On December 4th at 1:43 a.m. CST, the total solar eclipse becomes exact at 12.5 degrees of Sagittarius. This eclipse is an invitation to expand beyond our current belief systems and envision a new world. We reach up to the heavens and upgrade into higher consciousness. This eclipse is visible from Antarctica and has partial views at the southernmost tips of South America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Solar eclipses signify major endings and the beginning of a new experience, project, or cycle.
They occur approximately every 19 years at the same degree and sign. The last time we had a south node solar eclipse at that degree and sign was on December 4th, 2002. You are likely to feel a resonance to some of the themes that were emerging then. When you think back on that time, ask yourself: Were there any significant endings and beginnings? What learning opportunities did life present? Were there any old belief systems shifting in me? Where was life asking me to expand and evolve?
The Archetype of Sagittarius
Sagittarius is the archetype of embodied understanding. Sagittarius seeks to find a higher meaning and purpose in the exploration of life. The archetypal contract of Sagittarius is a quest that necessitates rising beyond the refuge of our familial and culturally conditioned belief systems to experience what the truth feels like in the present moment. By surrendering what we think we know, we can experience life as our teacher.
The shadow side of Sagittarius is fundamentalism and needing to convince everyone that our truth is the truth. It is because we struggle with our own disbelief that we want to convince others to believe our truths. Sagittarius is the seeker of spiritual truth. Looking for the truth implies that we can find something. We try to hold on to truth, point to it, or lock it down out of insecurity.
When we decide that we already know, we are no longer open to our experience.
As we grow and evolve, there is always something to learn and understand. Truth is a lived experience. It is a direct experience and can only be found within us. Our personal ambition must be transformed into a spiritual aspiration to find balance and meaning.
Sagittarius awakens through inspiration, vision, and humility. In their highest expression, they live life in a practice of spiritual surrender, fully trusting that the Universe is conspiring for their good. They follow their natural enthusiasm, optimism, and idealism.
Sagittarius must be adaptable, expansive, and adventurous to embark on this journey. True freedom is giving ourselves full permission to be humans on a spiritual journey.
Align to Destiny
This total solar eclipse and new moon in Sagittarius signifies the completion of a cycle. For the past 18 months, we’ve been in an eclipse cycle between the north node in Gemini and the south node in Sagittarius. The south node symbolizes what we are moving away from and releasing, both individually and generationally. Through massive clearing and cleansing, we create space for the new. The Moon’s nodes spend roughly a year and a half in each sign before retrograding into the preceding sign. (They are always retrograde.) This eclipse is the last in the series. On December 22nd, the north lunar node enters Taurus while the south node shifts into Scorpio. We won’t see another eclipse in Sagittarius until 2029. This eclipse concludes the archetypal journey with the Sagittarius/Gemini polarity.
Eclipses are portals of change. They usher in evolution.
They are a time of total darkness as one luminary blocks out the other, signifying a moment removed from our viewpoint. Our attention turns inward, prompting us to see beyond the veil. We trust intuitive sight.
Eclipses mark noteworthy life events. Change accelerates to align us to our next path of soul growth. We shed the aspects of our life that no longer serve us. As this is a solar eclipse, we plant seeds in the darkness and trust that the soil will be nourished and illuminated by the sun’s rays and sprout, as we implement changes over the next six months. Solar eclipses invite us to trust that light will come as we stand in a moment of obscurity before the new beginning emerges.
This total solar eclipse occurs near the Moon’s south node (also in Sagittarius). It thus has a significant influence on how the past affects us in the present, guiding us to be able to release certain restrictive forces that are holding us back in order to move forward and initiate a new and powerful consciousness to come.
Over the past 18 months, the eclipse series has provided a powerful cleansing of the Sagittarian part of our lives. It began in June 2020 and now ends here in December 2021. This cycle was characterized by a global epidemic, debates on truth, social and racial injustices, and widespread demand for change. It was initiated with anger and revolution. It required that we hold steady in our intuitive knowing while simultaneously shedding old paradigms.
This is a time of clearing old belief systems. Some belief systems we have adapted from our culture, some we have mistaken as identity, and some we’ve held on to for lifetimes. With one fell swoop, we shed a layer and step into a new reality.
