the full moon that is exact on april 15th, 2014 at 12:42am is the first of four total lunar eclipses that span the next two years, commencing a rare and important time astrologically and astronomically. the current lunar cycle we are in began with the dynamic new moon in aries conjunct uranus and square jupiter and pluto, on march 30th, which was a harbinger of the intense month of astrology that april brings us. we are currently building to a potent configuration called a Grand Cross that forms between retrograde mars in libra, jupiter in cancer, uranus in aries and (soon to be) retrograde pluto. essentially all these bodies are in tense aspect to each other and the friction and dynamism is building as i write! the new moon in aries began a cycle of initiations, activations and openings, and this full moon total lunar eclipse can be a time of climax, crisis, culmination and/or completion of whatever began at the new moon.
solar eclipses are heightened new moons, while lunar eclipses are heightened full moons. new moons are associated with new beginnings, planting seeds and setting intentions- while full moons are associated with things building up to a climax or fruition point. full moons are also associated with Unconscious emotional material coming to Light, as the sun/conscious self is completely opposite the full moon/Unconscious- bringing Light to all that is not being looked at. in a lunar eclipse we have the earth coming in between the moon and the sun- so we do not have the Light of the conscious self shining on the Unconscious. in fact we have earth blocking/eclipsing that Light and casting a shadow on the moon. in a positive sense this can be a time of diving down deep and looking at the shadows that are more visible to us at this time- but on the negative side this is a time when our consciousness can be eclipsed, which will cause us to act from a reactionary, impulsive, emotionally charged place that may not be in our best interests. lunar eclipses also tend to build things up to a point that things explode- hence the reason full moons are times of heightened emotion, more child births and more accidents (according to ER research).
it is key at eclipses to be clear on what you are being asked to learn and/or what Unconscious material you are ignoring or avoiding dealing with. in eclipse season- all your deepest, darkest stuff can come up to be addressed! and when you are proactive about this growth the journey can be a lot easier to navigate. with this lunar eclipse being total, we will have the whole entire face of the moon obscured- and when this happens the moon will take on a reddish tinge. this is called a blood moon- and because the next 4 lunar eclipses (from 2014-2015) are total we will have 4 blood moons in a row, a rare occurrence that the scientific community calls a tetrad. the last tetrad occurred in 1967-68- right around the time that the uranus/pluto cycle we are in commenced! interesting timing- although i have not done the research to see if all the previous tetrads lined up with uranus/pluto cycles (if you have done this research let me know). but i do know that having these two coincide is significant- as they both turn to major turning points in our collective and personal evolution (aka tipping point).
the april 15th eclipse opens the eclipse portal that will take us through the last two weeks of april until the solar eclipse in taurus on april 28th. eclipse portals are highly charged times of transformation and change. they quickly take us from point A to point B in rapid fashion, which can be freeing, exciting and liberating- or it can be chaotic, anxiety-producing and full of upheaval (it all depends on how we work with the energies present). similar to last fall, this year’s eclipse portals bookend the uranus/pluto square- aligning two very intense and powerful astrological times within a 2 week window. the uranus/pluto square is all about transformation and change of old structures, outdated traditions or obligations, and anything that is toxic, stagnant, stuck or old paradigm. the eclipses simply amplify this and make the energy even more powerful (read: intense!).
the total lunar eclipse chart for april 15th is potent. first off all pluto, the lord of the underworld, stations retrograde 8 hours before this eclipse- making the planet of death, rebirth and transformation the most powerful in the sky. when planets are stationary their energies dominate- so with pluto stationary right before the eclipse the images of the snake shedding it’s skin or the phoenix rising out of the ashes is strong. we are in a powerful time where we are asked to look at what is no longer working in our lives- where is the old skin stuck and inhibiting our further growth. where are we surrounded by things/people/situations/attitudes that are actually toxic and need to be burned in the fire, so we can rebirth ourselves like the phoenix does? the month of april is very much supportive of doing this work!
this eclipse is in libra with the sun in aries opposite- so the aries/libra axis is highlighted. on october 18th 2013 we had a lunar eclipse in aries- almost exactly opposite the degree of this one in april- so we are actually in a 6 month window of eclipses that can be seen as bookends so to speak. something began brewing in october of last year that is likely to culminate this month (and complete itself in the next 6 months- as eclipse govern 6 month periods of time). aries is the sign of the self and libra is the sign of the other. we have a lot of astrology focusing on this polarity and duality right now- forcing us to address where we are imbalanced in our lives. if we overdo our aries we are fiery, feisty, aggressive, conflictual and selfish. if we overdo our libra we are pacifist, have boundary issues, are codependent and cannot stand up for or take care of ourselves. this full moon eclipse in libra will definitely highlight any imbalances in relationships. if you find yourself playing a role in your relationships- where one person is the feminine and the other the masculine, or one the Mother or Father figure and the other the child- this eclipse can force you to look where this is limiting your growth. ultimately evolution and wholeness is achieved when we integrate our opposites and take back projections we have put onto others so that we can live them for ourselves. for example, if i am a man who works hard and makes good money but i am not able to deal with my emotions, nurture myself or others- then i will be drawn to a mothering, sensitive, emotional woman who wants a strong man who can support her. this can be sweet in the beginning if both people are happy playing their respective roles- but if either or both of them wake up one day and want to integrate their opposite (i.e. the woman wants to have a career or the man does want to be an ATM) then something’s going to have to shift and the relationship will have to dramatically change.
