HOROSCOPES FOR THE FULL LUNAR ECLIPSE IN CAPRICORN
On Tuesday July 16th at 2:38pm PST, a Full Lunar Eclipse perfects at 24°Capricorn04’. This Eclipse season is marked by a series of rare, complicated, and serious signatures.
Before we talk about this moment in time, let’s spend a moment on eclipses 101: Eclipses happen when a New or Full Moon takes place within 18° of the Lunar Nodes. “The Lunar Nodes define two points in space where the plane of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth intersects with that of the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun).”* When both the Moon and the Sun fall into this path simultaneously, an eclipse occurs, wherein the light becomes blocked. In the case of a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth falls exactly (enough) between the Sun and the Moon to block the Sun’s light from projecting onto the Moon. A normally full and luscious Moon becomes dark, perhaps surrounded by an eerie glow. This apparent diversion from a normal lunation, this impeding of the light, is thought to open a portal of sorts; to fate, to other lifetimes - or most practically for us to understand and apply - to alternative paths. Wherever an eclipse takes place in our charts, it has the power to radically shift our direction in that area of life. It is an opening, an opportunity to let some things die (slip through the South Node), or allow some idea, choice, or circumstance to plant itself in our future (by way of the North Node). It is with this understanding that we begin to expand on the subject of this eclipse in Capricorn.
In Hellenistic and Medieval Astrology, planets traveling with the North Node were said to have their qualities increased while planets traveling with or passing through the South Node had their qualities decreased. Many astrologers today will explain in some way or another, that when planets cross the South Node, painful patterns are kicked up regarding the nature of that planet. This raises the conscious vibration of those patterns in order for them to be purged. For the last six months or so, Saturn and Pluto have been traveling with the South Node, undergoing the process of purging, cleansing, and reorganizing harmful methodologies, misguided histories, unsound power structures, and colonialist world-views. They have taken us back down paths of shame and guilt and asked us to examine the ways we have been operating from generations of problematic power-over structures. They have shown us, paradoxically, through call-out culture, the numerous ways we have stolen, appropriated, enslaved, oppressed, caused, and are still causing, horrendous injury to various groups of people and the earth.
This Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn begs us to see through, rather than with, the eyes of these planetary giants. It wants us to recognize how even our activism, even our social justice trends, are operating within a capitalist, yang, “product-centered”, goal-oriented culture that propels, abuses and uplifts shame and blame, causing anxiety and paralysis in the face of so much to be worked through. We need to be able to purge this process too. We cannot replace the current system with its replica. Capricorn’s ruling planet Saturn is one that orchestrates structure and time. Saturn builds the box in which we think. We need to see the cage if we want to escape. We need to dismantle the box if we want to think outside of it. Pluto creates intense focus. Accentuates our gaze to obsession. Applies pressure until something is punctured. This Moon, sitting close with Saturn, Pluto and the South Node is able, if only for a fleeting moment in time, to help us witness the structure we want to eliminate and vision an iteration of something we’d like to build in its place.
Astrology, in essence, is a study of timing. Requires attention to exact moment in space and an ability to understand the emblematic relationship between one moment and another. Just over two weeks after the Full Moon, Mercury will station direct at the same degree of the eclipse, in the opposite sign of Cancer. Generally Mercury retrograde will help us review the past and correct course. This retrograde takes us further back than we might remember. Is calling on us to untangle our relationship to lineage. Wants us to accept our origin points. To admit and understand rage at wrongs occurred, whether they have offered or stripped us of privilege today. This Mercury retrograde needs us to forgive ourselves enough to have the nutrients to fight for something better. To nourish ourselves fully into healthy change. To be more radically honest about the stamina we need to build as we swim through the discomfort of what our species has sown. This Moon is about accepting where we are and absolving what we can in order to begin new chapters. The shadow side of Capricorn reveals itself when we repress desire and deny need. Your horoscopes are written as affirmations to help you navigate changes occurring in your life. They are about allowing rage and accepting reality. They will encourage you to see through the object of your focus. They are about honoring your needs and permitting desire. Not shallow or superficial desire of ignorance, but the Plutonian kind of desire. The deep desire of the soul. As you read, ask yourself, “in what kind of world do I desire to live?” Believe you are capable of creating it.
*George, Demetra, 2019, Ancient Astrology in Theory & Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques, Vol. One, pg. 351, Auckland, NZ: Rubedo Press.
