Digesting the Archetypal Eclipse, and what to expect

The 4/8 new moon solar eclipse in the sign of Aries attracted more mainstream attention than perhaps any other astronomical/ astrological event in recent memory. Eclipse glasses were sold everywhere and lent out at local libraries here in the US. NASA shot rockets into the atmosphere in the name of “science”, apparently so we can “learn how to live with the Sun”. CERN is firing up the supercollider. 

One commentator on a major news network suggested that the eclipse may be caused by climate change. The media is in histrionic fear porn mode. 

If only people would take the cue of nature during eclipses to be silent, still and contemplative. But, alas, that is most certainly not what’s happening now.

Of course, the astrological aspects of this eclipse are completely lost in the hype and drama. Many basic facts about eclipses in astrology have been largely overlooked in the hype and histrionics that surround this epic dimming of the Sun.

The eclipse points themselves are known in astrology as the Lunar Nodes and ancient people (at least the select few who studied these things) were able to predict fairly accurately when there would be an eclipse. 

They called these the North Node and South Node, eclipse points which are diametrically opposed to one another by degree. This makes sense since eclipses happen in pairs, separated by 14 days- one Lunar eclipse and one Solar eclipse, and usually one of the 2 eclipses in the pair is much more visible than the other. 

Each of these Nodes has dramatically different mythology surrounding them. In India and most of Asia, they are poetically known as Rahu and Ketu, the Head and Tail of the Dragon. More on that later.

The Nodes are always moving in opposition to the normal movement of the planets and stars, ie they are always moving in retrograde at an entirely predictable rate.

Eclipses ONLY happen on New Moon and Full Moon lunations when the luminaries (Sun and Moon) are in proximity to the Nodes, eclipses NEVER happen at any other time. They always happen in pairs, a New Moon eclipse of the Sun and a Full Moon eclipse of the Moon.

There are actually 2 eclipse cycles, or 4 eclipses - 2 new Moon eclipses and 2 Full Moon eclipses- every single year. Astrologically speaking, the nodes spend 18 months in a single 30 degree Sign.

The closer or more exact the timing of a Full Moon or New Moon is by degree to the exact degree of either Node, the more dramatic the shading of the Moon/ Sun will be in its prime viewing path. This can be seen on a zodiacal chart as the time when the Moon and Sun exactly conjoin (from the perspective of the earth) or exactly oppose one another. When the conjunction/ opposition of the luminaries is very close by degree to the Node, there will be a more dramatic and visible occlusion of the luminary, be it the Sun or the Moon. Some people in the conspiracy sphere question whether the Moon is really involved in the eclipsing of the Sun: I personally cannot say anything for certain, but this fact certainly provides significant evidence for the eclipses actually being heavenly bodies eclipsing one another and not some other strange event.

The prime visibility of any given solar eclipse is always limited to a relatively small swath of earthly territory ostensibly traveling from the west to the east, following the normal trajectory of the planets on the Yellow Road or Ecliptic. The Moon moves much faster than the Sun across the sky from the perspective of the Earth, so the shadow of the Moon- or of the Earth in the case of a Lunar Eclipse- travels rapidly across the face of the eclipsed body. 

The places where the eclipses are visible vary from eclipse to eclipse. The fact that they are only rarely visible to the same geographic region may make them seem more rare than they actually are. Sometimes, depending on where we live, the significant and visible period of an eclipse can happen when the luminaries are not visible, ie the solar eclipse can happen at night or the lunar eclipse can happen during the day for a large portion of the world. Add to that possible inclement weather conditions and the lack of, or inconsistent awareness of eclipses and the event starts to seem more rare than it is.

The Nodes (which are not bodies themselves, rather they are points) move through through a 30 degree section of the sky in 18 months. It takes them 18 years to complete a trip around the zodiac to return to any given point. Therefore, every 18 years we complete a Nodal cycle and undergo a Nodal return. There are at least 2 ways of calculating the Nodes, and the calculated points are usually less than 2 degrees from each other. 

THE NATURE OF AN ECLIPSE

According to traditional astrology, eclipses are malefic by nature. This is certainly intuitive, since a sudden dimming of the Sun in the daytime, or a Full Moon disappearing at night are jarring and ominous occurrences to put it mildly. In the high visibility path of the eclipse, wildlife generally goes silent for the duration of the eclipse and the temperature often drops dramatically during solar eclipse. Lunar eclipses may result in a noticeable increase in temperature at night. Nature is profoundly affected by these events.

Even though an eclipse may seem to be the same experientially whether a luminary is eclipsed by the North Node or the South Node, ancient astrologers made a significant delineation between the 2 points.

