Welcome, lovelies.
Here we are at the second Aries new moon of the year. Having 2 new moons in a single sign is pretty special; this second Aries moon in a row brings lots of focus around who we are as individuals to the beginning of this new astrological year. The first new moon last month was at 0 degrees, the very beginning of the part of the sky known as Aries. Today’s new moon is at the last degree of Aries, emphasizing a culmination of everything we’ve learned during the season of the Ram.
And, there’s another big difference between this new moon and the last: this new moon is a solar eclipse, initiating the first of two eclipse seasons in 2023. While not observable from the U.S., this eclipse will be visible from western Australia, East Timor, and eastern Indonesia. It is a rare hybrid eclipse, meaning that it will shift from annular to total to annular as the Moon’s shadow passes over the Earth.
Astrologically, eclipses are lunations (full or new moons) that hide the conscious rays of the sun and reveal the power of both our internal worlds and the larger matrix that we are an interconnected part of. As the sun’s rays are blocked by the moon or the earth, our emotions, our gut instincts, and our unconscious connections with destiny are allowed to override our egos and wills, and get a chance to show us their truths.
Because we so often are focused in our conscious minds, the subconscious nature of eclipses often means that they can usher in events and feelings that feel surprising to ourselves. They can quickly show us more clearly what needs to be eclipsed out of our lives in order to thrive- a cosmic pruning of sorts. It’s a good time to trust the process of this inner work and let things unfold naturally, without trying to control or force an outcome. A surprise can be a good thing, if you’re not too attached to predicting an outcome.
Somatic Practice: Toning the Chakras
The somatic video practice I recorded for this solar eclipse is called Toning the Chakras. I learned this practice from my teacher Sophie Cooper of Voice Alchemy in 2020, and it has become a major part of my personal practice ever since. I love it because it allows me to feel vibrationally into the energetic points within my body and release my thinking mind for a bit.
Chakra toning is a Tibetan practice, and my video is just one way that the tones are represented. There are several ways to do it, several tones that are associated with each energy center, and they all function similarly. By sending vibrations to each chakra, or “wheel” of energy within the body, we can open up a channel of energy through our core: moving downward through our body to root into the earth, and upward through the crown of our heads, connecting with the infinite energy of space above.
This is a beautiful practice to physically remind ourselves of the resonant power within our bodies as well as the deep world that exists beyond our minds. As the moon eclipses the rays of the sun, representing our conscious will, this is a physical reminder to pay reverence to other parts of our bodies, as well as the earth below and space above.
I recommend doing this practice in a comfortable, private space, in order to allow your full freedom of vocal expression to come through. It’s best to sit cross legged, ideally on a cushion the floor or directly on the earth. I will guide you through a series of vocal tones that resonate with each chakra. In Sanskrit, these single-syllable tones are called bija (seed) mantras.
I’ll explain more in the video, and would love to hear how it goes for you in the comments (or via DM at the Astrosomatics Instagram). <3
Have a beautiful Aries new moon eclipse. Please read onward for all you’ve ever wanted to know about eclipses from astronomical & astrological perspectives.
Or, stop here, get comfortable seated on the floor, and prepare to give your amazing body some loving vibrations :).
So.. what exactly is eclipse season?
Eclipses are not random or even rare - they happen within seasons every calendar year. Eclipse seasons are approximately 34-day long periods of time when lunar and solar eclipses occur, occurring twice annually. During these periods of time, due to the elliptical nature of the celestial orbits, the Moon's orbit intersects with the Earth's, causing the Sun, Moon, and Earth to align in a way that can create either a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse.
Solar eclipses always occur during a new moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. Lunar eclipses occur during a full moon, when the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon. Eclipses can be partial or total, depending on the alignment of celestial bodies. A solar eclipse, especially a total one, can only be seen from certain places on Earth, whereas a lunar eclipse can be seen at the time of the eclipse wherever the Moon is above the horizon.
A typical lunar cycle is 28 days, so a ‘normal’ new moon’s energies affect us for about a month. The energy set in motion by an eclipse, however, affects us for 6 months, until the next eclipse happens on the opposite side of the Zodiac axis.
