14.10.23: Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Libra
‘The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.‘
– Pearl. S. Buck
“Eclipse” buh – I said it. The word that many fear but only a few really know about.
Since this New Moon in Libra also happens to be a Solar Eclipse, I'd like to focus in this episode of my astrological love letter both on the astronomical and the astrological side of it.
Generally speaking, eclipses are known to be portals. Gates of transformation that allow us to peel the onion yet another layer deeper and open the cellar of our subconscious to encounter parts of ourselves that we might have abandoned.
Several eclipses occur every year. They happen in a set for about two years in two different archetypes – about every nine years. So nothing unusual, yet powerful.
The dynamic of Aries-Libra will be accompanying us for quite some time with the upcoming eclipses so I'll make sure, we get the message behind those archetypes. Ready? Let's go then.
MYSTERIOUS ECLIPSES: WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SKY?
Well, we've already talked about the Moon phases and how every 28 days we have a New Moon or Full Moon – this is when you receive my love letters.
Today, for example, we have a New Moon in the sign of Libra which coincides with a Solar Eclipse in Libra. This doesn't happen often, yet it happens frequently. Let me explain why.
The moon has a tilted elliptical orbit (around the Earth). Since its orbit isn't a perfect circle but rather tilted, it happens that the Moon gets to the upper and lower boundary of its own orbit.
When the Moon slides between the Sun and the Earth, for a moment blocking the Sun's light, we have a Solar Eclipse – like today. You'll be able to see it in some parts of the US, Mexico and some parts of South and Central America.
These two boundaries of the Moon's orbit are called the lunar nodes – they are not planets, nor are they asteroids, they are intersections on the Moon's elliptical orbit.
Meaning that in time of an eclipse, the Moon is in perfect alignment with the Sun and Earth. If it's a New Moon we have a Solar Eclipse and if it's a Full Moon we'll have a Lunar Eclipse.
Having trouble imagining? No worries, watch this video.
ECLIPSES FROM AN ASTROLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW
Now that we have a general idea about the astronomical part of eclipses, let's have a look at the astrological side of things (the interpretation of those happenings in the sky for us on Earth).
According to Astrology, the lunar nodes represent a dynamic between the past (South Node of the Moon) and future (North Node of the Moon).
The North Node of the Moon is known as a point where our soul wants to grow in consciousness in this lifetime. It's often an area that challenges us to step out of our comfort zone and break old patterns.
Some people call the North Node our “destiny-point” but I really don't like to use this word. I find “mission” more accurate.
So for now, just remember the North Node as the point where your soul wants to evolve towards. The compass that tells you “Hey fellow, this way towards your best self!”
In my experience the North Node is something that can make people shy away. It's unknown territory, the mystery that wants to be discovered, very often through tough experiences and dealing with our shadows.
The South Node of the Moon instead is seen as the baggage we bring into this lifetime, our past, so to speak (also from past lives but as well childhood and early experiences). It's also known as skills we have acquired in the past that can be felt as a safety zone.
It's common to tend toward the South Node when the mission of the North Node becomes overwhelming and too much to deal with. And from my perspective, that's totally fine. We just need to know when to get back on track to not repeat another cycle.
I once asked one of my teachers “What happens if we don't find our way towards the North Node in this lifetime?”. He just smiled and answered: “It's less dramatic than it sounds. The soul will just create yet another lifetime to get to it.”
So really, it's up to us if we want to do another loop or if we accept the challenge and dive straight into it.
THE NEW SET OF ECLIPSES ALONG THE ARIES-LIBRA AXIS
I hope that by now you got that eclipses come in SETS of opposite archetypes. If that's all that you remember from this newsletter – high fives!
This Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 14, 2023 forms the second eclipse of a new eclipse set that will occur until 2025:
Annular Total SOLAR Eclipse 2023 April 20 at 29 Aries
Annular SOLAR Eclipse 2023 October 14 at 21 Libra
Penumbral LUNAR Eclipse 2024 March 25 at 5 Libra
Total SOLAR Eclipse 2024 April 8 at 19 Aries
Annular SOLAR Eclipse 2024 October 2 at 10 Libra
Partial SOLAR Eclipse 2025 March 29 at 9 Aries
We had eclipses along the Aries-Libra axis from 1995-1997, 2004-2006, then 2013-2016, and now from 2023-2025.
