24.03.24: Full Moon & Lunar Eclipse in Libra
“blessed be the longing that brought you here
and quickens your soul with wonder.
may you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire
that disturbs you when you have settled for something safe.
may you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease
to discover the new direction your longing wants you to take.
may the forms of your belonging – in love, creativity, and friendship –
be equal to the grandeur and the call of your soul.
may the one you long for long for you.
may your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire.
may a secret providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling.
may your mind inhabit your life with the sureness
with which your body inhabits the world.
may your heart never be haunted by ghost-structures of old damage.
may you come to accept your longing as divine urgency.
may you know the urgency with which God longs for you.”
― For Longing by John O’Donohue
Hello, dear One,
we’ve arrived in eclipse season and for many of us, it’s still a bit of a mystery that I’d like to decode with this love letter so we all know what to do with it.
The Full Moon in Libra and Lunar Eclipse will take place on March 24 (in Mexico) and March 25 (in Germany). This phase of the Moon occurs at 5 degrees and 7 minutes of Libra opposite the Sun at 5 degrees and 7 minutes of Aries.
I’m quite excited to be writing about the Libra archetype because it's an archetype that has been dear to my heart – me bringing a Libra ascendant into this life.
I try to stay conscious about seeing what my circle of friends tends to be occupied with on an emotional and psychological level and I’ve felt that the dynamic between Aries (Myself) vs Libra (Relation) has taken up lots of space lately.
Questions about healthy boundaries, conscious relationships, and toxic patterns dominate many of my conversations.
ECLIPSES: WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THE SKY?
So, eclipses used to be seen as messengers of „bad luck“ and „misfortune“ in ancient times. Understandably so, because the astronomical happening was kind of swallowing the light so people were afraid.
Today luckily, we know that eclipses happen when the Earth, Sun, and Moon are in an aligned position. From our perspective on Earth that means that the Sun is eclipsed when the Moon comes between it and Earth, and the Moon is eclipsed when it moves into the shadow of Earth cast by the Sun. Easy as this.
A Solar Eclipse happens at New Moon and a Lunar Eclipse happens at Full Moon.
So today, we are having a Full Moon AND a Lunar Eclipse in Libra.
Done – the astronomy part is covered (which honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of, I am sure you can tell).
Let’s dive into the Astrology of it. Exciting stuff.
ECLIPSE SEASON & DATES
As you probably remember from earlier love letters of mine, eclipses come in sets, so it's important to observe their timelines.
This particular Lunar Eclipse is connected to the Solar Eclipse that happened on October 14th, 2023. It’s worth asking where you were at this time in your life and what process finds its continuation now.
Since eclipses are connected to the lunar nodes, they happen on an archetypal axis – this time in Aries and Libra. I’ll talk about the interpretation of that in a second.
This is the third eclipse in a set of six occurring along the Aries-Libra axis from April 20th, 2023, to March 29, 2025. Meaning: Most probably, this process will continue until 2025.
ECLIPSES AND THEIR ASTROLOGICAL MEANING
Now, that we know that eclipses won’t do any harm, it’s worth understanding their deeper message.
In Western Astrology, they are understood as times of transformation and change.
Since the Moon is connected to our emotions, our hidden parts, the unconscious, the feminine, and our inner child, you can imagine that lunar eclipses touch our emotional bodies way more intensely than solar eclipses do.
They are invitations to connect to our intuition, process our emotions deeply, and see what’s ripe to let go of.
It can be times that force us to surrender and accept what the world has to offer. Entering one door at a time and diving into the unknown is a good way to start.
ARIES AND LIBRA: FROM ME TO US
To understand this Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse, we need to have a look at the archetypal relationship between Aries and Libra.
Aries, where currently the Sun resides (remember, Full Moons always happen when the Sun and Moon are in opposition), is the beginning of everything.
It’s the opening of the archetypal zodiac and marks each year the first day of spring and Equinox which we have just celebrated.
Aries is cardinal, yang, and a fire sign which is led by the question of „Who am I“?
Shot out of the womb of Pisces, the eternal ocean, he’s ready to have as many experiences as possible to understand who he really is.
So in Aries, it’s about ME. MY experiences. MY will. It also opens the first half of the zodiac which is known as the personal half of the zodiac.
6 archetypes later, as number 7, Libra comes into the zodiac, as the polarity of Aries. She marks the opening of the other half of the zodiac, the more relational part.
Whereas in Aries, it’s about ME – in Libra, it’s about US. It’s the first time in the zodiac, that we encounter „the other“.
With the descendant, Libra marks the 7th house and the beginning of stepping into relation. Big times! :)
Here, it’s a lot about compromise, diplomacy, and meeting in the middle. When Aries screams „It’s going to be my way or no way“, Libra says „As long as you’re happy, I’m good with it.“
From here, you can already see a potential shadow in Libra: „I do what you want me to do to keep the peace between us.“ As much as relationships were born in Libra, co-dependency and people pleasing is probably its darkest shadow.
While the scales in Libra are often interpreted as „finding balance and harmony“, they can also be a sign of depending on another: „If you do down, I go up. If you go up, I go down. I will follow what you do because I love you.“
RELATIONSHIPS AS A CURRENT COLLECTIVE TOPIC
I think I’ve never seen so many „relationship coaches“, and relationship advice on Instagram, and probably never ever have people thought so much about how to engage healthily and consciously – at least that was not available for my parents.
Many of my friends are asking themselves currently what kind of relationships they want to engage in, when their boundaries are crossed and what it means to be a good partner.
I was just thinking today: If I look back 10 years on my relationship history and compare it to where I am now, I am proud of who I have become. But more personal stories later on.
