Thursday’s lunar eclipse illuminates the unconscious forces behind the things we can’t seem to stop doing
The lunar eclipse is coming! The lunar eclipse is coming! Chicken Little, “The sky is falling,” nonsense aside, Thursday night brings one of the most visually stunning sky events to behold.
I’m pumped because I LOVE lunar eclipses. I’ll gladly sit outside at 3 a.m. in January, layered in puffy onesies, to watch the moon pass through the Earth’s shadow. In fact, I have one-piece long underwear, a down-filled romper, and even a wearable sleeping bag, complete with arms, legs, and a hood, to throw on top for those extra-cold, pre-dawn eclipse moments.
Thankfully, this eclipse won’t require my usual feats of lunar devotion and dogged sheer will. This lunar veiling arrives at a very civilized hour, even for the most casual observer, ending well before many heads hit the pillows. The astral event takes place this Thursday, Aug. 27, between 8:34 p.m. and 11:52 p.m., with the max eclipse — the awesome red part — at 10:12 p.m. Even I can stay up that late without calling in gummy reinforcements.
For many astrologers and philosophers alike, the moon is associated with the unconscious — the parts of ourselves hidden from our own awareness. Much like the moon, we only see what’s illuminated. The rest remains in shadow. Completely unaware, fed up, we wonder: why the F can’t I get out of my own way?
Why can’t I stop drinking so much, scrolling Insta obsessively, watching House of the Dragon even though it’s annoying, or stuffing my face with “crownies” (where croissant deliciously meets brownie) from the Meadows Cafe? What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I have any self-control?
It’s because the craving comes from deep inside your lunar unconscious, which is why white-knuckled willpower only gets you so far. Careening off the wagon once again is inevitable. You can’t change what’s driving you until you can see it and deal with it consciously.
That’s what makes an eclipse such juicy territory for shadow work: something normally hidden comes briefly into view.
As eclipse season closes, with the moon literally passing through the Earth’s shadow, consider shining a little light into your own. Awareness is always the lunar first step for womankind.
Your triggers are a good place to start. What sets you off? What do you judge in other people? What behavior do you desperately want to stop but keep doing anyway? There’s a red flag signaling a live wire buried right there.
Do a little digging before the energy shifts once again.
This eclipse gets an extra jolt from Uranus, the planet astrologers associate with change and breaking free from old patterns. Both the sun and moon square Uranus, adding a little cosmic boost to the invitation to perceive things differently.
Eclipses do exactly that. Watching the moon move through all of its phases in one night, then turn that cool orangey red, pulls us out of our mundane little lives and directly into the realm of the spiritual. Even understanding the science behind an eclipse doesn’t diminish the awe.
There’s another nifty piece to Thursday’s astrology: Mercury is cazimi, meeting in the heart of the Virgo Sun opposite the eclipsing Pisces Moon. Astrologically, Mercury is our messenger, making this an especially interesting night to listen for whatever wants to come into your awareness.
Virgo inspires us to pay attention. Pisces requests we soften into what we find. And the eclipse? It turns out the lights and shows us the shadow.
There’s some special alchemical juju brewing Thursday night.
Sheridan 💫
Moon Sisters Circle, Astrology In Real Life Coaching, and Astrologer