Taurus Lunar Eclipse: Letting Go
It’s time to let go. We will experience a Full Moon-Lunar Eclipse on October 28, 2023, at 5 degrees of Taurus. This is a partial Lunar Eclipse as only part of the moon will be visible.
It is the last eclipse of the recent Taurus-Scorpio eclipse cycle and will be a culmination of the New Moon Solar Eclipse that occurred in Taurus on April 30, 2022. Think back — what was happening in your life at that time? You may notice a connection to events or realizations that are occurring in your life now.
At a Lunar Eclipse, a Full Moon appears red as it passes through Earth’s shadow, distorting circadian rhythms. It feels otherworldly. For a few moments, we exist in between. The order we expect feels upside-down. A pause calls us to release.
A Full Moon brings a “flowering;” it is the culmination of something that has been building. We look at what we have nurtured and grown (or what we haven’t), and what we have created. We assess. We decide what must be released, and what we will allow to bear fruit as we soon move toward the waning lunar cycle, toward the harvest. A Lunar Eclipse makes this process that much more potent.
The axis of Taurus-Scorpio especially speaks to themes of security and attachment, worth, and values. If you have strong placements in Taurus or Scorpio — such as your Sun, Moon, or Rising/Ascendant — you likely will experience this eclipse very powerfully. Those with strong Leo and Aquarius placements may notice some bigger shifts as well.
And if you have any placements at 5 degrees (or close) you will also experience some rumbling. These experiences and events may be felt as early as six weeks before. And, keep in mind there is also an overlap occurring with the Solar Eclipse that occurred two weeks ago on October 14.
Decisions at this time, whether made by us or foisted upon us, will ripple out across time. We may feel them before they happen as an uncomfortable rumble within the body, and we will likely feel them for months afterward, depending on our birth charts and the level of impact we experience.
Sometimes the effects, the aftershocks, will be felt for years A new era in our lives ushers in. We are no longer who we were before. We have blossomed into something new, and it’s quite possible we can’t continue to be as we were before.
Perhaps, unlike a Solar Eclipse, we see a way forward under the strange red glow of the Full Moon-Lunar Eclipse. We’ve had a moment of awakening. We know what we must do — or we are presented with a “new normal.” We have no choice but to let something, or maybe someone, go.
Even in times of creation — by creating something new — an old way, or a version of ourselves, must be released.
For example, perhaps by marrying you let go of the freedom of singlehood. By divorcing, you grieve a lost relationship, yet open the path to a new future, burnished by the pain and loss. A new child brings great joy, yet also grieving for an old identity that must be shed to step into a new way of relating as you guide a new life into the world.
We are always letting go, and then beginning anew; these cycles often overlap. Growing and dying at the same time. Inhabiting both cycles of growth and decay, just as the plants and the trees continue their cycles through the quickening rush and blossom of spring and summer, and the decay and dormancy of fall and winter, integrating growth, pausing before awakening yet again, starting a new cycle nurtured by the remnants of the past that are composted to create the soil that supports a new spring, a new season within the cycle of life.
What are you releasing this eclipse season? What comes next for you?
Eclipses can feel overwhelming. Be sure to take extra good care of yourself. Rest when you can. Let yourself simply “be” as much as possible. Find solace in knowing that all is as it should be — that there is an order to the cycles and seasons of life.