The Dragon’s Head, Rahu, was traditionally considered to be a severed head that remains eternally hungry for life experience. It is disconnected from the body of the dragon so it is not grounded, it voraciously, mindlessly and callously eats the Sun or Moon. It blocks out our sources of guidance and leaves us cold, dark and confused- figuratively leaderless and rudderless. It tends to introduce new entanglements and represents the beginning of a cycle. It can loosely be tied to the birth event- messy, sometimes bloody and unpredictable.

The Dragons’ Tail, Ketu, is the opposing force to the Dragon’s Head, it is a disconnected tail that eliminates- what a tail should do. Ketu ends cycles. It has a distain for material existence and seeks to send things back to the realm of spirits. It is connected to death

There may be a connection between the Head and Tail of the Dragon and the myth of Tiamat, the primordial ocean/ earth creator Goddess who is theriomorphic and often depicted as a dragon. Her consort was Apsu, a god of rivers, and gave birth to the first generation of gods that walked the earth- but these beings were loud and destructive, which infuriated Apsu and he attempted to cast them away. In their combat,  Apsu was killed by his children. A war ensued and Tiamat was ultimately beheaded and ripped apart by the God Marduk, who used parts of her body to shape our world as we know it. 

Neither of these points represents good luck or even conscious intention, nor should these points in any way be considered something we should look toward for guidance. The 2 Luminaries are the rulers of the Heavens, so when their daily reign over the skies is interrupted, chaos can ensue. 

Modern astrology twists these disturbing points of shadow into representing something spiritual that we are told we should move toward. This is simply not the case. We do not want to move toward a world where the Sun and Moon are blocked out- unless you’re Bill Gates.

NOT ALL ECLIPSES ARE EQUAL

The most immediate and obvious way in which eclipses are measured or rated is the totality of the shading of the heavenly body. The typical categories of eclipse visibility are Total, Partial, Annular and Hybrid. In a Total eclipse we see the heavenly bodies lining up close to perfectly and the bodies appearing to be of near equal size. In this case the Moon is closer to the perigee of her orbit, while in the Annular eclipse, the bodies may be lined up well, but the Moon is closer to her apogee and appears smaller than the Sun. In the hybrid eclipse appears to go from Total to Annular, or vice versa. Most definitely the “total” eclipses are the most impressive and extraordinary. But the literal show put on is not the only factor that dictates the power and impact of the eclipse. 

There are many astrological factors that can influence the actual fallout from an eclipse.

The nature of the Sign in which an eclipse happens is one important thing to examine. Signs either begin seasons, sit in the middle of the season, or end and transition the season to the next season.

Cardinal signs begin the season. The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. The 4/8 solar eclipse was in the sign of Aries, which represents the beginning of the fertile year when life is reborn in the Northern Hemisphere. The Dragon’s Head, Rahu, is in Aries, so this doubles up of the theme of birth, beginnings, new cycles and entanglements. 

The tropes that are associated with the sign of Aries include individuation, conflict, pioneering, forthrightness and honesty, leadership, clarity, action, masculinity, assertiveness, birth, ground-breaking and path-finding, excessive heat, the head (note that Rahu is a head); negative tropes include warlike or combative behavior, domination, lack of subtlety or nuance, lack of diplomacy or tact and problems with birth or with the head, among many other possibilities.

New beginnings and fresh cycles are often not bad- in fact, there may be some very positive things coming out of this eclipse cycle. But again, the nature of an eclipse is the dimming of light and the sudden coming of darkness, a violation of the natural order that is a predictable but unsettling part of the natural order. It is not intentioned nor intelligent, we cannot control this primordial force.

In traditional astrology, the Sun holds a special dignity in the Sign of Aries: the Sun is said to be exalted here. To find out what exaltation means to ancient people, we can look to the New Testament where Jesus was said to be  exalted upon his resurrection and return from the grave. The Sun’s exaltation in Aries tells us that the Sun has returned from the Underworld, like Jesus and Orpheus and so many other Heroes.

The celebration of Easter on the first Full Moon after the Sun enters the sign of Aries should tell us that there is more than a nominal or vestigial Sun worship in Christianity. So many depictions of Christ feature a solar corona around the head of Jesus and Mary, and the saints, that we must accept this symbology as being quite literal.

A Solar eclipse in Aries holds a special meaning because the Sun- our returning Hero- is suddenly dimmed at the time when we are celebrating his long-awaited return. When the Hero has all of our attention and suddenly the light he shines goes dark, due to scandal, failure, sabotage or weakness, we may be led to question his power and authority. 

