Happy Taurus season everyone! I hope everyone survived the Aries solar eclipse late last night / early this morning, depending on your time zone. I am straight up exhausted this week because of it, but I am still really excited about the sun moving into Taurus. This is hands down my favorite zodiac season, because of how linked it is with the flowers blooming and all of the trees turning green in the northern hemisphere. I always feel so much more connected with nature during this time. Before we get into the main topic for this week, which is going into more depth on the eclipses, I wanted to thank everyone who has recently subscribed to this newsletter, especially all the paid subscribers. Your financial support means I can dedicate extra time each month to writing this newsletter and expanding it to be a more frequent thing.
Important announcements:
My astrology themed trip to Italy is now closed for sign ups, but if you missed the boat on that one I am hosting another astrology retreat in late September/early October to mainland Greece. If you aren’t familiar with what these trips are that I’m doing, basically I have partnered with Trova, a travel company, and they organize an entire itinerary of fun activities along with hotels, transportation, and numerous meals for everyone, all included in the trip fee . Throughout the week long retreat, I also will host three astrology workshops on various topics that everyone is showing the most interest in (ex: for the the Italy trip I’m doing workshops on the full moon, combining transits and progressions to make accurate predictions, and astrocartography)
I wanted to do mainland Greece for my fall trip, because it has so many sites that are linked to the gods and goddesses that tie back to the archetypes of many of the asteroids and planets in astrology. In addition to the Parthenon and other cool sites in Athens, we will be traveling south to go to ancient Mycenae and Epidaurus, and we will get to sea kayak in the Argolis Gulf. These are amazing archaeological sites that I would never know how to get to without the help of a tour guide, so if you’re looking to do off the beaten path Greece, definitely consider signing up. This is also a great way to make astrology friends, so you have people with whom you can speak the language! Finally, trip payments are made in installments leading up to September, and you won’t be charged anything until the trip is officially confirmed (i.e. when 14 people or more have signed up for it). If you have any questions about this trip, feel free to reach out.
Monthly Recommendations
Books
Through Time into Healing by Brian Weiss. I am a huge fan of Brian Weiss’s work, and I recommend his books to anyone who is curious about learning about past lives and reincarnation. His most well known book is Many Lives, Many Masters, which is about how his entire belief system changed when he hypnotized one of his patients during therapy and she started talking about events that had happened to her in lifetimes she experienced hundreds and thousands of years prior. Through Time into Healing builds upon the same theme of telling reincarnation stories, and it demonstrates how past life regression can help with overcoming difficult relationship patterns, grief, addictions, or just simply finding more meaning and purpose in your life in general.
Podcasts
Networth and Chill. Ever since Saturn entered my 8th house, I have been obsessed with learning more about money and finances. I’ve been focused a lot recently on changing mindsets surrounding money, and this podcast is a great place to start if you’re interested in doing the same. She also interviews successful women and asks them the nitty gritty of how they make money and have built their own businesses.
Armchair Expert: “Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross.” Love this podcast in general, but this episode explains why having a creativity hobby is important for your mental health and reducing stress. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t identify as artsy or creative, you probably are in your own unique way. Tapping into this playful side and allowing yourself to experiment with a new hobby or some type of art project could do you more good than you think!
Eclipses: How to Find Them, What They Mean, and What You Can Expect
Okay, on to our deep dive into eclipses. We will be understanding why they are so important, especially when it comes to predictive astrology. When I’m giving someone a reading and I want to know what area of life is currently a major focus for that person, I immediately take note of where the eclipses are falling in their chart that year. Eclipses show where someone is currently experiencing the most change, personal growth, or internal shifts. So yes, they are a huge deal.
This topic is particularly relevant right now, because we are currently in the midst of eclipse season. A pair of eclipses, one solar and one lunar, typically occurs twice a year (sometimes three), and they replace the new moon and full moon that would normally occur that month. Yesterday (April 19) we had a solar eclipse in Aries, which will be followed by a lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5. Then the next set of eclipses will occur six months from now in October.
You can think of a solar eclipse as a super charged new moon, and the lunar eclipse as a super charged full moon. Therefore, a solar eclipse usually acts as a fresh start (or sometimes an ending), where new seeds are being planted but you can’t see visible results quite yet, while a lunar eclipse is often a release or seeing a culmination of activity taking place. You can also divide up your year into 6 month increments, because the eclipses tend to close out one chapter that has been going on for the last six months, as you pivot in a different direction for the six months to follow.
Kind of a random note, but something I found to be very interesting is that the two eclipses in the spring are both happening in signs ruled by Mars (Aries and Scorpio), while the two eclipses in the fall are happening in Venus ruled signs (Libra and Taurus). The way I view this is that the spring is about being more self focused, taking action and initiating, while the fall may be more about collaboration and being mindful of relationships.
How can I know where the eclipses are happening in my chart ?
To find where the eclipses are taking place in your chart, you will need to pull up a transit chart. When you have that up, take note of whatever sign and house the North and South Nodes are currently transiting through for you. (Hint: they are shaped like horse shoes) I always recommend setting your chart to whole sign houses, especially when it comes to looking at transits. With whole sign houses, one sign = one house.
Above left: North Node transiting through Taurus, that person’s 1st house, while the South Node transits through Scorpio, their 7th house
Above right: North Node transiting through Taurus, that person’s 9th house, while the South Node transits through Scorpio, their 3rd house.
