Solar Eclipse in Aries
the death of becoming
Ten years ago this week, I got dumped outside of a dumpling shop. It was days before a solar eclipse at 29º Pisces, the final degree of the zodiac. The breakup was overdue, delayed by my birthday two weeks prior. The celebrations were complete and it was time to end things. If I’d known myself better at the time—if I’d been my 36 year old self rather than my 26 year old self— I’d have ended things months earlier. But despite my very Type B “chill” Pisces personality, I’m a stubborn person who clings to people, connections and experiences well past their expiration date. But eclipses force fate. When you ignore your intuition for that long, sometimes god, or the other person, has to take the wheel.
The days after the breakup were miserable. I was restless with no appetite. I worked nights at a restaurant, so while my roommate was at work, I spent afternoons alone on the couch watching Fiona Apple’s “Paper Bag” music video on a loop. The eclipse was a few days later on the spring equinox. I went to a party at my friend Allison’s apartment. We made flower crowns and ate pulled pork from a crock pot. The peak of the event came when a woman named Desirée offered tarot card readings to the group.
Desirée’s deck of choice was the Secret Dakini Oracle. I didn’t turn to divination often in those days—this was only my second ever tarot reading. When it was my turn, Desirée pulled The Phoenix. She said this card was like The Sun in the classic tarot deck. I asked her what it meant. She said that this was a card of rebirth, that she got the sense I had been through a lot, but that true love was on the way. Ironic coming only a few days after a break up. But somewhere in my heart, I knew exactly what she meant.
The information obsessed part of my brain wanted to take that tarot reading as a sign that the person who dumped me and I would get back together. But the truth was, I didn’t need him. I was already surrounded by love. When I returned home that night, there was a package waiting for me. My friend David had shipped me a gorgeous Phaidon edition book, Cook It Raw. I opened PhotoBooth and took photos of myself wearing the flower crown I’d made at the party, holding up the book for the camera. I posted the photos to Facebook with the caption, “Thanks and blessed be for this opportunity to change and grow in new ways,” a turn of phrase I’d seen someone else post months before and picked up as a personal prayer. I didn’t identify as spiritual during this time in my life, but that post was a spell. Ten years ago during eclipse season, I lost a relationship but I started becoming myself.
***
Looking back on that time in March 2015, I recognize that I’m a very different person than I was ten years ago. I’ve let go of dreams and found new ones. I’ve discovered my intuition. I am a spiritual person. As we head into this week’s solar eclipse in Aries—which goes exact at 6:57 AM ET on Saturday, March 29, 2025—I’m less oblivious to the machinations of fate. I’m trusting the universe in this time of rebrith. To borrow imagery from Austin Coppock, this eclipse feels like being ripped from the womb. Ten years ago, I needed someone else to catalyze transformation. Now, I must be my own doula. I think we all have to be. Even if some of everything is left up to fate.
This is the final eclipse in Aries after two years of eclipses on the Aries-Libra axis. I’m asking myself and asking you—What have you learned in these last two years about yourself through relationships?
The first eclipse in Aries on April 20, 2023 occurred in the part of the zodiac I associate with troubadours. Fate was less a shove and more of a radio frequency. What were you tuning into around this time?
The second eclipse in Aries on April 8, 2024 was visible in totality through much of the United States. In antiquity, an eclipse like this was a bad omen. Especially for the King. Power disintegrates under an eclipse like this. It was an ego death or a villain origin story or a rise to power. What were you taking ownership of around this time?
The final eclipse in Aries on March 29, 2025 is in an aggressive part of the zodiac. Doubly ruled by Mars, the action is to strike. In 36 Secrets, T. Susan Chang asks these questions of this part of the zodiac: “If not you, who? If not now, when?!” There’s an impetus to just do it, no matter what.
This eclipse captures the childlike urgency that lives in every Aries. But with Mercury, Venus, Saturn and the North Node all piled up in the final degrees of Pisces, action requires vision and faith. Logic isn’t going to get us out of this mess, but our intuition will.
I think this eclipse is about death. It’s the death of dreams that no longer make sense. It’s the death of jokes for an audience that no longer exists. It’s the death of shoulds. It’s about recognizing that fantasy is doing more harm than good and embracing the power of starting over. Because sometimes it takes losing what you thought was your everything to become yourself.
I’m currently booking 1-on-1 astrology readings for mid-April.
For more on the current astrology, tune into good fortune!
LOVE!!