That was the year she cleared out
her old ideas of things,
until she could hear
her own joy
with almost no effort at all.
Kai Skye
The Lunar Eclipse on May 5, 2023 at 14.58 Scorpio provokes us
to feel and embody all of who we are by compelling us to engage deep set feelings, fears and compulsions that we have dissociated ourselves from. There is tremendous potential to achieve resolution around issues of power and powerlessness that undermine our best efforts to realize our full potential.
A perunumbral eclipse, the Moon is only partially eclipsed by the Sun. The eclipse path is a wide one and will pass over Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Russia, AUS, NX, Eastern Europe, Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. The peoples and countries that have a view of the partial eclipse will experience the impact of the eclipse in a more direct and potent way.
Full Moons are the peak of the lunar cycle, marking a time of culminating and bringing something to completion. A Lunar Eclipse magnifies the opportunity to bring closure to something we have been working on. It can come with crisis, pressure or intensity. And like a wave breaking towards the shore, the days following a Lunar Eclipse can be one’s of release and emptying out.
The Taurus/Scorpio Polarity
Sun, Mercury Retrograde and Uranus conjunct in Taurus
Moon oppose Sun, Mercury and Uranus
Eclipse Coruler Mars trine Neptune
Eclipse CoRuler Pluto square the Nodal axis and Jupiter
Zuben Algenubi conjunct the Scorpio Full Moon
Taurus is earth, tangible and solid.
Scorpio is what lies beneath the surface.
We seek to stabilize our life (Sun in Taurus).
We may even be finding new grounding after our life has been disrupted (Uranus in Taurus).
The Scorpio eclipse arrives to illuminate deep seated feelings and fears we have been holding at bay or hesitant to engage fully. The image that comes to mind is water seeping through walls or coming up from the floorboards, threatening the sanctity and soundness of the house. Perhaps we have been aware of a looming water issue but put off dealing with it. n this metaphor, Taurus is the structure of our life and the Scorpionic waters are what lurks in the depths of our feeling nature seeping or flooding into our awareness to be faced and integrated. Some of us may experience this as pressure, a headache, or the inflammation of a physical symptom whose presence urges us to slow down and be present to feelings that are ready to be engaged.
When the Scorpionic waters surface, we encounter the intensity of unresolved feelings, skeletons from the past, and fears that we had sought to quiet. We repressed or quieted them, wistfully hoping that somehow they would resolve or go away on their own. But then, in an event like the Scorpio Eclipse, they seep into our consciousness and threaten what we have built, what we have worked hard to establish. The level of intensity we feel at this eclipse speaks to our readiness to face and work through distorted beliefs and patterns so we are not run by some deep-seated fear or compulsion that undermines our best efforts.
Grandfather says:
When you feel powerless
It is because you stopped
Listening to your own heart.
That’s where power comes from.
Gianni Crow
The Heart of Scorpio Reveals Power and Powerlessness
In the ways we identify ourselves as powerless, have given away our power, been oppressed by some outer presence, or have used our power to control another, we encounter the other qualities attributed to Scorpio:
All things hidden, secrets.
Unconscious dark emotions, fear, and shame
Intimacy needs and patterns that arise from the desire to merge with another.
Sexual inhibition, obsessiveness, promiscuity, hangups
Toxicity – that lies within relationship dynamics, our care of the earth, and our bodies.
Fear of or morbid fascination with death
Issues of trust that arise from a history of distrust, betrayal, abandonment, and control
Compulsions and obsessions
Driving desires around power, a person, or wealth.
The naked truth of the matter.
The Scorpio/Taurus axis rules all things Financial
Taurus is currency, banking, and personal wealth.
Scorpio is big money, big investments, loans, jointly held resources, mortgages, inheritances, debts and defaults, deficits and taxes.
The Nodal Axis is in Taurus and Scorpio from January 2022 to July 2023, and are conunct the Sun and/or Moon at an eclipse. Eclipses in this time frame expose secrets and compulsions so we can face the truth of what is being revealed, then resolve and release the grip these secrets have on us. It is a time of financial volatility. We are seeing turbulence with world currency exchanges, bank closures, stock market fluctuations, rising inflation, the debt ceiling in the U.S., and the viability of digital currency. We can expect further changes around how we handle resources and debts. Planets do not catalyze change, they simply mirror what is happening. The eclipse points to continued volatility and closures surrounding personal and big finance. Further discolsures will come to light around misuse of power and decisions made in back rooms. Money instability can trigger deep fears and intense feelings. The North Node in Taurus encourages us to move towards simplicity and to minimize complexity and drama.
Do not fear the unknown.
The unknown is where the rest of you resides.
The only thing you will discover
Is more of yourself
There is nothing to be afraid of.
Darryl Anka
After reading the above paragraphs, we can readily feel how the Scorpio energy is associated with intensity. Scorpio energy lies at the root of our being and in the the nature of what unsconsciously drives us. Secrets develop when we want to reduce the intensity or if there is a desire to not have our actions apparent to others, or even ourselves. But Scorpio penetrates the surface of things so we can grasp a great truth. The Scorpio eclipse illuminates the truth about what runs us. The good news is that we can find closure to patterns and wounds that fostered a belief that we are somehow powerless to forces within or without. Deep emotion and fears are rising to the surface so we feel, make peace with them, and take back the power and vitality they stolen from us.
