Partial Lunar Eclipse in Taurus

Eclipses are part of a larger cosmic rhythm and, in this sense, are a staple part of our lives. They are nothing to fear, even though they can feel energetically charged and possibly overwhelming. Eclipses are a huge celestial check in point. And lunar eclipses (in particular) are a time for closure, completion and culmination. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth lies directly between the sun and the moon; creating a shadow that moves over the surface of the moon. Twice every month, as the moon circles the earth in its orbit, it crosses the ecliptic – the earth’s orbital plane – at points called nodes. In astrology, the nodes are often referred to as the nodes of destiny, with the north node speaking to our future and the south node, our past, of karma. This year we experienced a nodal shift; the end of one eighteen-month energetic cycle and the beginning of another.

The first eclipse of this late 2023 eclipse season happened in Libra, where the South node moved to in July 17th of this year). This partial lunar eclipse is happening on the Scorpio – Taurus axis. It offers us one last experience of that nodal energy, with the South node once again in Scorpio and the north node in Taurus. It is a meditation on, and a release of, what we have moved through, and how we have changed. It is a powerful, cosmic exhale. Think about what inner shifts took place during the period from January 2022 – July 2023. How have you changed? What mattered during that time that no longer does? What do you want to release and what do you want to take forward?

Eclipses can be revelatory and often bring what is hidden to light. During any full moon, we are working with an axis of energy. Under this full moon, the sun is at 5° Scorpio and the moon at 5° Taurus. The Scorpionic energy here invites us to go deep (as always); to go into the darkness of the unconscious – Scorpio is all about the underworld, the hidden and the secret – in order bring truth back into the light.

The sun (ego), Mercury (the messenger) and Mars (the motivator) are forming a triple conjunction in Scorpio during this full moon. Conjunctions are amplifiers, whereby the energies of the planets involved are mutually intensified. Mars has been with us for the last couple of lunations, featuring prominently in the first new moon eclipse of this season and the last full moon in Aries. Mars, as the God of War, speaks to our fears. Its relationship in this conjunction with Mercury – the storyteller – and the sun – our ego and who we are in the world – is asking us what we fear about being our authentic selves in the world? What stories are we telling ourselves that are getting in the way of becoming our most powerful, authentic selves in the world? What is your motivation? What brings you to life? This energy could, in our interactions with others, heighten feelings of conflict. Pay attention to these redictive ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ moments if they arise.

Eclipses are a liminal space. What astrologer Sarah Vrba calls “a hallway between worlds.” On the one hand, we have the shadow, Underworld energy of Scorpio, and on the other we have this embodied, earthy – very much of this earth – energy of Taurus. Taurus is about life, creativity and home. Our bodies. Our planet. Our connection to nature. What we create. Contained within this archetype is also our deep yearning for the wild self. In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estés explores the Wild Woman archetype; what she calls “the innate instinctual Self.” p.6. Words which also describe the inner, feminine aspects of the moon and speak the feminine within all of us.

What does a disrupted relationship to our wild selves feel like? How does it manifest.? “Feeling powerless, chronically doubtful, shaky, blocked, unable to follow through, giving one’s creative life over to others, life sapping choices in mates, work or friendships, suffering to live outside of one’s own cycles, overprotective of self, inert, uncertain, faltering, inability to pace oneself or set limits.”

If you feel any of these things – and most of us probably do – this partial lunar eclipse in Taurus is an invitation for us to journey deep into the self (Scorpio) and then come very firmly into the body; to integrate and to ground. To be wild is to be fully alive, which is a potent theme of this moon, further amplified by a conjunction between Jupiter and the moon. Jupiter represents good fortune and prosperity; it represents growth, expansion, healing. With this aspect, we can tap into visioning our dream creative lives. What would our wild self – one that is not constrained by mundanity or limitation – create? What is preventing you from fully stepping into your raw, creative power?

How to work with the energy of this partial, lunar eclipse in Taurus. Journalling around the questions above is a powerful practice. If there is anything you want to release in particular, writing that down and then burning it is really powerful at this time. As this is such an earthy and wild moon embodiment practices, such as dance, yoga and breathwork are great ways to move this potent eclipse through the body. Taking care of our physical body and our homes are powerful acts of self care. And, finally, if you are experiencing those heightened feelings of conflict or anger, this meditation from Sarah Blondin on Insight Timer speaks so strongly to the unique deeply feminine themes of this full moon: Our Warring Self Vs Our Infinite Self

Image credit: USGS on Unsplash

Extract from Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, (Rider 1992), P.6/11

Lynsey Allett27 October 2023