Full Moon in Capricorn & Partial Lunar Eclipse: Gazing into the Abyss

Tomorrow’s Full Moon in Capricorn arrives at 5:38 pm EDT with a partial lunar eclipse, following two weeks after its sister eclipse, the solar eclipse that accompanied the New Moon in Cancer.

This is an especially powerful Full Moon. It’s worth considering why.

Every eclipse hides the light of its luminary, taking from us the sunlight or moonlight we expect and rely on. The word eclipse means abandonment or forsaking, derived from an ancient Proto-Indo-European root that means “to leave.”

When light forsakes us, we are left in the dark. Even though these events last only a few minutes, the impact is deep. No wonder we have tracked eclipses throughout our history.

But we are not left in complete darkness at these times. Instead, the light shifts, changing in color and quality. The effect is eerie, evoking a sense of being in another world, another time, another reality.

Scientific study of eclipses began as early as 1715. The special eclipse light makes it possible to study phenomena difficult to see in the full light of the Sun or Moon. As a 2017 article from American Scientist notes, “the darkness of an eclipse can provide an opportunity to see subtle effects that are normally hidden.” [1]

This opportunity for subtle seeing during an eclipse extends beyond the scientific. Eclipses offer unique perspectives on the human psyche, reflected in world events and in our own encounters with the subconscious.

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This Full Moon in Capricorn would be powerful without an eclipse, because the Moon is tightly conjunct Pluto, and Sun and Moon are tightly squared by Eris.

Eris is the dwarf planet who, along with her moon Dysnomia,was discovered in 2005. At the time, scientists thought Eris was larger than Pluto, which led directly to Pluto’s “demotion” from planet to dwarf planet. It turns out the two are about the same size, though Eris is much farther away and takes more than twice as long to move through the zodiac: 561 years to complete one circuit. [2]

Eris is a goddess of strife and chaos. When she was not invited to an important feast, she sowed the seeds of discord that led to the Trojan War. The list of her children reads like a longer version of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Her moon, Dysnomia, is lawlessness or anarchy.

She is very new to astrology and not all astrologers include her in charts. I do because when she is significantly placed (being angular or aspecting a personal planet), she points to a strong connection to world crises, especially threats to the environment and issues around the position and safety of women and children.

Eris is no lover of the patriarchal structures that protect the powerful at the expense of everyone else.

In other words, if Eris is prominent in your birth chart, you are likely to take a personal interest in environmental or social justice issues involving women and children. We are all affected by these and other world events, but those who have a strong Eris placement will feel a personal, emotional connection.

Pluto we know as the Lord of the Underworld, of death, of what is taboo, hidden, and thrust into Shadow, and of soul making. He brings an intensity, a depth, and unflinching fierceness when placed prominently in a chart.

Note that neither Pluto nor Eris care much for comfort or happiness. Their concern is truth of the deepest kind, a relentless, searing honesty that strips away what is false even when, and sometimes especially when, the falsehoods have been carefully constructed to maintain the status quo.

So a Full Moon conjunct Pluto and squared by Eris is bound to be deep, intense, insightful, and less than comfortable. We can expect matters ordinarily not spoken of in polite society to be front and center, especially when it involves speaking truth to power.

Have we seen examples in the days leading up to this Full Moon of strong women speaking their minds in the face of censure from the powerful? Possibly members of a world class soccer team? Or newly elected women in the US Congress? Yes, we have.

The lunar eclipse adds a karmic dimension to this Full Moon, extending its influence through time and creating possibilities for surprise.

Eclipses occur when the Sun and Moon line up with the Nodes of the Moon. This is why eclipses have a longer impact on personal and world events: the luminaries align with the karmic pathway in the chart.

To add more layers, Saturn in Capricorn is conjunct the South Node of the past. Venus in Cancer is conjunct the North Node of the future. And these two oppose each other. So the eclipse includes a challenge between structure, boundaries, limits, hard work, and the way things have always been (Saturn) and relationship, creativity, affiliation, nurturing, and love (Venus).

To add in more mystery, magic, and potential for confusion, Neptune trines the North Node and Venus, as well as the Sun, while sextiling Saturn, the South Node, Pluto, and the Moon.

It is always a good idea to check your birth chart to see where this Full Moon eclipse will occur. We all have Cancer and Capricorn in our charts somewhere. The Full Moon falls at 24 Cancer and Capricorn. The Nodes of the Moon are at 17. Saturn and Venus are at 16. Eris is at 24 Aries. Neptune is at 18 Pisces.

Check to see which Houses in your chart are involved. What areas of life do these Houses govern? Do you have planets and points in your chart receiving transits from any of the planets and points involved?

Knowing how this Full Moon touches your chart will alert you to where the illuminations, insights, and possibly eruptions are likely to happen.

In the news, look for more Shadow to emerge. When public figures feel threatened or allow themselves to become angry, they can say and do things that betray aspects of their personalities they might prefer to keep hidden.

This is true for any of us, of course. Over the next few days, pay attention to what triggers you. What are the circumstances that push you into irritation, anger, sadness, grief, a desire to fight or flee, a sense of becoming dissociated or leaving your body? These are clues to the issues emerging from our subconscious that we have the opportunity to address, understand, and heal.

Yes, this Full Moon eclipse is indeed an opportunity, one we can embrace. It’s not often we get such a clear look at what is usually hidden inside us. This Full Moon gives us a chance to gaze into the abyss.

And what about Nietzsche’s warning that if we gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into us?

He was writing about the danger of becoming a monster if we spend too much time fighting monsters, so, perhaps he would suggest balancing shadow work with light work. Certainly, this is a Full Moon that calls for good self care. None of us needs to take on more than we can handle.

Perhaps he means it is the gazing that is dangerous. We should do more than simply look, remaining a distant observer. Perhaps detachment is the problem.

This statement is one of many aphorisms Nietzsche wrote and they are all somewhat enigmatic. Their meanings are not clear, making them more akin to Zen koans than directions action.

Yet this Full Moon might well open an abyss at our feet, anything from a small crack to a wide crevasse, a poorly remember nightmare or a clear memory, a niggling doubt or a crashing in of new perceptions that upset what we thought we knew. How are we to cope?

Part of our coping will be based in where we are already. This Full Moon comes in the midst of a challenging month within a difficult year placed within a string of tough years. If you’ve already been face to face with some of your demons, this Full Moon could seem almost tame. If, on the other hand, you’ve been in denial or resisting some necessary if difficult transition, the Full Moon could present compelling reasons to come to grips with what is before you.

My personal recommendation is to follow the practices of Chöd, a Tibetan tradition in which those things that challenge us, distress us, disgust us, create fear in us, are treated as welcome friends and honored guests.

This approach is described beautifully in Rumi’s poem, The Guest House. I will close here today with a reading of the poem, using Coleman Barks translation:

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

— Jellaludin Rumi,

translation by Coleman Barks

References

[1] https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/macroscope/studying-the-light-of-the-eclipse

[2] https://www.space.com/28379-eris-dwarf-planet.html

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I use Unsplash for most of my photo illustrations.

All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title,
adapted from the photo Safety Third by Juan Davila,
and the following images:
feet under water by Amy Lister,
hand on glass by Clem Onojeghuo