Everything you are
Against weakens you.
Everything you are for
Empowers you.
Wayne Dyer
Time to Own our True Power
When we think about standing in our power, coming into our full expression, often fear arises. We imagine that we will attract some formidable opposition, encounter abuse, betrayal or embarrassment?
The eclipse illuminates the heart of where we have kept ourselves small, and the parts of ourselves we have been invested in keeping hidden. To come into the full measure of our potential we begin by forging a steadfast relationship with all of who we are, and most importantly the aspects of ourselves that lurk in the shadows - deep-seated emotions, fears and compulsive desires. We come present to what has been buried or secreted away. By engaging what scares us, we are less gripped by the fear of it. In effect, we recognize that we are not smaller than it. We do not need to cower from what lurks within us or feel dominated by its hold on us. In this, we begin to move beyond our conditioned responses that keep us in a domination/submission loop. Depending on the depth of the fear, we may seek the support of a professional who can assist us to not abandon ourselves and to engage our depths in a safe place.
We are being pushed to break out of a cycle of fear and to move past compulsions that have made us small. We are to diffuse the strength of power struggles and power plays that only limit us. There may be sudden announcements or a divulging of some secret. This is all to help us move past the shadow parts of our self and our culture that hold our power hostage. It is time to complete and release power dynamics we have outgrown and to no longer fear what lurks in the shadows just beyond our conscious mind, threatening to seep into our life and undermine the life we are building for ourselves.
Living Amid Big Change
Pluto square the Nodal Axis
The planetary dynamics of recent years have continually reflected to us the magnitude of the changes taking place. Pluto is square the Nodal axis for a large part of 2023 reflects the seismic shifts that will take place on the world stage over the course of the year. The Eclipse brings to the table all the issues that need to be dealt with. The eclipse is sandwiched between to powerful New Moons in Aries – the first occurring on the solstice and the recent one on April 20 being a total solar eclipse. These two New Moons emboldened us, stoked the fire within, and sparked the courage to trust ourselves. They helped give us the strength and self-confidence to meet the truth of ourselves and the dynamics that undermine the realization of our full potential.
It is time to put all the cards on the table and see the full hand we hold. Astrological dynamics affirm that we are being pushed to release the way we have been operating and all that holds us back. To meet the changes in a good way, we need to detach ourselves from ways of operating that do not serve us and are not a match for who we are becoming. This may translate into significant external changes, but the most potent potential for what is changing is happening within us. We are asked to mature, to bring ourselves present, to own our lives, to release the past, and not push away or be in denial about what runs us. Embracing ourselves warts and all, not relegating part of ourselves to the shadow, we come into our full power. It is with this power that we will meet and move with a future that promises to look dramatically different from what we have been living.
The End of a Cycle
A South Node Eclipse
The South Node conjunct the Full Moon indicates that there is something we are ready complete and find closure with. Patterns and behaviors that once worked for us, perhaps protected us, are now limiting and even sabotaging our best efforts. With the eclipse in a water sign, there is emotional intensity around issues that have been hanging on. It is time to end and release them…permanently…so that we are not stuck in the past or frozen in the present. It is time to move forward. We are rewiring our conditioned patterns around power, sexuality, money, and trust. We are rooting out where we have relinquished our power and kept ourselves small. It is time to own the truth of who we are. Before we can move forward, we need to make peace with the past and what inner beliefs or patterns that sabotage us and make us believe we are powerless.
I am grounded
My spirit is grounded deep in the earth.
I am calm, strong, centered, and peaceful.
I am able to let go of fear
And trust that I am eternally safe.
I am worthy of all things beautiful
Carly Marie
Breaking Ground
Sun, Uranus and Mercury Retrograde in Taurus
With the Sun traveling through Taurus, we seek to build something that will stand the test of time. Taurus is pragmatic. We are to ask basic, sensible questions to map out the road before us, such as “What am I building? What is working or not working in my approach? What feels good about what I am doing and what does not?” Taurus encourages us to keep it simple, keep it real, and to pay attention to what may need to shift when we feel uncomfortable.
Taurus is the ground beneath our feet. It is the desire for security and stability. With the planet of sudden change (Uranus) in Taurus since 2018, the ground is shifting beneath us. Unexpected and surprising events occur to release energy that is trapped or repressed beneath the structures of the status quo. We have been breaking up patterns of comfort and complacency. We are looking to break ground for a new way of living with a foundation that reflect our core values. We are looking to move beyond settling for some modicum of security and instead investing in what is true for us.
.
