The new moon in 21°08’ of Libra on October 14 (12:55 p.m. CDT) is an annular solar eclipse.
This eclipse offers revelation through our connections. We have the ability to be impartial when viewing what is occurring and to bring awareness to something we haven’t been seeing clearly in order to honestly assess what isn’t working.
Something new comes to light that informs us where things have been off balance. Through this experience we have clarity on what we really need and what will create more fulfillment and satisfaction in our relationships.
Solar eclipses are frequently associated with major endings and beginnings. This is the first time we have had an eclipse since the moon’s nodes have crossed into the Aries-Libra polarity on July 17th, 2023.
This eclipse season is notable in that both the annular solar eclipse in Libra on October 14thand the partial lunar eclipse in Taurus on October 28th occur in Venus-ruled signs. The past several months have brought us into a powerful process with the Venus retrograde and this archetype continues to have special emphasis throughout this eclipse season.
What is an Annular Eclipse?
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon appears smaller than the sun, casting a ring of fire around the moon and creating a prolonged shadow. This solar eclipse will be visible in parts of the United States (Oregon, Northern California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas), Mexico, Central America and parts of South America.
The most significant eclipse view, with a ring of fire lasting 5 minutes and 17 seconds, will occur off the coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
This ring of fire eclipse is an extremely rare occurrence. We won’t get another until 2039.
This solar eclipse is rather distinctive in terms of what it is going to bring up. It’s casting an elongated shadow guiding us to something in our lives that we have been blind toward and to which we are now bringing our conscious awareness.
Eclipses occur in 19 year cycles. The last time we had a Libra solar eclipse near this degree was on October 13, 2004.
Thinking back to this time, what events were transpiring? Were there any major endings and new beginnings? What were we being shown around our relationship dynamics? What patterns were being revealed through our connections? Something of a similar vein may come to light now that will show us where things have become imbalanced. In which relationships are we noticing more of what isn’t working? Those dynamics that aren’t giving us what we really need may be more apparent to us. We are beginning to notice how we overextend ourselves or overcompensate to maintain a connection where we aren’t being equally met.
Through this process, we come to a greater understanding of what we want and where we are asked to take more responsibility so that we can build a strong foundation for the kinds of connections that will deeply fulfill us.
South Node eclipses show us situations and cycles that are far past the expiration date. We begin to see where we have been staying the course with something that causes us pain. We are called inward to reflect on our attachments and are asked to come to a resolution within ourselves so that we can purge what no longer serves our soul’s evolution.
The asteroid Persephone aligns with the sun and moon in Libra. This signifies a new beginning or an emergence from the shadow after processing and reflecting on our relationship dynamics. Persephone supports our initiation into the underworld, the transmutation and ultimately our rebirth.
Persephone in Libra shows us where we are afraid to assert ourselves and stand up to advocate for our needs and what is just and fair. We learn to reclaim our power from the places where we have given our power away to others to make decisions for us, or our power has been taken from us.
Persephone rises from the ash as the Queen of the world Underworld, transformed from the process , connected to her sovereignty and empowered.
Pluto Stations Direct
A few days before the eclipse is exact, Pluto stations direct after a five-month retrograde phase (May 1st-October 10th). This energy will bring themes to the surface that have been percolating for a long time, allowing us to face hard truths and to accept them so that we might transform. When a planet stops, its energy is more pronounced, and we may feel its impact more intensely.
This energy activates our ability to witness the shadow within ourselves and within others. Pluto guides us to break free from old barriers and transcend limits, opening new pathways and opportunities for profound changes.
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
Rumi
This is a time of coming into a deeper acceptance of the places in our lives that are no longer working or where we have settled and now feel drained. When we accept the truth, we open to new directions. Through this awareness, we commit to the work that must be done for our personal empowerment journey.
For the last five months, we’ve examined our behaviors and connected to our inner authenticity. We are ready to live more fully from our integrity and release what has been depleting or keeping us from growing.
Pluto has been in a square with Mars, calling us to look at our actions and reflect on where we are reactive and responding from past trauma rather than in present time. This square is also showing abuse of power, acts of war, violence and the impact of this on the collective. We can come into a deeper comprehension of our motives and reactions when we make space for what we are feeling and practice shadow inquiry.
The Archetype of Libra
As an air sign, Libra symbolizes partnership, intimacy, equality and diplomacy. They can make space for others’ perspectives and consider the needs of others, striving for what is fair and just. Libra can translate the unconscious in writing, law and art. Libra is on an archetypal journey to move beyond polarization, to see parts of themselves reflected through the lens of the other, and to understand that there is no me vs. you. There is me in you.
Libra is sometimes misunderstood as being inherently balanced or as being on a journey to achieve a state of equilibrium. Led by their curiosity and their relational instincts, they recognize more of who they are by observing the needs, preferences and the unique subjective reality of another person. Libra is associated with sacred mirroring, where they see that what they admire and project onto others is found within themselves.
Relationships are a way of learning to dance with another and through that process, deciding what types of connections are right for us, what type of dance we are in and how long the dance continues.
