Sunday, September 7, brings us a total lunar eclipse in Pisces, the last of the zodiacal signs. Much of the world will be able to see the Moon turn a blood reddish rust color, though not in the Americas where the eclipse will occur during daylight.
That’s not to say we won’t feel it. Any Full Moon is a time of intense energy, an eclipse even more so. Astronomically, an eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are close, by degree, to the nodes of the Moon, the invisible points in the sky where the Moon’s path intersects with Earth’s path around the Sun. People in ancient cultures were more attuned to the sky than we moderns. They feared eclipses, studied them, and learned to predict them. There’s nothing special to do during an eclipse, other than to relax! The eclipse may be felt most strongly by people who have planets in the middle degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.)
The September 7 lunar eclipse will be followed by a partial solar eclipse on September 21, at the second of two consecutive Virgo New Moons.
At the September 7 eclipse, the Moon will be close to its own ascending, or North Node, meaning that the symbolism is about what we’re inexorably drawn to and also not (yet) comfortable with. The Sun in Virgo on September 7 is conjunct both the Moon’s South Node, and Virgo’s ruling planet Mercury, in Virgo. There’s a drive to do the right thing, to get all the facts and details under control.
Yet Pisces’ priority is not the minutiae. At best, Pisces is about indiscriminate love and concern for all beings. Under a Full Moon Pisces eclipse, one might feel emotional overwhelm at the sheer magnitude of suffering in our worlds. “Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them,” is the first of the four Boddhisatva vows taken by practitioners of Soto Zen Buddhism. Where would one even begin to try to save all beings? With oneself, or with others? Is there any difference? That’s the spirit of Pisces: unity, not distinction.
The September 7 lunar eclipse comes at a time when the suffering of beings, great and small, is evident everywhere, and nothing signals any let-up.
My friend and first astrology teacher Daniel Fiverson does amazing work in mundane, or world, astrology, specifically regarding Eris, the recently discovered small planet named for the Greek goddess of strife and discord. In his Astrological Weather Report about the September 7 eclipse, Daniel calls Eris “the goddess of strife, the voice of the marginalized, the one who refuses to stay hidden.” Eris is now traveling at 25 Aries and is making a wide and tense square with powerhouse Pluto. The world is on fire (Aries) with power struggles (Pluto) over climate, technology, and the futures of democracies. (Aquarius).
Daniel forecasts that the September 7 eclipse is a prelude to what’s coming: nine exact squares between Eris and Pluto between 2026 and 2030. “Each one strikes at the foundation of the empire, demanding trust, inclusion, and transformation.”
Against the backdrop of the Eris/Pluto squares, the September 7 Full Moon also features a harsh square between Mars in Libra—the struggle for justice—and Jupiter in Cancer—the meanings of “who belongs here,” whether that be in a family or in a nation.
Jupiter, the planetary ruler of the Pisces Full Moon, was, in ancient astrology, considered a “benefic” force. But Jupiter is hardly all good all the time. Jupiter is like a magnifying glass, and while Jupiter is in Cancer this year, there’s a tendency to over-indulge in Cancerian realms of food, feelings, and family, including, again, clannish notions of who’s “in” and who’s “out.”
At the September 7 eclipse, though, Jupiter may play a softening, mediating role in the opposition between the Pisces Moon and the Virgo Sun. Jupiter will be making a 120-degree harmonious trine aspect with the Pisces Moon and a 60-degree encouraging sextile with the Virgo Sun. This configuration between Jupiter at the apex, and the Sun and Moon, is called a wedge. There’s intense focus on Jupiter and opportunities for ease and growth. Jupiter represents one’s calling or purpose: finding it, living it, honoring it.
If there’s a message in the September Full Moon in Pisces, it may be to find one’s purpose by letting go of that which is no longer of service. Advice about letting go is easier said than done—while also being true.
Blessings for the Pisces Full Moon eclipse!
~ Sara
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