Solar Eclipses and You
There are four types of solar eclipses:
Total: when the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon;
Partial: when the Moon partially covers the Sun, looking like a bite is taken out;
Annular: when the Moon covers the center of the Sun, but not totally, so there is a ring, the “ring of fire” around the Moon; and
Hybrid (today’s eclipse): a rare combination of an annular and a total. The Moon moves across the Sun causing a ring of fire, then completely blocks the Sun, and then shifts again so there is another ring of fire.
Solar eclipses are unconscious new moons that bring the wisdom of our emotions front and center, initiating new opportunities.
Astrologically speaking, during a solar eclipse, the Sun (representing your creative will) is obscured by the moon (representing your emotions and body). Non-eclipse season new moons are wonderful occasions for manifestations, for planting a seed of your creative will and aligning it within your emotional landscape. In a normal new moon, the moon’s emotional nature is standing behind the sun, supporting the energy of whatever one chooses to invoke into existence.
However, when the sun is obscured by the moon from our perspective here on earth, manifestations are not a great idea. Think of a solar eclipse as the moon blocking the bright sun’s rays so that the wisdom of moon herself can be witnessed in her fullness. During solar eclipses, rather than initiating anything from the place of ego or will, it’s a good idea to slow down and listen to your body, surrendering into what is coming through from a place of subconscious awareness. Solar eclipses take emphasis off of our outer personality and create opportunities for us to deepen into the potential of actualizing who we really are at an embodied/soul level.
Today’s Solar Eclipse in Aries
In the sign of Aries, where we have our solar eclipse today, listening to your body’s inner wisdom could feel challenging, and the inner messages coming from your body may feel surprising. This is because the sun is exalted in Aries, and for the past month or so, we have been encouraged to step into our creativity, our willpower, and our outward nature, and to enact fresh beginnings. When a planet is exalted in a sign, it means that they are like a guest of honor, receiving gifts and benefits of the sign’s characteristics. So the Sun in Aries has felt very welcomed to do what it does best- shine brightly. With all this initiatory energy, many of us may have been neglecting the slow, deep lunar wisdom within us.
Today’s eclipse is in the final degree of Aries, so it’s is like a going-away party where the person of honor is hiding out in the basement. The Moon is there too- she’s the new tenant moving in, and she’s uncharacteristically receiving all the attention- as strange as that may feel for her. What’s more, the Moon is exalted in Taurus, where she’ll be moving for the next couple of days and where the Sun will move for the next month. Nurturing, stable Taurus is a perfect host for the sensual Moon. So giving extra attention to la luna during this eclipse and the few days after will set a nice energetic stage for the upcoming season of the Bull.
Give your emotions and deeper motivations behind the outer newness of Aries Season the care and attention they deserve, and don’t worry about setting intentions or manifesting- slow down and let your subconscious reveal some deep personal truths.
(To learn more about the signs where planets are exalted, at home, and in detriment, aka “essential dignities”, click here).
How are Lunar Eclipses different from Solar Eclipses?
There are 2 types of Lunar Eclipses:
Total: when the Moon passes into the Earth's umbral shadow, which can result in the Moon turning red. Total lunar eclipses are sometimes called 'Blood Moons'.
Penumbral: when the Moon passes into the Earth’s outer (“penumbral”) shadow, causing a slight darkening of the moon.
The next eclipse in this season will be a Penumbral lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5, 2023. Lunar Eclipses happen when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, and the Earth’s shadow is cast onto what would be a full moon. Previously I wrote about how the full moon is a mirror (that can help us like our own reflections) in a psychological sense, and the mirror analogy is a good one to carry forward to thinking about lunar eclipses.
Lunar eclipses are full moons that act as clouded-over mirrors, highlighting the wisdom of our gut-brains, our shadow selves, and our destinies
Normal, non-eclipse full moons are ripe with cumulative wisdom of opposites. The full moon in Libra two weeks ago was spot-on with its mirroring of “me vs. we”, highlighting the nodal theme of the Aries-Libra polarity of balance in relationship. Almost everyone I talked to around that time was feeling a direct confrontation with how they and their partners were showing up in their relationships, the give and take of personal . Under the light of that moon, I was able to clearly see some of my blind spots and places where my partnership was unbalanced (and was energized with the ability to spend all day reflecting on it with my partner, too).
