Preamble:
Eclipse cycles form part of the astrological clock of unfoldment, initiating energy every six months more or less, and they have long been known since ancient times to herald personal and global developments and sometimes significant change. Total eclipses mark changes in the evolutionary cycle for humanity, and for lunar eclipses there is always a more personal emotional dynamic involved.
The Moon is typically associated with the emotions and thus with the irrational side of human nature and in mundane astrology represents the common people. This makes sense because the rise and fall of emotional energy affects everyone.
The Lunar Eclipse is also a full moon, and it works in a complimentary way with the Solar Eclipse energy wave. While the Solar Eclipse infuses us with creative impulses from the Higher-Self, the following full moon represents a potential for objective insight and understanding at the ego-personality level. It’s a time when we are more able to take the impulses from the solar eclipse and make them personal through greater awareness.
To begin with...
The recent Libra Solar Eclipse energised the Lunar South Node toward reconciliation with the past (especially in relationships) and finding or maintaining balance in all things (over the next 6 months). The Taurus Lunar Eclipse now energises the Lunar North Node, indicating that emotional growth over the next 6 months will occur more smoothly when we stay grounded, practical, sort as much out for ourselves on our own, and cultivate as much emotional self-reliance as we can. There is little to gain if we default to blaming others for whatever we think went wrong, and expecting them to fix everything; we are all being impulsed to move on from the past, to let go more, to come back to centre and rediscover who we are and what we value most.
With the lunar nodes now commencing new growth lessons connected to relationships, finishing up and balancing past issues, and moving forward into new experiences, the Taurus Lunar Eclipse speaks strongly to developing and maintaining a strong foundation of grounded, real, emotional self-sufficiency moving forward.
This Lunar Eclipse occurs in a different sign polarity, so we are not tasked with simply balancing the Libra Solar Eclipse energy wave, but instead to stay grounded, practical, embodied and realistic as we seek to release patterns of the past and continue to energise new pathways of self-discovery.
Let’s take a closer look at the archetypal themes transmitted via this Lunar Eclipse Wave for the next 6 months and its influence on everyday emotional life…
Chart cast for the Taurus Lunar Eclipse on 28th October 2023 21.24 BST/16.24 EDT
For a guide to the astrological symbols click here
Astro-Technicals:
Conjunctions:
Eris and the North Node (exact) in Aries
Quaoar and Pholus (exact) and Icarus in Capricorn
Saturn and Gonggong in Pisces
Venus, Orcus and Dark Moon Lilith in Virgo
Jupiter, Albion and Uranus in Taurus
Mercury and Mars (close to the Sun) in Scorpio
Oppositions:
Gonggong opposing Juno (exact)
Saturn opposing Juno
Uranus opposing Typhon
Eris opposing Pallas
Jupiter opposing Mars and Mercury
Squares:
Eris and the lunar nodes make a T-Square with Pluto
Yods:
The Icarus, Quaoar, Pholus Stellium sextile Gonggong and Saturn with Varuna at the apex
Dark Moon Lilith sextile Typhon with Eris and the North Node at the apex
Trines:
Salacia trine Varuna (exact)
Orcus and Venus trine Jupiter and Albion
Eris and the North Node trine Varda
Saturn trine Haumea
A Mystic Rectangle featuring: the eclipse Moon sextile Gonggong trine Juno, the Sun sextile Juno and trine Gonggong
Emotional growth, balancing and integration
At the heart of the of the Lunar Eclipse chart is a rare Mystic Rectangle aspect, which occurs when opposing energies are also harmonised with other archetypes.
[Saturn and Gonggong opposing Juno in Virgo, make a trine with the Sun and a sextile with the Moon, while Juno makes a trine to the Moon and a sextile to the Sun]
The presence of a Mystic Rectangle directly connected to the Lunar Eclipse itself (Sun/Moon opposition) indicates that the next 6 months will provide us with a period of intense emotional growth and transformation potential, where we may individually or collectively be presented with opportunities to find balance and integration. It can also manifest as a period of increased creativity, as we learn to harness the opposing energies of the Saturn-Gonggong/Juno opposition and channel them into something constructive.
