An “eclipse season” just passed and for some reason, the idea has been getting a lot of social media attention lately. The truth is that an eclipse season is actually a very common occurrence. Every half a year or so, you can draw a more-or-less straight line through the centers of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun, with the Moon in the middle. When that happens, the Moon blocks out the Sun and – voila – we have a total solar eclipse visible somewhere on the Earth.

The Moon is small and relatively far away, so the shadow it casts on Earth is small too, and it races across the map as Earth rotates. That’s why, in order to see a solar eclipse, you probably have to travel – not to mention, pray for clear skies.

The Moon orbits Earth of course, and so, like clockwork, about two weeks after a solar eclipse, the alignment repeats, except with the order changed – now it’s Moon, Earth, Sun, with Earth in the middle this time. When that happens, Earth’s huge shadow covers the Moon and we have a lunar eclipse – and unlike solar eclipses, they are visible to anyone living on the side of the Earth that happens to be facing the Moon at the time.

Lunar Eclipse

People think solar eclipses are rare, while lunar eclipses are common, but that’s only “sort of” true. The reality is that there’s about an equal number of each, but half the world can see every lunar eclipse while to see a solar eclipse, you have to travel to specific, often out-of-the-way places.

Such a lunar eclipse is always paired with a previous solar one. Those periods of potential alignments of Sun, Moon, and Earth last on average 34.5 days. That’s an “eclipse season” – and once again, it’s no big deal since it happens a couple of times each year.

By the way, another way to describe that “straight arrow” alignment of Earth, Moon, and Sun is to say that the Sun and Moon are aligned with the lunar nodes – remember, the nodes are where the Moon’s orbit lines up with the ecliptic, and the bottom line is that such a nodal alignment has got to be present for the sign positions plus the declinations of the Sun and Moon to line up – otherwise, we get a simple Sun-Moon conjunction or opposition, and nobody gets too excited about it. That’s just a garden-variety New Moon or Full Moon – and when it comes to eclipses, that means close but no banana.

In our Student Q & A Call on April 27, the question of eclipses came up and I shared something that to me is a big astrological mystery – I generally don’t respond to eclipses very strongly myself.

What makes that so mysterious is that many astrologers whose work I respect practically do back flips when they see an eclipse coming. I can’t say I’ve never felt them, but I’m just not sure how to explain my relative immunity to them. In all that I teach, I like to make sure that what I say is honestly rooted in my own direct experience – if it hasn’t been helpful to me, I don’t want to burden any of you with it either. So I’m of two minds about eclipses – inclined to take them seriously because of the general astrological consensus, but suspicious of overreacting to them since my own experience suggests that doing so would be misleading.

You’ll surely get questions about upcoming eclipses from friends and clients. I want to prepare you to answer confidently and helpfully.

Some of what I’ll write here is based on my own experience – and as I’ve mentioned, I do feel them, just not at the “decibel level” many astrologers would predict. Some of what follows is gleaned from the observations of other astrologers and some of it is based on my own experience.

Everybody knows that a total solar eclipse is a big deal. People travel at great expense across oceans just to stand for three or four minutes in that magical shadow that’s racing across the Earth. Meanwhile, everyone knows that a New Moon is commonplace – we get one of them each month. (That’s why we have months!) What a lot of people don’t understand is the thin line that separates a New Moon from a solar eclipse – each month the Sun and Moon line up, but with the Moon a little above the Sun or a little below it (declination!). And of course on top of everything, the Moon is completely washed out by blinding sunlight, so no one even notices it.

Spiritually, a New Moon is a powerful ritual time. The heart of the practice is to set intentions at “the Dark of the Moon” – and then, holding the faith, to expect them to come to fruition as the Moon waxes toward Full phase.

Probably any time we set an intention, we’ve invoked some holy mysteries – but if we do it at the New Moon, we’re aligning those intentions with the cosmic wind. A New Moon is, pretty obviously, a new beginning and all beginnings are energetically-impressionable times – that’s the heart of the matter metaphysically. And it works.

We might then think of a solar eclipse as a supercharged New Moon – a particularly terrific time for setting intentions, in other words. What supercharges it? We could speculate that the extra energy comes from the exact center-to-center alignment of Moon and Sun. There may be truth in that – but my personal guess as an evolutionary astrologer is that it has to do with something I mentioned a few paragraphs ago – at a solar eclipse, the lunar nodes are there too. That means there’s karma being activated (with all of its sandtraps) – plus we potentially have another counter-force involved: the forward momentum of the soul’s evolutionary enthusiasm. That’s the fingerprint of the north node.

At a solar eclipse, angelic forces have pulled their chairs up a little closer to the monitor, in other words. They’re watching you, and willing to pitch in with energetic “matching funds.”

By the way, some solar eclipses are aligned with the south node, others with the north node – either fits the celestial requirements.

