There’s a Major Lunar Eclipse Coming Up. This is How You Can Harness It

There’s a major lunar eclipse set to occur on July 27that 4:21 PM EST, the largest such eclipse of the century. It will not be visible in the U.S, but it is most certainly happening. Much is being made about this eclipse, namely that it might be catastrophic, but I often choose to reflect upon the basic symbolism of an eclipse as a clue to how it might function, rather than engaging in doomsday scenarios. Ultimately, the symbolic resonance on your individual level is more important than world events coinciding with this eclipse. 

To interpret astrological symbolism, one must first analyze what is happening astronomically. A solar eclipse is when the moon moves exactly between the sun and the earth. A lunar eclipse is when the earth’s shadow created by the sun eclipses the moon. The latter is what we will be experiencing. 

I’ve always felt that a solar eclipse places the primacy of the moon above the sun; simply put, it is the moon blocking the sun, and traditionally, the moon has been the feminine body of spirit, nurturance, personality, and what one needs. Thus, in a solar eclipse, the moon asserts herself. However, this eclipse will favor the sun, the planetary body of driving will, purpose, ego, and the compulsive force of one’s life. So how will this eclipse pan out?

Each planetary body, at any moment, occupies a sign and takes on its garb and character. For example, in this eclipse, the sun will be in Leo, its preferred, regal home, radiating the warmth of the lion. The moon will be in the opposite sign of cold, technological, yet social Aquarius. This immediately sets up a polarization of dramatic self-expression (Sun in Leo) with emotional futurism (Moon is in Aquarius). A lunar eclipse is the sun opposed to the moon. The lunar nodes are always at play in an eclipse, lining up with both the sun and the moon, and the south node, or your past karma, happens to be in company with this moon. The north node, or karmic future, happens to be conjoined with the sun. Also in close company with the moon is fiery, aggressive Mars.

I interpret this south node as future visions that have not come to pass and hopes that may never come to materialize, yet you still may want to fight for. This could happen in the space of social media and the realm of communications, but moves in this direction, though you may be tempted, are ill-advised. Past karma is where do best to hang and ruminate, not move. It’s the caboose of the train or the tail of the dragon—along for the ride.

Alternately, the north node, or head of the dragon, is situated in Leo with the Sun, a more fortunate position. You are favored when you express, an apt word for Leo, your golden, royal, dramatic self rather than the heady, cold, moon and south node in Aquarius also coupled with  driving Mars that can potentially cause trouble. 

There is a final option for you—that of the belly of the dragon, between the fire breathing north node and the tail of the south node. Instead of acting, be aware of the motives of others, and adjust—Scorpio;  and, take ownership of that which you value—Taurus. Those are the two signs that sit in the middle of the eclipse, splitting the difference between fiery self-expression and cold, calculated futurism. The choice is yours as long as you submit to a negotiation with the heavens, neither fearing fate, nor challenging destiny.  

How can you harness this eclipse and other celestial phenomena? Book an Inner Makeup session to find out.

A New Moon, A New Year

Celebrating the Vietnamese Lunar New Year with the Dragon at Boomtown Casino in Harvey, LA

Most astrology focuses on the Sun—Your Will and Purpose

But what about the Moon?

The Moon is the Embodiment of Communication, Emotion, and Spirit

The Goddess

Opposite God

What is the Moon’s Message to You?

That is the Will and Purpose of This Column

Published Every Monday—Moon Day

This week is really the beginning of 2018. After coming down from the massive Super Moon at the beginning of this year, this new moon in the serious sign of Capricorn, along with five other planetary bodies, signals a year of structure-seeking, slow, and steady success. Down the street from me, there is a Vietnamese Lunar New Year’s celebration happening, ringing in the year of the Dog. The Dog is quite different from the Goat, less serious and more fun-loving, and that is the Dog’s fall in Vietnamese folklore. But the combination of the two will yield massive success for you in 2018, a care free attitude combined with sober planning, execution, and discipline. Today is also the birthday of Martin Luther King, the greatest leader to come from the United States. I was fortunate enough to hear Coretta Scott King speak at my alma mater, New England Conservatory, as I played for the commencement ceremonies my junior year. She spoke of her courtship with her husband, feeling blessed that they were called to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest in the bus boycott, and hoped that speaking at New England Conservatory would inspire her to get back into singing. She was a beautiful, self-possessed, earthly Taurus, the best manifestation of that sign and spirit, and her husband, Martin Luther King, was Capricorn, the greatest expression of ambition and success.  

Aries: 2018 could shape up to be a huge year for your career, but you must pace yourself. Place reasonable checks on your hard-driving nature, and the stars will take care of the rest.

Taurus: 2018 can be the year where you rise above the pleasures of the earth which you hold so dear. The roots that hold you in place have the ability to transport you to the heavens, and other realms of travel and knowing, if you’d only climb the beanstalk.

Gemini: 2018 will be the year where you dive into the deep, dark recesses of your soul, and make great gains. Integrating and placing structure around the rejected parts of your psyche, not your preferred domain, will prevent you from flying too high in the sky and being burned by the sun.

Cancer: 2018 will put an inordinate amount of emphasis on other individuals, relationships, and partnerships of all kinds. But remember who you are, Cancer, and never forget that love and home are the domains where you triumph.

Leo: 2018 will be the year where you put your warmth and creativity to work for you, but not without some balancing and adjusting. You succeed when you nurture yourself, the sculptor and objet d’art, working in tandem, a singular act of love and creation.

Virgo: 2018 is the year where you can truly do what you love and love what you do. Work and service are your hallmarks, but they won’t be mutually exclusive from what you love doing, and in turn, your own personal success.

Libra: 2018 will be the year of your family and home base. You’re so used to juggling and judging that which the universe throws at you that you lose the anchor of your home. No matter, as you’ll have it this year, as long as you make the necessary judgments with regard to people, places, and things that don’t nurture your home base.

Scorpio: 2018 will be the year of communication, short trips, and siblings. These aren’t necessarily the natural fields in which you play, but place some structure around these areas in your life and see how a little light-hearted, playful communication can lift you up.

Sagittarius: 2018 can be a great year for you, if you harness your fire. Remember, Apollo drove Helios’ sun, and the next sign over, Capricorn, asks you to put the reigns on your exuberance and optimism. Cautious optimism is always better than unbridled optimism.

Capricorn: 2018 and the next several years really are your years with so much planetary activity in your sign. Appreciate and be grateful for the gifts, but don’t let it get to your head, as your ambitious, success-seeking nature can do.

Aquarius: 2018 will be a year, ironically, about the past. Dredging up past karma and shedding light on the unconscious motivations that drive your present will lead you to the future visions you hold so dear.

Pisces: 2018 will be a year for succeeding, but in an unconventional way. If you get yourself organized, you will have much success with friends, larger social organizations, and even the wishes you dare to make, but only if you find some suitable, structured channels in which to swim, as a lone fish and with your school.

I’m Dan Beck, an astrologer and writer based in New Orleans, LA. To personally explore the Moon’s Messages and other spiritual themes, book an Inner Makeup session by calling 504-313-8706 or e-mailing dan@innermakeup.net.