The North and South Nodes always move through a pair of signs that are exactly opposite to one another, like Taurus and Scorpio or Pisces and Virgo for instance. When you see what two signs the nodes are transiting, you can always know that those signs are where the eclipses are taking place that year. The Nodes move backwards, against the direction of all the planets, and they take about 18 months to fully make their way through a pair of signs. Right now the North Node is moving through Taurus and the South Node is moving through Scorpio. This has been the case since January 2022, which is why we’ve had Taurus and Scorpio eclipses happening for the last year and a half or so.
The Taurus/Scorpio eclipse cycle is coming to a close soon though. In July of this year, the North Node will move into Aries and the South Node will move into Libra, starting up a brand new eclipse series happening across that pair of signs for the next two years. So as one chapter ends in the Taurus and Scorpio ruled houses of your chart, a brand new one will start in the Aries and Libra ruled houses.
If the nodes don’t change signs until July, why is there already an eclipse in Aries?
It is important to note that a solar or lunar eclipse occurs when a new moon or full moon is taking place within 15 degrees of the nodes. This is why even though the nodes are still transiting through Taurus and Scorpio for a couple more months, a solar eclipse in Aries just took place. The nodes are so close to the end of their transit through Taurus/Scorpio that a new moon in Aries falls close enough to them (within 15 degrees) to make it a solar eclipse.
In the diagram above, you can see that the sun and moon are at the final, 29th degree of Aries, only 5 degrees away from the North Node at 4 degrees of Taurus. This new moon falls within a 15 degree orb of the nodes, therefore it is an eclipse.
What happens when an eclipse occurs?
The energy eclipses bring is not entirely easy to navigate. During the two week window that eclipses are happening, you may feel a little uneasy or anxious. It could be that a big internal shift is taking place, where your priorities might be changing or you’re starting to feel a different way about a situation or relationship in your life. On the other hand, it may be that more noticeable external events are happening to you, like quitting your job for instance, getting engaged, or receiving a huge new career opportunity. Those are just a few examples of more obvious events that might occur - of course it all depends on what houses the eclipses are activating in your chart. Usually with eclipses, you feel urged to make changes you’ve been meaning to make for a while. Going back to the eclipses that are happening now, we can think of the Aries solar eclipse from yesterday as kicking off a brand new beginning in the Aries ruled house of your chart. There may also be an ending taking place there too, as you clear out whatever wasn’t working to start fresh. Meanwhile, the upcoming Scorpio lunar eclipse will bring up a lot of activity or important realizations in the Scorpio ruled house of your chart. Things will be busier in that area for you.
However, keep in mind that big changes don’t always occur on the exact date an eclipse is happening. So if nothing notable is happening for you exactly on April 19 or May 5, I wouldn’t automatically assume that the eclipses didn’t affect you. Oftentimes, what an eclipse represents for you may take weeks or sometimes even months to unfold, or sometimes that big change may come a couple weeks or even a couple months before the next eclipse happens. I’ve repeatedly found that when transit Mars forms a conjunction or square to the North and South Nodes, that is when results of the eclipses that have just happened prior will start to be felt more strongly. You can see this happening in the diagram below, with transit Mars conjunct the North Node in Taurus in July 2022, weeks after the May 2022 Taurus solar eclipse took place.
Some years the eclipses might be a bigger deal for you than they are another. More major, external events tend to happen when the eclipses are taking place in the angular houses, so the 1st/7th or 4th/10th houses of your chart. So over the last year and a half, that would have been Leo/Aquarius risings and Taurus/Scorpio risings. As the Aries/Libra eclipses pick up, it will be shifting to Aries/Libra risings and Cancer/Capricorn risings. In addition, it’s important when eclipses happen in your sun sign or moon sign. When that happens, which is only once every 8-9 years, you may experience a number of huge life changes happen at once. This could be like having a baby, buying a home or moving to a new city, or changing jobs all within the same year or two. Also, when the eclipses are happening in these prominent parts of the chart (i.e. sun, moon, rising, midheaven sign) you may end up discovering a whole new side of your identity. Suddenly, you may have these interests that you never knew you had, and you could tap into a newfound sense of confidence.
What if my north and south nodes are in the signs of Taurus/Scorpio or Aries/Libra in my birth chart?
When the nodes, and therefore eclipses, return to the same sign the north and south nodes are in your birth chart, this is what we call either a nodal return or a nodal opposition. The nodal return is when the North Node and South Nodes move into the same exact position they were in when you were born, so if you have your North Node in Aries and South Node in Libra this will be you this year. This happens every 18-19 years, so around the ages of 18/19, 37, 55, and so on. The nodal opposition is when the transit North Node is in the same sign as your birth chart South Node and vice versa. So if you have your North Node in Libra and South Node in Aries, this will be you. A nodal opposition happens 8-9 years between the nodal returns at the ages of 9, 27/28, 46, 54, and so on. Basically, when either of these occur, it’s like a check-in, where you’re evaluating if you’re on a life path that feels aligned with what your soul desires. You may feel a push to lean into the themes of the sign and house in which your North Node falls, and a desire to let go of any negative patterns you have surrounding South Node matters.
I hope this breakdown of eclipses was helpful! If you want to know what the eclipses mean for you personally, sign up to be a paid subscriber of this newsletter, and you will receive everything you need to know about the upcoming Scorpio lunar eclipse in Your Monthly Forecast, which will be sent out tomorrow. The Aries solar eclipse info can be found in last month’s forecast.