If you know your rising sign and your sun sign, read both. If you only know your sun sign, that's okay too. If you like, you can read your moon sign for good measure. Horoscopes and forecasts are meant to be read as inspiration. The impact of planetary forces on our lives is more immense than we can see and a horoscope's level of resonance can vary from week to week. I suggest revisiting this page as often as you like while tasting the writing of a few other astrologers. Note which voices uplift your spirit. As always, take what you like and leave the rest. If you find support here, consider making a contribution.
horoscope for aries and aries rising
I am not above the kind of success that comes slowly. I am not below my need to succeed. I will know that I have found a favorable outcome when I can count on some sweetness. When I see that kindness finds me at both my highs and my lows. When I remember that life is not a straight, steep climb to a single view. My needs are met when I make my ideal result a realistic one. My desires are exceeded when I remember there’s always something I’m not seeing. I will win when I establish a rapport between what is real and what is rich. I will empower myself with my own values. I will find emotional security in the silence where I can slowly watch myself settle.
horoscope for taurus and taurus rising
There is security in both the superficial and the profound. There is no limit to what I can learn. If I want to break through personal barriers, I need to be wise to the idea that there is so much I don’t know. I will practice seeing the container that is teaching me. I will commit to questioning how even my education is conditioned. I will realize that all reality is subjective. That I get to decide what is a problem and what is actually no big deal for me. With this recognition, I register that I have a say. A voice. An opinion that wants to be heard. Sometimes the solution is most easily perceived when I take ten giant steps back. Sometimes the deepest wisdom is sitting on the shallowest of surfaces. Simple or complex, I surrender my need to know. As I release the compulsion to control the unfathomable, I create accessible new pathways to communicate my teachings.
horoscope for gemini and gemini rising
My own voice takes priority when it comes to defining my value. My worth is derived from personal wisdom first. If I am measuring myself by someone else’s standards, I am sacrificing my power. I cannot create balance on a scale that isn’t mine. Embodying the twins means having at least ten tabs open in both of my brains at all times. I will buy into a world that I know isn’t binary. I will exchange “bad and good” for the ever-unfolding web. I will practice believing that the multiverse isn’t out to get me when there is no one way to be “right”. When I remember that life doesn’t hand out prizes and punishments, I can return to acting from my internal sense of integrity. I will work to earn my own affirmation. I will honor my effort. I will settle any debts I owe to myself.
horoscope for cancer and cancer rising
Clarity of my identity is not a cure-all. I am secure when I am becoming, not when I have become something. I belong in the cycle. I am safe when my relationships are changing. When change is propelling me into my own evolution. When my evolution is fed by obstacles, I will know I am on the right track. I will remember that the world doesn’t give me anything for which I am not ready. Names and lineages are important insomuch as they lend me choices; optional containers in which to define myself. A mirror will only hold my image for as long as I look into it. As a Cancer, I am subject to seeking many homes. If I want to grow, I have to be willing to shed a multitude of shells. As elements of myself are released, I will lean into erosion. When I am caught in the undertow, I will recognize this too, is me seeking to become smooth. I surrender to softening my edges. I will shine and buff my patterns until they reflect all kinds of light.
horoscope for leo and leo rising
Healing rarely occurs in a moment. Strict goals and devout definitions of health are likely unhealthy. Racing to remission offers little relief. As this Full Moon eclipses in my sixth house of health, I will see that cultivating well-being is a form of channelling. Is, in its own right, a creative process. Offers me many chances to recognize just how many choices I have. Just because there is pain, there doesn’t have to be suffering. Moving slowly doesn’t mean I am unable to be of service. This pace is improving my patience. Is helping me question where I want to apply caution. Is reminding me that rapid speed is not the only way to let loose. I will look for the ways my current experience can become someone’s helping hand. I will observe that illness holds immense opportunity. That wounds are remarkable teachers. I will devote myself to discovering the secret wisdom that is sleeping in any sickness, waiting for me to awaken it.
horoscope for virgo and virgo rising
Joy is not an objective I obtain and thereby complete. Happiness is not a target I hit and then hold indefinitely. Artists do not finish a masterpiece and simply stop making. Reaching a goal or fulfilling a hope should open a door instead of shut it. As a Virgo, I am adept at manifesting routines. Skilled at picking apart and piecing together patterns. I will make a habit out of making love to my own enjoyment. It is not a crime to believe I am deserving. To deepen my dreams. To intensify my excitement. Of all the signs, I am both a sucker and a spokesperson for service. But service is difficult to sustain within a system that rejects play and plays up depression. For what am I in service if not a life fully lived? If not the freedom and bliss of all beings? I will ask myself, how can I grow the thing I want to offer? I will have confidence in the domino effect of delight. I will be an advocate for elation. A prophet of pleasure. An example of exuberance. I will nourish this attitude with gratitude. And if I find myself in any doubt, I will devote myself to taking note of how much my good spirits are an inspiration to others.
horoscope for libra and libra rising
My roots are not rotten. My family is forever a work in progress. My heritage and my home are not the same thing. My private experience is part of a much greater puzzle. If I am feeling stuck I will look to my lineage for some kind of power source. I will appreciate the skills I was taught to survive. I will value the talents I developed to defend myself. Some of these traits might have worked then, but might now be outdated. In all of my searching, I will find gratitude for the ways I was fed. I have the right to feel rage, regardless of how I was raised. Whether my home was strict, insecure or somewhere in between, I will honestly assess how every human experience has its highs and its lows. My origins are not the only elements in the whole being that I am. My success arrives in cycles. Is an evolving rhythm rather than a single beat on one big drum. I get to decide how much I care and how much to show it. I will offer and receive what I can, so long as I know this capacity too, can constantly change.
