Season of the Eclipse
Growing up, I thought eclipses happened randomly, like shooting stars appearing out of the blue. I remember my father pulling off the side of the road one summer and looking at a solar eclipse through a hole in a cardboard box. In that moment it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At that time I didn’t yet know that eclipses are a part of a larger pattern within the dance of the sun, moon, and earth.
eclipse etymology
The word eclipse comes from ekleipsis, the ancient Greek word for being abandoned. Although this refers to the disappearance of celestial bodies, it could also point to the way that eclipses are like inversions - day becomes night - a reminder to suspend or abandon reality and expect the unexpected.
Stories about the significance of eclipses are culturally specific and often involve an animal or creature eating or swallowing the sun or moon. These mythologies can provide context and inherited understandings about eclipses across time and place. This article looks at eclipses through the lens of self-study in relationship with cycles, basic astronomy, and themes in tropical astrology for healing and transformation.
lunar nodes
If the moon’s orbit wasn’t tilted 5 degrees in relationship with the path of the sun, every full and new moon would bring an eclipse. Eclipses only occur when the moon crosses a point on its orbit called the lunar node. These nodes are mathematically calculated points in space where the orbit of the moon crosses the path of the sun.
Lunar Nodes, also called the Nodes of Fate, have been been a part of astrology for thousands of years. In Vedic astrology the nodes are known as the head and tail of the dragon Rahu and Ketu, and are a link to karma and destiny. They are said to be like keys that help to unlock spiritual life lessons.
Watch this video to learn more about the energy and significance of nodes: Eclipses and Lunar Nodes.
The North Node is the ascending node - symbolizing what needs to be developed, and the South Node the descending - symbolizing what needs to be composted and integrated. In the graphic below the NN is illustrated by the green dot and the SN is shown as the pink one. The symbols for the nodes look a bit like horseshoes.
eclipse astrology
Even though the nodes are not physical bodies like planets, their position can be calculated against the backdrop of the zodiac. The nodes come in pairs that are 180 degrees across from each other, meaning they are opposed, or six signs apart. The pairs of nodes are: Aries and Libra, Taurus and Scorpio, Gemini and Sagittarius, Cancer and Capricorn, Leo and Aquarius, Virgo and Pisces. Your personal North and South node can be found on a birthchart and corresponds to the sign that the eclipses were in the year you were born.
Lunar nodes are always in retrograde motion, meaning they move “backwards” through the zodiac. Since the nodes take about 18 months to change signs, this offers time to refine the lessons for each particular signs that the nodes are in. Eclipse seasons can serve as a chance to practice life review.
On January 18, 2022 the nodes will shift to Taurus and Scorpio. Below are the dates for the eclipse seasons this year:
Partial SOLAR Eclipse Apr 30, 2022, at 10° Taurus 28′ North Node
Total LUNAR Eclipse May 16, 2022, at 25° Scorpio 18′ South Node
Partial SOLAR Eclipse Oct 25, 2022, at 2° Scorpio 00′ South Node
Total LUNAR Eclipse November 8, 2022, at 16° Taurus 01′ North Node
Image credit: Unknown artist, please message to update
Notes on North Node in Taurus:
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." - Lao Tzu
Earth takes the time it needs
Sustainable slow growth is sturdy
What are your containers for the garden of your life?
What is enough? Develop and deepen self-worth that is not based on validation or approval of others
Personal finances - where is money coming from and going to?
Being a steward and a part of the ecology where you live
Earth body, body earth, sensual pleasure
Have your cake and eat it too
#Landback
Notes on south Node in scorpio:
Seek mutually empowering relationships
Emotions are energy-in-motion, water holds memory, get unstuck through release and expression
Powerful storms create energy to transform and transcend
Themes of exposing what is hidden, secrets, anything and everything taboo
Unearth what’s true through experience, questions, investigation, research, inquiry, and being open to other points of view
Tend to shared resources
Who are you mixing your energy (money, time, fluids) with? Practice discernment
Face fears and reconnect with the primal source of your inner strength
cycles and seasons of eclipses
Conditions for eclipses take place twice a year. These “eclipse seasons” consist of at least one pair of consecutive solar and lunar eclipses. Eclipse seasons happen about every six months like clockwork. They also repeat their unique configuration every 18 years in what is called the Saros cycle, offering a chance to learn from the past and refine particular life lessons.
The rhythm of eclipses creates cycles of shadows and illumination that can be helpful tools for healing and transformation. Eclipses serve as energetic portals or catalysts to create pressure to face the unknown, reset, and uplevel. They often show us what is out of alignment.
These events help shake things up on an energetic level to accelerate change. There are two types of eclipses, solar and lunar, and both relate to the lunar nodes described below.
solar elipses
SOLAR eclipses can only happen on a NEW moon when the moon blocks the sunlight coming to earth. In this alignment, the moon eclipses the sun. Look for themes of releasing masks that hide your true self, identity, or soul’s purpose. In astrology the sun represents the self or the source of life; what is needed for you see yourself in a new light?
lunar eclipses
LUNAR eclipses can only happen on a FULL moon when the earth blocks the sunlight from reaching the moon. In this alignment the earth casts a shadow on the full moon. Look for themes that surface from the subconscious or dreams, seek opportunities to heal the past, look for ways to shed old layers.
Knowing that eclipses are not random occurrences, but happen every six months, you can begin to track the themes and events that arise during eclipse season and notice any patterns or big shifts that occur.
The eclipse cycles and lunar nodes give a window into areas of growth and what is being activated personally in your natal chart, and collectively as a global community. They are like check-in points throughout the year to help realign with your intentions and lessons you are here to learn. Look at the themes of the nodes, look at where they are transiting your chart.
Deepen your eclipse studies by practicing self-study in relationship with cycles!
The 2025 edition of the New Moon Calendar Journal and Lunar Wall Calendar are available in the shop! Order your copy today.
This simple and beautiful circular calendar establishes the new moon as the starting point for each monthly cycle. By using a circular calendar you perceive time in relation to nature more clearly, and patterns in your own experience become more apparent. It provides a structure for connecting to your inner wisdom and natural rhythms.
Article composed and compiled by April McMurtry for THE MOON IS MY CALENDAR
Resources:
Astrology for the Soul Jan Spiller
Eclipses and You by Judith A. Hill
