Early tomorrow, we reach the Full Moon in Taurus which is also a full lunar eclipse. This eclipse will be visible across North America, Central America, a bit of northwestern South America, and then across the Pacific in Australia, Southeast Asia, and up to Japan and Central Asia.
While we’ll continue to have lunar eclipses, this is the last full lunar eclipse, when the Moon is completely shadowed by the Earth, until March 2025.
This eclipse will be easier to see on the West Coast of the US than the East, assuming you’re willing to stay up for it. This is recommended.
On the West Coast, the eclipse begins just after midnight. The Moon reaches totality about 2:15 am, remaining fully shadowed until 3:45 am. This is when we see the blood Moon, its surface reflecting light in the red end of the spectrum back to us.
The eclipse ends just before 6 am on the West Coast. With clear skies or light clouds, this will be gorgeous to watch.
On the East Coast, the length of the eclipse is of course exactly the same, but the time difference means the Moon will already be closer to the horizon. Dawn will arrive before the eclipse is finished. So, tougher to see if you don’t have clear views of the horizon.
There will also be plenty of live streams. I expect amazing photos as well. I find lunar eclipses mesmerizing.
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This particular Full Moon lunar eclipse is especially powerful.
The close conjunctions between the luminaries and the Nodes make this a full eclipse. The Sun and Moon align with the South and North Nodes of past and future. This time has an especially “fated” feeling, not in the sense of being doomed, but in the sense that this time is important. What happens will cast a long shadow.
This eclipse Full Moon happens in fixed signs, across the Scorpio/ Taurus axis. Feelings and sensations are intense and deep.
Scorpio is fixed Water. We might not think of Scorpio as “emotional” in the common sense of the word: Scorpio does not show emotion outwardly. Yet anyone with significant Scorpio placements will know, we do feel things. We feel a lot.
Scorpio orients to what cannot be seen on the surface. With people, we read facial expressions, body language, and gesture. We hear what is not said. We know when things are being hidden. Scorpio senses where the power is.
This Full Moon comes with a stellium in Scorpio, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the South Node all tightly conjunct.
Mercury and Venus remain combust, within 8° of the Sun. Venus had her cazimi, and begins to separate from the Sun, but will remain hidden for some weeks. Mercury reaches their cazimi about five hours after the Full Moon.
Mind (perception, processing, and communication) and relating (people, esthetics, and values) are so tightly aligned with the core self, they cannot be parsed out separately. We want to be aware that during this eclipse time, our thoughts and emotions will feel intense and very personal.
So will everyone else’s. Connections and conversations that happen during eclipse time will be deep and potentially life-changing, but also charged with emotion. Choose your interactions carefully.
There is a Taurus stellium as well. The Moon is tightly conjunct Uranus and also conjunct the North Node.
Often, Full Moons in Taurus are lovely, chill, cozy, and sensual. The Moon is exalted here. Taurus Full Moons can illuminate where we feel stable and fulfilled and cared for.
This one, not so much.
The Moon in Taurus longs for a simple life filled with comfort. Good food. Good friends. Warm fire. Lots of naps. Then Uranus and the North Node show up at the door. The vibe gets weird.
Uranus asks difficult questions. Are we living an authentic life? Are we following a path that honors our deepest truths? Or are we sticking with the crowd, defaulting to others as a way to stay comfortable?
The North Node does not help at all. This is the Node of the future, where we want to go after things, where we have longings, can even be greedy. This is a push into the new where we’re not certain. Things are not stable.
The Moon doesn’t want to talk to either Uranus or the North Node, especially when the Scorpio forces are so strong. And Taurus is stubborn.
Let’s add more stubborn. Saturn in Aquarius squares this Full Moon eclipse. Here is the boundary-setter, the nay-sayer, in fixed Air ready to lay down the law. Saturn wants to drag this roiling whirlpool of emotion and sensation back into the realm of logic.
Since that’s not likely to happen, we may experience Saturn as rigid, pushing us into reasons and explanations before we’ve fully experienced the depth and complexity of what’s arising.
We could feel caught, trapped in a stormy, chaotic sea that won’t let us go. A place like the Corryvrecken.
