Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse | The Over-Exposed Full Moon

Max, I’m feeling.

-The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

 A lunar eclipse culminates during a full moon. In these moments, the Earth sits exact between the Sun and the Moon. The eclipse perfects as the Moon, our closest astronomical orb, shuffles into the Earth’s shadow and becomes removed from our view.

 Not every full moon is a lunar eclipse because the Moon’s orbital plane slightly differs from the Earth’s. The Moon’s path is inclined to the Earth’s orbital plane, or ecliptic, by about 5 degrees. As a result, the Moon intersects the Earth’s ecliptic twice a month at points called the Nodes. If the Moon is moving from South to North, it is intersecting at the Ascending Node, or North Node. If the Moon is moving from North to South, it is intersecting the Earth’s ecliptic at the Descending, or South Node. If the full moon culminates near these Nodal intersections, a Lunar Eclipse occurs.

 Lunar eclipses occur in astronomically grouped series called, Saros cycles. These cycles repeat every 18 years and can last for up to 15 centuries including more than 70 eclipses. Annually, we usually experience two lunar eclipses, but sometimes more.

 We find the astrological story of a lunar eclipse, mirrored in its shadowed realm, far away from the warmth and light of the sun and lost to our sight from our earthen plane. Here, in the moment when monthly, the Moon usually reflects back to us the full totality of its shine, gorged in the basking of the sun – but during a LE, just at this pinnacle, instead, the Moon is abruptly cut off from the light. Instead of fulfilling its mirrored shimmer of the Sun’s reflection, the Moon is darkened, becoming devoid of any light.

 In this eclipsed moment, we too lose our connection to this closest orb, the Moon who with its waxing and waning tugs not only at the tides, but our heartstring as well.

 Lunar eclipses evoke storylines of

• Emotional hardship, loss, disconnection and detachment,

• Painfully sobering truth, awareness and realization,

• Comforts being pulled from our clutches,

• Seeking nurturing and finding the Great Mother’s heart (Moon) is just out of reach,

• Abandonment, heartbreak and needing to grow up faster than we would have chosen and,

• Stepping away and letting go from unhealthy emotional attachments, addictions, self talk, abuse and/or relationships.

 We were all born with the North and South Node somewhere in our chart, signaling where the eclipse stories in our own astrology ring loudest. As time moves on and the eclipses occur annually, these Nodes also transit our chart indicating where currently, the eclipse events are mirrored the brightest in our life experience.

 Sometimes, when we learn the sign of our natal and transiting Nodes, and think of it in context with its application, the story may not seem to fully match our lived experiences. The reason is that the story of a LE goes far deeper than the sign and degree, although it is the practical starting point for all the implications of the Nodes and LEs. From here, our exploration yields greater refinement with an additional evaluation of the following, including but not limited to,

• The planet that rules the Node or LE’s zodiacal sign, its condition[1], placement and how it connects or does not connect with other planets and the Node or LE point itself,

• The element[2] and mode[3] of the Node or LE’s sign and its weight within the chart,

• Other planets within the same house of the Node or LE, their conditions, motivations and inclinations,

• The temperament and quality[4] of the Node or LE sign and its planetary ruler,

• The progression and cycles of the Nodes (squares, reversals, returns) as we age,

• Connections made to the Node or LE and its planetary ruler by transiting astrological activity,

• The placement and impact of the Moon-ruled zodiac sign, Cancer in the chart,

• Observational proximity to the LE,

• Natal chart sect[5].

[1] Essential dignity (exalted, rulership, fall, detriment)

[2] Fire, Earth, Air, Water

[3] Cardinal (Initiating), Fixed (enduring), Mutable (changing)

[4] Dry, Hot, Wet, Cold

[5] Diurnal or nocturnal