The winds of change are blowing!
We’re about to kickstart the last eclipse season of 2022, which will last till November 8, 2022. During this time, we’ll see the sky lit up by a Partial Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, on October 25, 2022, and witness a Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on November 8, 2022.
Around twice a year, the skies throw us these cosmic curveballs, these pivot points of change which, however hard we try, we have very little control over. The ancient ones feared these cosmic blackouts. They were well-known harbingers of sudden change, unforeseen events, and revelations that changed the course of life for whole communities. And today it’s no different. Except that, because our modern lives hinge less on the patterns in the skies, it’s easier not to draw parallels between what lies above and what lies below.
But take a moment to pause, and you’ll feel the energies of eclipse season ripple through your bones. Worlds are turning!
What is Eclipse Season?
There are two opposing points in space called the north and south nodes, which are where the Moon’s orbit crosses the Earth’s ecliptic. These two points are always moving gently backward in space, twisting through each of the signs of the zodiac.
Astrologically, eclipse season occurs when the Sun moves within 18º of the Moon’s nodes.
It lasts, on average, 36 days, and usually contains two, but sometimes three eclipses. The pair of signs that the nodes are in when eclipse season occurs, determines the areas of life that will be most impacted by the eclipses, and where personal and collective shifts are most likely to occur. Knowing these zodiac signs is a bit like reading a memo from the Universe and getting a heads-up in advance, about where the shake-up’s going to take place. So, you may not know which rug’s going to be pulled out from under your feet. But you’ll know which room you’ll be standing in when it happens!
Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse (also, sometimes, referred to as a “new moon eclipse”) happens when Sun and Moon come together, meeting at the very same degree of a sign. The closer they are to a node, the closer it is to being a total eclipse. As the Moon moves in front of the Sun, its light is temporarily blocked and instead of ordinary daylight, an eerie twilight falls over the Earth and only the Sun’s corona can be seen in the sky. Solar eclipses are only visible from the part of Earth where the sun is up, over the horizon, but the energetic effects of these events ripples throughout the globe.
Lunar Eclipse
A lunar eclipse always happens at full moon, when Sun and Moon are opposing (180º apart). As the Earth moves between Sun and Moon, sandwiched between them both, the shadow of Earth is thrown over the surface of the fully-illuminated Moon, causing it to turn a deep reddish-brown hue, hence the more mystical name it also holds: blood moon. Again, how close this occurs to a node determines whether it’s a total or partial lunar eclipse. But as this is literally the revelation of our collective shadow, the energetic effects of a blood moon can be more personally felt and emotional than solar eclipses, yet they are no less transformational.
What Can You Expect During an Eclipse?
Expect the unexpected!
One of the only things you can be sure of during eclipse season is that by the time you’re through, life will look very, very different! More often accompanied by solar eclipses, shock events, newsflashes, chance encounters, meetings, huge opportunities, even seeming mistakes and “accidents” can all crop up out of the blue as twists of fate that set life on an entirely different path from before.
Truths are Revealed
New information that changes your perceptions of situations you thought you know everything about, have a habit of showing up during eclipse season. Secrets find their way to the surface and missing puzzle pieces often fall miraculously into place.
Radical Changes
So, you thought life was happily rolling along just fine and dandy in the direction of your choice? Eclipse season has a sneaky way of turning life as you know it on its head. When a solar eclipse hits, the stream of solar light we all rely on for life itself is interrupted. Our lifeline’s cut. The reset button is being hit. And when the system reboots, and light (and life) twinkles through again on the other side, the life you thought it was in your best interest to live very often just falls away. This could take the guise of bad luck and disaster (think loosing your job, writing your car off or someone you love being taken ill). OR of unexpected, unimagined good fortune (more like the job of your dreams falling out of the sky, or your twin flame walking into your life).
Time Speeds up
Such radical change can make life feel a little warped during eclipse season, as things you’ve been dreaming of and planning for years can suddenly materialize in mere moments. The speed at which events simply fall into place can feel spookily like life’s speeding up. Or slowing down, to fit it all in.
