How Do Eclipses Affect Astrology?

Every “eclipse season” it feels like all of Instagram loses its mind. But what’s really the deal with eclipses? Are they as scary or as powerful as we might have heard?

In this blog, I’ll be demystifying eclipses and sharing how you can use these special cosmic events for your evolution and growth.

WHAT ARE ECLIPSES?

There are two types of eclipses: lunar eclipses and solar eclipses. Within those categories, eclipses can be partial, total, or penumbral. Generally, the most powerful and rare eclipses are total eclipses.

Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which then reflects off the full moon. Solar eclipses occur when the new moon moves between the sun and the Earth, blocking out the sun’s rays and casting a shadow on parts of Earth.

ECLIPSES IN PAIRS + ECLIPSE SEASON

Eclipses come in sets—in pairs or sometimes as threes. The time period between a set of eclipses is known as eclipse season. Eclipses always happen along an astrological axis—so a pair of eclipses will always be in one of these sets of signs:

• Aries-Libra

• Taurus-Scorpio

• Gemini-Sagittarius

• Cancer-Capricorn

• Leo-Aquarius

• Virgo-Pisces

For example, in January of 2019, we had a partial solar eclipse in Capricorn and a total lunar eclipse about two weeks later in Cancer. The period between these eclipses was known as the eclipse season.

Eclipse season is thought to be a time portal, a time of transformation.

HOW TO WORK WITH ECLIPSES

Eclipses are thought to be wild cards, sort of a magnified new moon (for a solar eclipse) or a magnified full moon (for a lunar eclipse). We can think of them as portals for endings and beginnings—things may be “eclipsed out” or “eclipsed in.” It’s typical for births, moves, engagements, new jobs, break-ups, new relationships, and more to happen around eclipses and during eclipse season.

Eclipses are also illuminators, showing the truth that you may have been ignoring or didn’t want to look at. Eclipses will bring these thoughts and feelings to the forefront so that you can’t ignore them anymore and have to look at and work with them.

To see how an eclipse might affect you personally, take a look at your birth chart. Look for the house that will be highlighted by the eclipse—for example, a partial solar eclipse in Capricorn affects my 4th or 5th houses, depending on the degrees of the eclipse.

So if the eclipse affects my 4th house, then I could expect things around the home, family, my inner emotional world, my foundations, safety, security, my mother, and self-care to be coming up.

Generally, eclipses are a really important time to spend time with yourself listening and noticing. Carve out space and time to receive truths, and notice any signs that are pointing you towards releasing something or stepping into something new.

Some practitioners like to work big magic on eclipses. Others, like myself, find that eclipses are a better time for listening and noticing than doing spells. Notice how eclipses feel to you and follow what feels right! If you feel called to, you can check out this card spread for eclipse season.

Our next eclipses are happening on July 2nd, 2019 (a total solar eclipse in Cancer) and July 16th, 2019 (a partial lunar eclipse in Capricorn).

For the eclipse in Cancer, take a look at what house Cancer rules in your birth chart. Same thing for the Capricorn eclipse!

Overall, eclipses aren’t something to be scared of. Like every cosmic event, they’re not here to hurt us—they’re here to help us grow and evolve. Know that anything that releases during an eclipse or anything you step into on an eclipse is furthering your path and purpose.

Understanding Your North Node

A birth chart, also called a natal chart, is a snapshot of the sky and all its planets at the moment you were born. A few factors play into your birth chart—the time and day you were born and the location you were born at. With just this bit of information, the cosmos can reveal truths about your personality, your life path, and how to get the most out of this lifetime.

[To learn more about birth charts and download your own free printable chart, click here.]

One key to understanding your birth chart is the north node (also called the true node) and the corresponding south node. In this blog, I’m going to share how the nodes can help you understand your life’s purpose. Keep scrolling to read on!

WHAT ARE THE NODES?

Unlike most of the placements you’ll see in your chart like your moon sign, Venus sign, or sun sign, the nodes aren’t planets or asteroids. Rather, they’re mathematical points based on the moon—hence, why they’re also called lunar nodes.

