It’s he-ere. One of the most talked about pressure points of 2023. Solar eclipse at 29-50 Tropical Aries. This is happening on April 20th, 12:13 AM EST and April 19th 9:13 PST. Not even 20 minutes after it happens, the moon will hop into Taurus. Four hours later, the sun will join the party, and 28 ½ hours later, Mercury’s going retrograde … in Taurus, conjunct Uranus.
So buckle up because we have a lot of chart to get through.
The beginning of the week
The moon starts the week in Pisces, will pass over Neptune Monday morning, and will be void of course Monday afternoon. That makes Monday morning a good creative brainstorming time and Monday afternoon a wonderful time to organize your desk, home, and clear out other spaces. Hold implementing ideas from Monday morning until Tuesday.
Leading up to the eclipse, the Moon will spend the middle of the week moving over Chiron and Jupiter in Aries. Tuesday and Wednesday, look for recurring themes from the previous couple of weeks when these bodies were together in the sky with the sun.
Then, Wednesday night or early Thursday, the eclipse happens. The party starts. Here’s what to know.
What’s an anaretic degree?
Simply, it’s the final degree of a sign. When a planet begins moving out of a sign, the energy of that sign doesn’t just transmute into the next. The energy of the planet in the sign gets stronger. Think of it as an extinction burst before a planet hops into the other sign. It’s a critical degree, just like the degree 0, so astrologers consider it a “fated degree.” That means big stuff will happen globally this week. What that big stuff is depends on the sign and house this eclipse appears in, so let’s dive in.
Aspects to the eclipse
First, Cliff’s Notes version of what an eclipse is. An eclipse happens when the moon and sun are both on top of the lunar nodes, which is where the moon passes over the ecliptic, or earth’s horizon line. When the sun and the moon are opposite each other or together on this line, you get an eclipse. In the case of a solar eclipse, the sun and moon are together, meaning it’s a conjunction.
Eclipse in an out-of-sign square with Pluto. Whenever Pluto is involved, the changes are huge, intense, dive deep, and might not be felt by the Average Joe for a few months from now. Side note: in a few months, Pluto will form an exact T-square with the nodes, which is an aspect I’ve had my eye on for this year. More on that later.
This eclipse is calling on us to think about how we’re going to restructure our world through Pluto’s journey through Tropical Aquarius. It’s unclear where Pluto has his exaltation and fall, but for my money, Pluto is in his fall in Aquarius. That’s not because it’s bad luck, rather, it’s because it signifies the fall of wealth and the fall of kings (see the French Revolution the last time Pluto was in this sign).
Eclipse conjunct the North Node This is weak for transit charts, and the only reason I’m counting it is because it’s an eclipse. And since this is a “fated degree” and the North Node oversees soul purpose, life’s mission, and in other words, “fate,” I can’t ignore it.
See the above. This eclipse signifies an “extreme makeover, life edition” in the heavens and hammering in the direction we’re headed. Pay attention to what comes up in your news feed, particularly news regarding technology and since this eclipse is in Aries, war and conflicts.
Ceres, the Nurturer
Ceres is an asteroid that’s classified as a dwarf planet, which means it’s in the same category as Pluto. She’s in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter and the largest body in the Belt according to NASA. Ceres is the Roman goddess of the harvest and the mother of Persephone, Pluto’s wife.
In astrology, Ceres has to do with how we’re nurtured, and this includes food. Ceres opposite Neptune can indicate idealizing food, using food to escape, or believing diets and healthy foods are the be-all, end-all of health. A hard aspect between Ceres and Neptune can indicate anything from being a comfort food junkie to believing this, that, or the other fad diet will protect you more than it will from bad health effects.
Ceres has opposed Neptune for the last couple of weeks. Ceres is retrograde and while the aspect is “separating” (meaning it’s going away), it still applies during the eclipse. While it’s not connected, issues with diets and diet pushers could come to the fore this week. Plus, Jupiter is inconjunct Ceres – this aspect amplifies Ceres’s energy, so people can be militant about diets and food in your space, especially if you’re born at the middle of cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) or mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces), you could see changes in your diet or charged discussions around diet, nutrition, or topics around nurturing like parenting.
Saturn
There’s also an exact wedge between Saturn and the nodes during the eclipse. A wedge is a trine and a sextile at the axis of an opposition. It makes it easier to mediate the opposition, and the nodes are always an opposition. Saturn’s especially helpful when mediating these nodes that focus on value – your own worth and other people’s. Saturn is our taskmaster, so making a conscientious effort to consider yours and others’ value – what you/they want out of life and what you/they offer – is good this week.
Mars
Mars square Chiron and sextile Mercury means that this little, angry red guy is in play during the eclipse. In fact, he’s the ruling planet of this eclipse. With his relationship to Chiron the wounded healer, old wounds are coming up again, whether you’re just ruminating on them or if others are stirring the pot again. Expect old arguments from last month or last year to come up again.
Adding it all together
All three malefic planets are in play, even if they’re not aspecting the eclipse directly. People will bring up the past, you’ll come face to face with your flaws more, and old drama from the past will resurface. Hold onto your hats and take a lot of deep breaths this week. And like any hard, powerful aspect, this too shall pass.
Long story short, if you have planets at the end of cardinal signs and the beginning of fixed signs, you’re in for a ride. That means of your birthday is around April, July, October, or January 20th-23rd, this eclipse will have a big impact on you. It will be easier if your birthday is around August 20th or around the winter solstice since the eclipse can give you more vigor to get through. To a lesser extent, if you were born around February 18th or the summer solstice, there can be opportunities for you to flex your energy mid-week. Take them; if you snooze, you lose.
If you want a deeper dive into how eclipses can affect your chart, contact me for a reading.