SOUTH NODE ECLIPSE IN LIBRA: KARMIC TOPICS AHEAD
The lunar nodes are mathematical points where the Moon’s path crosses the ecliptic, or the perceived path of the Sun. There are two lunar nodes (North and South Node) which together form the so-called „nodal-axis“. They always fall in opposite zodiac signs, such as currently in Aries and Libra, and are interpreted together.
Today, we’re experiencing a South Node Lunar Eclipse in Libra. Whereas the North Node stands for our mission in this lifetime, a point to evolve towards – the South Node is about our karmic past, experiences from this or other lifetimes, and the spiritual backpack we’re carrying throughout this lifetime.
What does this tell us? Since the South Node is connected to our karmic past, we can expect that some old relationship stuff is coming back: an ex messaging, dwelling in old memories, or past heart-break opening up. OR: Someone new showing up, allowing us to grow.
As if the Moon is asking you: “How much do you want to grow in terms of relationships? What are you ready to leave behind to form a new quality of your overall relationships?”
With this Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon, it might be just the right time to end a toxic dynamic you've found yourself in for the past months, to set boundaries around a friendship that is always expecting you to bend yourself and to step up to the values that are important for you in relation – not just theoretically but practically.
QUESTIONS THE MOON WOULD ASK TODAY
If the Moon would have a voice, it would whisper to you from the heavens the following questions today:
What dynamics are ready to be let go of and what relationships need your presence and nurturing?
What do you do to improve your relationships and to become a better version of yourself in them?
Can you catch your unconscious patterns and make them conscious, speak about them, and share vulnerably?
How does “saying no” land in your body? Do you dare to be disliked because you're not over-extending yourself?
BEST WAYS TO ENJOY A LUNAR ECLIPSE
Anything that feels right to you and makes you feel at ease, is the right thing to do" but if you look for a little list of remedies, here it comes:
Take time for yourself to reflect on the past 6 months and how you've evolved as a human being.
Say “no” to the world and try to get rid of some responsibilities.
Allow yourself to feel deeply, often emotions come when we make space for them.
Cook a nice meal, take yourself to a restaurant, or get a massage – anything that feels like a treat.
Connect to your inner child and an older version of yourself that was acting out of survival, and forgive yourself for the times when you haven't been your best self.
KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS: A HIGHWAY TO GROWTH?
Many of you know the feeling: You meet someone and you feel that you've known them forever. There just seems to be something special about this person – and very often – it's accompanied by a strong physical attraction.
What does a karmic relationship actually mean? Well, to make it easy: Based on the reincarnation theory, it means that we meet someone we have unfinished business with from past lives.
The emotional charge we experience is saying: “Important person! Be aware! Invitation for growth here!”
I am a big fan of Michael Newton's books “Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives” and “Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives”, where he talks extensively about soul family and karmic relationships.
I remember, that in one chapter with the help of a client, he discovers how we choose those “special” encounters for a lifetime.
And I always imagine it that way: As souls, we meet in the spirit world before we incarnate into a body and tell another soul from our soul family what we would like to work on, f.e.: “Hey, I'd like to work on intimacy, compassion and being able to set boundaries." Then the soul from our soul family might say: “Cool, I'll help you with this – I am gonna incarnate as the bad and will trigger the heck out of you so you resolve the relationship with your father."
The agreement is made, we fall onto the Earth, and then suddenly we meet this person in a bar and the sparkles don't let us think of anything else.
Having said that, I also feel that there's an over-romanticization of karmic relationships. I mean, of course, it could be the unconditional love of your life but very often, it is a pain in the ass – because remember, you meet that person also because you might have unfinished business from another lifetime where you might have been the “bad guy”. So you meet to create balance in the universe. Isn't that romantic?
Being humble, I admit, I have no idea if that's the truth. I just know from my own experience that karmic relationships can be a true challenge and very hard to integrate.
PLUTO MAKING A TRINE WITH THIS FULL MOON
Speaking of transformation: Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio (evil laugh) is in the game for this Full Moon, making a trine with it which is considered to be a harmonic aspect in Western Astrology.
As I just said: In the pain very often is the remedy. Pluto shows us where we feel powerless because of our history and where we need to get our power back to step up to the values that are of importance to us in relationships.
To me, Pluto is pure healing. It takes away what is no longer needed and leaves us with what is truly for us meant to be.
So if you feel some intense pain and deep emotions around relationships coming up these days: Trust the process. A more integrated version of yourself might be on the way.
WHO ARE YOU IN LOVE? WHO ARE YOU IN CONFLICT?
In the end, I believe that relationships have been given to us in this human dimension, to grow in consciousness.
They put up a mirror we can't avoid and ask: “Who are you in love? Who are you in conflict?” It's very easy to be nice and sweet when we're balanced but it becomes a challenge when we feel triggered, or abandoned.
At the end of this love letter, I want to leave you with something that Carl Gustav Jung wrote about relationships:
"Wholeness is a combination of I and You, and these show themselves to be parts of a transcendent unity…. I do not, of course, mean the synthesis of two individuals, but the conscious union of the ego with everything that has been projected into the ‘You.’ Hence wholeness is the product of an intrapsychic process which depends essentially on the relation of one individual to another.
The relationships to yourself, the Self, and another individual are the heart of individuation. Couples relationships are a particularly fertile ground for individuating as your most deeply rooted, personal needs and vulnerabilities are experienced. Your willingness to engage the intertwining worlds of inner and outer relationships simultaneously is the key for fully embodying your essence. Relationships are essential to individuation.”
Remember: No matter where you are on this journey, the most important part of it is accepting yourself and giving yourself the biggest chunk of compassion that is available to you today.
Because one thing I am more sure of than anything: The way you love yourself is the way you'll love another.
With lots of nostalgia,
Karina
** header graphic from GIPHY.com