THE NORTH NODE

The north node, or the true node, shows us the path that’s calling us. It shows us the terrain we’re invited to cross in this lifetime, our purpose, our truth. It’s the way that we’re being asked to involve in this lifetime on planet Earth. In short and sweet terms, I like to think of it as our life’s purpose.

THE SOUTH NODE

Although I won’t focus on the south node in this blog post, you can’t talk about the north node without mentioning the south node! If the north node is our invitation for this life, the south node shows what we’ve brought into this life from past lives.

Our south node reveals what we’re already good at, what we’ve mastered in past lives. It’s a place where we feel comfortable and connect with a sense of belonging. It’s always in the polar sign of our north node, so even though most astrological charts don’t specify where the south node is, you can find it easily.

For example, my north node is in Scorpio in the third house. So I know that my south node is in Taurus, Scorpio’s polar sign, in the ninth house, the polar house of the third house!

The idea of the south node isn’t to transcend it or leave it behind but to find a way to bring it into your journey with your north node.

THE NORTH NODE IN EACH SIGN

Below you’ll find a brief overview of what the north node in each sign may mean. Keep in mind that mixing your own intuition with this information is where you’ll get the most powerful insight!

If you don’t know where your north node is yet, head over to astro.com or Cafe Astrology to get your free chart.

ARIES NORTH NODE

Aries energy is like a match (think Ace of Wands in the tarot!). It’s the emergence after winter, the birth of spring, the charging forth and bringing forth of new ideas. If your north node is in Aries, this lifetime is about bringing your fiery, passionate, bold ideas into the world. It’s about being a pioneer, a soul-centered warrior, for love and justice.

TAURUS NORTH NODE

With a north node in Taurus, you are learning how to manifest beauty, money, and creativity on the physical plane. Taurus is a sign that appreciates pleasure, love, and beauty and is masterful at manifesting material value. This can be a lifetime of learning what you value and how to create it without getting caught up in worthiness blocks.

GEMINI NORTH NODE

If you have your north node in Gemini, you are here to connect, to relate, to communicate. You are here with a message, you’re here with words you need to share with people, and you’re here to step into and share wisdom.

CANCER NORTH NODE

Cancer is our cardinal water sign, ruled by the moon. It’s a sign that’s all about home, the past, our ancestors, and nourishing and caretaking. If your north node is in Cancer, in this lifetime you are learning how to nourish and caretake yourself, to create a safe space for yourself—and then, for everyone else, too.

You may find yourself drawn to working with your ancestors, to healing ancestral and karmic patterns, and to use your emotions to connect with those around you.

LEO NORTH NODE

With a Leo north node, your focus is on learning how to express yourself and how to take up space. With a south node in Aquarius, you may feel more comfortable in the background or as part of the group.

Your Leo north node is inviting you to step into your power and magic as an individual, empower yourself to express yourself fully (particularly in creative endeavors), and take up space with pride and love.

VIRGO NORTH NODE

Virgo is a sign of devotion, of service, of healing. With a north node in Virgo, you are here to heal. You’re here to “build a vessel of love” as astrologer Heidi Rose Robbins says. Your path in this life is one of service, of devoting yourself to healing, of bringing forth unconditional love.

LIBRA NORTH NODE

If you have a Libra north node, this lifetime is about finding balance between self and others. You are learning how to come into the right relationship with someone else without giving up your power, becoming codependent, or abandoning yourself just to make peace.

This can also be a beautiful and deep path of justice! Libra, the scales, is a sign traditionally associated with the law, judges, and courtrooms. That may not be your path specifically, but a Libra north node can be a journey of creating more justice in this lifetime—for yourself and for all.

SCORPIO NORTH NODE

With a north node in Scorpio, you may be stepping into your power and gifts as a practitioner of the occult—a tarot reader, energy worker, or psychospiritual practitioner of some kind. But in the bigger picture, a Scorpio north node is often about learning how to transform. The tarot card ruled by Scorpio is Death, so you are learning how to shed the snakeskin, step into new parts of your identity, and get comfortable with transformation and change in this lifetime.

SAGITTARIUS NORTH NODE

With a Sagittarius north node, you are here to inspire! You’re here to inspire others with your gorgeous mutable fire, your actions, your freedom, your vision, the way you live. Connect with your big vision and live it out to fulfill your life’s purpose. In doing so, you’ll inspire the collective to do the same.