It could help to look back on the topics that were present in your life back then and see if you can find a common thread of growth.
ECLIPSES: A ROMANTIC ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE SUN, MOON AND EARTH
A total Solar Eclipse occurs on October 14th, 2023, at 1:55 PM EDT at 21 degrees and 8 minutes in the sign of Libra. If you have personal planets or points at around 16 to 26 degrees in the Cardinal signs such as Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn, you'll feel its effect most significantly.
It's said that the effect of eclipses can be felt months after the actual date so it's definitely stronger than a regular New Moon.
Whenever an archetypal pair of eclipses shifts, a new topic is about to emerge – both personally and collectively.
Aries opens the zodiac and marks the “Me-point” – it's about my personal development whereas Libra as the opposition opens the second half of the zodiac with the “You-Point” – it's about my social development.
After we've reached a grounded sense of self in Virgo with all its distillation for what's needed and what's not, we're ready to meet "The Other” in Libra and indulge in connection.
Finally, after 6 archetypes of self (Aries to Virgo) we've reached a point of engagement with another being.
Here, we're ready to find out if we're able to meet “the Other” on an equal footing or if we gonna project our own longings, fears and expectations onto them.
LIBRA: THE GLYPH OF THE SETTING SUN
If you look at the glyph of Libra, you can see a setting sun. The question here is if the Sun (Leo) is willing to set further to reach a point of balance. If the personal self will go into negotiation with the social self. Definitely something we can see right now on a collective level in the world.
One of my teachers, Michael de Baker, has put this in beautiful words:
“If it refuses to set any further, if it insists on the personal self at its fulcrum – Leo – being more important than the social self, then human consciousness won't pass through this midway zone at the autumnal equinox, meaning relationships will out of necessity be imbalanced, full of inequality.”
Aries on the polarity of Libra is guided by the eternal question of “Who am I?”. The medicine that Libra brings to Aries is that only in relation he can find questions to his burning question.
As humans, we're social beings, only when we allow a mirror to be held up for us by others, we can come closer to the answer of who we really are – or who we're not. Only if we value “the Other” as much as we value ourselves, will we be able to form a fair and just society (Capricorn).
NO EVOLUTION WITHOUT CONNECTION
In her book “Hold Me Tight” Dr. Sue Johnson, Psychologist and Couple Therapist agrees in her clinical experience regarding the human need for connection:
“What couples and therapists too often do not see is that most fights are really protests over emotional disconnection: ”Can I count on you?", “Are you there for me?”, “Will you respond to me when I need, when I call?”, “Do I matter to you?”, “Am I valued and accepted by you?”, “Do you need me, rely on me?”. The anger, the criticism, the demands, are really cries to their lovers, calls to stir their hearts, to draw their mates back in emotionally and reestablish a sense of safe connection."
Safe connection – that's what Libra is really about. No evolution without connection.
Libra knows that only through social interaction, through 1:1 relationships growth can be facilitated. Therefore, she thrives in connection and needs a counterpart to grow – harmonically and in justice.
In the shadow, the symbol of the scales can easily reflect co-dependency. A theme that Libra is very familiar with: “If you go up, I go down. If you go down, I go up. I follow you every step of the journey.” – until she forgets what she really wants because she has been busy pleasing.
FROM CO-DEPENDENCE OR HYPER-INDEPENDENCE TO HEALTHY INTERDEPENDENCE
We will see one last eclipse in Taurus on October 28th which will close the Taurus-Scorpio set we've been experiencing since November 2021.
This means, for around two years, we'll be facing our shadows and growth around my personal freedom (Aries) and healing through relationship (Libra).
As I said, eclipses are about change and transformation, they are seen as strong catalysts that help our inner process – but often also confront us with our unconscious blockages (but isn't that how healing mostly happens?).
