The Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus: The Finale of a 2-Year Chapter
Plus, a writing ritual to hold space for change, grief, praise, and relief
Hello dear readers,
Happy Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Los Muertos, and any other ritual of connection between yourself and the spirits that you participate in during this time of year <3. I hope, in addition to carving those pumpkins and whatever revelry you choose to partake in, you’re also carving out some time for quiet inward reflection this week.
And what a weekend it is for these rituals, with a bright full Hunter’s moon being partially eclipsed by the shadow of the Earth. It’s visible in Europe, Africa and Asia, but astrologically, eclipse energy is felt around the globe.
Today is the final eclipse of a series of eclipses on the Taurus/Scorpio axis, reaching the conclusion of a two-year cycle of growth and evolution in those areas of life represented by the stable bull and the transformative scorpion. As we move onto another thematic axis of life with eclipses now beginning in Aries and Libra, this Taurus full moon eclipse is like the exclamation mark on the sentence of our lives that began in November 2021.
How has your life changed in the areas of resources, values, and attachments since fall 2021? At the end of this newsletter, I offer a guided ritual to help you uncover how this grand-finale eclipse may affect you, how you’ve grown, and what you’ve released over the past two years.
Meaning Making Through Cyclical Patterns
One thing I love a lot about the practice of astrology is the way it constantly encourages us to look back through time to notice patterns and learn from their meanings. Rather than a ping from my iPhone or a Facebook alert giving me a random and unsolicited reminder of a photo from 10 years ago (usually a happy photo of an ex or some other thing I’d rather not be reminded of…) astrology allows us to deliberately and consciously look at cycles in time based on planetary seasons.
This has become a beautiful practice for me over the past few years- noting the felt similarities during times when the Moon, Mercury, Sun, Venus, and Mars return in the same part of the sky every 28 days, 88 days, year, 18 months, and 22 months, respectively.
But this is the first time I’ve looked back through the eclipse cycle from beginning to end in detail- the mystical alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth that happens every 6 months, and it has been enlightening.
Say goodbye to Eclipses in Taurus & Scorpio … until 2031
A rogue sickness has overtaken my household from the preschool petri dish, so instead of focusing on costume making and other Halloween prep, I’ve spent the past couple of days in bed, in deep review of these past two years. With the last eclipse in the series approaching, I’ve taken time to look through my calendars and text threads and emails and photos for each eclipse date since November 19, 2021. It’s been quite profound to see how these eclipses have transformed my life in the areas symbolized by the Taurus and Scorpio polarity: resources, security, senses and sensuality, what I value, and what I am attached to.
Taurus, the second sign on the Zodiac wheel, rules resources, security, and values that we hold as individual beings- the way that we feel grounded and resourced through our 5 senses. Up until recently, Taurus has been the home of the North Node, the point in the sky where the sun and moon’s ecliptics cross each other. This point is known as the head of the dragon, and the sign that the node is currently in represents what we are collectively hungry for, striving after, and driven toward.
On the other side of the wheel, the 8th sign of the Zodiac, Scorpio, is the sign representing resources, security, and values that result from our interconnection and integration with others. Scorpio represents the way that we intimately and sensually connect with other beings to form new values, resources, attachments, and security. This is why Scorpio rules sex, taboos, and also death- the ultimate merging of oneself with the other.
The Axis of Life and Death
For the past 2 years, half of the eclipses have happened in the months of April and May, and half have happened in late October and early November, reflecting the seasonal polarity between Mayday (Beltane) and Samhain (Halloween) in the Wheel of the Year. These eclipses have highlighted, in a strong way, the fertility of spring giving way to the death of fall, the time when we reflect on our ancestors, those who have come before us, and stages of our own lives that have lived and died.
On a personal level, this final eclipse of this cycle may feel somewhat relieving- it can feel really good to get to the end of a chapter. (Phew! No more emotional Scorpio south node wildcards for a long while! Yesss…) At the same time, being conscious about an ending can be painful, and bring up a lot of emotional complexity. Grief comes when we love something or someone that is no longer there to love, and this eclipse may reveal the depth of change that this past two years has brought for you.
