Spring Eclipse Season 2024 began with the New Moon of Aquarius on February 9, a full two months before the Total Solar Eclipse of April 8 at 19° Aries 24′, because it is the energetically strongest eclipse for the United States of America since the total Solar Eclipse of 1918. Effects of this eclipse began to manifest in early 2023 because of its pronounced effect in our land. The Shadow Path crosses from the southwest border to the northeast coast.
A Penumbral Lunar Eclipse precedes the Total Solar Eclipse on March 25, at 5° Libra 07′. [If I can get time for an article on these eclipses, I’ll link it here.]
This article is a general guide for every eclipse season; specific effects and events associated with these eclipses are not delineated herein. Though Astrologers recognize longer effects of eclipse season, up to two or more years (depending on the length of the eclipse and other factors), most people will notice the effects during the period defined above.
During eclipse season, one month before the first eclipse and one month after the second (a solar eclipse and lunar eclipse typically occur together in a pair two weeks apart), edginess, uneasiness and uncertainty may alternate with inspiration, enthusiasm, and uplift as the interplay of light and dark intensifies — literally and symbolically. Electromagnetic changes in our ionosphere correlate with shifting currents of change and conscious awareness, polarity and conflict amplification, and accelerated evolution.
S
eismic Activity is reliably associated with Eclipse Season, again occurring within a month before to a month after, and sometimes longer depending on trigger factors such as activation of the eclipse degrees by transiting Mars. The Ring of Fire is the area where seismic activity is concentrated and constantly active year around. Larger events in the Ring of Fire and around the world are most often associated with Eclipse Season.
Eclipse sets (a solar and a lunar, or vice versa) occur on average, twice annually, six months apart. The ‘season’ associated with each set is measured from one month before the first eclipse, through one month after the second eclipse of each set. This three-month period marks concentrated activity and amplification of life energies, described by:
- The eclipse position in the zodiac in general for social issues; and,
- Its position in your birth chart for energies and experiences that are meaningful for you and your life.
NASA photo.
In addition to the period of the eclipse season, eclipse degrees are activated by planets passing through them over time, so effects can be noted for one to two years (or more) after eclipse events, when the degrees are triggered. Effects are also triggered in advance of the eclipse events. Eclipses repeat at the same degrees of the zodiac every 18.6 years (the metonic cycle).
The solar eclipses are the greater events, though the day of the eclipse will likely be quiet (a solar eclipse is an eclipsed New Moon), and effects will manifest more visibly as the Moon waxes (grows in light). Lunar Eclipses that either precede or follow the Solar Eclipse, mark the strongest energetic manifestations and releases of energy; either in initiation and preparation for the Solar Eclipse (if it precedes the solar eclipse), or in bringing the Solar Eclipse energies to a climax (if it follows the solar eclipse).
Though eclipse sets and their seasons sometimes mark the darkest events on earth such as:
- Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident (1979)
- Destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City (1995)
- “9-11” (Mars opposed/activated the Solar Eclipse of June 21 at 0° Cancer on September 11, 2001)
- Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010)
- Fukushima nuclear accident (2011),
They are also one of the best times to consciously work with the energies of the Power Sphere* to gain whole being progress in our lives. During an eclipse set, the collective Kundalini (transformational) energy of Earth and all creatures is amplified. Every eclipse set relates directly to the set preceding it six months earlier, and also to the set that follows six months in future. Six-month eclipse markers correlate with polarity switching in matters that concern us as individuals and society, and intensified experiences of the life stream.
This timing cycle is especially evident with people who are working to become free from addictions. As they integrate their beings to stabilize a drug or alcohol-free life — if they are not yet wholely committed to their path of self-healing — they will often ‘fall off the wagon’ at the eclipse set that follows the one in which they initiated their life correction. This happens because of the conscious-/ unconscious-self polarity that eclipses activate — a challenge for those wrestling with addictions. We may see this six-month pattern in the fields of experience (defined by the houses of our birth charts) activated by eclipse seasons as the pendulum of progressive integration swings to and fro, and we accordingly negotiate steps of purging and progress, contraction and expansion, release and new engagement for better function and living if we choose to courageously go for whole life and use everything for good!
The unique nature of each eclipse set can be delineated by many factors, including whether the eclipses are North Node or South Node, total or annular, which I will not discuss here. If one or both eclipses contact a sensitive point in your astrology birth chart, you will personally be experiencing their transformational pressure in your life in a significant way. And collective experiences naturally amplify during eclipse season.
Tips for Living in Eclipse Season
Some generalizations have been observed that pertain to every eclipse season for everyone, and knowing them can help us maintain soul-centered stability during eclipse trepidations, inspirations, and challenges; a time when past, present, and future intertwine in a particularly meaningful way on planet Earth.
Dreamtime is amplified. The veils between superconscious, conscious, and subconscious mind are thinner during eclipse season. It’s a great time to pay attention to your dreams and identify what issues of integration your soul wants to accomplish. If you have had recurring dreams throughout your life, you may be more likely to have one during eclipse season. We can make good progress with decisions and commitments without having to physically experience the issues — in actualizing soul-integration opportunities offered by our dreams.
- Fasting is especially helpful in preparing for eclipse sets, and eases our body’s ability to evolve, adapt and change.
- As mentioned above, seismic activity increases during Eclipse Season. This opens up karmic records and stirs our souls from the deep past.
- News, media, and world events are amplified, and media can become especially discordant and shrill, even obsessive and hysterical. Too much attention to this is dis-empowering and distracting. World events amp-up during eclipse season as our collective consciousness pot is stirred, earth changes and weather events are more dramatic, and polarity conflicts are sharpened.
