We enter eclipse season with a partial lunar eclipse in the sign of Pisces, conjunct Neptune, the modern ruler of this sign. For those on the West Coast it takes place at 9:34 pm on Tuesday September 17th, perfect time for viewing. This event won’t be the spectacular blood red Moon of a total eclipse. Instead we will see Earth’s shadow across a small portion of the Moon at the top right. Nevertheless, this eclipse will bring a rush of spiritual energy because of the aspects between all three transpersonal planets.
Eclipses take place when the Sun, Moon and Earth align in close proximity to the Lunar Nodes. The Nodes are the points at which the Moon intersects the ecliptic which is the Sun’s apparent path around Earth, but actually the Earth’s path around the Sun. The North Node is the point at which the Moon crosses this path headed above, or North of the ecliptic. It’s opposite point marks the Moon’s descent below it. The closer Sun and Moon are to these ecliptic points, the more complete the eclipse. In this case, the Moon is about 11 degrees behind the North Node at 6:36 Aries, so the alignment is not exact. Hence a partial eclipse.
Gary Caton, Hermetic Astrologer, reported that this is the first of three lunar eclipses in Pisces, the last being in late August of 2026. The themes of this eclipse will develop over the next two years, with an intensification of cosmic love on February 1st, 2025 as Venus closes out her Leo Cycle at 28 Pisces, exactly conjunct Neptune and the North Node. The theme is universal love, compassion, and a recognition of humanity’s Oneness. I’ll add that the Sun at that moment will be at 13 degrees of Aquarius, conjunct Chariklo, the female consort of Chiron, bringing healing energy from the Divine Feminine, a good sign for our future.
This eclipse carries a powerful impact for the next two years, so let’s look at where it lies in the USA chart.
Full Moon/Partial Eclipse
The Sun is at 25 Virgo in the 9th House, just three degrees past our natal Neptune which is conjunct the dwarf planet Varuna indicating, in my opinion, the need for spiritual autonomy. Our country was founded on this ideal that everyone has the right to worship in accordance with their faith, whether or not it conforms to an established religious tradition.
Gradually our population is gravitating toward a personal spirituality centered around right relationship with self, with others, and with our Earth and its biodiversity. This is a spirituality based on integrity and respect for all of creation, on compassion for others and a deep sense of being part of a benevolent, wondrous unseen reality. This involves taking responsibility for our character, our actions and our impact on others. In other words, evolving into spiritual adulthood in which we cultivate a personal relationship with the Divine and honor the sacred in all existence. Natal Neptune in Virgo tells us that right relationship involves service to the greater good.
The 9th House focuses on faith, philosophy, higher learning, a search for truth and expanded perception. This is where we form our personal beliefs into a point of view, a system in which we make sense of the world. This is where we develop our wisdom. The 9th House is the home of Sagittarius (the USA Ascendant) and the planet Jupiter, which supports us seeing the bigger picture, expanding our horizons, aspiring to ideals. Virgo is the faculty of discernment between truth and falsehood, between what is of true value and what is not.
The Moon is in our 3rd House conjunct transiting Neptune which is intensifying the lessons of Pisces, its home sign, as it transits the last degrees of the Zodiac. On March 30th of 2025, it will enter Aries signaling the birth of a new era.
Just a reminder about the 3rd House, the polar opposite of the 9th. The 3rd House is the domain of teaching and learning, gathering information, communicating and sharing ideas, forming concepts that evolve into beliefs and beyond. It’s a good time to do our homework, seek the truth, organize thoughts into clear concepts, sift through our beliefs and question them. We all have been duped in one way or another over the past several years. It’s okay to let go of the past. We aren’t meant to stay the same. We are meant to evolve and that includes our perception of reality.
The Transpersonal Planets
I wrote about Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in prior newsletters. I just want to mention now that all three of these planets are in the closing degrees of their signs. Each is about to enter a new sign and all three are working together through trines and sextiles, creating a context of transformation.
Neptune at the end of Pisces is sextile Pluto in the final degree of Capricorn. It is also sextile Uranus retrograde at the end of Taurus. Pluto therefore is trine Uranus. Pluto shifts into Aquarius for the last time on November 19th, two weeks after our election, ending its ruthless disruption of corrupt power politics and bringing this power back to the people. How well we handle this power will depend upon the level of our spiritual maturity.
Neptune enters Aries on March 30th bringing a rush of new creative and productive energy, a sense of renewal and rebirth. Uranus enters Gemini on July 7th next year. The heavy energies of Earth and Water, (Capricorn, Taurus and Pisces) give way to light and buoyancy, Fire (Aries) and Air (Aquarius and Gemini). This dark passage, these oppressive years of fear and anxiety, of depression and hopelessness, of rancor and separation will give way to a new sense of Oneness, new goals, new projects, scientific innovations and potentially a renaissance in the arts.
But first, we must clear the last hurdle.
The Autumn Equinox
On September 22, at 5:43 a.m. Pacific, the Sun enters the zero point of Libra, the Fall Equinox when day and night come into perfect balance. The Sun in the USA chart is at the tail end of the 9th House and about to enter the 10th where it will encounter the South Node of the Moon on September 29th.
With Pluto making its last pass through the end of Capricorn, we may get a review of dirty power politics. We cannot rule out violence as the former president gets more desperate and irrational. We just have to remember that the Sun is in Libra, and keep our balance. We must focus on the prize and not be pulled into fear, worry, doubt, dread. These states of mind feed the very madness we are trying to escape, and in so doing, make it stronger. Reality is created out of our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs and emotional stability. We can envision a brighter future and keep our eyes on that horizon.
As I have said so often before, look where we want to land, not at the obstacle in our path. If you are trapped in negative emotions, to quote the noted psychologist Bob Newhart, “Stop it!”
Mercury is conjunct Black Moon Lilith and our natal Neptune, reminding us of the Divine Feminine. The Moon is conjunct transiting Sedna at the beginning of Gemini, helping us stay on our spiritual path. Moon and Sedna are urging us to think not only with our minds, but to open to our intuition, feel into our body’s wisdom and its instincts. Uranus is only 4 degrees away. Listen to the trustworthy inner guides, expect insights and awakening to expanded perception.
Jupiter at the Equinox is conjunct our natal Mars in the 7th House in Gemini. Jupiter is slowing down and will remain conjunct Mars as it prepares to turn retrograde in October. This is a great time to examine the balance of being and doing in our own lives. Are we too busy to enjoy the moment? Can we make time to quiet our minds, sink into our bodies and just BE? This is how we reconnect with ourselves. At the Full Moon, by the way, Jupiter is trine Venus, expanding the influence of the sacred Feminine. This theme will evolve over the next two years as well.
Venus at the Equinox is at 29 Libra, one of her two most potent signs. She is about to enter Scorpio where the dwarf planet Haumea sits at 00:50 degrees. We may experience a renewal of love, an awakening of passion, a creative urge, an appreciation of the beauty and grace of the feminine energy.
I’ll be back with news about the New Moon in Libra on October 2nd, another partial or penumbral eclipse, this time of the Sun.
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