When we conform to unspoken agreements and to meeting the expectations of others, we often go against our own truth and find ourselves in conflict and overwhelmed. Through this archetype, we learn when to listen deeply to ourselves, communicate our needs and know when to compromise. This process teaches us to make space for every part of ourselves and others.
Our sense of worth is innate, and not based on our behavior or our choices. It is also not defined by other people’s opinions of us. This is an important time to practice self-care and give grace and acceptance to the parts of ourselves that feel abandoned or powerless. It is also time to practice surrender to express more compassion to ourselves and others.
“If someone does not consider those around them to be valuable and hold only themselves in high regard, they too have a very bad self-esteem.”
Stephen Richards
This eclipse brings us into a deeper conversation through the dance of our relationships. A partner, friend or family member may offer up a projection or an opportunity to shadow dance, but we choose how we respond to the invitation.
Our power is in being level-headed, cultivating our inner observer and trusting our instincts about others and specifically what is motivating the dance. It is not for us to figure out their patterns, but it can help inform us and clarify what we need. This experience is meant to be a catalyst to guide us forward and we decide which behaviors we will meet and animate. This is an opportunity to advance and show up with a new sense of value guiding us forward.
We Examine Our Roles in Relationships
This cycle brings an energetic reset and objective assessment of patterns. Life shows us through our relationships a part of ourselves that is operating from an old pattern and blocking our growth. We begin to recognize where we are still using longstanding survival strategies that have helped us to keep the peace, be liked and meet others’ expectations, but which ultimately cause us pain. We feel tension when we make choices that force us to abandon ourselves in order maintain the equilibrium.
We cannot control the projections, judgements and wounded egos of others, but we can choose how we respond. In fact, healing comes through our ability to examine the specific ways that we react to other people. Our unconscious survival strategies emerge to liberate us from where we have been oppressed. Not speaking up or taking action are also choices, and through feeling the dissonance we can begin to follow the threads beneath our patterns that can bring us to new understanding.
We sense the value someone has by how they treat us. We become aware of the roles they are playing, and we are now being asked to meet our experiences through a new level of self-esteem. We can liberate ourselves from cultural conditioning that we have been reenacting for decades. We no longer must choose to maintain a sense of peace within family dynamics if it goes against our self-respect.
This eclipse guides us into our relationship to judgement. What have we learned through our connections, family and community about judging others? Where have we been unfairly judged? Where have we been the one to judge others and what is that judgement protecting? We may have learned to judge others to feel better about ourselves, but that feeling is fleeting and is often projecting something quite vulnerable. What are we judging in others that we are unable to access or express?
This eclipse is a catalyst to wake us up and offer new insight into our psychological patterns. We reflect on what is truly ours and what is being projected onto us.
“Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
Tara Brach
We Are Redefining Love
This eclipse calls us to a new level of maturity and responsibility in how we love. Tension and frustration teach us where we need to restore balance. We become aware of places where we feel dishonored and drained of our life force or that have rendered us powerless. Through this process, we are learning to allow what is aligned for our soul’s path to guide us forward and to trust in whatever unfolds.
We are creating a new model of love that honors and cherishes the light in others and champions their soul’s evolution. In order to embody this energy, we must explore what we have been taught about love from a culture that internalizes shame and how we often transfer our pain, so that we can liberate ourselves from behaviors that punish and manipulate others from a wounded sense of worth. As we learn to create space for all the parts of ourselves with neutral curiosity and compassion, we can learn to build a new foundation of love that can both hold others and be held more fully. We can learn to clarify our needs and expectations to foster connections that align with our values, accept us for who we are and is deeply resonate to how we wish to live and evolves with us as we grow.
“To return to love, to get the love we always wanted but never had, to have the love we want but are not prepared to give, we seek romantic relationships. We believe these relationships, more than any other, will rescue and redeem us. True love does have the power to redeem but only if we are ready for redemption. Love saves us only if we want to be saved.”
bell hooks
We are shedding an old way of being in relationship so that we emerge with increased self-esteem. This cycle ushers us into a portal of transformation so that we can learn new pathways to foster soul connections.
As we begin to relate from a new way of accessing our power, we must be honest about the role we play in our relationships and the impact of our choices. We receive clarity on where we need to work through difficulty or conflict with others and are committed to grow and create conscious connections. This requires accountability to how we have caused harm to others and to make new choices in how we speak to those in our lives we value.
A new chapter is beginning and we can perceive a type of love that feels real and that we feel we deserve.
“Obstacles are part of the path.”
Robert Ohotto
The Invitation
This solar eclipse initiates a powerful reset in how we relate. New information comes to light that shows us what is outdated and what we are willing and committed to work through to have more conscious connections. This may require uncomfortable dialogues and acknowledgement of how our choices impact those in our lives. Through this experience, we take more ownership for our part in the dynamic, release what isn’t ours and move forward with greater conviction, integrity and decisiveness.
This cosmic energy activates awareness around the places where things feel like they are not operating from an equal playing field. We bring our attention to where we need to restore balance and are called to advocate for injustices.