Dear friends,
Eclipse season is upon us and the hits keep coming. This week’s New Moon in Libra is also an annular solar eclipse, indicating emotional awakening and coming into consciousness, especially around partnerships, collaborations, marriages and other personal relationships. The Sun and Moon will meet at 10 degrees, 3 minutes Libra on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 2:49 PM Eastern US time, starting new 30-day, two-and-a-half-year cycles in Libra. house of your birth chart.
One of the most interesting (and delightful) features of the New Moon Eclipse chart is a grand old mystical rectangle in earth and water, stretched across the sky, with Saturn in Pisces, Mars in Cancer, Vesta in Virgo and beyond. borders Ceres in Capricorn at the corners. Mystical rectangles point us to the talents we should use in this life. When they appear in Fire and Air, they suggest a time of visualization and goal setting. When they are in Earth and Water, like this one, they direct us to immediate, practical action.
Two of the four corners of the rectangle – Mars and Saturn – are traditionally considered ‘malefic’ planets, because they rule the planet with the strenuous or cold or ‘dark’ aspects of our experience: work, conflict, boundaries, action, discipline , control. . But don’t get it twisted. Carl Jung was right: we actually NEED our shadow side, which can offer us protection and true wholeness.
By accepting ourselves unconditionally, by integrating the shadow more and more consciously into our sense of self (as this week’s Eclipse energy invites us!), we become stronger, more effective and more self-respectful – and less likely to blame or judging other people. Jung wrote, “The best political, social, and spiritual work we can do is to withdraw the projection of our own shadow onto others.” This is a fraught time on planet Earth, but we can all do our part to make it better.
Ceres, the asteroid of the Goddess of Mother Earth, holds the fourth corner of the Mystic Rectangle. She’s been out-of-bounds in Capricorn for a while, and her interaction with the malefics boosts her creative powers. Put down those roots now so that when harvest time comes, there will be enough produce in your garden to feed you, your loved ones, and your community.
Saturn and Mars also speak to the Goddess of Love in the New Moon Eclipse chart, forming a Grand Trine in Water. As ruler of the sun and moon in Libra (as well as Mercury, Juno and the South Node in Libra, and Uranus in Taurus), Venus is an especially powerful ally at this time. And because she is in Scorpio, she too is fierce and involved in the shadows. Venus in Scorpio seeks peace and emotional clarity by uncovering the secrets – turning over stones or looking into microscopes and noticing the life flowing all around and through her.
Was there some kind of big revelation in YOUR life about two weeks ago, during the Pisces Full Moon? Now is the time to explore and integrate that experience. When in doubt, call on Venus! She wants you to experience the feeling of trust and security that is truly at the heart of your specific desires.
Generally, astrologers tell people not to make big life decisions about Eclipses because there is a built-in element of unpredictability. Whatever situation you are dealing with right now, you know that there are MANY elements that are beyond your control – and we must surrender to them.
Furthermore, this concludes the story of the March and April Eclipses. The story that began then wants to end now!
However, what we can always do is apply consciousness – and the Eclipses help with that too, because they bring things to light! Notice what you notice, see what you see, and embrace the fullness of your human nature.
And finally, if you’d like to learn more about this week’s Eclipse and how it ends up in your birth chart, I invite you to join me in my New Moon Manifestation Circle Webinar on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 PM Eastern US time. I hope to see you there!
Big hugs,
Anne