The Great Attractor
This total solar eclipse is conjunct the gravitational pull point in the Laniakea Supercluster called The Great Attractor. It is located at 14 degrees of Sagittarius in astrology, but its significance is still emerging due to its recent discovery.
The Great Attractor appears to be a tremendous concentration of mass and energy, absorbing adjacent galaxies at an unfathomable speed of 600 kilometers per second. This mass concentration is hundreds of times more extensive than our Milky Way, yet exact knowledge eludes scientists as it remains incalculable and unfathomable.
The Great Attractor is an anomaly because it operates like a black hole (warping time, space, and light). Unlike a black hole, it lacks an event horizon (and therefore does not meet the traditional definition of a black hole). The Great Attractor seems to be pulling many superclusters of galaxies. Our own Milky Way is one of 100,000 galaxies included in this cluster.
It signifies fate and destiny, the unknown, precognition, seeing around corners, and insights. Philip Sedgwick writes, “The enormous gravity of the Great Attractor actually bends light around it. It bends the light so much that a glimpse of what is behind it can be taken. This quality of gravitational lensing provides clear behind-the-scenes insights, while simultaneously offering other refractive illusions. All we truly know is that it’s big.” (Read more Phillip Segwick’s research here.)
An alignment with the Galactic Center connects us to our magnetism and facilitates clearing to make room for the new consciousness. It functions like a software upgrade. This energy is so powerful that it can affect us on a global scale, causing massive shifts to occur. The Earth receives new frequencies that can help advance consciousness, inspire new ideas, and open us to deeper understanding.
Cosmic Weather
Black Moon Lilith is summoning us to speak out and stand up for causes that are important to us and impact our community. Her purpose is to dismantle limited belief systems, connect to the wisdom within, and call for freedom. In Gemini, she asks us to use our voice, writing, and unconventional forms of communication to convey truth as well as reflect on where we avoid confrontation and/or block our expression of truth. We are asked to discern when our soul is nudging us to speak out, or when we need to listen and instead hold space for others to share their story.
The Moon is quincunx Uranus in Taurus, activating freedom, truth, and a higher mind. Energy moves like waves of cosmic codes offering the blueprint for a new world that integrates Divine Intelligence and Earth.
Neptune in Pisces stations direct this week after a five month retrograde phase.We may feel a bit of confusion as the waves of energy shift and the fog of illusions dissipate. We live in connection to synchronicity, creativity, and intuitive guidance. New truths emerge. Our dreams speak to us in volumes. We see how intrinsically linked we are to source. We see the reality of what needs to change while being hopeful about what is imaginable and achievable. This is the time to act on your intuition and move ahead with presence, awareness, and self connection.
This total solar eclipse is trine in Chiron, activating opportunities to heal emotional pain and opening a pathway for deeper acceptance and compassion. What arises now comes as medicine to support our awareness and accelerated growth. Ask yourself: What spiritual lessons have I learned that I am most thankful for? Where is life showing me an opportunity to grow? Am I able to find meaning behind the deepest pain? Where can I be more truthful with myself and others? What if I didn’t need to convince anyone of my truth or faith, but rather I just lived mine?
Jupiter, Sagittarius’ ruling planet, is presently in the sign of Aquarius and making a square to Mars in Scorpio. We may be drawn in two distinct directions: on the one hand, we wish to immerse ourselves in a new area of study and interact with like-minded people, while on the other hand, we long for profoundly truthful conversations and genuine connection.
Eris and Mars awaken warrior energies as well as human rights, and freedom. Eris is the Goddess of Creative Chaos, and she challenges systems that are no longer beneficial to society as a whole. Eris is willing to provoke discord and chaos to cast light on the shadow of the culture. She speaks up for those who are marginalized, outcasts, or uninvited. Mars and Eris ask if we are willing to fight for our freedom and advocate for equal rights for all.
This solar eclipse will be conjunct to Mercury, clearing the cognitive debris that is obstructing our pursuit for the truth. This aspect invites philosophical composure to reflect back on your last 18 months.
These next six months are essential to practice presence, integrate lessons, and trust our inner wisdom. As we evolve and expand our knowledge on our journey, we may never have all the answers, still we can choose to open life.
We can best utilize this energy by creating a ritual to connect to higher meaning and honor this transformative time in a way that feels authentic to us.
May this final solar eclipse of the Sagittarius south node transit provide us with the opportunity to release the old paradigm and meet the moment.