Eclipse season always brings events that move us a little closer towards our growth edges. Whether that’s through their dizzying speed or through the raw emotions that they evoke within us; the very issues we need to witness, know, and heal get magnified in these once-every-six-months portals. Our trajectories become more clear and what we have to give up, let go of, or make peace with does too.
The loss of light, the eclipsing of the sun or moon, stirs within us an ancient and ominous feeling, but, just like when the power goes out and we have to rely on candlelight, the shift in dependable sources of energy gets the heart racing and the senses on high alert. We are capable of accomplishing unusual feats during this time. Eclipse season shows us what reserves we can depend on when all else fails and what we reach for when all other reliable resources have disappeared.
We spend a lot of time tricking ourselves into thinking we have control over life. Eclipses remind us how vulnerable we are and how valuable our reserves of resilience.
The total solar eclipse in Sagittarius occurs on December 14th at 8.17am PT. Both a visually spectacular event, and an astrologically potent one, total eclipses are more rare than common, and because the light of the strongest powersource in our solar system is temporarily obscured, we tend to take more note of them. In astrology, the luminaries (Sun and Moon) are places of life and thus we always want them to be in a solid place where their light can be disseminated unobstructed. Eclipses are not that – this eclipse especially not. But if this eclipse is a jostling to our lives, egos, or security systems, we can trust that it is the wake up call we need.
In Sagittarius, this eclipse speaks to our beliefs, how we make meaning out of the events in our lives, and how we seek to understand them. Sitting with the south node, this eclipse is not about getting what we want, or manifesting with the new moon; it is about accepting the non-negotiable realities of our lives and seeing if in that acceptance, there may be a liberation. Ruled by Jupiter who is at the very tail end of its time in Capricorn, this eclipse speaks in part of a larger closure, wrap up, or resolve.
In the goat’s sign for the last year, Jupiter has struggled to bring us bounty. It has travelled with Saturn, its domicile lord, and made three conjunctions to Pluto, all alarmingly and accurately coinciding with global spikes of Covid-19. In Capricorn, Jupiter is needy. Said to be in its detriment—a place where it’s resources are withheld – Jupiter has had to work hard to bring about results. Instead of waving its wand and bibbidy-bobbidy-boo-ing, it’s had to roll up its sleeves, dig in, and get dirty.
And so have we.
Without Jupiter’s usual opulence, however, we’ve been able to get clearer on what the necessities are. Connection, essential services, and communal care are our lifeblood. We’ve learned to work with a more barebones, stripped down version of our world that will mark us for decades to come. The intersection of capitalism and a pandemic has made glaringly obvious our institutional inadequacies.
This, the second of 2 eclipses (the first having happened on November 30th, in Gemini) is an official End Scene of not only eclipse season and Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn, but also Saturn’s.
On December 16th, Saturn re-enters Aquarius. Saturn’s sign change from Capricorn to Aquarius is no ordinary shift. Happening days before The Great Conjunction (the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius on December 21st), it is putting a stake in the ground, a mark and a dividing line for this year.
There is a new energy in town.
Saturn in Aquarius isn’t here to offer us quick fixes, however—that’s not the ringed one’s style. In Aquarius, this daddy of discernment wants us to develop our own. It asks us to be critical of the structures we live within and the ways in which our systems impact the masses. It reminds us that if what we are building isn’t thoroughly inspected, considered from every angle, and scrutinized for its integrity, it isn’t worth building. Saturn, the planet of boundaries, has spent some time in Aquarius this year already, from March to July. This was, for most of the world, the first months of strict quarantine. Although a vaccination is on its way, aligning with the seemingly fresh start of The Great Conjunction, Saturn is returning to the place it was at when the lockdowns (so very Saturn) began. Hopefully this is a point of resolve, but it’s also a call for cautious optimism (also, so very Saturn).
A couple things to note about Saturn entering Aquarius:
- If you have Saturn in Capricorn in your birth chart, congratulations! This is the end of your Saturn return.
- If you have Saturn in Aquarius, this is the beginning of your Saturn return. Buckle up.
- If you have planets or points in Aquarius this is the beginning of some defining times for you in regard to the nature of the planet involved and the nature of the house that it is in.
- If you don’t have planets or points in Aquarius, you still have Aquarius somewhere in your chart and the area of life it governs will be massively impacted by these two and their travels.
On December 19th, Jupiter enters Aquarius (there for the first time since January, 2010). The emphasis shifts from the earthy constraints of Capricorn to the refreshingly progressive open spaces of Aquarius. The focus on the group and the power of the collective will be palpable. Like Capricorn, Aquarius is still a Saturn-ruled sign that needs detachment in order to attain objectivity, but the transition of Jupiter from Capricorn to Aquarius is a physical weight being lifted off of us and intellectual rigour being asked of us: there’s more room to move but our ideas need to be sound in order to get past the guardians at the gate. Jupiter will help to bolster your Aquarius placements (as well as be an excellent boost for any planets or points that you have in Gemini, Libra, Aries, and Sagittarius), mitigating to some degree Saturn’s sternness. December 19th also features Mercury’s superior conjunction to the sun making it a powerful day to manifest with, especially around 9:45am in North America. Look out for a very special offering from us around that time.
The solstice and the Great Conjunction both occur on December 21st, making it another potent moment to make your mark and set your intentions for the year ahead. I’ll be back in your inbox next week with more on the Great Conjunction and your horoscopes for it.
For a detailed reading for your sign for this total solar eclipse and the Great Conjunction, click here.