This final lunation in the series of eclipses in these Bull and Scorpion parts of the sky might make you keenly aware of a period of life that has come and gone. Eclipses can be revelatory, shocking, and quick, ushering in rapid evolution. Like the lights going out between scenes in a play, and when they’re turned back on, it’s an entirely new set. As with any eclipse, the events of this weekend could be surprising and sudden- with the added energy of Halloween’s party-filled weekend and the intensity and grief of a genocidal war as it unfolds. But the themes that arise for you on this eclipse likely won’t feel new. Look for familiar ghosts and messages in the happenings of the weekend, and welcome their conclusion. Cheers to the end of a chapter, to the great turning of change.
The Roots and The Branches: My Personal Eclipse Story
In doing my eclipse review, I simultaneously felt both deep grief, praise, and relief.
I’ve been sitting with the general Taurus/Scorpio themes that have changed for me over this time. After my divorce in late 2020, this cycle of eclipses that started the following year brought deep changes in how I resource myself, care for myself, and nourish myself in more Taurean, self sufficient, and (dare I say beautifully) stubborn ways. Over the past 2 years, this was a big shift from a subconscious deep reliance on others for security- whether that reliance was on was my husband, my business, or the institutions of government and society that I used to lean on more heavily and take for granted as a stable foundation in a pre-Covid world.
In my specific birth chart, Taurus is in my 10th house of career, outward purpose, and long term goals- Taurus is my midheaven, my upward-reaching branches. Scorpio is in my 4th house of home, family, and ancestry- my IC, my roots reaching down to the past. I’m reflecting on these themes and recognizing where, along this axis, I felt hungry for change and where I needed to release and shed what was no longer serving me.
The 4th and 10th houses have been super intertwined for me, so processing themes along this axis has been very appropriate over the past couple of years. About a decade ago, I entered a relationship and started a business with the person who would become my (now ex-) husband, (ex) business partner, and the father of my child. We met, strangely magnetized to each other on the dance floor (and didn’t stop dancing for years); our second date was an official business meeting where we pitched our startup ideas to each other, a merging of creative ideas that would launch an incredible journey of building a company that’s still going strong.
This meeting a decade ago just happens to be the last time the nodes/eclipses were in Taurus and Scorpio. At that time, the nodes were flipped from their current positions: the South Node was in Taurus, calling for release of comfort-based Taurean themes, and the North Node was in Scorpio, calling for a hunger toward the intimate Sorpionic . Seems like prime time to be hungry for interdependence with one another. Scorpio in my 4th house of family, and his 10th house of career, no less.
This time around, the eclipses have been back in Scorpio and Taurus for the past 2 years, but the nodes are in opposite signs than they were a decade ago. And, on cue, since November 2021 when this eclipse cycle began, these lunar and solar alignments have also aligned with key moments in my disentanglement from that relationship, from this intimacy and interdependence with a person that began 10 years ago.
Through the lens of the releasing South Node, with my 4th house of family and home in Scorpio, I have been involved in a slow process of shedding and releasing what no longer served me: reallocating resources, delegating data points and emails and IP, and resigning from the business my ex and I started together. I have also been in a deep process of reallocating, redefining, and renegotiating the family and parenting dynamic we had been trying to make work, and the shift there, too, has been palpable.
It was truly surreal looking back through my calendar and noting the calls, conversations, and events that happened that led to this disentanglement, and this eclipse coincides with a feeling of entering a new chapter… after a lot of really hard work unweaving a decade-old tapestry .
On the hungry north node side, with my 10th house of career and public persona in Taurus, these past two years have brought hunger for a new career/soul purpose - one connected with my body, the Earth, sensuality, and finding security and grounding through the senses. I have found a deep desire to serve people in this life by guiding them in the languages of Earth and planetary cycles, embodiment, and the senses. Of course, these are all deeply Taurean themes. In this arena, the past 2 years have found me deep in study, leading to certifications and emerging practices in the areas of:
Astrology and Human Design (which have both led me to have a deeper relationship with the ancient symbolism of the Planets and Earth’s seasons),
Breathwork (which has connected me deeply to my emotional body in ways I coudn’t have imagined several years ago),
Elemental Mythosomatic Qigong (another deep and profound body/Earth connection practice)
Voicework/Singing (which has connected me to my throat chakra, the area of the body that is ruled by, you guessed it, Taurus)
Herbalism & Mycology (a deep reverence for plants and fungi has overcome me, and I’m taking baby steps toward interacting in their growth cycles!)
