Beneath Totality: An Eclipse Lived, Not Feared

photo of stars on sky
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Should you watch eclipses? Should you fear them?

In 2024, the great North American eclipse crossed directly over my Moon.

For those who live with the sky, that isn’t a minor thing. The Moon carries instinct, memory, the body’s knowing — the part of us that remembers before language. When I realized the path of totality would pass straight through her place in my chart, I felt the familiar fork in the road eclipses bring.

Do I stay inside, curtains drawn, honouring the old warnings? Or do I step beneath it — and let the sky meet me fully?

I chose to step outside.

I’ve learned over time that astrology doesn’t truly live in theory. It lives in encounter.

I’ve travelled for solar returns, followed angles across continents, tested how place reshapes fate. So this eclipse felt like the next listening. I went to Niagara Falls, staying with a friend, sharing the days with another astrologer, preparing carefully.

The ancients were not wrong to caution us.

Eclipses are not decorative events. They interrupt. They dissolve familiar light. They invite something older to surface.

Preparation, I’ve found, is what turns fear into reverence.

On the day itself, the sky began to change quietly — not dramatically at first, but unmistakably. My Moon rules my fifth house: children, creativity, wonder. As the light thinned, my friend’s four-year-old son asked me to read his favourite book.

The Whale’s Song.

I felt the pause land in my body.

The eclipse was unfolding in Cetus — the Whale — in Aries. The story tells of a whale who sings magical songs in exchange for gifts. The adults dismiss it. The child does not. She leaves offerings anyway. And eventually, the whale sings.

It’s a story about devotion without proof. About trusting what hasn’t yet revealed itself.

As the sky darkened, he listened with total presence. No fear. No story-making. Just instinct and wonder, intact. In that moment, it became clear to me: this is eclipse wisdom. Not analysis — remembrance.

Eclipses braid Sun and Moon. Ego and instinct. Conscious light steps aside so the deeper voice can speak. This is why they’ve always been both feared and revered. Each one arrives differently. None are random.

Today, we know how to protect our eyes and bodies. But eclipses don’t only work on the physical plane. Emotional, energetic, and ritual preparation matter just as much.

On February 17, 2026, another eclipse arrives — this time in Aquarius, brushing my ascendant. It won’t bring full darkness where I stand. But totality, over the coming years, will travel across places long considered thresholds: Luxor, Mecca, Ibiza, Bilbao.

You can avoid eclipses. Or you can meet them — slowly, consciously, with the land beneath your feet.

Because when darkness comes prepared for, it doesn’t take from us. It returns us to something we already know.

Under the dark skies of Montsec, Spain, in August 2026, we’ll gather along the path of totality — not to spectacle-chase, but to witness. The eclipse. The Perseid meteors. A rare planetary gathering. The sky, teaching directly.

If you feel the pause in your chest as you read this — if something in you leans forward rather than away — then you already understand the question eclipses ask.

 

Scorpio Lunar Eclipse – May 5, 2023

The May 5th lunar eclipse is at 15 degrees of Scorpio.

Lunar eclipses happen because they are close to one of the nodes which are formed by the moon crossing the ecliptic (the path of the Sun). In astrology, the nodes are karmic points, and during eclipses, karmic things tend to happen, seemly out of nowhere. Scorpio is a money planet; it rules shared resources, taxes, insurance money and other people’s money. It also rules secrets, things that are hidden, control and manipulation. Scorpio rules sex, the cycles of life (life and death), psychiatry, and psychology. It’s mystical, magical and occult. So, Scorpio isn’t exactly light. It deep. Deep in a positive or in a negative way. But deep!

The modern ruler of Scorpio is Pluto and the classical ruler is Mars. Any way you look at it, modern or classical, this is a tricky and explosive eclipse. This is because both rulers, Mars and Pluto are coming into opposition. By May 19th and 20th they will also be square to the nodes. At our last eclipse (also in Scorpio) we saw the FTX crypto exchange crash and disappear, and with it, a lot of other people’s money. And as Pluto transited at the last degree of Capricorn, large banks started to fail. This eclipse will likely bring similar news. We’ll also likely see difficulties in any sexual relationships where power plays may emerge. The lash-out might also be connected to stress around money. Finally, dark magic or occult issues may surface (Don’t forget, words are magic spells). You may want to keep your shungite, black tourmaline and your red jasper close by! Some sage might also be helpful. This will help you block whatever shade is coming your way.

If you want to know how the eclipse is affecting you personally, you can book some time with me!

The eclipse is opposite Uranus, the planet of surprise and Vesta the asteroid associated with work and commitment. Don’t be surprised if you decide to quit your job out of nowhere, or if your workplace experiences a mass exodus. Uranus and Vesta are in Taurus, so there is a large focus on money, increasing our worth, and creating stability. Don’t expect loyalty to a workplace if it doesn’t help to meet basic needs. Choices made at this time will reflect a commitment to ourselves and to increasing our worth and stability.

This lunar eclipse has a special relationship to Mercury, which has been travelling close to the Sun and has been triggering this eclipse over the last couple of weeks. This simply means that Mercury has been helping to build the plot line of this particular eclipse. On April 17th it opposed the eclipse point. On the 25th, it happened again. Mercury will go over the point again on May 31. This eclipse story is likely an epic rather than the usual novella.

The good news, thank God there is good news, is that the moon is conjunct Poseidon. Poseidon brings higher consciousness, truth, spiritual illumination and enlightenment. Although this all comes in the wake of some very difficult energy, we will feel good about it as it always feels good when we finally connected with the truth. If the dots haven’t connected or a piece of the story seemed to be missing, the dots and pieces will emerge and things will finally start to make sense!

The Sabian Symbol for the moon is “Children playing around five mounds of sand”. Children playing around sand mounds is bound to result in a half-buried child (head poking out), or attempts to dig tunnels and build sand castles. There may be biting ants in the sand, or sand flies. Five is the number related to change, creativity, and inventiveness, so this suggests that even though it may be a bit dangerous, playing and being lighthearted within the energy will bring solutions and strangely, some element of fun.

Happy Lunar Eclipse!

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