we operate within them. This pattern energises our attention on relationships in general, but with an onus to evolve beyond pre-existing patterns.
What have we learned about relationships so far?
What has our approach to others been?
What relationship strategies have we been employing?
How well have they worked?
Do we want something different from relationships than before?
Are we hungry for new relationship journeys that take us into new territory?
These are the evolutionary themes that will begin to emerge in the coming months, activated in particular by this Solar Eclipse/New Moon, which is essentially birthing an evolutionary need to review personal relationship patterns, agendas, intentions, and goals, and in so doing make reparation as necessary, bring more objective awareness to past relationship lessons, so that we can each become more aware of what we most want next out of relationships, and begin to assert and implement changes in our own patterns of behaviour.
We have powerful and abundant Eris to help us move forward, but we have to be open to reevaluating what relationship means. Eris is the gate-keeper of the true feminine; she is ultimately here to teach us how to integrate the lost feminine principle, which in turn will help us get much more out of our relationship experiences through deeper connection.
In a fundamental sense, for those embracing change, there is a call to adventure emerging that can lead us into exciting new exchanges and ways of being ourselves in relation to others, without diminishing others or putting ourselves down in order to maintain connection. Eris in Aires fuels us to stand up more for who we are as individuals, and yet as a feminine archetype she also cares about how our actions affect others.
How often do we lose ourselves in relationships and accept compromise as the only means of maintaining connection?
Is there a way to remain true to who we are, while also making space for others to be who they are?
This activation of the relationship archetype via the Solar-Eclipse, and the South Node now transiting in Libra, may induce a sense of frustration within existing relationships, especially if they are built on compromises where everyone is losing more than they are gaining. This frustration of course will stimulate us to reach for a new frequency and a new approach, possibly bringing long term relationships to a whole new level, and certainly putting pressure on us to do so.
If we can manage to release the old patterns, open our minds to new possibilities, forgive or make reparation as necessary, then from now, ongoing throughout the next year or so, we might make significant evolutionary progress and in so doing, revitalise our entire relational experience.
A final collective summary
We continue to collectively engage in radical systems change, and for the most part much of this is stimulated by the breakdown of old systems; we are still coming to terms with the failure of systems that used to work but no longer do.
Potent metaphysical forces are stirring up and disrupting an old way of living life and perceiving the world. As the old order falters, we are becoming aware that something new is coming. The New World Order factions (in favour of a unipolar world) are failing in their attempt at a global coup d’état, and we are most likely moving toward a multi-polar world orientation in keeping with an Aquarian age, where unity is found through the celebration of diversity, freedom, tolerance, and creativity. And yet the battle between the factions; those wanting more control over the vast majority and those upholding humanitarian values, is not over yet.
There are several astrological indicators of this:
The Saturn and Gonggong conjunction suggestive of a hidden war within the system, as well as the breakdown of the system.
Uranus opposing Typhon indicating powerful disruptive and destructive forces at work, on the one side contributing to collective awakening through ongoing events that catalyse consciousness, but also dark malevolent forces actively in opposition to “free humanity”.
Ixion conjunct Icarus in Capricorn in sextile to Saturn and Gonggong, indicating that dark players will continue to fight no matter what, and be more reckless and impulsive than ever, amplified by a loss of perspective. This may prove to be a good thing in the longer term, as it may expose hidden groups to the white-hat alliance.
On the bright side, Salacia in trine with Varuna represents powerful forces of light operating (from other dimensions and densities) that uphold the greater good. Jupiter conjunct Albion close to Uranus adds a powerful expansive energy movement toward liberty and the elevation of humanity as a whole - suggesting that humanity continues to collectively awaken and liberate to a higher more loving frequency of perception, despite social manipulation via the media.
In addition, Makemake in opposition to Salacia, induces an awakening of our true story, and in particular to the unresolved karma of the fall of Atlantis, which must now be balanced, the patterns of which will inevitably be showing up on the global stage as we begin to return to a compliance with universal law.
Makemake also features in a Yod with Varuna and Gonggong at the apex. We are getting a lot of help from highly evolved off planet cultures operating under the Law of One, as well as from inter-dimensional Gaian cultures (inner- Earth/time travellers) aimed at restoring the balance and aligning the Earth with higher virtues, free from malevolent influences.
As usual there is lots to see in these symbols, and most important of all is recognising that the changes we want to see, have to be anchored and grounded through each one of us in unique ways, as we respond to and assimilate the incoming higher frequency transmissions, which in turn alters the collective co-creative impulse toward peaceful and harmonious global outcomes.
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