This infamous whirlpool sits between two islands off the western coast of Scotland, in the Hebrides. Water roars through a narrow channel to encounter a huge undersea spike of rock. The resulting maelstrom is rated one of the most powerful and dangerous in the world.
Not the place for a casual picnic on a summer afternoon, the Corryvrecken remains fascinating. Seeing it, you can’t look away. You know there’s more going on underneath to keep the waters churning, even though you can’t see beneath the foam and spray. Sometimes the roar of the whirlpool can be heard ten miles away.
This eclipse Full Moon could feel like that, especially if your birth chart is aspected by the T-square in Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius. Everything feels tumultuous and also fascinating. What will the whirlpool toss our way?
Please know this experience need not be horrible. In fact, if you’ve been in the flow of this year’s eclipses, starting back at the end of April, this eclipse could feel affirming. Letting you know you’re on the right path. You’re doing good work. Keep it up.
And also, some kinds of discomfort are worth embracing.
The Moon in Taurus will resist all the too-muchness. Yet we can make the choice instead to fully embody whatever emerges. We can allow ourselves protected time and space to feel fully what shows up.
If you find yourself in a place of overwhelm or instability, don’t push yourself deeper. Instead, connect with the comfort side of the Taurus Moon. Say, ok, look, I’ve felt all I can right now. For this to process, I need some space. I need quiet. I need to feel safe. That’s fine too.
There’s another part of this chart that calls for attention, since it too will influence what we experience and how we receive it at this Full Moon.
Jupiter and Neptune in late Pisces trine the Scorpio group, with the closest aspects being to Venus.
On a practical level, our sensitivities will be heightened. If you enjoy substances to relax or alter your consciousness, know that this eclipse is not a good time for that. We’re all going to be more sensitive to anything and everything and, given the power of the planets and signs involved, we’re likely better off staying fully grounded with that Taurus Moon.
Dreams tonight may be deep, intense, and significant. For many of us, sleep will be disturbed, even if we don’t stay awake to see the spectacle. Plan to record any dreams or visions that arise.
Spiritual insights may also be part of this eclipse Full Moon’s gift.
Then there’s Mars, retrograde in Gemini, squaring Jupiter and Neptune. He’s also out of bounds. He’s outside after curfew with his phone turned off, looking for trouble. As with the Full Moon itself, how Mars affects you will depend on how he’s aspecting your birth chart.
In Gemini, an Air sign, Mars acts through language. Retrograde, he’s feeling less capable, less clear than usual. This is annoying. Frustrated, he might get mouthy. This is troll energy.
We can be this Mars, or we can meet this Mars. Some internet trolls are deliberate provocateurs who know exactly what they’re doing. Most, though, think they’re right. Everyone else is stupid and needs to have things explained to them. In detail. With emphasis.
Either way, it’s often not fun. Squaring Jupiter and Neptune, this Mars could focus in on little details and miss the big picture. He could also pop some overblown theories and feel satisfied watching them deflate.
Whether we see someone as the boy announcing the emperor has no clothes, or as a troll, depends on our point of view.
In the northern hemisphere, we’re entering the dark part of the year. We’ve stepped through the Samhain doorway. We bid farewell to Bridget, the maiden of spring, and await the arrival of the Cailleach, the powerful woman of winter.
One of the tales about the Corryvrecken says this is where the Cailleach comes to wash her plaid. It’s been a long hot summer. She’s ready for the cold clarity of ice. To keep herself warm, she needs her plaid to be fresh and clean.
She loves the Corryvrecken, which holds no threat for her. The hidden power is even stronger than what shows on the surface.
She steps to the edge of the water and douses her plaid over and over again until it emerges white and fluffy. Then she spreads it out to dry on the mountain peaks, the first snows of the year.
This is the time of gathering in and looking within. We connect with ancestors. Tell the old tales. Remember what was. Prepare for what will be. It’s a deep time.
As the Full Moon eclipse approaches, check in with yourself. How are you feeling? Agitated? Fearful? Exhilarated? All of the above?
Notice what is coming up for you. See if you can carve out the time and space to experience whatever emerges. Stay fully embodied. Take care of yourself and others. Don’t feed the trolls.
It’s going to be a glorious Full Moon.
All images are original Midjourney renders created with the new v4 engine.