Understanding September’s Eclipses

Eclipses are the course-correctors of the cosmos. They realign and adjust trajectories much like a chiropractor adjusts bones. Eclipses can also be seen as portals to alternate timelines, stories, and even physical space. One moment we’re “here,” the next moment, we’re “there,” and we can’t recall the journey between the two. Hence, eclipses can be experienced as disruptive and confusing. They can fast track changes that are already underway, or they can stop you in your tracks if a reroute is in order. However you experience them, new information is always a part of the equation.

September’s eclipses happen on the Virgo-Pisces axis. In general, this means we’ll be dealing with the axes of purity-toxicity, sacrifice-indulgence, and pragmatism-mysticism. There are more pairings I could list, but those are a good start. When working with zodiacal axes it’s important to remember that opposites are two expressions of the same topic. As in life, the truth about any topic isn’t located on either end of the axis. It’s located in the integration of the two points and how they converse with each other across the spectrum.

The first eclipse of the month occurs on September 7. It’s a total lunar eclipse (full Moon) in Pisces. Both the sign of Pisces and full Moons carry the astrological symbolism of culmination and release of energy. The eclipse acts as a booster to the already high emotionality and expression of the full Moon. This particular eclipse is ruled by Jupiter, which is now in the sign of Cancer, a water sign like Pisces. This speaks to situations of overflow; be it the overflow of sentiment, sensation, or, quite literally, water itself. The fact that this is a north node eclipse, turns up the volume even more. The north node has correlations to intensity and hunger. There’s an amplification of Piscean mandates: unity, forgiveness, transcendence, empathy, and imagination.

As this Moon reflects the Sun in Virgo, it will attempt to reclaim and heal the places that the Virgo Sun judged too harshly, cut too savagely, or desiccated within an inch of its life. Pisces wants to inject a life-giving dose of hydration into the cool and arid earth of Virgo. This could also be experienced as mercy, a mercy-killing, or an accidental drowning of plants that you meant to save. With Saturn traveling retrograde through Pisces as well, the boundaries that we usually rely upon to control liquids, feelings, and contaminants might fail us.

The second eclipse of the month is a partial solar eclipse (new Moon) in Virgo on the 21st. During a solar eclipse, the light of the Sun gets obscured by the Moon. There’s an interruption in the consistent, life-giving awareness of the Sun that plunges us, if just for a moment, into the murkier depths of the subconscious. New Moons are a seeding point that mark the beginning of a new cycle. Virgo’s planetary ruler is Mercury, which makes it the ruler of this eclipse. Mercury is currently in Libra, which would typically indicate a judicious and even-keeled start to a new cycle, but there are complications.

This eclipse sits with the south node of the Moon, which has correlations to loss, the past, and spiritual development. There could be diminishment of Virgoan aptitudes if they’ve been misused. Attempts at perfectionism, martyrdom, exclusion, cold logic, and materialism might have to be sacrificed for a new beginning. This eclipse also sits in opposition to a Saturn-Neptune conjunction, a frustrating and beguiling pairing that indicates collapsing structures but also the ability to make something out of nothing (for better or worse).

Pluto and Uranus also make contact with this eclipse, deepening its power to radically transform situations. The final feature that makes this eclipse a lot more unstable and extreme is that it happens at the 29th degree of Virgo. The 29th degree of any sign is traditionally marked for fated events, crises, and turning points. Mars will also be at the 29^th degree of Libra on this day. All of these factors give this particular eclipse a sharper edge to cut out the things in our life that we consider harmful. The danger with a south node eclipse in Virgo is cleaning something so hard that you destroy it, or ripping something beautiful to shreds when all it needed was an alteration.

Ideally, this eclipse season will challenge us to find the courage to feel deeply. Let’s do the hard work that needs to be done, not in the name of purity, but in the name of compassion.