Eclipse season is upon us! In ancient times, humans used to perform elaborate ceremonies and rituals to avert the evil they believed eclipses portended, for to see the Sun swallowed up, in the middle of any normal day, and no sign of him coming back must have been very frightening indeed. I myself have witnessed a total Solar Eclipse, and even with my trained western mind, I ran and hid in primal terror.
Traditional Astrology doesn’t take a very kind view to these events either, and famous Astrologer, William Lilly, had a detailed list of recorded natural disasters, political upheavals and other catastrophes (as well as the occasional positive occurrence) that happened during eclipses – you see, eclipses are recurring, and over each repetitive cycle, one can begin to see a repeat of events as time goes by.
For us personally, eclipses that aspect any of our personal points or planets (such as our rising sign degree, Moon, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus) can create quite an upheaval, huge shifts and possibly even some tough challenges, if we haven’t prepared ourselves.
Eclipse Season has a total Solar Eclipse (super charged New Moon) at 18 degrees of Pisces on March 9, and a Lunar Eclipse (super charged Full Moon) at 20 degrees Virgo on 23 March. This month is going to be one of major polarities, extremities of ups and downs, and because Pisces & Virgo are mutable (changeable) signs, much change can be expected. Things that may have seemed to be set in stone will be dissolved away and sacrifices (a keyword for both signs) will have to be made, but in discernment – we have to ask ourselves WHO the sacrifice is being made for, IF it is worth it in the long run, and are we loving ourselves at the same time? Eclipses can plunge us into a sort of darkness, the dark night of the soul, but even as the Sun emerges from the darkness, so too can our soul, which in ancient Astrology is often signified by the Sun, the life giving force. We need to not be afraid to plunge into the dark and draw up the treasures within.
Look to your natal chart and see if any of your personal points or planets are around 17 – 19 degrees of the mutable signs (Pisces,Virgo, Gemini, Sagittarius) – chances are you’ll feel the effects of the eclipse most strongly, especially if the eclipses are conjunct (directly connected to) your points or planets or in opposition (directly opposite to) your points or planets. Double whammy if these points or planets are in your 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house. Changes in relationship, home, family, career and to you in a very personal way are about to shift and the effects will last a good six months afterwards. My advice to set set your intentions prior or during this powerful time to set in motion the changes you wish to see in your life. This way, we can make the energies work for us rather than against us, we can choose to be empowered rather than lose our ground and fall into the dark.
Both Saturn and Jupiter, in mutable signs themselves, will be aspecting the Solar Eclipse on March 9th, so the lessons we learn during this time will have a lasting effect as both these planets are teachers – Saturn teaching the hard way and Jupiter the easy teacher. Saturn will be going into retrograde motion as from 25 March, from 16 – 9 degrees of Sagittarius, so we can collectively expect a slowdown of affairs, some old fears coming up & insecurities we thought we’d dealt with resurfacing. We may sigh, groan, moan, but we have to put in the work this month, it is imperative that we make the much needed effort to shift into a new way of being. With so much energy focussed around change this month, stubbornly remaining stuck will only create more suffering, and in the end, we will be freer for our choice to loosen our bonds, change old mindsets, and set off in a direction which will ultimately fulfil us and serve our truest selves.