this lunar eclipse in libra is all about dramatic changes in relationship. first and foremost we want to dramatically change our relationship with ourselves- as anything we want or need or desire OUT THERE can only be fulfilled and truly experienced when we have found it IN HERE. any relationships that are on solid footing are fine- you may experience things that rock your boat, but if your ship does not have holes in it and you are both willing to do the work to row to a safe harbor you will be fine. for others who have issues up and perhaps have large holes in their boat- it may be an eclipse to think about whether those issues/holes can be fixed or if it’s better to jump ship before you go down with it.
to add to the potency of this configuration we have ceres- the Great Mother asteroid, and vesta- the priestess asteroid, conjunct the full moon in libra- again bringing Light to the archetypal energy of the Divine Feminine in collective consciousness. before the asteroid Goddesses were discovered we only had the moon and venus to represent feminine energy- which restricted women’s archetypes to that of mother/child (moon) and lover/wife (venus). when ceres, juno, vesta and pallas were discovered the feminine archetypal energy expanded- and so did the consciousness allotted to women and the feminine within us (men have inner feminines just as women have inner masculines). i feel this lunation to be a call to the Divine Feminine within all of us- a wake up call to service and our role as priestesses and priests of the Great Mother. in case you have not noticed, we are doing horrible things to our planet (our Mother Earth!) and in some insane fashion we have decided money and power is more important than health and harmony. we need a rebalancing of the scales- and we needed it yesterday! this eclipse can make that very clear in no uncertain terms- it’s time to make a change for the better!
this lunation is also conjunct the evolutionary north node- pulling us towards our growth and evolution. eclipses are already about our evolution and growth, but when we have the nodes involved that focus is amplified. with the moon on the north node and the sun on the south node- we have an opportunity to look at our karmic past and patterns we keep playing out, as well as our evolution and growth and the edge we need to push past. this lunation gives us the perfect opportunity to let go of the past and move into the future- but it will not be without some hard work on our part! to add to that, the lunar eclipse is also conjunct a powerful fixed star called arcturus. this fixed star is seen as giving us a ‘different approach’- which honestly i think we need as the one we are working with is clearly not working! but it’s also a fixed star that is part of a group of fixed stars (sirius, vega, pleiades, etc…) that many ancient cultures regards as the home of highly evolved beings (aka aliens) that are working with our planet to help us grow and evolve. with arcturus on this lunation- we may have some major aha moments or appearances (in physical or etheric form?) of this higher consciousness with the hopes that we tune into what is possible and navigate a new direction that does not lead us to world wide demise (i am not being over the top here- scientists have gone on record saying if we don’t do something different we will make life unsustainable on planet earth in the not too distant future).
sirius is also involved in this lunation as stationary retrograde pluto is opposite sirius- and the Grand Cross later in april (20th-23rd) will also activate sirius. sirius is all about making the mundane sacred- realizing that yes we are spiritual beings having a human experience but the human experience is just as sacred as the 5th or 6th or 13th dimensional one. i am really hoping for some major realizations and unfoldments that help us raise our planetary frequency higher. i am also hoping that we have evolved enough as a race to call this in with grace and ease, rather than with chaos and destruction (humanity seems to learn and wake up faster when things get really dire).
wherever this lunation falls in your chart, you have significant opportunities to die to some old aspect of yourself and your life and rebirth something new in it’s place. but this is also the area of your chart where you may be avoiding doing the work- so the total lunar eclipse may have to drag it up into your awareness so that you can deal with it. similar to pluto transits- lunar eclipse energies are best worked with consciously. if you are proactive about your transformation and take initiative in facilitating and making the changes in your life you need to make- then the Universe tends to reward you and support you. that is how you take a breakdown and turn it into a breakthrough- the key word is to “break” from the past patterns and ways of doing/being that no longer serve.
in any event, this lunation will be one to see! it will be visible in australia, the pacific ocean (and islands) and the americas. some say the countries that are able to see the eclipse are the ones that will experience the effects of it most. the eclipse will last 3 1/2 hours, of which 1 hour and 18 minutes will be the total lunar eclipse. for more information on how this can manifest in your personal chart check the weekly horoscopes- and be sure to read for your sun sign and rising sign/ascendant.
eclipse blessings to you all!
~divine harmony