Uranus is completing a year of hanging out in the area of the sky where the eclipse takes place. This also speaks to a culmination and completion of a change we have been working to make happen. This area of the sky has received added stimulation and activation last August as Mars and the North Node conjoined Uranus and a few weeks later for the August Full Moon, and then again at the November 8 eclipse of 2022. For those of us who have planets at 14 – 18 degrees in a fixed sign (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius), we have felt increased intensity and impetus to move beyond what we know and seek change. The material we are all working with at this eclipse is not new. It is something we have been dealing with for months, hoping to resolve. By engaging the strong feelings and fears we have sought to quiet, we can arrive at a new truth and a solution that is simpler than we might have thought possible.
Moon oppose Uranus. There may be shocks, sudden revelations, and feelings of being out of control. Uranus’ participation with the eclipse further emphasizes the stirring up of repressed emotions that can no longer be ignored. Taurus and Scorpio are fixed signs meaning that they seek to stabilize and maintain. Yet, Uranus in the mix cues us that it is time to destabilize something, to break up a holding pattern that has limited and stifled us.
Issues of food and financial insecurity arise to be faced. For the collective, issues of food production and distribution come to the fore. While Uranus in Taurus encourages a liberated approach for how to work with the earth to receive her bounty, Uranus also encourages the use of technology and industrialization as a means to achieve this. One issue will be how to use technology to support longterm sustainability with practices that support the health of the people and the earth’s soil.
Mercury Retrograde in Taurus. Our mind is reflective during the month of May and focused on practical application. Our minds are thinking more slowly and methodically. We are looking to diffuse drama and complexity and look to what is useful. While Mercury is Retrograde until May 15, we are encouraged to take our time to process what the eclipse stirs in our lives. We are to avoid rushing ourselves to move through the feelings, revelations and lessons that beg resolution. It is valuable to give ourselves the time to reevaluate and rethink our finances, relationships and security needs.
Travel light, live light, be the light.
Yogi Bhajan
Strengthening Something Beyond the Ego
Eclipse Ruler: Mars Trine Neptune
This is the second eclipse ruled by Mars. Mars lends drive and assertion to the Eclipses imperative to emotionally purge and release as it trines the Moon and sextiles the Sun and Uranus. Mars may spark anger and passion. While it is in Cancer, we are apt to take things more personally and act on a desire protect what we love. We may also find ourselves on the receiving end of someone else’s aggression that is motivated by an urgency to protect or control what they cherish. But this is not the whole story and there is a more compelling energy that beckons us to satisfy our ego needs for self preservation but to open to something larger than ourselves.
Mars trine Neptune. Neptune’s presence softens Mars in Cancer’s protective stance. Our drive to preserve our ego is diffused. Optimally, our attention focused less on our material well being and more to enhancing the spiritual. It is an opportune time to engage in spiritual practices like yoga, breathwork, or qi gong to help move our feelings so we do not get stuck in them. We may find great benefit in dancing, writing or depicting our feelings in a picture or other creative form. (Venus square Neptune). Following the eclipse, there is a powerful release and a flow as the Scorpio Moon moves into a Grand Trine with Mars and Neptune. The pressure and intensity subside, and we can feel an ease and flow with our feelings. We can experience the benefits of this trine if we do not look to change or get someone else to see something about themselves, but to illuminate and be fascinated by our own inner workings and how they can shift, move, and open us to a fuller experience of ourselves.
Eclipse Potentials are Reinforced…and Enforced
Eclipse Co Ruler Pluto square the Nodal Axis
Pluto’s presence at the Eclipse further emphasizes the imperative to face issues of power and powerlessness in how we are wired. We are to give attention to where we have abdicated our power, engaged in power struggles, given power to our secrets, or strove to get the upper hand by diminishing another. We are prodded to break the cycle of domination/submission within ourselves and how we engage the world.
Jupiter square Pluto. Jupiter expands and exaggerates what it touches. Coming into Taurus and square Pluto, we can expect to see further inflammation of issues related to power, finance, debts and taxes, and the distribution of resources. There is a ruthlessness to Jupiter/Pluto aspects that compel people to assert domination and control. There can be upset for those in power if they are hiding something or acting out of self-interest. As Jupiter moves into Taurus on May 16, issues around resources, food production, sanctions and world economic systems, agriculture and mining practices will continue to be in the news presenting pressing issues that need addressing.
Pluto square the Nodal Axis. The planet of transformation is forming a stressful aspect to the nodes that point to the past that needs to closure so we can a future that beckons. This configuration speaks of seismic changes to the fundamental practices and systems that structure and organize social norms. Jupiter’s presence only inflames this potential and can be an ignition point for large scale socio-political change. As the planet of justice, Jupiter can also spark increased activism and rebellion to promote undeniable truths and freedom for all.
The One Impacts the Many
Zuben Algenubi conjunct Scorpio Moon
The fixed star Zuben Elgenubi is the southern pan of the Scales of Libra. This fixed star lights up the way through to balance, reform and justice. It stimulates our higher ideals and reduces the urge for personal gain or social power. Conjunct the eclipse it reminds us that our inner work and personal transformation does not benefit just us. We are all connected and the work we are doing in our lives is part of a larger movement in the collective to improve the quality of life for all humanity. As we each face our disassociated fears and compulsions and come to own our power, this will have beneficial ripple effects in a world where the actions of one impact the wellbeing of all.