We have an annular ('ring of fire') solar eclipse this month in the sign of Libra, on Weds 2nd Oct at 7.46pm UK time. This is powerful moment in the astrological calendar which intensifies our experience of truth and justice, and calls us to account for our thoughts and actions. A solar eclipse occurs at a new moon, when the moon lies directly in the path of the Sun, temporarily obscuring the Sun's light. Although this particular solar eclipse will only be observable across the southernmost part of South America, its symbolic effect will be felt powerfully by us all.

This month’s full moon becomes exact in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the UK (3.34am, 18th Sept 2024) and falls this month in the dreamy water sign of Pisces.  It coincides with the Moon making an applying conjunction to Neptune, which can plunge us more deeply into our feelings, our emotional life, and made it harder to focus on practical everyday tasks. This is the tension of the Virgo-Pisces axis that really makes itself manifest at this time, with the Sun being in practical, discerning, detail-oriented Virgo.  Two weeks ago, we had the Virgo new moon, which was all about carefully distilling the essence of our intention in a very particular and focussed way; it was about exercising control and choosing carefully.  The art we need to practice over this full moon is very different though.  It is the art of letting go. It is about accepting that there are things that we simply cannot control, and that we may need to surrender to a situation which is beyond our ability to manage or properly make sense of. 

This month’s new moon occurs at 2.56am on 3rd Sept, UK time.  It's a Virgo new moon, with the Sun and Moon aligning in the sign of the harvest goddess, the fecund earth mother and symbol of feminine authority in the Zodiac.  Virgo is so often misrepresented as a nit-picking critic, or servile adminstrator, when she is really the alchemist of the Zodiac, devoted in service to the restoration of divine feminine wisdom.

We have a new moon in Gemini today at 1.38pm UK time, and it looks like a lively, bubbly, effervescent affair, as new moons go! We have triple alignment in today’s chart, with Venus forming an exact conjunction with the Sun and Moon in the same degree (16˚ of Gemini)! This suggests the seeding, or re-seeding of a dialogue, or flow of communication motivated by a desire for peace, harmony and the recognition of how we are related, one to another. However, we are engaged with others, whether as friends, lovers, family members or with our spirit guides, this type of energy will tend to facilitate a good-humoured exchange, light and friendly, even flirtatious.

We have a new moon in in the sensuous earth sign of Taurus today, a day for us to sow the seed of intention for the month, guided by the medicine of the Bull, with its promise of bounty and fecundity.  Taurus reminds us to slow down, to stay connected to our bodily rhythms, and to the good earth that nourishes us, to stay present to what is, and to take our time to enjoy the pleasures of this beautiful, bounteous season, where the increase of light supports nature's growth. There is a supportive sextile aspect from Saturn, which can help to ground and mature our intentions, while an applying conjunction to Uranus could signal some unexpected developments this month, which might be unsettling, so as we set our intention, it is wise to factor this in, connect to our radical humanness, and be open for surprises! 

This month’s full moon occurs in the early hours of 24th April (00.50 on 24th April) and sees the Sun and Moon making their monthly opposition, with the Sun at 4˚ Taurus and Moon at 4˚ Scorpio. Scorpio is not a restful place for the moon, it stirs up deeply buried feelings and resentments, and we will likely have to face some unconfortable truths over this full moon, especially with the Sun-Moon opposition making a t-square to Pluto in Aquarius. Pluto, the mythological ‘Lord of the Underworld’ is the modern ruler of Scorpio and draws our gaze downward and inward toward the deeper aspects of the soul, away from the light of outer appearances. The square aspect is hard and unforgiving, it darkens the mind, and intensifies the emotional life, delivering the starkest of truths. It is worth pondering on Carl Jung’s famous statement: “one does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious”.

We are experiencing one of the most important astrological alignments of the year as Jupiter and Uranus make their conjunction in Taurus (22˚) over the weekend of 21-22 April 2024. This happens every 14 years, and coincides with accelerated leaps of consciousness, revolution, technological advance and innovation. You might imagine what it's like when far seeing Jupiter, the light bringer and god of thunder meets Uranus, the radical iconoclast and innovator who shatters the old order with the intensity of a lightining strike! Both these planets have their eye on the future, and see beyond constraints and limitations. Their conjunction represents a paradigm shift of vision and ideas.

On Monday 8th April at 19.20pm UK time, we have a solar eclipse on the Aries new moon (at 19˚ Aries). It is certainly a very powerful astrological moment, the themes of which will reverberate powerfully for several months to come. The main astrological feature of the eclipse chart is the sun and moon, conjunct at 19˚ Aries, making an exact conjunction to Chiron, the wounded healer, in the same degree, and an applying conjunction to Mercury (5˚ orb). Aries brings a fiery initiative to spur us into action and catalyse new initiatives but with Chiron conjunct, we are painfully aware of our vulnerability, and we may be compromised in our boldness and courage to initiate. And being a solar eclipse we need to be especially mindful of those aspects of our unconscious which might overshadow our best intentions at such a time, and really connect inwardly with our true motivation and calling.

We are entering eclipse season with a lunar eclipse, over the Full Moon in Libra (5˚). The full moon eclipse occurs at 7am on 25th March, which happens to be my birthday! Having an eclipse right on your birthday is quite a thing, and suggests that this could be an intense year for me personally (though my solar return actually falls a day earlier this year, as I write this on 24th March - phew!). The primary themes of a Libra full moon centre around conflict and harmony, war and peace, action and reflection, the assertion of individual sovereignty - vs - consideration for others. It is about the art of relationship, and the negotiation of agreements within any kind of partnership. It's that eternal question: how do we remain open to connect with another, whilst at the same time retaining an authentic connection with ourselves?

On Sunday 10th March 2024 (9.00am, UK time) we have a new moon in Pisces, as the Sun and Moon align in the sign of the fishes. This water sign connects us to the deepest aspects of our soul life, where we embrace the deeper mystery of how we are connected to one another, and to other realms of being. We have to surrender control in this sign, and recognise that there are things in life that we simply cannot understand through logic and reason. This is the sign in which we process our losses, move through grief, forgive those who have caused us pain, and find our way way back to compassion, both for ourselves and others.

We have a very potent new moon today in Scorpio.  The eclipse season may have passed now, but the intensity that characterised it far from over.  Today the Sun and Moon make their monthly conjunction aligned to the Mars-Uranus opposition, and this packs a punch that can be volatile and unpredictable.  The Sun is applying to a conjunction aspect with Mars and an opposition aspect to Uranus, with tight aspect orbs in both cases. Mars is very strong being in its own sign of Scorpio, and it is at one of the most unpredictable moments in its two year cycle when it opposes Uranus.

As I consider the meaning and symbolism of the Libran new moon solar eclipse (exact on 14 Oct 2023, 6.55pm), I find myself in a deep contemplation on the nature and process of peace, given what has occurred, and is occurring now, so tragically in the Middle East. In the midst of such a heart-breaking conflict flaring up again, with all the complex history that contextualises it, we are inevitably thrown back upon ourselves to address the source of conflict within our own hearts and minds.