Eclipses (and the Lunar Nodes) are fascinating facets of Astrology that actually guide us on our soul paths. And while it may not seem like they do it gently, they indeed do it with love.
Let's explore!
Like the Tower card of the Tarot, they may represent sudden shift, change and destruction… followed by tremendous potential for transformation and growth. Eclipses flood the Earth with energy that supports a new level of consciousness and accelerated growth. They can create unpredictability in our lives, but also help us break-free from feeling stuck.
But when you understand how they work, it becomes easier to see them as something beautiful and powerful, intended to help us master the Soul Blueprint written by our Higher-Self in the Life Between Life phase of our soul’s evolutionary journey. So, let’s start with…
The Basics
Astrologers refer to The Sun and Moon as luminaries in a birth chart, the “brightest and most important objects in the heavens”.
Eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon, and Earth line up, but how they align determines the type of Eclipse we see.
Lunar Nodes are mathematical points in the stars that reveal your karmic path and purpose.
A Solar Eclipse occurs when a New Moon takes place within a certain degree of the North or South Node of the Moon, allowing us to see the Moon passing in front of the Sun, obscuring the Sun’s light. A solar eclipse can only happen during a New Moon.
A lunar eclipse occurs when there is a Full Moon occurring within a certain degree of the North or South Node of the Moon, concealing the Moon’s light. A lunar eclipse can only happen during a Full Moon.
Eclipses always come in two; both a solar and a lunar eclipse spanning approximately 35 days.
But here’s where karma and destiny come in… an Eclipse can ONLY happen when the Lunar Nodes are in alignment with the sun. Additionally, they always determine what sign an eclipse is in.
The Lunar Nodes
The North and South Nodes of your birth chart are located in opposite signs & houses in the Zodiac Wheel. Currently located in Aries and Libra, our nodes and can give us insight into how we can achieve success, self-confidence and balance, by showing us our deepest core issues.
☊ The North Node of Destiny
The North Node (NN) guides us forward into growth by showing us the lessons we are meant to experience and master in this lifetime. NN can be thought of as what the soul most wants to master in this lifetime. The North Node tends to put us in situations that feel uncomfortable, but that also deeply supports our ability to grow out of the old and expand the next phase of life through healing and transformation. NN energy holds the Karmic Debt our soul is meant to balance.
But as with any lesson, we also learn, eliminate, and use the information to master the path forward.
☋ The South Node of Karma
The South Node (SN) reveals our past life tendencies and the skills and abilities we’ve brought with us. SN shows us what must be learned from, left behind, and released. It’s our wounding. Whether based in past lives or our childhood, our South Node can help us understand the coping mechanisms, personality & habits that feel easy, comfortable or “familiar”. SN can also show us the strengths and traits we’ve mastered.
The South Node holds our Karmic Lessons the soul is meant to learn from and leave behind.
Soul Purpose and Contracts
When you look at your birth chart, the placement of your North & South Nodes can shed a GREAT DEAL of light on your path, purposes, personality, needs, relationships, goals and intended healing for this incarnation. Our nodes are symbols of karma and destiny, and IMO, The Nodes are one of the most important Astrological placements we can familiarize ourselves with. We can get even more insight by looking at the zodiac sign and the house they reside in.
If you don’t know your North and South Nodes, this cosmic calculator can help. If you don’t know your birth time, click the box “unknown birth time”. https://astrostyle.com/cosmic-calculators/lunar-north-south-nodes/
Based on the Nodes, Eclipses activate our soul contracts by bringing in fated events and relationships that help us get to the next chapter of our spiritual evolution. Events and relationships that take us by surprise, and put us where we need to be, in divine timing.
Eclipses liberate us from all that is holding us back so we can step into a more authentic expression of who we incarnated to experience life as.
The First Eclipse Season of 2024
The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Libra on March 25, 2024 is the first Eclipse on the Aries-Libra axis. This eclipse will shine a light on the deepest of our subconscious wounds and ask us to take a leap into the unknown with a wide-open heart.
Aligned with the South Node of the Moon, the energy will support the end of all that needs to be brought to a close: negative thoughts & habits, limiting beliefs, and relationships & circumstances that no longer feel good and expansive. It’s time to close a chapter of our life that has been consistently showing us it’s time to move tf on. Close it down, purge it, and release all the outdated ways of being in relationship with negative patterns.
Libra represents balance, harmony, and the beauty of connection. Through our relationships, we learn the value of relating to others vulnerably, while also learning SO MUCH MORE about ourselves through contrast. We see the value of nurturing our bonds by balanced reciprocity & harmony. Conscious partnership & emotional maturity. Awareness & presence.
When Eclipses take place on the Lunar South Node, they offer us a chance to look at the details of our relationships to release the past, resolve old wounds, and clear karmic debts.
This Eclipse is the result of a 6-month progression that began in October 2023 with a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra. It’s the culmination of a soul-centered evolution that helped us gain a new awareness of what needs to change within ourselves in order to support (and be a vibrational match to) more satisfying relationships.
The New Moon Total Solar Eclipse in Aries on April 8th is the second Eclipse on the Aries/Libra axis. Solar Eclipses are special types of New Moons, inspiring us to let go of the past and start writing a different story for the path ahead. They bring unexpected shifts, unpredictable turning points, and new beginnings in our lives.
