Eclipse Season March and April 2024

            We are in the midst of eclipse season and I can feel the powerful energy of the total solar eclipse on April 8th falling at 19 degrees aries. Eclipses are a time for rest and reflection, for letting intuition guide you and having a day where you turn inwards. Journalling, meditation, yoga, writing, reading and learning about self-development or spirituality are favoured. If you can take the day or half day off, please do so because using the powerful energy to engage in self-analysis will be more fruitful than usual. 

      Eclipses bring erratic and unstable energy so it's best not to make major decisions or launch projects, or schedule major life events at this time. Lots of changes, a fair amount of the time of the dramatic variety, and sometimes unexpected things will happen around these months and the few months surrounding it. 

     The last time we had an eclipse at this degree was April 8th 2005,  and it was a solar eclipse.  The eclipses this year are close to the degrees that were eclipsed around 2005/2006. As a result, the eclipses this year will bring similar themes and astrological house focuses as was happening in your life at that time.

     To gain insight as to what these eclipses may bring, look at the house axis in which they fall. In which houses do 5 degrees libra and 19 degrees aries fall in your chart? If conjunct an angle, making a close hard aspect to a planet (conjunction, opposition, square) or conjunct a house cusp, the effects will be noticeable in your life to a much greater degree. The eclipses will show the nature of the planet being activated, as well as the natal aspects and the house that it is in. For instance, if your venus is eclipsed, it will bring somethemes of venus (love, romance, beauty, sensuality, finances, relationships, self-confidence, self-worth, values, creature comforts, art, entertainment) and it will also bring the themes of the house venus is in. If venus is in your 10th house it will influence your career or public status. If it is in your 4th house, it will affect home and family. Then you may consider the natal aspects that venus has; if you have an exact square from venus to saturn it will be a more difficult experience than if your venus is trine jupiter or mercury. Someone who has a venus-saturn square usually has difficulty expressing affection spontaneously, doesn't take enough time for having fun with a partner (too much focus on the duty aspect in love), or witholds parts of themselves in relationships due to fears and anxiety they have. The condition of your planet by sign position (own sign, exalted, detriment, fall) can influence what happens, as can the nature of the sign itself. A planet in gemini will have a focus on the way you think and communicate, the way you express yourself. The moon is not happy in its fall sign of scorpio and will bring difficulty when eclipsed relating to turbulent emotions. Finally, if an eclipse activates a planet, it can influence the house(s) that the planet rules or is the depositor of. If your venus is eclipsed and taurus is on your 10th house cusp and libra is on your 3rd house cusp, then 3rd and 10th house matters can also rise to prominence. If you have your saturn in taurus in the 6th house, then venus is the dispositor of saturn and if venus is eclipsed it can bring up matters connected to the 6th house.  

     In my chart, 5 degrees libra is conjunct my south node in the 3rd house and 19 degrees aries is conjunct my jupiter at 22 degrees aries in my 9th house. Jupiter's natural house is the 9th. Jupiter as well as the 3rd-9th house axis represents foreign travel and foreign cultures. Just yesterday, I finalized the booking of my trip to Maui, Hawaii for two weeks in late May/ early June.  I first visited Maui at age 16 and it made such a long-lasting, beautiful impression in my heart that it remains my favourite destination in the world. It falls close to my Venus-ASC  line in astrocartogaphy and I timed the trip so that Jupiter would make an exact conjunction to my relocated ascendant, will make an exact conjunction to my venus and I will also experience my venus return while there. The lines will always be felt when you travel but you can enhance them further by travelling when the transiting planets are making the appropriate aspects. Astrocartography has been the main focus of my research since the beginning of this year, when I made a decision that I should be travelling much more often. In line with the 3rd-9th house axis activation (representing communications and publishing), I decided to get my psychotherapy website re-designed, and I'm looking forward to publishing it in the coming months. 

      The mercury retrograde is going to be felt more powerfully than usual as it occurs during eclipse season and is currently in transit towards an exact conjunction with the eclipsed degree, 19 degrees aries. Mercury will be exact on the eclipsed degree around April 15th to 17th when in retrograde and then again direct motion around May 4th-6th. To take precautions for what can be tricky mercury retrograde effects, double check all contracts before you sign and read the fine print. Be sure you have the correct locations, dates and times for your appointments.  Ask yourself if you really understand what people are saying whether it is verbally or in written form, and don't make assumptions. Ask questions if you are unclear or something was not explicitly agreed upon. The chance for miscommunications and misunderstandings are higher, as people may later realize they were not on the same page due to expectations that were not clearly set in the beginning. Sometimes unforeseen glitches can arise with electronics. Somehow, on March 31st, the day before mercury retrograde started, a computer update was done (without my awareness) which deleted all the files in the 'my family' section in my solarfire software, which contained hundreds of charts. I have not been able to retrieve them but I also have all birth data saved in my Vedic software so all is thankfully not lost! Mercury retrograde can be a reminder to backup all your data to prepare for these types of surprising and at times weird occurrences when they happen out of the blue. Avoid buying electronics during this time as unexpected problems tend to arise later.

       Around April 8th-10th transiting venus will make an exact opposition to the eclipsed degree of 5 degrees libra. It can bring about something connected with the March 25th eclipse. To illustrate that symbolism, I am getting professional photography done on the 9th, and my neptune (represents photography) is in close square to the eclipsed degree. 

       Around April 19th-21st, transiting jupiter and uranus will make an exact conjunction. This is typically a fortunate transit where most people should receive a boost of luck, an amazing opportunity or even a windfall (if you have a windfall written in your natal chart). This conjunction encourages a sense of adventure, excitement, and taking risks that can add vitality and joy in your life. It can give you the motivation to break free of previously held constrictions or self-limiting beliefs/ self-sabotaging behaviours. Look to the house of your chart where 21 degrees taurus is to see where it will be felt. If you have planets or angles around 17-25 degrees of the fixed signs you can feel this auspicious conjunction as well.

Update (April 13th): Thank you for the warm aloha spirit of my Hawaiian clients. I was not planning to do any readings on my vacation but some of you contacted me as a request and I was able to coordinate May 27th for all day in person readings. I currently have one opening at 9am that day and I will be in Wailea for that segment of my trip. If you are interested in reserving that spot, please email me for details and location.

Update (April 15th): The May 27th at 9am session has been taken. If you are still interested, please email to be on the waitlist if a spot opens up on the 27th or if you would be available on May 28th. One of my lovely Hawaiian clients has generously offered to pay for one reading for a lucky reader of this blog. To be considered, please send an email describing what you have learned from my website, membership plan, self-study courses or past readings/classes with me, which reading you would like, and why you should be selected for the reading. I will accept entries until May 12th and the reading will take place in June. The winner of the contest will be notified by email by May 15th. Entries can be sent to [email protected]

      How are you experiencing eclipse season this year? Feel free to share in the comments.