Capturing the Light―Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse―March 25th.

Capturing the Light―Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse―March 25th.

The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower and bright are the windows of night in her tower―J.R.R. Tolkien.

The light has returned here in the north, consecrating a profusion of bridal blossoms, light as breath, that bless the earth with pink and white petals. Dandelions and white daisies thrust from cracks in the pavements, tender leaves furl exuberantly skywards suffusing woodlands and neat suburban gardens in glorious greens.

Nature awakens, we adjust our calendars, reorientate our routines.

On March 20^th, the astrological sun moved into Aries, marking the transitional moment of the Vernal Equinox here in the north, and signalling the first delicate flutter of gilded leaves in the south.

In a culture shaped by speed and the urgency to arrive at a destination, we so often race past significant frontiers, barely notice the threshold crossings that mark new beginnings. Yet, as the seasons shift, we may sense a tug of possibility, the warm pulse beat of a longing that arouses what Julia Cameron calls “spiritual electricity.”

On Monday March 25^th  we enter the season of eclipses. This first eclipse of the season is a penumbral lunar eclipse. The moon’s delicate light slowly dims as she glides through the earth’s penumbra, (the earth’s outer shadow.) Not as visually dramatic as other lunar eclipses, but significant to those of us who seek meaning and symbolism in the story of the stars.

Whether we take the time to glance up at the moon tonight or not, this lunation symbolises the light and the dark of our human encounters, draws our attention perhaps to those desiccated places of disconnection that need our intention, to those relationships that have become shadowed by pain, hollowed out by neglect or injustice. John Welwood writes so beautifully, “the brighter love’s radiance, the darker the shadows we encounter; the more we feel life stirring within us, the more we also feel our dead spots…”

Lunar eclipses amplify emotions, dredge up buried feelings, obscure rational thinking, and for those who have angles or planets at 5° Libra, this lunar eclipse signifies an either-or choice of significance that might mean letting go of a situation or a relationship, or a rush of  release from the statis of a relationship triangle.

Eclipse symbolism is often preceeded by a time of crisis as a darkness descends on our inner landscape. We may feel disoriented, disconnected, adrift, as we grapple with a  terrifying and decisive choice that will re-shape our lives and become a border crossing between the past and the future.

Saturn conjoins Venus in Pisces on this lunar eclipse, a celestial reminder that committed relationships require maturity and compassionate hearts. Chiron in Aries conjoins the north node, symbolising the uncharted territory where we must struggle for agency, make crucial choices, exercise our will (Aries.) This calls for self-compassion as we become more self-aware, less physiologically reactive. Psychiatrist Dan Siegel reminds us that “the way we relate to ourselves shapes the way we relate to others.”

Our culture has no rituals to support our brave crossings and we may feel marooned in doubt or loneliness as we try to come to terms with what we have lost, the people and places we have left behind. Yet in the months or even years yet to come, this lunar eclipse, followed by the solar eclipse (at 19° Aries on April 8^th) might accompany a sense of release and renewal after making  a difficult choice … or a literal sense of being overshadowed or eclipsed by circumstance. This solar eclipse also conjoins Chiron and Mercury, a repetition of the themes of healing and renewal as we are shaped by our encounters with others and the world around us. It belongs to a family of eclipses in the Saros Series 8 North which astrologer Bernadette Brady interprets as “this newfound inspiration will pull the person away from his or her social life or relationship, thereby causing strain in the private life. This is a time when the person needs to be free, if only for a few weeks.”

 

The Equinox is a reminder that a perpetual state of balance is impossible to achieve, as we continually re-create ourselves amidst the complexities of our relationships and metastasise the events that are unfolding in the world right now. Balance is as capricious as the patterns of neuronal firing in our brains, as fleeting as our emotionally charged perceptions of the world around us. This  gracious Libran full moon offers the sweet promise of compromise and peace if we have the courage to step back into balance and find that still point of peace that nestles in the centre of our heart. It will be the small gestures of love and kindness, the careful harnessing of our untamed thoughts, the brave reimagining of how this world could be that keep us open-hearted and soul-directed at this moment in time.

Please get in touch if you would like a private astrology consultation: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

Paintings by Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1917); Mary Macomber (1861-1916) John William Waterhouse (1849-1917.)