True characters are revealed
Lunar eclipses, in particular, are notorious for leaving no stone of the personality unturned. As such great revealers of shadow, lunar eclipses make it impossible to hide the dark, unwanted, unloved aspects of the psyche (that’s both yours and everybody else’s). So expect fake smiles to drop, masks to fall to the ground and true feelings to emerge as it’s no longer possible to play along with fakery. And whilst the kind of truth-telling ushered in by eclipse season may hurt at first, long-term it will serve us all so much better.
Life Resets – endings and beginnings
Because eclipses are the Universe’s great course-correctors, they have to bring things that aren’t working in life to a close – in order for anything new to begin, an ending must come first. So the sadness and fear that come with letting go and facing the unknown are part and parcel of eclipse season, especially if it’s unplanned. But every ending brings a brand new beginning and eclipses are as much about new starts as they are about endings.
Be especially Careful if….
Eclipses affect us all differently, depending on our own sensitivities and personal horoscope. (Find out more about how to get, and interpret your personal astrology chart here).
If you have personal planets (your natal Sun or Moon in particular) or your ascendent aspecting the degree that the eclipse crosses, then it’s likely to affect you more than most. If the eclipse falls in your first house or occurs close to your birthday (within 5 days) then you should also be vigilant and take extra care of yourself during eclipse season.
Top Tips and Methods to Cope with Eclipse Season
Release your Resistance
There’s a reason our ancestors feared eclipses, and this fear lives on in our bones. But it doesn’t need to. It’s vital to realize that however it looks, the changes wrung in by eclipse season are only ever in your highest good. It’s the resistance that causes problems! So try to release your resistance to unexpected events and surrender to the flow.
Trust the Guidance of the Cosmos
Eclipses are course-correctors. They only uproot you out of one situation, so that you can be re-planted into another, considerably more aligned set of events. It ends up feeling like a wrench because you’re usually so hell-bent on following the direction you’re facing, missing the clues, signposts, and guidance that the universe has been wafting beneath your nose for months! So save yourself any more heartache, and trust the guidance of the Universe.
Don’t React
Even though eclipse season is when a lot of new information usually comes to light, it’s still unwise to act on it straight away. So if you open a miss-sent text and find out your boyfriend’s been cheating on you, don’t immediately start packing your (or his) bags. Find out if there’s another missing piece of the puzzle. See what else needs to be revealed. Try not to react to the first inkling of truth – there may still be wires that need uncrossing first.
Make Peace with Transition
The ripple effects of eclipses can last for 6 months after the season itself comes to an end. Which means that the changes being initiated now could not truly settle down for a long time to come. Which is nothing to fear – it just means the illusion of certainty and stability that so many of us come to rely upon could feel a little shakier than usual. So make peace with being in a state of transition, learn to be ok with not having control and not holding all the answers.
Look at yourself with Honest Eyes
You can’t hide during eclipse season. And you certainly can’t hide from yourself. So look honestly at the shadow aspects of yourself that rise. Sit with your anger, your frustration, your fear, panic, and anxiety. What are these emotions trying to tell you? Trace them back to their root and see what lies there – what healing are you being called to do?
Get Close to Nature
THE best way to stabilize and soothe the nervous system is to spend time out in nature. Whether it’s a new or full moon or anything in between, letting your own body harmonize and re-calibrate, to the tunes of Mother Earth will help you to more easily tune into the subtle changes being presented you. Coming from this place of Earth connection, you’ll ultimately find it easier to trust and surrender to the power of eclipse energies.
Unplug
Spend less time on social media. Turn off the radio. Close the newspaper. Resist the temptation to fill the gaps with digital media and instead tune into how you’re feeling – let this be your navigation point.
Solar and Lunar Eclipse Dates for 2022
Saturday, April 30 – Partial Solar Eclipse in Taurus
Monday, May 16 – Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio
Tuesday, October 25 – Partial Solar Eclipse in Scorpio
Tuesday, November 8 – Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus
Plug these dates into your diary now, and you won’t be taken by surprise again!