CAPRICORN NORTH NODE

With a Capricorn north node, you are here to climb the mountain and to lead. Capricorn is probably our most hardworking sign, symbolized by the mountain goat. Your charge in this lifetime is to live with purpose, to own your leadership, and to show the way for others to climb the mountain behind you.

AQUARIUS NORTH NODE

Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, is a sign that’s about authenticity and innovation. With a north node in Aquarius, you are here to step into your soul’s authenticity and create the next world for all. To innovate, to change, to awaken self and others so that we can create a new age of peace and unity on Earth. A big mission indeed!

PISCES NORTH NODE

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and is said to encompass the energy of all the other signs. If your north node is in Pisces, your path in this lifetime is to heal and offer universal compassion to yourself and to all of humanity. It’s an invitation to keep your heart opening, opening, opening even when it feels hard and it might be easier to close it off from feeling.

Your north node will also be impacted by the house it’s in, but that’s a post for another day. If you’d like to dive deeper into your north node, I recommend checking out Jan Spiller’s famous book, Astrology for the Soul.

Four Abundance Rituals

Do you want to call in more abundance? You’re in the right place! Abundance can come in so many forms and means many different things to different people. Abundance could be time, money, freedom, or anything else that makes you personally feel abundant!

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing four rituals to help you connect with the abundance that’s always available to you. Keep scrolling to read them!

ABUNDANCE CRYSTAL GRID

Crystal grids are a beautiful tool for manifesting more abundance in your life! The ideal time to set up your abundance grid is at the new moon, and you can leave it up until the full moon.

Start by gathering your stones and cleansing them. Your abundance besties in the crystal kingdom are aventurine, citrine, quartz, moss agate, tiger eye, and kyanite! Try one of each stone, although if you have more than one, that’s great, too.

You’ll place your citrine stone in the center and arrange your other stones radiating out around the citrine in a way that feels good to use. Use the crystal grid in the Goddess Discovery Book or place your stones on a cloth or table.

As you place each stone, keep an image in your mind’s eye of what you’re trying to attract. Ask yourself how you’ll feel when you receive the abundance you’re requesting.

After all your stones are in place, trace your crystals with a pointed quartz. Imagine the quartz connecting your crystals and unifying their energy. Try to connect with your grid daily until the full moon!

ABUNDANCE SPELL BAG

Spell bags, known in Voodoo as “gris-gris,” or to Native Americans as “medicine bags,” are one of my favorite ways to make magick. The waxing moon is the best time to do any abundance spell work, so try to do each of these rituals then if you can!Here’s what you’ll need to make a spell bag for abundance:

• Basil or a sprinkle of cinnamon

• 10 of Pentacles tarot card (or a copy of this tarot card if you don’t want to put the actual card in the bag!)

• A knob of ginger

• Honey calcite, pyrite, citrine, or green aventurine

• Anything else that represents abundance to you. For example, if you work for yourself you might include a printout of an email where a client booked a session with you.

Spend some time with your spell bag to infuse your energy into it. Hold it in your hands as you meditate on abundance, and breathe into it before you pull it closed!

ABUNDANCE CANDLE MAGICK

You can work with the magic of fire to help you call more abundance into your life! If you’ve never done candle magick before, read this blog to learn how to get started.For this spell, you’ll need:

• Green candle

• Carving tool like a sharp point crystal, toothpick, or athame.

• Tiger eye, citrine, and green aventurine

• Patchouli or frankincense oil

• Coins or money

Start by cleansing all of your items for the spell. This can be done by wafting herbal smoke over them or visualizing white light cleansing them.

For this spell, you’ll be carving the Fehu Rune into your candle. Fehu is a powerful symbol of abundance. If you’d prefer to carve a specific dollar amount or item you’re hoping to attain you could carve this into the candle too.

Anoint your candle with the oil of your choice. As you carve and anoint your candle, visualize your abundance goal.

Arrange your crystals, money, and candle in a place where you can leave it up for a few nights. Light your candle and meditate on the flame. Visualize your abundance goal clearly, imagine yourself reaching your goal and what it would feel like to attain it.

You can continue this until the entire candle burns or snuff out the candle and continue the same ritual each night until the candle has burned completely.

