How is everyone DOING? This week has certainly had many ups and downs. On Monday, we woke up to the news that Bennifer has finally made it official (many congratulations to Jennifer Lynn Affleck and her new hubby), and on Thursday, we woke up to news that Biden has COVID. Both somewhat shocking pieces of intel. Both also somewhat inevitable. Corrections and redirections of fate. For myself and for many around me, this week has brought a lot to the surface. Joy and pain at the same time.
Brilliant astrologer colleague Alicia Lochard pointed out on Twitter this week that Mars would hit the degree of April 30th’s Solar Eclipse in Taurus on July 19th, pushing along the larger scale narrative of the Taurus-Scorpio eclipse cycle that we’ve been in since November 2021. In the great debate of fate vs. free will, eclipses make a great case for fate always having influence. Eclipses are portals to that fate. When an eclipse point is triggered, we are particularly vulnerable to the wheel of fortune’s turns.
A few months ago, during eclipse season, while enjoying a nice glass of natural wine with my friend, they halted the conversation (which had veered in and out of astrology at some moments) to ask bluntly, “So, like, how often are there actually eclipses? Because every time they happen, I feel like it’s this HUGE deal, but I also feel like eclipses are always happening??” A very astute observation because eclipses do happen every six months. Not exactly rare. And yet, the reporting is sensational.
There’s a lot of lore around eclipses—and a lot of fear mongering too—which has only become more and more extreme as astrology has reached a peak saturation point, and to pay the bills/keep up with the algorithm/feel everyone’s desperate need for answers in our unsettled world, astrologers (myself included) have had to submit to the hamster wheel of content creation. The transit clickbait of it all. Astrology is all about movement. Change and cycles are constant. But does every bit of activity really need to be reported on? Can we learn to shut off the news? As we reach the end of Neptune’s transit through Pisces (2011-2025) with Saturn set to join the planet of illusion and intrigue early next year, we’re reaching the end of unregulated cosmic reporting. But for now, there’s a lot to take in which—in classic Neptune fashion—leads to confusion.
All of this being said about the over-reporting and too much and not the mood of it all: eclipses are important. But again, they’re not rare. As I wrote about in the larger piece on Eclipse Season back in April, it’s more about the full cycle (which lasts 19 months) than the individual eclipse dates. We’re in the nodal return of 2002-2004, and how much does it feel like the timeline has jumped right back to then? Some of it is cute (Bennifer, Warped Tour vibes, bellbottoms, Avril Lavigne), and a lot of is ugly (the rise of conservatism both in DC, and in “the culture.”) Of course, sometimes things do bubble to the surface at the exact time of the eclipses, as the light of the sun or moon gets obscured, but often it’s a subtle message. Eclipse cycles are a process of expansion and contraction. What are you so hungry for that you’re OK with letting something else fall away?
On July 19th, Mars crossed 10º Taurus which was the same degree of the Solar Eclipse on April 30th. I kept calling that eclipse the “orgy eclipse” because it happened on the same day as a conjunction of Venus (love, beauty, connection) and Jupiter (big feels, good times). Eclipses often bring surprises, and that one brought some sweet ones. Felt like a moment for big, exuberant, expressive love (and was also the day that understudy Julie Benko eclipsed Leo rising Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl). Personally on that day, I took a long walk through Prospect Park, had an impromptu visit with friends which included a cheese plate and some delicious sparkling wine, and then went to see some ambient/experimental/electronic music at Knockdown Center. Everything was surreal and I had so much fun. Many friends and clients reported similar blissful days around that time. Things were hazy. But with Mars crossing that same eclipse degree on July 19, the message of this overall cycle became much more clear. Mars severs and separates. Mars takes action. In this case, Mars directed us to act upon fate.
Take a look back in your journal or emails or to do lists or playlists or calendars from the week of April 25 - May 1, 2022, and also look back at the week of November 15-21, 2021 when we had the first Taurus eclipse of this cycle. How do the events of this week speak to the events going on around that time? What feelings have been further clarified? What has been derailed or complicated or made into something previously unimaginable? Sometimes it’s something “small” (and/or “subtle”) i.e., I bought tickets to see Beach House on July 19 during the week of the November eclipse; and sometimes it’s something much “bigger” (and/or “obvious”)—Bennifer announced their engagement back on April 8 (as eclipse season was barreling near), but made it official via elopement this week.
Synchronicities come in all sizes.
If you’re finding joy this week, I’m so happy for you. If you’re struggling this week, I’m sending you so much love. As I’m writing this, the sun has moved into Leo and we’re entering a season where much of the fate that just bubbled up must be confronted and dealt with. If things are feeling crunchy though (and no one likes to stay deep in the crunch for too long), I do think things will ease up a bit around next week’s new moon in Leo on the 28th, if only for a moment.
I’ll be back with more soon, and if you want to dive into more of what these cycles are bringing up for you, please book a reading. I’d love to sit with you and keep untangling the story.