Saturn and Gonggong have been in conjunction for some time now, and represent an ongoing systems crisis at a global level, a continuing process of disillusionment, and the dissolution or breakdown of both personal and collective structures on all levels, whether tangible, emotional, mental or spiritual.
The Juno opposition poses a question:
How do we go about dealing with this breakdown as we move more and more into change?
Will we default to a masculine dominant left-brain perception and set of strategies, or will we integrate more with the feminine principle and approach things differently than we might have done before?
Patriarchy versus Matriarchy and the Middle Road
Juno is harmoniously energised for the next 6 months by the eclipse wave, putting her at the centre of our personal processes, while we all undergo personal restructuring as world change continues at a pace. Like the Libra Solar Eclipse, Juno also energises the issue of relationships; the relationship we have with ourselves, the way we deal with contracts of exchange with others, and how we go about engaging in commitments with others. Juno also highlights honouring the feminine both within and without, and since we still live in a cultural context strongly influenced by masculine dominance i.e. we collectively tend toward prioritising left-brain linear logical perception, extroversion, and moving actively toward desires, this eclipse wave clearly invites us to review how we channel and express the feminine, and to deepen our connection in ways that can make the transition from one reality to another much smoother.
How much are we really willing to trust in the unknown?
How much do we listen to our instincts and intuition?
How often are we prepared to wait, take time, and allow the gestation of energies to ripen without intervention?
As our illusions gently dissolve, or worse get ripped asunder, will we choose to remain open and real?
As we move forward into new personal ways of doing things, how will this affect the way we exchange energy with other people, and how will it alter the way we approach committed relationships?
During a time of social change and uncertainty, are relationship commitments moving forward, going to become more attractive and central?
On the collective level, the Lunar Eclipse stimulates both a polarisation between the established patriarchal system now shaking at its foundations, and an arising new feminine impulse within all of us toward more inclusion, connection and care. We will continue to see a stark contrast between those caught in a brutal and unforgiving system and those who have broken free, and remembered themselves and found renewed connection. What’s most interesting is the potential signal from this Lunar Eclipse to promote integration and reconciliation, which may have a positive effect on the culture wars.
The old order of things will continue to break down
Eris in exact conjunction with the North Node in Aries, highlights a strong impulse to do things differently. Perhaps we ourselves want to shake things up a little bit to allow more novelty into our lives; perhaps it is the world around us that is less predictable than before - either way the next 6 months challenge us emotionally to move positively with change and to break patterns to make space for new ones, rather than cling to the old ways. The ongoing T-square with Pluto in Capricorn directs a lot of this energy into social change or at least the pressure is on to generate social change.
While Gonggong stimulates more chaos as the old systems fail, Juno in Virgo trine Icarus, Pholus and Quaoar, is now calling for effective remediation, healing, and troubleshooting, informed and supported by the high-frequency energy transmissions from Source driving the Ascension process.
Which aspects of society need to be released?
Which one’s can we heal and make better?
What new values and virtues do we need to create?
[I ponder how many more people world-wide are moving from indifference and dissociation toward greater empathy for our fellow human family over the issue of war ]
The Saturn-Gonggong conjunction, on one level representing the destabilisation of society, is linked by sextile aspect to a Capricorn stellium (3 or more planets close together) featuring Quaoar, Pholus, Icarus and Ixion. I’ve previously highlighted this stellium as one of the key drivers of Ascension: Quaoar, Pholus and Icarus together speak to high frequency energy being integrated through the body, causing an expansion of human consciousness, often linked to depth work and re-integration with the feminine principle. The sextile with Saturn and Gonggong indicates that the breakdown in global systems and western culture is tied to an elevation in human consciousness; high frequency energies are in one sense causing global disruptions, while the dissolution of the old system serves to quicken awakening. These two energy gestalts are both inconjunct to Varuna in Leo forming a Yod with Varuna at the apex, showing that the path to spiritual sovereignty in alignment with universal laws is the higher goal; new high frequency transmissions entering the Gaian energy system, driving the breakdown of obsolete social structures, ultimately serves collective awakening toward a more self-realised collective consciousness, built from spiritually sovereign individuals, who have on their own terms chosen to align more with the Solar Logos, and the notion of a higher guiding power. Whatever transpires over the next 6 months, will tend to promote self-awareness and sovereignty as a valuable quality or answer to personal challenges.
