Layers Of Letting Go
There are so many layers to letting go. Letting go is a fact of life and although it may be hard, it is the only thing guaranteed to make way for something new. We are constantly letting go of things and there is something new being born in every moment. In astrology new moons and full moons are the primary events we look at to see at what is being let go and what is being seeded. Eclipses are especially powerful at moving things.
We are at the pre-dawn of the next eclipse which will happen on this Tuesday September 14, 2024, so it’s a good time to take a look at what, why and how we can expect to get moving with.
Why new moons and full moons?
The moon represents the feminine principle in astrology. The Moon in our natal charts tells us something about how we carry and manifest the feminine principle in ourselves. The Moon is the closest celestial body to the Earth and as such it is the main contributing factor of life on earth as we know it. The Moon causes the tides of the oceans and it also creates a tilt of the Earth axis and in doing so contributes to the change of seasons. The ocean is the amniotic fluid that both protects and maintains life on Earth. If the Moon is taken out of the equation, the oceans would excessively bulge in one area and cause draughts in some parts and floods in others. Also, without the Moon the tilt of the Earth would change and with that the seasons as we know them would be gone which would in turn remove the conditions needed for us to grow food and sustain life. Thus the Moon also represents our bodies and our ability to nurture and sustain our bodies.
The Sun represents the masculine principle and so this dance between the Moon and the Sun represents the dance of the feminine and masculine principle within us. This dance defines our ability to express these two principles and thus for us to find expression of the creative force within us.
When the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun we get a full moon and when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth we get a new moon. A cycle between the new and a full moon is about 29 days long so we get a new moon approximately 12 times a year. This means that each part of our natal chart gets this energy of newness and letting go every month. We get renewed and initiate new cycles of birth and new beginnings while closing and releasing other parts. This dance is the very thing that keeps us moving forward into the creation of who we are as an expression on this planet. This is the dance that keeps us busy being born, as Bob Dylan said.
Why Eclipses?
Because the Moon’s orbit is inclined about 5 degrees from the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, we don’t see an eclipse every month but only happen when the new or full moon happens within 15 degrees of the nodes of the Moon (the points where the Moon’s path intersects with the ecliptic). This happens twice a year, about six months apart. Eclipses come in pairs - a new moon and a full moon eclipse in signs that are opposite each other. It takes about two years of these six month eclipse cycles for to go through one part of the sky occupied by one zodiac sign and its polar opposite. This means eclipses initiate beginnings and endings in the same two areas of our lives over the span of two years. This is one of the reasons eclipses are called new or full moons on steroids. It’s a process that takes time to blast one particular part of our charts and instigate changes in that part of our lives.
To understand what is being let go of and what is trying to make its way into our lives we look at the areas in our natal chart where the eclipses happen. Since us humans are made of the same elements that earth is made of, it means that the predictable dance pattern between the sun and the moon also signifies seasons in our own lives. Astrology gives nuance to describe these seasons in our lives.
The Lunar Eclipse in Pisces on Tuesday, September 17th 2024
The lunar eclipse in Pisces that will happen on Tuesday September 17th, 2024 is the first eclipse in the Virgo/Pisces part of our charts that is starting a new two year cycle. This means the events on or around this period will initiate new beginnings and endings in the Virgo and Pisces part of our charts. Eclipses are cyclical, and they return to the same axis every 18 years. If you have been alive for that long to remember things that happened during the last series of eclipses on these signs, it does sometimes help to look back to the themes to see what the eclipses in Virgo/Pisces are about for you specifically. The last time the eclipses happened in the Virgo/Pisces area of our charts was between March 2006 to February 2008. During this 2 year period we lived through shifts that initiated some kind of ending and a new beginning. While it doesn’t mean the exact change will happen this time around, it is likely to build on the same themes that were illuminated during that time.
For me personally, during this period in 2006 to 2008, which illuminated my Ic and Mc points of my chart which signify my home and my career points, respectively, I went through a series of events that not only changed where I live but also changed my career path. This is what eclipses do - they force us to make corrections on our path, especially if we have veered off the path we are meant to walk. It’s easy to forget who we are, what we are here on earth to do, but rest assured, there is a preset design in place to ensure we stay right on track. This preset design is indicated by the pattern of the eclipses that repeats every 18 years.
This is why letting go of people, places, things in our lives is usually more emphasized during eclipse seasons. This is also why us astrologers advise people to not fight what is leaving us during this time of our lives. Surrender is the name of the game during eclipse seasons.
Notable things about Tuesday’s Eclipse in Pisces.
