When: May 5th, 2023, at 10:34 am PT
What: Lunar eclipse in Scorpio
Takeaway: This is the final Scorpio eclipse of its kind for nearly two decades. Whatever you’ve been releasing, this lunar eclipse offers one more potent opportunity to cleanse. To support this process, give yourself plenty of time to sort, sift, and rest.
Embracing emotional release: The May 5th Scorpio lunar eclipse and the power of letting go
The Scorpio eclipse on May 5th is happening near the South Node of the Moon, which means it activates themes of release and letting go. Scorpio is the sign of fixed water, so the feelings it awakens aren’t transient mood swings. These emotions run deep, like a subterranean cistern or well. The eclipse on May 5th will puncture the stillness, and the feelings that rise could smell a bit putrid at first. Especially since this is a lunar eclipse, which leave us emotionally tender at the best of times.
This isn’t the moment to start new projects or crowd your calendar. Instead, underbook yourself around May 5th. Create space in your schedule for old feelings or memories to swamp-bubble their way to the surface. Allow necessary endings to occur. And if the word “ending” makes you nervous, consider the life laced inside every process of decay. The fallen tree that nurses moss, fungi, and seedlings. The strawberries that hatch from soil rich with compost. South Node eclipses aren’t pretty — especially not in Scorpio, where the Moon is traditionally considered “in its fall” — but we need to cross this threshold to meet the opportunities that are bigger, bolder, and made for us.
Closing the cycle: How this final Scorpio eclipse will help us welcome growth and shed past burdens
While eclipses can bring sudden events, what comes up during this particular eclipse may not surprise you. That’s because it concludes a story you’ve been living for at least a year. Eclipses always occur in cycles, and the first Scorpio eclipse of this series happened on May 15th/16th, 2022, while the second occurred on October 25th, 2022. This third eclipse marks the finish line. The worst is officially behind us, so relish the relief of that. No matter what surfaces during the final Scorpio eclipse on May 5th, you’re an expert now. You have every resource you need to move through it. This eclipse might even help you resolve a change that emerged during one of the last two Scorpio eclipses.
Think of this time as a “cleanse” for your whole mind, spirit, and body. Whatever expectations or burdens you’ve been carrying that feel too heavy to continue bearing on your own, this is your cosmic permission slip to set them down. As our snake friends will attest, you can’t grow without shedding old skins.
9 ways to tend to your system during the Scorpio eclipse
In traditional astrology, eclipses are times to lay low and take it easy. Here are some tips to make May’s lunar eclipse as smooth as possible:
- Sift through old journals, planners, or emails to remind yourself what was going on in May and October of 2022. Notice what’s coming up now for a final release, wrap, or closure.
- Rest generously. Powerful shifts are occurring internally — and sometimes externally as well. Give yourself ample time to integrate the updates.
- Hydrate. Eclipses impact our entire system. Give your body what it needs to thrive on the most basic level.
- Weep if you need to. Write a list of what you want to release and rip it to pieces. Controlled periods of emoting will aid the clearing process, but don’t forget to laugh as well — it’s as effective a catharsis as any.
- Give away old clothes, appliances, or knickknacks that feel like clutter. Deep-cleaning your home reflects and supports the cleanse happening inside you. Just remember: The cardinal rule of eclipse season is rest. Enter cleaning mode only if you have extra energy to spend.
- Soothe your system with a warm bath or shower. To assist with the purification process, add your favorite salts and essential oils.
- Listen to the Astrology of the Week Ahead podcast, as well as Your Reading in the “This Week” section of the CHANI app.
- Learn whether this eclipse is impacting your birth chart directly by checking your Transits in the CHANI app. You can also find out how your rising sign will be impacted by reading your Current Sky horoscope for the Sun in Taurus.
- Work through any emotions that this eclipse pushes to the surface by utilizing the Guided Meditation, Journal Prompts, and Ritual in the “This Week” section of the CHANI app.
Read your daily horoscope:
Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra
Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces
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affirmations, intel on the current Moon phase and sign, and more.