Bonus! You can get this spell as a free printable spell card (along with spells for love, letting go, and connecting with your intuition) here.

ABUNDANCE TAROT or ORACLE CARD SPREAD

Turn to tarot or oracle to understand your blocks to abundance and what you can do to connect to more abundance. You can create a ritual space by grounding yourself first, lighting candles, burning herbs or incense, or doing anything else that feels right to you.

Cards from the Journey Tarot Kit

When you feel grounded and centered, shuffle your cards while holding the intention to connect with the wisdom of your highest self. Draw cards for each of the following questions:

• What belief system or patterns blocks me from the abundance I desire?

• How to release this belief system or pattern

• How to open myself up to greater abundance

• My mantra for calling in abundance

Spend some time journaling with your cards and meditating on your mantra card. If you’d like, you can place your mantra card on your altar!

How to journal with the moon phases + 10 journal prompts

Your mood, physical body, and spirit body all go through phases, and journaling with the moon is an ideal way to track all of these. You may find that you’re more synced with the moon than you thought!

Why You Should Try Moon Journaling

Wouldn’t it be nice to know which moon phases make you feel the most intuitive, expressive, or reserved? The way you relate to each moon phase is reflective of you alone and experiences will vary from person to person. You may find that your diet, intuition, and menstruation are affected by the phases of the moon. Keeping a moon journal will enable you to track any patterns to better understand all of your cycles. 

How Often Should You Write in Your Moon Journal?

Take notes in your moon journal as often as you like! Journaling once a week will ensure that you hit each of the main phases of the moon: new moon, waxing moon, full moon, and waning moon. Moon journaling twice a month, on the full and new moon, can also be enlightening.

Starting out, I suggest making a quick note in your moon journal for 30-60 consecutive days. Making a quick note daily, in the beginning, will help you catch any obvious patterns right away.

What You’ll Need to Start Your Moon Journal

1. You’ll need a moon phase calendar, digital, or a hard copy.

2. You’ll also need a writing utensil and a journal or notepad. That’s it!

10 Topics for Moon Journaling

Here’s a list of suggested moon journaling topics. Read through the whole list. What topics call out to you the most? You can journal on all or some of these topics, it’s completely up to you.

Start your moon journaling by recording the date, the moon phase, and the zodiac sign for the phase (optional).

1. Record how you feel emotionally. Check-in, do you feel content, happy, sad, jealous, excited, energized, grateful, anxious, or angry? Record your mood for the day or overall week. This can be as simple as writing one word.

2. Record how you feel spiritually. How connected and intuitive do you feel? If you meditate regularly, was it easy for you to “drop-in” or did you find your meditation to be a struggle (this is always a good indicator of my spiritual well-being).

3. Record how you feel physically. How are you sleeping, your energy levels, and your diet? Are there any particular foods you're craving? If you exercise regularly, was your activity easy or more forced?

4. Record when you start and end your menstrual cycle. You may also decide to notate what each menstrual cycle feels like to help unearth patterns. If you’re particularly in-tune with your cycle or trying to conceive (or not conceive!) you might also find it helpful to track your ovulation with the moon.

5. Note any goals, intentions, and manifestations you’ve initiated and when they manifest. New intentions are best to set on a new or waxing moon.

6. Note any habits, people, outcomes, or things you’re trying to let go of and when you feel you’ve shed them. Releasing and letting go is best to initiate during a full or waning moon.

7. Notate the zodiac sign the moon is in. If you want to take your moon journaling to the next level you can notate what zodiac sign the moon is in. The moon is always positioned in a zodiac sign and cycles through them every 2-3 days. The sign the moon is in will also have an effect on you too. Try looking for even broader patterns by notating what sign the moon is in when you journal. I like this online resource for tracking the zodiac sign for each moon phase.

8. Track your triumphs! Did something happen that was totally out of the blue and made your day? Maybe you received an unexpected promotion, landed your dream job, or ran into an old friend, write it down!

9. Track your worst days. Did you have one of those days where nothing seems to go as expected and you just can’t shake it? These days aren’t as fun, but being able to estimate when they may come up can sure be helpful.

