Completion: the last eclipse in Scorpio
This afternoon, as the lunar eclipse in Scorpio peaked, I was discussing possible titles for my friend’s art exhibit that opens tonight.
The Internal Landscape: Seeing the Unseen, was the title she settled on.
That’s Scorpionic perfection right there.
One of Scorpio’s missions is to plunge into the unconscious depths of the psyche (or some other dark region), bringing the unseen to the surface and into the light to be exposed and alchemized by its heat.
The journey down, is a passage that is often filled with some combination of fear, terror, grief, loss, regret, shame, anger and guilt.
In contrast, the journey up is one that often feels cathartic. It’s like coming out of a deep cleanse; refreshed, renewed, feeling light and free of burdens.
There have been two previous eclipses in Scorpio in this series - a lunar eclipse on May 16th, 2022 and a solar eclipse on October 25, 2022.
As this last one lands, are you connecting any dots between these three eclipse periods?
Is there a story arch in your life that is reaching completion as the full moon lunar eclipse culminates?
My Scorpio eclipse trio (in my 4th house of home, family, history) began with Death in My Closet, as I wrote about in May 2022:
Other Scorpio-Taurus eclipse themes I discuss in Death in My Closet, include:
the emotional and energetic dimensions of our physical resources;
breaking cycles of excessive secrecy with truth;
body modification via knives and needles;
Taurus and Scorpio as the threshold guardians of the opposing orifices of the torso and the similarities between the larynx and cervix, the vocal chords and pelvic floor muscles;
abortion rights;
Monkeypox;
and subconscious stress in the voice.
Nearly six months later, eclipse season had returned and I published the following post on October 28th, 2022:
In honour of Scorpio season and the Scorpio-Taurus eclipses, in Descending into Darkness I explored the threat of ticks, finding ancestors’ graves, and I took a deep dive into Disney’s Little Mermaid - a film that symbolically illustrates the tensions in the Scorpio-Taurus axis. I also looked at how Desire, Truth, Power and Essential Needs are often in conflict in some way when we find ourselves in Scorpio terrain.
Now, as this series reaches completion on my IC, I’m feeling called to step back into this extended process of purging my material possessions - thereby completing the death process that began in my closet in May 2022 when I gutted it and engaged in some cleansing deconstruction.
I did (mostly) finish renovating my bedroom by the way, and I’m very happy with it!
Today I also just administered some tick medication to one of the dogs here, so I have some peace of mind!
This Scorpio eclipse is ruled by a moody and protective Mars in Cancer, and it opposes a startling, spontaneous and liberating Uranus in Taurus alongside the Sun and Mercury retrograde.
Today’s lunar eclipse (on May 5th, 2023) is also, like the prior two eclipses in Scorpio, a South Node eclipse. This means that as something seeks completion in your life, themes of releasing and cleansing may also be prominent.
In my Guide to the Astrology of 2023, I wrote the following prompt:
Before we reach the last lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5th, perhaps prepare ahead of time - what in your life needs a deep cleanse and release that you could intentionally engage with at that time (unless Uranus has other plans for you)?
I do feel prompted to do some more stuff-purging, but I’m also choosing to be intentional about it; leaning into the eclipse with some remedial action.
As always with Scorpio activations, you may notice hidden material, secrets, unacknowledged truths, rising to the surface at this time.
Perhaps the unseen must be seen before it can be “completed,” resolved, and released, with this lunar eclipse.
Be gentle with yourself and others this weekend as we navigate the full moon hangover. Scorpio lunations know how to stir up deep and buried shit we’d rather forget about, avoid or ignore.
Although we may fear the deep wilds while floating on the surface, the powerful depths of Scorpio hold profound treasures. When we come to rest at the bottom, we are awakened to what truly, truly matters in this life. From this place of acute vulnerability, brutal honesty, and radical acceptance, imprisoning patterns are shed and sticky, detrimental cycles are broken.
Then we rise again, embodying a new sense of vitality, strength and courage we didn’t know was possible.
I want to also speak to the Mercury retrograde in Taurus which this lunar eclipse illuminates via an opposition.
In my Guide to the Astrology of 2023, I wrote the following prompt:
Are you familiar with the disruptions and new developments that have been happening in your Taurus-house since ~2019?
If you are, I advise preparing ahead of time for Mercury stationing retrograde in Taurus on April 21st. Think about how you can dive in and go deep with your process, in this area of life. During Mercury’s retrograde, reflect on what steps you want to take going forward in order to take advantage of all that Uranus and the North Node have been inviting you into.
In the Spring of 2019, when Uranus entered Taurus (my 9th/10th houses of higher education and career goals) I registered for my first module of Somatic Experiencing; a body-based trauma resolution modality. This training reflects both sides of the Scorpio-Taurus axis. Taurus is body-based, while Scorpio holds our unresolved trauma and our capacity to alchemize it.
After completing the Intermediate level in 2021, I took a two-year break. Now as Mercury retrogrades in the same sign where Uranus has been catalyzing change and liberation, I am about to begin my first advanced module.
Mercury will be stationing direct on May 15th (opposite my Pluto) - the day the advanced training module completes.
As it is often said, Mercury retrogrades are a time when all the re-prefix verbs are active. In this case, as Mercury retrogrades through my 9th house, I am re-turning to my Somatic Experience training that I began four years ago.
That’s an obvious, concrete example. The reflection of Mercury’s retrograde in your life may not be quite as tangible and concrete - but there’s a good chance it will be since we are talking about Taurus after all.
As I wrote previously:
Mercury’s retrograde may offer new insights and revisions into this area of life that has been particularly activated beginning in ~2019 with Uranus’ ingress, and then increasingly so after eclipses began in this region in November 2021.
Uranus begins to transition into Gemini in 2025, and it completes the sign shift in 2026.
Mercury’s current retrograde is a great opportunity to check in with your ongoing, long-term Uranus-in-Taurus story at this approximate half-way point.
Are there any adjustments you want to make at this landmark? Are there any Uranus-in-Taurus learnings that you want to intentionally integrate at this time?
I have another post planned for later this month, inspired by Mercury in Taurus, my SE course, and other somatic explorations.
However, I wanted to quickly pop into your inbox in the meantime, with a little eclipse and rx check-in and a reminder of some previous pieces I’ve published in relation to the Scorpio-Taurus eclipses.
Remember that as we near Mercury’s direct station on May 15th, we will also be dealing with Jupiter at the last anaretic degree of Aries (it enters Taurus on May 16th), and Mars will be reaching the final degrees of Cancer that same week (it enters Leo on May 20th).
This may create a sense of irritability, urgency and uncertainty; that at-the-edge-of-change feeling.
Then, with both Jupiter and Mars at zero degrees of fixed signs, squaring and opposing Pluto at zero degrees Aquarius (and the South Node in the early degrees of Scorpio), we enter into an incredibly powerful fixed grand cross situation. Many months ago I wrote the following prompt for this chapter:
The second half of May *could be* a good time to test your strength and determination as you tackle a gnarly, seemingly insurmountable task or issue that requires some serious power, leadership, persistence, and the application or transformation of resources. YOU CAN DO IT!
But also… take good care around things that can explode (including social dynamics).
See you soon, on the other side of Eclipsia and Mercury retrograde!
Wishing you a gentle passage.