Not only that, but traditional astrology holds that the Sun is at its most exalted at 19 degrees of Aries. The eclipse of 4/8/2024 happened just as the Sun passed this point of its highest exaltation. 

It’s a bad time to go dark, to slip and fall, when all eyes are on you.

Sometimes the dimming of light reveals the weakness and corruption of the visible and powerful- we can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes, his radiance suddenly loses its luster. Eclipses are traditionally associated with the death or overthrow of monarchs and powerful people.

It is also a long running tradition, going back to Mesopotamia and Sumer, and possibly prior to that, for the monarch or emperor to temporarily abdicate the throne during an eclipse, or to (literally or figuratively) sacrifice a top aide or rival during this time. This metaphorically defects the natural loss of radiance from the monarch onto the “fall guy” or “scape goat” who is unlucky enough to take the regent’s place for that eclipse time.

During the 2017 eclipse cycle in Leo that was visible across much of the US, Donald Trump fired his trusted top aide, Steve Bannon. Of course, Trump fired many, many people in the course of his presidency, but the timing of this move fit perfectly into tradition.

An ancient Egyptian astrological form called Decans divides the zodiac into 36 10 degree segments, or Faces. Each of these segments has 2 planetary rulers, and this decan is ruled doubly by the Sun. This further reinforces the power of the Sun at this time, but also makes it clear that a figure on a tall pedestal may have quite a fall when things go wrong.

The primary ruler of Aries is Mars, but Mars was in the sign of Pisces at the time of the eclipse. Traditional astrology tells us that when a planetary ruler has no aspect to the sign it rules, as was true of Mars while in Pisces, that planet will not have much ability to lend assistance to a planet in the Sign that has problems. 

Additionally, Mars was applying to a conjunction with Saturn at the time of the eclipse. Saturn and Mars are the troublesome malefic planets, and their meetings are always ugly. Not only was Mars unable to assist the Sun during this period, Mars was engaged with his bitter rival in the skies at the time. Their battle in Pisces is a highly emotional battle of beliefs, of dreams and visions.

WHAT COULD THIS ECLIPSE BRING?

Eclipses are on 6 month cycles, spending about 18 months in each sign or 30 degree section of the ecliptic (note that that word we use for the path of the Sun, Moon and planets is derived from the term eclipse). Eclipses set the tone for the upcoming 6 month period.

Eclipses are not good for authority. This time is no different: this eclipse season promises serious problems for the public faces of power. Behind the scenes, the private, purposefully occluded holders of true power simply pull the strings of their public puppets and engineer the public into fighting each other. 

Aries season is the time when so much life bursts forth from the earth; the force of raging spring hormones can lead us into fruitful new endeavors if we plan and direct our energy well. Or, we can unwittingly play into ready-made opportunities to go to war.

This eclipse cycle is a perfect opportunity for the would-be masters of the planet to factionalize and opportunistically play ideologues (true believers, or useful idiots) against one another.  

Aries season does not easily lend itself to diplomacy and yielding.  Do not be surprised if conflict finds you. This is an excellent time to breathe deeply, immerse yourself in nature, and channel that energy into preparing the garden.

If you do feel that it’s the time to unsheathe the sword and carry forth with your chosen mission, be aware that battle lines are being drawn all around us. Social media algorithms cater to and reinforce radically different world views amongst different demographics. The person next to you may have an entirely different idea of what’s going on in the world.

For this, we can at least partially point to Neptune’s 14 year tenure in Pisces which will be ending March 31 of 2025. Neptune triggers the semiotic, immersive, right-brain trauma-bonded depths of our psyche and allows us to suspend disbelief- for better or worse. 

The co-presence of Saturn and Mars in Pisces with Neptune may well lead to really, really bad dreams and nightmares.

The recent incursion of Pluto into Aquarius also adds a distinct flavor to this eclipse mix. Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld, and the dimming of the Sun’s light tends to push things into his court.  Pluto abducts us to a subterranean world of outcasts and criminals, bringing us face to face with our ever-changing shadow. 

The shadow side of Aquarius, an Air sign ruled by Saturn brings us to examine our role in society as a whole and how we are influenced by the demos, the crowd- and who is trying to control the hive mind of the crowd. We are social beings, to one extent or another, and we can easily be attracted to the warm glow of acceptance that we get from compliance with the herd. Pluto demands a stiff price from us if we choose to sell out our conscience and our values to remain in the good graces of society. 

The month of April has seen the US Congress attempting to pass legislation formalizing and legalizing new and sweeping dystopian control of the internet by the National Security agency.