On April 8th, we’ll experience a Solar Eclipse chilling right next to Chiron and the North Node. That means a little something extra. While this Aries moon will encourage us to move toward the unknown and embrace unfamiliar ways of experiencing life, with Chiron’s influence, we also need to be prepared to address any emotionally deep wounds that have been causing dissatisfaction in our lives. By doing so, we open ourselves to soul wisdom and awareness waiting to be unlocked.
If you’re truly ready and willing, the Solar Eclipse in Aries will usher in that new paradigm energy you’ve been hearing about. The proximity of Chiron to the Eclipse means it’s time to address anything we’ve been avoiding. It’s time to look it in the face and deal, because it isn’t going away. The Wounded Healer is there to remind us that prioritizing healing in the present, keeps us from repeating the past.
This eclipse could initiate awe-inspiring personal development! It’s a potent time of intense karmic clearing and spiritual re-birth, bringing fated events and change into your life.
How To Work With This Energy
As big as this Eclipse Season is, it’s also part of a much bigger cycle that began in April of 2023, and will continue through March of 2025. So even if you don’t have a Cardinal placement in Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn, you’ll definitely want to look at the houses Aries and Libra are in in your birth chart. While the effects may be subtle, you could experience transformation and shifts in these areas of your life.
I also encourage you to look at your journals from February/March/April 2023 to remind yourself what you were experiencing. This will give you an idea of what is being transformed by the energy of this Eclipse Season.
Eclipses & Manifestation
As tempting as it may be to harness the energy of the eclipses for manifestation or spell work, I don’t recommend it. We are in an Ascension Lifetime, and this Eclipse has the purpose of accelerated healing, karmic balancing and soul evolution. Any practices should be geared toward inner awareness, unburdening, and opening to a new path forward. Manifestation work is ideally done during times of clarity, but an Eclipse Season “opens doors by slamming others closed”. So, it’s a time to pay very close attention to what’s happening within & around you. Observe and become aware.
So what can you do during Eclipses?
Create dated journal entries, making notes on the who, what, where, why of what is going on in your life in the current moment. This is particularly helpful to create a record of what is happening during different periods of life, in order to reflect back on in the future.
Review the Houses in your birth chart to identify the areas of your life that will be most impacted by this Eclipse energy.
Meditation is a great way to connect to your inner knowing in order to listen more deeply to your intuition.
Connect more deeply with your tarot or oracle deck asking for clarity and next steps on the topic you most want to explore.
Sound baths, stretching, connecting to your body, massage, being in nature, energy work… all the things that feel good and soothing to your physical container.
If you’re currently looking for romance, Libra is ruled by the planet Venus (love + values). This is the Eclipse to think about what you really value in partnership and spend time journaling what characteristics you would like your ideal partner to embody: their qualities, values, traits and interests. Spend time in thought about what your ideal relationship might look like, and then offer it to the energy of the Eclipse.
The next time we revisit this eclipse cycle will be in October, so it’s very likely that whatever comes up this month will only be a part of the bigger story. We may have to wait until March 2025 for the full picture when we experience the last eclipse in this series...
Until then, listen to your intuition and know that all cosmic events are meant to help us master the path our soul created for us. However, this particular Eclipse Season wants us to take a risk by connecting with others and by seeing what is still active within us that needs to change or heal. We can more clearly see how far we've come, when we discover more about who we are with one another.
Listen and learn. Relationships are extraordinary opportunities for healing, and when predicated on honesty and caring, they have a deep impact on how we contribute our gifts to the world. They are the mirrors that show us what we must heal within, as we walk the path to deep and vulnerable conscious partnership and connection.
Aries Season
Aries season is the time for doing, being direct, straightforward, and full of passion + fire… Let that guide you into as you claim something you know your soul wants for you…
Oracle Message For The Collective
To wrap everything up, I pulled a card for the collective. And like I always say, you can't make this up. This card actually flew out of the deck, so I know it’s the message Spirit wants me to share with you all…
The card is Uranus ~ Genius from the Black Moon Astrology oracle deck.
Nine(9) is the number of change, endings, and transformation. This card is about a surprise that feels like a bolt of energy and light! Uranus is The Great Awakener, the planet of intuition that arrives in sudden flashes out of nowhere, opening us up to our higher mind and bringing in necessary changes which can no longer be resisted.
Uranus is detached and unemotional and will turn everything upside down… for your own good. When this card comes up in a reading, there will be jolts and surprises. Anticipate matters to shift, and maybe not in the way you expected. Don't look at this as wrong for you, though! Instead, go with it and see how your life becomes transformed in ways not exactly as you predicted. Watch things become better. And when you feel like pushing back, remember this “warning”… It's not a good idea to resist this energy. The best approach is to consider the possibility of what you are about to learn and experience. Anticipate change as a liberating force, offering you a new path forward into the unknown, paved with fantastic twists of destiny.
This card means your life is about to be changed in big ways rather than small, so you’re encouraged to go all in, and see what happens! Surrender to this Eclipse Season, it’s meant to change you. Let it. You’re supported in every aspect, so it’s time to give The Universe the space to prove it to you.