So the questions to ask on this Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Libra are:
What are relationships in my life that serve me to become a better human?
When trauma blows me out of my body into a loss of boundaries, what do I do to come back into my body and feel connected again?
How can I heal my broken connections (within myself) and come back into wholeness (within myself)?
How would a healthy path towards interdependence instead of co-dependence or hyper-independence look like?
In her book “The Power of Attachment", trauma therapist Dr. Diane Poole Heller writes:
“So much of what seems to be going on in our adult relationships is directly imported from our early attachment history. Understanding this will help us view ourselves and others more compassionately because we realize so much of our relationship patterns may be related more to our early upbinging rather than our current partner's shortcomings. For our significant others, we will want to take the time to enter into resonance with them and offer that important experience of contingency. And it's also important to focus on finding at least a few good people who can do the same for us because those are the relationships we want to invest in.”
ARIES MEDICINE: ONLY IF I VALUE MYSELF, I CAN BE HAPPY WITH ANOTHER
The solar eclipse is happening near the South Node of the Moon, inviting us to look at our past relationship dynamics connected to co-dependency, hyper-independence, freedom, self-assertiveness and our free will.
We need to understand – both as a collective and on an individual level – that we can only be happy with someone if we're happy with ourselves. Only then humanity is on the right path.
Or as a shaman put it in a recent documentary that I watched: “We can only heal the heart of the earth if we heal our own hearts". The gateway to better relationships (and a greater society) starts with each of us individually, right here and right now.
The relationship with our free will and how much we're able to meet another person on equal footing without dropping into co-dependency or tyranny will determine humanitiy's future.
MOON OPPOSITE CHIRON: PAST WOUNDS AS A PART OF US
This Solar Eclipse happens in opposition to Chiron who is looking at it directly in the sky.
In Greek Mythology, Chiron is known as the Wounded Healer. According to the story, Saturn was his father who created him with Philyra. Saturn's wife Rhea caught those two in the act which made Saturn run away, disguised as a horse.
When Chiron was born, he came to life as a centaur – half human, half horse.
When his mother Philyra saw him, she felt an incredible amount of shame, thinking she had given birth to a monster. She then transformed herself into a Linden tree.
Wow, what a heavy story, right?
Based on this saga, in Astrology, Chiron is interpreted as the place in our chart where we carry a deep wound and only by accepting and integrating that wound, we can access our healing potential and help the world.
CHIRON'S MEDICINE: CAN THE WOUND BE THE GATE?
With Chiron being in the game with this Solar Eclipse, there is a direct link to our past wounds that scream to be seen to step into healthy relationships.
In her wonderful book “Belonging” Toko-pa Turner writes:
“While the New Age movement has awakened many to the power of creative intention, it has simultaneously pathologized the so-called ”negative emotions" and stricken them from our social palette of acceptability. We live under a kind of hegemony of positivity which emphasizes pleasure over pain, gain over loss, happiness over sadness, and the creative over the destructive. We are taught to “rise above” things like anger, anxiety, sadness – and by whatever means necessary, stay in bliss and light. This kind of bypassing is dangerous because it teaches us to not only dissociate from the multiplicity of ourselves but from the magnificent spectrum of life itself."
Chiron being in opposition to the Moon, standing right by the North Node (our soul mission) today, invites us to examine what our wounds communicate to us and how they are expressed – often blindly and impulsively – in relationships.
If we're able to embrace our wounds, the hurt and take responsibility for their expression, there is a chance that we can truly transform our relationships and grow together in consciousness towards our individual purpose – and isn't that the aim of every relationship anyway?
THE ART OF DROPPING BACK INTO OUR HEARTS
In the end, this Solar Eclipse in Libra is an invitation to retreat into our hearts and to make space to feel all the feels – especially the ugly ones. To surround ourselves with loving kindness (first and foremost from ourselves towards ourselves) and to believe that there exists a world in justice, harmony and healthy balance with all that is.
Or, let me say it in John Lennon's words (Sun, North Node and Mars in Libra):
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
With love,
—Karina
*Marvel from GIPHY.com