Ixion’s presence in this energy picture also suggests that the human collective shadow is innately connected to this evolutionary process, with some of the global disruptions linked to deliberate machiavellian manipulations and ruthless service-to-self agendas. My feeling is that the more we collectively see and acknowledge the nature of the shadow and those who are aligned to or possessed by it, the more we can collectively integrate and neutralise it.
Working with shadow elements to become more integrated and empowered
A 2nd Yod features Eris and the North Node in Aries at the apex, with Typhon sextile Dark Moon Lilith making 2 inconjuncts. Typhon in Scorpio is a strong signal energising unstable shadow aspects, linking in with Dark Moon Lilith in Virgo - the tendency to feel inferior, unworthy, and impure. The Eris/North Node conjunction at the apex is activated by deep seated feelings of doubt, creating an inner tension. Firstly, the primary drive at the moment is to venture forth into new growth territory, relative to our personal path of evolution, which will to some extent take us out of our comfort zone at times, and yet seemingly out of nowhere these deep feelings of doubt and inadequacy may arise, as we approach the frontier between the known and the unknown causing hesitation:
Are we really up to the task we might wonder?
Are these future forward inspirations really worth it?
Why can’t I just stay put and keep things the same as before?
Through Dark Moon Lilith in Virgo, we can however track back within our personal story and uncover where these feelings of doubt come from, and the facing of shadow aspects will in the end reward us with transformation and empowerment. For the next 6 months we can expect doubts and hesitations to arise from time to time, as we respond to a growing impulse to move into new life experiences; the emphasis during these times is the breaking of obsolete patterns. We shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves however; the cardinal nature of the North Node in Aries means that its not unusual to take 2 steps forward followed by 1 step back; engaging the unknown although exciting on the one hand, also requires us to feel safe - as such it is a process and things can take a lot longer to manifest than we imagine; patience (not an Aries quality) is a virtue, and we may just have to adjust or release the 'obstacle' of any negative patterns that keep us feeling undeserving of abundant outcomes.
With the Sun, Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, this eclipse energy wave energises a strong desire to transform the way we think and the way we go about making things happen; we are more inclined to want to overcome personal limitations, and the Venus/Orcus conjunction in Virgo inconjunct Chiron in Aries, suggests that to do this we are more than likely going to need to heal deep soul wounding, connected with the assertion of personal power and courage. If you identify with being on a spiritual path, then this will be part of your internal process moving forward; reviewing patterns of behaviour, bringing compassionate awareness to them, and allowing for adjustments to occur.
Finally…
The lunar eclipses generally give us a fair indication of the nature of emotional growth and development we can embrace as a way to flow more easily with the solar eclipse energy wave, which tends to direct changes in how we go about fulfilling life purpose; the two energy patterns work as a pair together. The last Libra Equinox wave is generating a lot of energy toward moving on from the past, and the Libra Solar Eclipse wave energises tidying up lose ends as we prepare for more newness in our lives; the impulse is to resolve the past in order to cultivate more balance and understanding - don’t be surprised if someone from the past emerges to reconnect, or if you find yourself drawn to do the same in the next 6 months or so. The Lunar Eclipse in Taurus now adds to this by encouraging us to deal with relevant aspects of the personal shadow, so that inner obstacles to change are either removed or mitigated. In this way we become more ready for whatever is coming next in our personal lives, and we get to do an internal de-cluttering so that we can be more focused on where we want to go and what we want to reach for in life. Taurus is a slow, steady and grounded energy, and this is perhaps the most important insight for the coming months - the slow and steady path to progress will serve us best in a time of volatile uncertainty, where a good emotional foundation promises successful outcomes in times yet to come.
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