As this cycle of eclipses comes to a close today, I’m reflecting on how a lot of the events that have aligned with the eclipses have felt sudden, shocking, or out of the blue. None of it was quite what I thought would happen, how I thought it would happen. I definitely didn’t manifest the events or even want them to happen at all.
But looking back now, I see the way time and healing and change work better than I ever have. Growth is never a smooth, continuous process. It happens in fits and starts, with periods of slowness and apparent stagnation interspersed with rapid leaps. Eclipses, it’s becoming apparent to me, are these leaps.
And like any growth-spurt, it doesn’t always feel pleasant.
Eclipses are emotional times, when the emotional moon or earth overshadows our conscious life force, the sun. In this reflection of my past, I feel real grief. Grief over the love and effort and attention that I put into building a home, a family, a career and a purpose-filled business- all in one- in my last chapter. I grieve the loss of what truly did feel like a giant family to me: our amazing team at the company that stuck with us through thick and thin, the brothers and sisters and large extended family that I gained through my marriage, the network of impactful organizations that we worked with as partners and clients.
The past 10 years showed me a beautiful potential for what family can look like, bloodlines and beyond, people connected together through a larger purpose. The untangling of the past two years has been filled with a sense of loss as that family, myself included, has dispersed and established new versions of their own families, creating their own roots elsewhere.
However, as I witness my attachments to things that I looked to in my past for security, grounding, and sense of family changing form, I am also overcome with a certain pride and joy to know that they existed with such powerful depth at one point in time. I’m proud that the business I cofounded employed so many incredible people, people I considered to be family, and proud that it evolved to support me and those close to me. I’m proud that it helps our nonprofit clients and the communities they serve in such real ways. I’m proud and grateful that I had an inspiring, fun, and kind partner and extended family for so many years and that I have a child who was born out of deep love.
Along with this grief and praise, I also feel deep relief- like a deep, full, exhale, on this final Taurus eclipse. I feel truly ready, at last, to embrace the future, the next chapter, after a lot of unraveling. I feel deep gratitude for everything within me and everyone in my world who has helped me get here, on this long and winding path toward authenticity, toward finding a place of security and resource within myself. This process is relieving as it’s created a beautiful space for new family dynamics, new love, and a new way of being of service to the world.
What will the Aries/Libra eclipse axis hold for me, showing up in my 9th and 3rd houses of knowledge and communication? I know I’ll have to wait and see, but this practice of deep reflection is helping me stay deeply curious.
Thank you reading my personal eclipse journey. I hope it is helpful to hear stories of how these powerful, ancient symbols and themes show up in our real lives. If you’re inclined over these next few days, I welcome you to review your own soul journey through the Scorpio/Taurus axis, knowing that it may bring up grief, praise, and relief for you as well. Scroll down for a guided ritual writing practice to do on this eclipse or in the upcoming week. <3
A Writing and Memory Ritual: Your Taurus/Scorpio Eclipse Journey
To do this exercise, you’ll need a quiet, comfortable place to sit, a piece of paper and a pen, your calendar, your computer or phone to look through messages (if desired), and any other physical or mental object that connects you to the past 2 years.
To begin, get comfortable in your seat. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths in and out through your nose, settling into your space. Imagine warm golden rays of light surrounding your body, protecting you and your intentions in this space.
First, let thoughts and images flow through your mind like a river, meditating on Taurus/Scorpio and themes of resources, security, attachment, and what you value. How have these areas of life changed over the past 2 years? Think about your personal life, your community, and the collective. Whatever comes up doesn’t have to be specific, just a felt sense on what these words mean to you.
Second, think about the houses where Taurus and Scorpio are in your birth chart and what they symbolize. (If you don’t know this info, you can pull your birth chart, or if you know your rising sign, you can reference the list and house chart below.)