Our next solar eclipse will occur on October 14, 2023. Sun, Moon, and the south node will all be in Libra. Any intentions you set then – be they low ones or lofty ones – have an extra charge of magic on them. The mindful path in this case would lie in renewing, purifying and deepening your relationship with Libran energy – the south node sign. Are you aware, for example, of any patterns that aren’t serving you well in your interactions with other humans? Visualize a better way – and if you need a hint about the exact nature of that better way, think of all the good qualities we associate with Aries – the north node sign. You might aim, for one example, to be more direct and more willing to risk conflict. Maybe you need to tilt the see-saw a little further in the direction of loving yourself rather than always feeling compelled to meet other people’s needs or expectations.

Libra isn’t just about relationships – perhaps at this next eclipse there’s a new creative beginning you need to make, or maybe it’s simply something about the basis of serenity in your life. Is there a source of trouble and stress that needs review? Maybe you need to deal with it in a more decisive Aries fashion.

Lunar eclipses, it is generally agreed, are not as big a deal as solar ones. Perhaps that’s because they don’t have that “magical intention” quality. They’re more about seeing the results of intentions – there’s that “put everything on the table” quality we observe with Full Moons. We’ll have a few more words about lunar eclipses in a moment.

Eclipses fit neatly into our general toolbox of astrological procedures. Start by thinking of Pluto transiting over your Sun – we know that will correlate with a Plutonian chapter of your life. But maybe Pluto is passing through a relatively dead zone of your chart. Then all’s quiet on the Pluto front. Eclipses work the same way – they’re a lot more impactful if they fall on a degree to which you’re sensitive.

The upcoming eclipse in October happens in a little over 21 degrees of Libra. Is that a hot spot for you? On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse will sweep across North America, touching Mexico, the USA, and Canada. That one will happen in 19 degrees 23’ of Aries, with the north node nearby in Aries. Are you sensitive to that degree area?

You can Google upcoming solar eclipses and get a list of their dates. Set up a chart for that date, and the position of the Sun is the position of the eclipse. Most astrological calculation programs list them too.

Events that are planned for the ten days or so before a solar eclipse tend to be “eclipsed” by unexpected events – that’s an idea that I’ve seen attributed to astrologer Charles Jayne (1911-1985), and in my experience, it’s a principle worth noting. A classic illustration is the wedding of then-Prince Charles and Camilla. Their wedding was set for a few days before an eclipse, but the Pope died unexpectedly, and Charles needed to show the flag at the funeral, so the wedding was rescheduled. In my talk on April 27th, I mentioned me moving to California during the ten days before an eclipse – and things definitely not working out as I had expected.

Charles Jayne also stated that solar eclipses can have an effect up to three to six months before they occur and as long as a year afterward. I’m not sure what to make of that one. With that observation, I definitely move beyond the realm of my own strange relationship with eclipses.

There’s a lot of lore about how the degree in which the solar eclipse occurs becomes charged and can be triggered by later transits over it. Our immediately previous solar eclipse occurred in the final degree of Aries late on April 19 or early on April 20 of this year – the clock time depended on where you were on Earth. The idea is that the last degree of Aries now carries an extra charge and it awaits a transit to detonate it. We’ll soon have a chance to check that hypothesis because Jupiter will be transiting over that degree between May 12 and May 16.

Again, I emphasize that I’m mostly writing about an area where my own experience is limited. I’ll stand strongly by the efficacy of setting intentions at a solar eclipse, especially intentions that mindfully take into account the nodal tensions that give eclipses that extra charge of meaning. Beyond that, what I’ve just written is mostly speculation and the results of my reading rather than my own experience.

I have one final image to share with you. This one is, to me, incredibly beautiful and it’s as sound as a rock scientifically.

It’s about lunar eclipses. They all look different. Sometimes they involve the Moon getting so dark it nearly disappears (although it never fully does). Other times the Moon is clearly dimmed, but it’s still pretty bright. Most of the time it turns a kind of coppery red – those are the loveliest ones, I think. And there is a wide range of hues among them.

It’s those red lunar eclipses that I want to talk about. They can’t be predicted astrologically, by the way – you just have to go outside and look.

Remember – to have a lunar eclipse, Earth must stand between the Moon and Sun. That blocks the sunlight that normally gives us our monthly big, bright Full Moon. But Earth has an atmosphere and it operates like a lens – the light that’s faintly illuminating the eclipsed Moon has been bent around the Earth, passing through our atmosphere. If at that moment you were an astronaut on the Moon and you looked back at Earth, you’d see a ring of light around it. And if you were back on Earth at the same moment, but standing right under that ring of light, it would be sunrise or sunset for you – that ring of light marks the boundary between night and day.

Now think of the most glorious sunrises and sunsets you’ve ever seen. Notice how red and orange tones play such an essential role in them?

The light that illuminates the Moon during a lunar eclipse is the sum total of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on the Earth in that moment of time.

That’s what you’re actually seeing. I find that both amazing and beautiful beyond words.

Next time we have a lunar eclipse, if you’re blessed with clear weather and being on the side of the planet where the Moon is in the sky, go out and marvel at what you’re seeing – all of the sunrises and sunsets happening on Earth in a single moment!

“Yes I’ve heard this word. I think sociopaths use it in an attempt to discredit the notion of empathy.”