horoscope for scorpio and scorpio rising
When my relationship to my faith is sound, my success in my career soars. When I align myself to the truths I speak, my integrity intensifies. If I believe what I am saying, I don’t need to exert any effort to sell myself. If I am clear on what I want to learn, I will know what to teach. The struggles scattered through my sisterhood offer me ample opportunity to relate. I will entertain the idea that I need to hear any advice I am offering. I can communicate counsel in a such a way that I would want to receive it. I can trust my instincts about how to deliver delicate directions. I can keep it simple and call it like I see it. When I am human and honest, I am easily admirable. Feeling secure in my street smarts doesn’t mean I don’t have more to learn. When experience is my objective, I cannot make a mistake. When I emphasize my education, my aspirations expand. I commit to humbling myself in the face of subjective reality. I will recognize that two wrongs in one book might be right in another. With this in mind, I will read them all. I will detach myself from my determinedly willful thoughts. I will burn away the binary. Accomplishment is a state of ever-arriving. I will not let my goals fall behind me in time. I will turn my attention to unlearning with the intention of cultivating a consciousness I have confidence in.
horoscope for sagittarius and sagittarius rising
Forgiveness is not a one-way street. Does not lead to a dead-end. Cannot be pointed out on a map. If I want to settle a debt I need to see that I am in one. I will work on realizing the debts I owe to others, to communities, to the earth and to myself. Righteousness doesn’t make me right. Admitting a wrong does not make me a “bad” person. Allowing truth in all its layers is a relief. I will not pack others or myself into unforgivable binaries. I will not use my trauma as a means to bi-pass the work I am here to do. I will not witness my own history and still believe we are all treated equally. I will remember that truth is complicated and must be applied situationally. I cannot force others to forgive me. I cannot force myself to forgive. I will see that this process asks me, constantly, to pause and to play. I will not intellectualize my way to a stopping place. I will know I’ve arrived when I am physically and emotionally present. Forgiveness has many stages. I will try to abstain from punishing. I will rest my judgement. I will give myself plenty of space. I will know I am ready when I have forgiven myself first. I will know I have forgiven myself when I abandon my debt. I will know I have abandoned the debt when my destination disappears. I will remain on the road to what is next.
horoscope for capricorn and capricorn rising
Loneliness is an invitation to take up space. Jealousy is a red flag waving at what I desire. Fear is an SOS signal that I have needs which aren’t being filled. I will not fault myself for my frustrations but I will explore my attachment to them. When an unpleasant thought overtakes me, I will wonder who I would be without it. If I am obsessed with an idea, feeling, conversation or situation, I am identifying with it. I will define myself in the enormous realm of my independence. I will remember that I encompass a vast capacity. I can’t control everything but I can make an infinite number of choices. I will regard my history with reverence. I will note what is easy and used to be hard. I will find gratitude for all I have gone through. I will honestly evaluate how formative each individual experience has been. Potential has more power than the pattern. In the midst of metamorphosis, it is unhelpful to know who I am becoming. To know would be to place a limit on my immeasurable possibilities. I will not deny myself grief as I navigate the space between innocence and maturity. I will be curious and creative as I uncover and change who I choose to be.
horoscope for aquarius and aquarius rising
Sometimes, there is suffering in seeing. Sorrow in what we witness but cannot control. Discomfort in being willing to puncture an illusion. I will ask myself what I value more; the serenity of ignorance or the reassurance that I am on the right side of reality? I will realize that in any given situation, I get to choose. Sometimes confrontation is the cure. Occasionally the off switch is exactly what the doctor ordered. If I don’t take space from the heartbreak, how can I dream something better? There is a difference between indestructible denial and cyclical moments of reprieve. The former causes long-lasting harm, the latter lends the vital medicine of compassion. I will really rest. I will not fake my way into forgiveness. I will not isolate myself from others who need a radical lens. I will not give int o the limiting belief that I am the only one who sees. It is okay to cry. To grieve, even if I don’t completely know what I’m grieving. I can do all of this without quitting. To mourn is also to recognize what wasn’t mine to make, to force or to save. When I sacrifice what is not my role, I am free to take on more sincere responsibility.
horoscope for pisces and pisces rising
I find power in collective principles. I lean on the structure of my sisterhood. I am a part of the groups that sustain me. Sometimes my reasoning might need a renovation. I have learned to be cautious when it comes to my community. To surround myself with support. To have boundaries about who I allow to bolster me. If I want an enduring chosen family, I will demand less of my friends and more of myself. I will be clear about I am capable of giving. I will honestly examine what it means for me to be inclusive. I will consider who I’ve let in who might need to leave. Likewise, I will check my list for those I can uplift. My work, hopes and dreams are better when I am in respectful relationship to reality. When my expectations of others are an anomaly. If I am frustrated with a vision that needs more time, I will commit myself to a more physical aspect of making. Cycles of artistic expression are integral to my well-being. Phases are a function of any inventive practice. The health of my imagination can be measured in emotional highs and lows but my best meets me somewhere in between. I am extraordinary when I create more than I compare.