This eclipse is happening really close to Saturn and in the place where the north node of the Moon will be moving toward in the next 2 years, so this tells me that we might feel a sense of obligation, necessity, restriction of some sort, but because it’s close to the north node, it is a new way, a new beginning of some sort that we are meant to begin. So whatever we feel burdened by now, is the very thing that will carry us forward on our path in a steady and well-poised manner. I don’t think this thing is going to be much of a surprise either because Saturn moves very slowly, so whatever we are doing now that is restricting us, is something we have been slowly and steadily been working towards in a long while. Unless we have been fighting and refusing to do the thing we were being pushed to do, in which case, now our free will is going to be overridden by the design of this eclipse and the eclipses that follow in the next 2 years. The proximity of Saturn tells me that whatever we initiate now with these eclipses will have a staying power.
The interesting thing is that the eclipse will be even closer to Neptune, which tells me that there is a high dose of idealism involved in whatever we are doing or will be doing as the result of these eclipses. Last time around with these eclipses, Saturn and Neptune were opposite each other which means that last time around there was a tension of sort between the idealistic and the realistic principle in our lives. If last time around it was difficult to reconcile idealism with pragmatism, this time around we will have a whole different story. This time around we are being asked to choose the kind of idealism that we can support with our hard work and dedication. If we can dream it, we better be ready to work for it as well.
That plan that we were hoping to carry out with ease? Likely will go away. That thing we thought we can do to make life easier for us without us having to do anything? Probably gone. That person that we thought will make our lives easier without us having to do some work, is probably gone. Or maybe return, if we tried to drop them to avoid the work we need to do. Whatever it is, this time and these upcoming eclipses are calling us to do the work.
Below you will find my 30,000 feet overview on what the eclipses in Virgo and Pisces could illuminate for you, depending on your rising sign. If you don’t know what your rising sign is, you can find it by creating a free astrology chart at www.astro.com. Important: you need accurate birth time to calculate your rising sign. The below themes are general but they might be obvious to you already. If you have important placements in the Virgo/Pisces part of your chart, you may expect these themes to be louder for you. If you are curious for more and would like to go more in depth about how these eclipses may be weaving a story in your life, I offer one-on-one sessions where I sit with your chart and your questions to uncover the deeper meaning of the cycles of the stars as seen through the lens of your natal chart.
Themes of the Virgo/Pisces eclipses for each of the rising signs
VIRGO OR PISCES RISING: These eclipses will illuminate your main axis of your chart. About 18 years ago you experienced events that defined who you are now in the world. You can expect to start a new cycle so in 18 years from now who you are will have few more titles, names, significations. You will be a lot more in 18 years thanks to these eclipses. Look around you now, what has been Saturn making you do that is somehow related to yourself or your closest significant relationships? Have you been embracing the work or avoiding it? The answer to these questions, will be related to the themes you will be invited to explore and live through.
LEO OR AQUARIUS RISING: These eclipses will be illuminating the areas of your life that define your self worth, definition of who you are and things that help you nurture yourself. Have you been asked to face a very authoritative figure in your life which in turn forced you to grow your own authority and self-agency? Have you had to stand up for yourself and define your worth or have you been using the resources you have to define who you are? These eclipses will set you up to do the things, meet the people and experience the events that will illuminate your true worth, the place in you where you can sustainably not only give to yourself, but to those whose lives are touched by you.
CANCER OR CAPRICORN RISING: These eclipses will be illuminating the voice with which you use to communicate with the people around you and the people at large. You will be finding a new voice, a new language maybe even, that will increase your skills and your standing in the world. The next 2 years will be an apprentice mode, when you will be steadily asked to work on with your hands, your voice, your ideas, so you can start becoming the new you that the next 18 years will help you become.
GEMINI OR SAGITTARIUS RISING: These eclipse series will be illuminating the areas of your life that will help you define yowhat home is to you, where is the hearth that holds the source of your inner being as well as your connection with your ancestors. All of this is so you can start showing up as the person you are here to be. If you have been wondering about or trying to figure out where home is for you, you will be shown a path where you will find this home - whether it be physical or metaphysical. Why not both. When we find our home, we can easily stand and be the person the world sees in us.
TAURUS AND SCORPIO RISING: What is your relationship with your self expression and creativity like? Do you have a set of rules that you follow when you create new things, or do you think hard work has no room in fun and play? Well Saturn has been trying to show you how you can be rigid and structured yet still create amazing work in the world. Your friends and allies have been important actors in the story of your life the past year or two, and they are about to become even more illuminated as the eclipses move in and out of the area of your life where friends, groups, associations are somehow helping you build yourself and the new life that is opening in front of you.
ARIES AND LIBRA RISING: Is your day to day life structured and you like it that way, or do you prefer that you have undefined limitations on how you life day in and day out? Well, Saturn has been showing you the way to a more structured place of being and embracing this structure so you can show up in your relationships as a more present, more steady figure. These eclipses will nudge you to be serious about your daily practices as well as your spiritual practices, because both define the foundation of your days and the foundation of your days defines the foundation of who you show up as in this life.. Do the thing that you know you need to do so you can shine in ways that illuminate you and those whose lives you touch.
More on this story can be expected to be revealed to us in about 6 months, around March 14th, when the following eclipse on this axis will take place. Until then, happy star gazing!
Julijana
