New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries

*This eclipse is total and will be visible from a 185km-wide (115 mile-wide) band that stretches from the western coast of Mexico, through the US, and up to Canada's easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador: the ‘path of totality’. There might be the opportunity to see a partial eclipse just before sunset in the western UK and Ireland, between about 19:50 BST and 20:50 BST.

Eclipse season happens twice a year. During an eclipse season we will experience two, and sometimes three, eclipses, with solar following lunar, or vice versa. There are two conditions for an eclipse: the sun must be crossing a lunar node, and the moon must be crossing either the same node (solar eclipse) or the other node (lunar eclipse). That means, of course, that solar eclipses can occur only when the moon is new, and lunar eclipses can occur only when the moon is full. Lunar nodes are the two points in the sky where the Moon's orbital path crosses the ecliptic, the sun's apparent yearly path on the celestial sphere.

The nodes are currently in Aries (North node) and Libra (South node). The nodes shift around every eighteen months, and the complete nodal cycle takes approximately eighteen to nineteen years. In Vedic astrology, the North node is Rahu, which means ‘dragon’s head’ and the south node is Ketu, which is the ‘dragon’s tail’. The dragon’s head speaks to our future – our destiny - and its tail – what is behind it – to our past and our karma. The last eclipse happened in Libra and involved much karmic shedding around relationships and connection. This new moon solar eclipse is in Aries and is asking us to tap into the relationship we have with our inner self.

Eclipses not only amplify the energy of the nodes, but of the moon itself. Aries, as a cardinal fire sign ruled by the warrior god Mars, is masculine and yang: initiatory and quest orientated. It not only wants us to start something; it wants for that action to endure. Aries wants us to create from a place that is soul-aligned, radically authentic, meaning that we may, temporarily, feel pushed out of our comfort zone. This is a moment to commune directly with our inner warrior; with our inner truth, strength, drive, resilience and determination. This eclipse – eclipses want us to get really real with ourselves – puts us in touch with our inner warrior, that is, with our courage, willpower and motivation. Ask yourself how frequently you truly stand in your personal power. Make decisions from it. Create from it. Ask yourself if you are living a brave life; a big life that puts you in touch with boldness. This moon is inviting us to release limitations around our power and inhabit our full integrity. It is only from this place that we can truly create, and Arian energy is all about making things manifest; breaking down walls and creating.

One way to get answers to the questions above is to do an exercise suggested by Sabrina Lynn, spiritual teacher and founder of ReWilding for Women. Imagine you only had a week/month/year to live. What would you do? Take a few minutes to really think about this. Make a list. This exercise really focuses us in on what lights us up. The next question is, why aren’t we living that life now? This is the perfect moment to go deep into the amplified, initiatory seed-planting energy of this new moon solar eclipse in Aries.

This new moon is perfectly conjunct Chiron, the wounded healer. Chiron (a comet that obits the sun) represents the wounded healer. Quite simply, how we take our pain and turn it into strength. Chiron medicine may further highlight the wounded way we think about ourselves, in terms of flaws, lack and the stories around who we are. Healing happens when we can transform or let go of the beliefs that are outdated - and Chiron may help us see these - and are no longer supporting us. Aries gives us the strength and courage to do this.

Mercury is retrograde during this new moon, which is inviting us to revisit and reflect further on these wounds and on our own healing journey. It wants us to turn our gaze inward and onto our shadow self. “The shadow is a creative powerhouse of untapped energy, so becoming aware of its contents and transmuting its power are hugely beneficial to our psycho-spiritual growth.” There are two shadows: the dark and the golden. “Just as the dark shadow is made up of all the parts of ourselves that we fear may lead to rejection, the golden shadow is made up of all the bright, brilliant and magnificent parts of ourselves that we fear may be too great, too awesome or too challenging to reveal ourselves to others.”

This eclipse is a (golden) opportunity to go deep and explore the idea of what would happen in our lives if we owned our highest potential; if we shined with the infinite brightness of our inner light.

How to work with the energy of this new moon solar eclipse in Aries? The Sabrina Lynn exercise is perfect to put us in touch with our unlived potential. To really explore why we are not living that version of our precious, finite lives and how to initiate change to set us on that bright, beautiful path. And a good way to ground during this potentially turbulent time is this yoga sequence from Black Yogi Nicole Marie: Eclipse Yoga.

Image credit: Justin Dickey on Unsplash

For more information on the golden shadow from Charlie Morley, click here

Lynsey Allett8 April 2024