– John Cleese on ‘Snowflakes’

One of our students wrote me an email praising my work and our school, but challenging me about some of the rougher language and metaphors I use – sexual imagery, street words, edgy  cliches, and so forth. I could tell it took a lot of courage for her to criticize me that way and I genuinely appreciated her openness. I responded to her privately, but I also realized that perhaps she’s not alone. The subject seemed appropriate for a newsletter, so here we go.

By the way, I’m not going to mention the student’s name. The area I’m about to explore is charged with strong emotions on both sides. While I suspect there are many who would agree with her, I also fear there would be those who might leap to my defense, which could potentially be hurtful to her if I named her. In the FCEA, we welcome diversity, but we also naturally value unity and mutual respect. That’s how we walk our talk.

Let me begin in a broad way. I teach astrological theory. That’s pretty obvious. But underlying my teaching is another set of theories – ones about teaching itself. As you’ll see, that’s really the heart of matter here.

Everyone is welcome in the school. People who are here for reasons of personal growth or even just interest are an important part of our community. But there’s a special place in my heart for the students who aim to become active evolutionary astrologers – that means counselors who support people in their communities as they try to thread their way through life’s emotional labyrinths. Being good at that work starts with knowing astrological techniques, but it’s about counseling work too – and deep astrology really pushes people’s emotional buttons. We have to be ready for that.

The astrological counseling room triggers a lot of very strong emotions, strongly expressed. For example, people who’ve been abandoned, used exploitatively, or victimized can understandably be extremely explosive as you create a space to explore those experiences authentically with them. They’ll sometimes say scary, extreme things. They’ll use language you wouldn’t want to explain to a child – you can fill in the blanks here, I’m sure. In a nutshell, in teaching my methods, I aim to desensitize my students to that kind of charged talk. For one example, in the heat of the moment, a client might use words like “bitch” or “bastard” to characterize someone who’s just broken their heart. Picture someone going through a Pluto transit to their Venus, for example – there’s perhaps an agonizing present-life event, but its tendrils reach down into prior life experiences too. They’ve been sitting on an emotional volcano, in other words, and it’s time for it to erupt. At that moment, if the astrologer’s body language conveys shock or judgment, it’s a catastrophe. As astrologers, we simply have to get used to that kind of situation.

If a socially-conservative person comes to you for a reading and uses a word like “girls” for women or characterizes a fight among females as a “catfight,” it’s the same situation – we may object to their language, but we can’t let that objection get in the way of our real aim, which is to help this soul make the best of whatever life has dished up for them in that moment. We should, in other words, never let our own personal values and opinions get in the way of maintaining that precious bridge of rapport with the client. It’s really hard sometimes! But as professional astrological counselors, we always have to be ready to truly embrace human diversity and the powerful emotions that go along with it – and to receive our clients into our hearts with unconditional positive regard no matter what they sound like.

That sounds good! I doubt there’s anyone in the school who would argue against it. But my point is that getting good at that kind of non judgmental emotional steadiness is not something we come out of our mothers knowing how to do. It’s one of the skills that counselors need to learn. And that’s why, in my teaching, my language and imagery can sometimes be edgy.

Referring to one of our question and answer Zoom sessions, the student who wrote to me felt uncomfortable when I spoke of a time, years ago, when a former Playboy centerfold model came to me for a reading. In that Q & A, I mentioned how I was nervous that I might find myself “staring at her breasts” instead of at her chart. That comment was apparently “triggering” for this student.

That session with the model actually went very well, and my fears about my own behavior fortunately proved to be unfounded. But I’m glad I knew myself well enough to be aware in advance of the legitimacy of those fears! Few of us are evolved enough to not be impacted by our own sexuality. We have to be mindful of that. Obviously, overt sexual expression has no place in the counseling room, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore those energies. I felt good about mentioning my own experience with that model. We have some younger heterosexual males in our program and I wanted to offer them some non-shaming support and guidance – and I hoped that with a modicum of imagination, our female and LGBTQ students could get some guidance there too.

Sexual energy in the counseling room is a big subject and one anecdote isn’t sufficient to address it – but I hope I made a start. I’ve been speaking of unconditional positive regard for our clients – let’s reserve some for ourselves too!

The subject of astrological counsel is a continent and in this newsletter we’ve barely put our feet on the shore. Going a little further up the beach, let me just say that some of the most intense moments of my life have been spent in the presence of people recovering from rape and war and other forms of violent intrusion. Talk about volcanic emotions! I’ve struggled personally with some extremely graphic revelations about unusual sexual conduct. Hearing about stomach-churning physical conditions is particularly hard for me, but it’s part of the work too.

Some of what I’ve explored here ranges beyond the issues that the student raised with me, but it’s all about the raw realities of astrological counseling. It’s about where our work inevitably overlaps with psychotherapy. And it all comes down to accepting people where they actually are.

In my mind, the FCEA is a fully professional school. To me, that means that I need to help my students be prepared for the world they’ll actually face as professionals. I feel it would be a terrible failure on my part if I didn’t do that. That means that I promise to sometimes “push your buttons” as my clients have pushed mine for the past fifty years.