Adorned with spiral horns, majestic and imposing, Luna fulfills her sacred duty to eclipse the Aries Sun on April 19, 9:13 pm PT. Referred to as a hybrid solar eclipse, Luna’s fated conjunction with Sol will shift from total to annular along the central eclipse path—an occurrence that happens only a few times a century.
Occulting the Sun entirely in some places and exposing a ring of light in others, the individual will of the exalted Sun must give way to Luna’s shadowy ulterior motives. What anomalies are circling at the edges of your known reality? The small voices along the perimeter seek acknowledgment.
The promise of the eclipse is the emergence of new directions, a turning point that will require uncovering egoic narratives that limit possibility. Focus on your personal agenda but be aware of self-centered, headstrong actions that privilege only one side of the relational equation.
The only true voyage of discovery, the only fountain of Eternal Youth, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to behold the hundred universes that each of them beholds, that each of them is…” – Marcel Proust (Aries Rising ruled by Mars in Libra, Moon in Taurus)
The astronomical nature of this solar eclipse isn’t the only cosmic crossover to contemplate. This New Moon ushers in two years of eclipses along the Aries/Libra axis but will first flip flop with one lunar eclipse in Scorpio and one solar eclipse in Taurus (see dates below). The thin line straddling endings and beginnings ripples through the space-time continuum as we embrace the spaces in between. The Martian urge to drive action is stomping the still hard ground of spring but must be met with the fertility of liminal space. Doing so teaches us to trust and reminds us that we cannot (and really don’t want or need to) control everything.
The Taurus/Scorpio eclipses began with a preview in November 2021 and then settled in six months later. Themes and patterns that began at that time may be wrapping up. As always, check the houses in your natal chart for a more personal understanding.
Eclipses aren’t a wham, bam, thank you, mam experience. They are known to catalyze changes that evolve over months and even years based on location, length of obscuration, and how it interacts with your own natal chart. This hybrid eclipse will be visible through western Australia, East Timor, and eastern Indonesia.
The Aries/Libra Axis
Sometimes articulated as the “relationship axis,” the cardinal signs of Aries and Libra highlight the give and take of “I” and “We.” Vedic astrologer, Komilla Sutton, speaking directly to Rahu (the North Node) in Aries and Ketu (the South Node) in Libra, says, “Rahu in Aries becomes obsessed with stamping its authority on the world; there are no boundaries and restrictions too great for it to surmount.” While Ketu in Libra “feels Rahu’s search for new worlds as a personal rejection.”
(Note: The Nodes of the Moon trigger eclipses when they are within 15 degrees of a new or full moon and can sometimes be in different signs. The Nodes are currently in Taurus and Scorpio but will cross into Aries and Libra on July 12, 2023.)
The great lesson in this initiatory axis, according to Sutton, is to dance with the paradox between patterns of rejection and abandonment and personal fulfillment. The gifts of this eclipse come when we take full responsibility for our actions. Think of it as the middle way between empowerment (Aries) and connection (Libra).
The Ram and the Bull
Perched at the exit sign, the Sun and Moon conjoin at 29 degrees, the last degree of all zodiac signs. Potentially problematic and unstable, this anaretic degree amplifies Aries’ significations—assertion, urgency, independence, courage, rebelliousness, intensity, and confidence, for better and worse. There’s a push to complete the Ram’s work before the luminaries pounce into Taurus.
QUOTE: The urgency to make things happen can devolve into over-promising, burn-out, rash actions, and claims. It may be best to hold off on major promises or declarations. Especially with Mercury’s station retrograde in Taurus one day later.
Just eighteen minutes after the eclipse, Luna will shed her tired twisted horns first, followed by the Sun’s ingress into Taurus four hours later. This swift movement from fire to earth, Mars-ruled to Venus-ruled, is a powerful entrance into becoming more receptive and relational.
What’s more, the North Node eclipse adds more fuel to Aries’ fire. Astrologer Dietrich Pessin says of the North Node, “Be aware of the hunger that rises and can overshadow and destroy.”
Mars, the ruler of this eclipse, is fallen in Cancer. Moods and feelings may flood the fields as Mars in Jupiter’s exaltation brings torrents of spring rain. Whose needs do you prioritize? Premature avowals, like seeds planted too soon, may fail to provide the intended results. Impulsive actions have unintended consequences.
Slow your roll if you can. Enjoy the sensual delights that Taurus season has to offer but don’t gorge yourself. Let the natural world show you how life really works. Much more will be revealed in the two-week eclipse window. Jupiter, co-present in Aries, emerges from the Sun’s beams on May 1 as Mercury conjoins the Sun, and then the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on May 5.
Surely, Mercury’s backward motion in Taurus is yet more testimony to proceeding slowly and with as much intent as you can muster. Active April 21 through May 14, Mercury comes within range of a conjunction with Uranus but does not perfect before changing his mind. If you’ve jumped into something too fast, too soon, Mercury will let you know.
Nascent rumblings of reinvention fill the ethers if you take the time to listen. Let your foundations shake before rushing in to make repairs. The fecundity of silence can be mind-blowing. Travel, communication, negotiation, pathways to stability and security, and relationship issues are all ripe for reimaging and redoing. (Plan for more actionable downloads when Mercury and Uranus conjoin on June 4.)
Go ahead and bring your full Ram horns, bucking and braying, but don’t expect to exit with your personal agenda fully intact. Both the Moon and Sun, in turn, make a wicked square to Pluto in Aquarius as soon as they enter Taurus and then a sextile to Saturn. Something must be burned to the ground, plowed under, and composted into nutrients as we pivot toward new horizons. Commitment and creativity provide added support when we put one hooved foot in front of the other.
Consider this…
In 2004, we also experienced a solar eclipse in Aries at 29 degrees, followed by a lunar eclipse in Scorpio. And the last Aries-Libra eclipses were between 2014-2015 proper. Events happening now may have similar themes to those time frames.
Lastly, use this eclipse energy to identify the resources that come naturally to you instead of forcing something that no longer fits. Listen for the voices that differ from your same ole, same ole narrative. And remember, not everything happens through willpower alone or acting as if. Pay attention to the flow of your life and let events, inner and outer, unfold with grace.