- Our sense of time changes. It is normal to have a day or several days in which our sense of time is off, we feel like we have lost time, or that time is especially speedy.
- Animals are spookier, and so are we. Unsettling shifts in the ionosphere, and shifting polarizations between light and darkness trigger instinctual ‘fright, fight, or flight’ in human and animal beings. Pets may suddenly change litter habits or their routine order in the home. Or, if their energy is repressed in some way, their subconscious will need to assert and ‘out’ that energy (oversensitive, defensive, or bitey). Pets and large animal friends can often ‘see’ spirit entities that are more active during eclipse season. The six-month polarity switch cycle can often be observed with domesticated animals. Your pet or animal friend may need extra reassurance, and your own instincts and soul senses should be consciously noted, appreciated and honored, that the animals symbolize and reflect to you. Be alert and aware of your surroundings, and take heed to your security.
- It is more difficult to meditate and concentrate because of the shifting currents and restlessness associated with eclipse season. It’s also especially beneficial to be more committed to true-self centering with a method you enjoy and prefer; consciously bringing the light of life and love into inner darkness of fears, confusion, and self-negation.
- It’s natural to be inspired, uplifted, positive about the future and expansive one day; and then feel discouraged, incapable, depressed, and deflated the next.
This doesn’t mean you have some disorder, it is HUMAN. Eclipses on natal chart personal points can be powerfully used for self- and social integration, but if we try to maintain comfort zones and resist growth, they can also be experienced as dis-integrative.
A stronger element of illusion permeates our perceptions, especially if the eclipse is triggering a sensitive point in one’s astrology birth chart (natal chart). For this reason, the reality of a situation may not be as bad — or as good — as it appears to be. Appearances in general can be deceiving, and we are more vulnerable to deception, mass deception, and self-deception.
- Relationships and projects started up during an eclipse are usually transitional, and not stable and permanent. A new job, a new joint endeavor, or especially — new love — is not likely to last longer than a couple of weeks, or six months at best. The degree of disillusionment is equal to the degree of excitement and thrill that one initially experienced in the startup. This is because of our projections of what we think we want onto other people and circumstances, which may lack real substance and quickly fritter away into nothing. There are exceptions to this. If we are engaged in a project or relationship that really doesn’t suit us, an eclipse can be suddenly CORRECTIONAL and help us shift back on track. When that happens, it is readily evident. In addition, the extra power of eclipse time can manifest as an endeavor that becomes significant on the world stage (e.g., Facebook, whose initial public offering occurred during the week of a solar eclipse). But initiation of long lasting and stable new associations during eclipses are rare, in my observation, and the closer to an eclipse event they occur, the more likely they are to be transitional only.
- Libido / sex drive is stronger.
- If the eclipse degree is significant in your personal birth chart, something in your life may be suddenly GONE. This can be shocking. You could lose something you value, have something stolen, or experience the loss of someone in death. This is something you don’t feel ready to release which is stressful and painful. Let it go as quickly and freely as possible, so life can fill the void with something better, though this process may take time. It is the transformation process, your soul knows what is just right for you to release, even if you can’t see that at all right now. If you had all of the information on the matter, you would understand why it is time for such a change. In working with this natural process of deep releasing requisite to taking a strong evolutionary step forward, stay aware and present so you don’t lose something, like your keys, that can really inconvenience you. “Going unconscious” or relying on automatic behavior can be a vulnerability during eclipse season. Habitual behavior and old conditioning creates problems in this time of shift and change, and takes us out of ‘tune’.
We are on tenterhooks about something and wish we had information we don’t have. This will not change until the eclipse season has settled, because light (info) is withheld. Either we can be very stressed about what we want to know so badly, or best approach — we can live moment by moment, making decisions with the information available, even when we can’t see our next step forward in the ‘amplified life concern’.
- The Season of Change is accompanied with winds, temperature fluctuations, and contrasts between light and dark.
It is typical to have a day in which clouds are moving quickly and sometimes blocking the sun, while temperatures drop and rise throughout the day. You can feel change in the air, edginess, and unknowns, which is thrilling and a bit scary. The amplified interplay and contrast of light and dark manifests through life’s myriad forms and elements, like sunsets and storms. So if you’re a photographer keep your best camera handy!
- BE FLEXIBLE and forgiving. Scheduling, events, and plans often must be adjusted and require adapting. Allowing life to flow and shift while maintaining faith and inner serenity, and allowing other people the freedom to do what they need to do, works best. Extra patience with each other is very helpful.
Eclipse passages offer us a step-up into better life engagement and functionality. We can use the extra energy of these passages to break old habits, and change our lives. Making a list of what you want to purge from your life before the solar eclipse of each set occurs is an especially potent exercise.
It is necessary for our egos to let go of ‘knowing’ what to do, or seeing our way through eclipse matters, because we simply can’t. Living day-to-day, letting the mind and ego release control and “knowing”, taking one step at a time as it becomes clear, releasing and purging as we are prompted, will bring us to exactly where we need to be when the eclipse season has passed. Often the outcome is different from what one envisioned before the eclipse. Often it is a more accurate outcome for the truth of You.
Be courageous, stretch and expand, breathe deeply, enjoy the intensity, and choose whole life! Wishing you a liberating eclipse season with potent progress and realizations.
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Power Sphere – The myriad, ever-changing and evolving energies, qualities, characteristics, and cycles of Life, Being, and Becoming as-a-whole.