10. Note your dreams. Dream journaling is an insightful activity on its own. Notating the moon phase for your dreams can shed even more light on what your subconscious is trying to tell you. You might be able to identify times when your dreams are most active so you can plan to have a notepad ready on your nightstand.

Moon journaling can be as simple or in-depth as you’d like and can be tailored to suit your needs and schedule.

Understanding Yourself Through the Sun & the Moon

Ever since the dawn of time, humans have sought to understand themselves and their place in the universe on a deeper level by looking up at the sky.

Over thousands of years of observations, astrologers have come to recognize that the Sun and Moon are not only luminous orbs of light in the sky that govern the day and night, but their intriguing symbolism can also tell us a lot about who each of us really are and how we naturally tend to behave and react.

What Do the Sun & Moon Represent?

On an astrology chart, the Sun symbolizes your ego. It’s your life’s expression, your attitude, your ego, and the way you move through life. The Sun can also explain your underlying drive and how you most love to be creative. It’s basically how we act when we’re feeling fully alive!

The Moon, on the other hand, symbolizes inner security, comfort, and how we express our emotions whether we’re happy or sad. It describes your emotional landscape and the conditions you need to feel nurtured, safe, and fulfilled.

By tracking where the Sun and Moon fall in your birth chart - which is a map of where the stars and planets were at the time of your birth - you can also gain a deeper understanding of why you naturally do the things you do and feel and act the way you do, too.

Draw your own birth chart here

How To Find Your Sun Sign

Your Sun Sign is by far the most common astrological point that most people think of when they think of astrology. When someone asks what your sign is, most people tend to know what theirs is. This is your Sun Sign, which is also sometimes referred to as your star sign, and it’s based on the zodiac sign or zone of the sky, the Sun was in when you were born.

The Sun goes through each of the 12 signs of the zodiac every year while spending 30 days in each sign before it moves on to the next. Astrologers sometimes refer to these as seasons because our collective focus tends to change based on which sign is currently being illuminated by the Sun. When you are born, it’s like you get imprinted by this influence and it becomes your focus throughout your life.

Here’s a basic rundown on when each astrological season occurs:

• Aries: March 21 - April 19

• Taurus: April 20 - May 20

• Gemini: May 21 - June 20

• Cancer: June 21 - July 22

• Leo: July 23 - August 22

• Virgo: August 23 - September 22

• Libra: September 23 - October 22

• Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

• Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

• Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

• Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

• Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Keep in mind that these dates can change slightly from year to year because the cycle of the Sun does not always match up perfectly with the Gregorian calendar we all know and use.

How To Find Your Moon Sign

Your Moon Sign is based on where the moon was when you were born. This is not quite as easy to figure out because the moon only spends about 2.5 days in each zodiac sign before it moves into the next, moving through all 12 signs over the course of each month. (With the moon moving so quickly, it’s no wonder why our moods tend to be so changeable from day to day!)

By knowing your Moon Sign, you can choose jobs, relationships, and life situations that will help support your inner happiness. It can become more difficult to express yourself fully through your Sun Sign if you are not feeling supported internally.

To find your Moon Sign, can try doing a quick Google search or type your birth date and time in Planetwatcher.com and locate which sign the crescent moon symbol falls on the chart. You may also find it interesting to search for which moon phase you were born under as this can help explain which part of the creative process you are most attuned to.

Decoding Your Sun & Moon Sign

What is your Sun and Moon Sign and what do they have to say about you?

On the most basic level, each sign of the zodiac has a very different set of personality traits which are also based on different elements found in nature:

• Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are Fire signs and they all tend to be very direct, passion-driven, and find great joy in promoting the things they love and influencing others with their great ideas.

• Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn are Earth signs and they are more calm and practical when it comes to setting goals. They’re persistent and hard working in going after what they want and are able to do what needs to be done to see their aims through to the very end.

• Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius are Air signs and they love to socialize, communicate, and collaborate with others. They’re great at sharing their ideas and thinking intellectually and conceptually.

• Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are Water signs and they can be sensitive, emotional, compassionate, idealistic, and imaginative. They can easily sense how others around them are feeling and long to forge deeper connections.

There is so much more to learn about your Sun and Moon beyond this, but I hope this basic overview has helped you feel more attuned to yourself and the incredible universe we live in.