After you find them, close your eyes again and take some deep breaths through your nose, meditating on how these personal themes have shown up for you since November 2021. What have you let go of, released, and shed? What have you hungered for, reached for, achieved?
Read for your rising sign:
Aries rising : Taurus in 2nd house, Scorpio in the 8th
Taurus rising: Taurus in the 1st house, Scorpio in the 7th
Gemini rising: Taurus in the 12th house, Scorpio in the 6th
Cancer rising: Taurus in the 11th house, Scorpio in the 5th
Leo rising: Taurus in the 10th house, Scorpio in the 4th
Virgo rising: Taurus in the 9th house, Scorpio in the 3rd
Libra rising: Taurus in the 8th house, Scorpio in the 2nd
Scorpio rising: Taurus in the 7th house, Scorpio in the 1st
Sagittarius rising: Taurus in the 6th house, Scorpio in the 12th
Capricorn rising: Taurus in the 5th house, Scorpio in the 11th
Aquarius rising: Taurus in the 4th house, Scorpio in the 10th
Pisces rising: Taurus in the 3rd house, Scorpio in the 9th
Look at this chart to find the house themes- remember, the Taurus house is what you have been hungry for, and the Scorpio house is what you have been releasing.
Next -this is a bit oversimplified, but if you like madlibs, fill in the blanks below:
Over the past two years, I have taken steps toward a fresh start in [Taurus house themes], and released what was no longer serving in my existing [Scorpio house themes].
Examples:
Over the past two years, I have taken steps toward a fresh start in career and long-term goals, and released what was no longer serving in my existing home foundation.
and
Over the past two years, I have taken steps toward a fresh start with relationships and partnerships, and released what was no longer serving in my existing sense of self and identity.
As with everything in astrology and other systems of divination, take what resonates with you, and leave the rest. <3
Finally, the deep dive: for all you brave souls who want to take it beneath the surface in honor of this season of depth.
Take a look at the dates of the eclipses of the past 2 years (see the list below) and think about what was happening in your life around those dates.
It can be triggering to go through memories, so if you’re feeling resourced in your body and ready, you can look back through your calendars, emails, text messages, and photos from the days surrounding these eclipses and take some notes on a piece of paper, or copy and paste this list on your computer to come back to.
A tip from just having done this myself: I recommend doing some deep-belly inhales and audible sighs before, during, and after this practice, and if what comes up feels like too much to integrate, take a break and come back to it later. Once I had all of the key events and conversations written down, I stepped away from it for a couple days, felt into what rose to the top in my body, and came back to the list later with new perspective.
Be gentle and kind to yourself, and know that on this Taurus Lunar Eclipse, the Earth is holding you, holding whatever comes up for you in your growth and evolution as the beautiful human that you are.
Let me know in the comments or DM how it goes for you!
Thanks, as always, for bearing witness and playing along with me on this journey.
All my eclipse blessings and love,
Alison
Eclipses on the Taurus/Scorpio Axis, 2021-2023
Feel free to copy and paste this to a new document and fill in for your personal story.
Nov 19, 2021: 1st Lunar Eclipse in Taurus (North Node).
[[Dec 3, 2021: Solar Eclipse in Sag (South Node)- the last eclipse on the Sag/Gemini Axis]]
April 30, 2022: 1st Solar Eclipse in Taurus (North Node)
May 15, 2022: 1st Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio (South Node)
Oct 25, 2022: 1st Solar Eclipse in Scorpio (South Node)
Nov 8, 2022: 2nd Lunar Eclipse in Taurus (North Node) - US Election day ,
[[Apr 19, 2023- Solar Eclipse in Aries (North Node) - first eclipse on the Aries/Libra Axis]]
May 5, 2023 - 2nd Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio (South Node)
[[Oct 14, 2023- Solar Eclipse in Libra (South Node)]]
Oct 28, 2023- Lunar Eclipse in Taurus (North Node)
I write these newsletters because I can’t really help it anymore :) I hope that some of my musings serve as inspiration for your personal relationship with the cycles of the earth, planets, and stars. Writing is a beautiful, time-consuming endeavor, and I truly appreciate your reads, subscribes, comments, and overall support!
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