With an eclipsed full moon, that otherwise bright mirror is clouded over by the shadow of the earth. As with a solar eclipse, the bright rays of the sun’s external willpower are being obscured- but this time, unlike a solar eclipse, the emotional motivations of the moon are also in the darkness. While we normally have an opportunity to see reflections in an external full-moon mirror once a month, the months that contain lunar eclipses cover that mirror so that the messages must come from deep within, beyond the realm of mental consciousness, and also beyond the realm of the emotional somatic body. In this way, lunar eclipses ask us to tap into the wisdom of our intuition, our gut-brain, our shadow side- and the wisdom of the collective unconscious.
Often times, a lunar eclipse will reveal a new perspective, as we realize it is our Earthly attachment to a certain defined perspective or personality trait that can actually be the thing that causes the cloudiness on the mirror. This sudden shift in perspective can make it feel like a rapid change of direction is necessary, or that destiny is calling from beyond the realm of what your mind or even your body can expect.
The next lunar eclipse in Scorpio: the end of a nodal cycle
The lunar nodes are the points of intersection between the sun's orbital path around the earth and the moon's orbital path around the earth. Astrologically, the placement of the lunar nodes represents which aspects of life we are collectively hungry for and which aspects we are ready to let go of. The north and south nodes in your chart are determined by where the eclipses were happening when you were born. The full cycle of the lunar nodes around the ecliptic through all 12 zodiac signs takes about 18.5 years, which means similar karmic lessons may repeat every couple of decades.
The two Zodiac signs where eclipses happen are always opposite to each other in the sky, and these axes shift about every 18 months, with some overlap. We are on the cusp of one of those shifts this year. This solar eclipse in Aries today is the first in a series of Aries/Libra eclipses that will take us through 2025, as the north node of the moon moves into Aries and the south node moves into Libra. The lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5 is the last Scorpio eclipse of the Taurus/Scorpio axis that has been happening since 2021.
For the past couple of years, the north node of the moon has been in Taurus, and the south node has been in Scorpio. These Taurus/Scorpio eclipses brought us collective themes of being hungry for stability, comfort, personal resourcing, and grounding (Taurus), while releasing attachment to other people’s/shared resources, unhealthy power dynamics, and the parts of us that have been created solely for survival (Scorpio).
Our next lunation in two weeks (May 5) will be a Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio, the last south node eclipse of the Taurus/Scorpio axis. It is the end of a storyline about what you may have been releasing, consciously or unconsciously in terms of Scorpionic themes since 2021. Where have you released attachment to your shadows, to your attachment to inherited traits or money, to your all-or nothing behaviors over these past 1.5 years?
As we move to the end of the Scorpio/Taurusstory, the Aries/Libra eclipses over the next couple of years will bring us themes of relationship: self identity vs. our identity within a partnership or group. The north node in Aries will bring collective hunger for taking personal action, being self-oriented, and charging ahead with personal goals, while the south node in Libra will bring the need to release codependency, comparing ourselves to others, and external validation.
You can look at your chart to see what houses Aries and Libra occupy to get specific about how the next couple years of eclipse seasons might affect you personally. The house that Aries is in are elements of life that you may be hungry for or urgently working toward, and the house that Libra occupies represents areas of life that you are ready to release.
For example, the North node eclipses in Aries (like today’s eclipse) are going to occur in my 9th house, so I may begin to feel an urgent drive or hunger toward self fulfillment in travel, philosophy, and new areas of study (…yep, checks out!). South node eclipses in Libra will happen in my 3rd house, so I may feel a need to release certain aspects of my relationships in my neighborhood, or to release the ways that I have been communicating that are no longer serving me.
What house does today’s eclipse occur for you? Paying attention to this information as well as your subtle embodied feelings today could bring clues about the new cycle for the next year and a half. Does it resonate with you? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for watching, reading, and practicing along with me!
See you again for the big Scorpio lunar eclipse release in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, drink lots of water, go easy, and rest lots. <3
xoxo
Alison
