Taurus Full Moon Lunar Eclipse

Eclipses are mysterious processes and there is not agreement within the astrological community about their significance. Traditionally, the nodes of the Moon were considered malefics, even the North Node, and eclipses viewed as ominous signs. These were days to stay inside and protect the King. The fear they invoked makes sense for people without electricity who relied on the luminaries for light and sight by day and night. Modern astrology has taken the view of eclipses as super-charged portals that contain a special magic, and based rituals and gatherings around them. The amount of people who journeyed to witness the “great American eclipse” in August 2017, reminds us that astronomical events still hold strong significance for the collective, even folks who “don’t believe” in astrology.

Eclipse season is a term that has come into common parlance and refers to the month-long period during which eclipses occur. The Taurus Full Moon lunar eclipse on Friday, November 19, gives us a taste of the next eclipse cycle that will run through October 2023. The lunar nodes are still in Gemini and Sagittarius, we have the last eclipse in that cycle at the Sagittarius New Moon on December 4, but they’re close enough to the sign boundary that this lunation is affected. This eclipse is happening at the tail end of Scorpio season, but we won’t have the first eclipse in Scorpio until the Spring. That’s when the new cycle will fully begin. The conclusion of one cycle and preview of the next creates a sense of being between things. This is appropriate as we are approaching the end of the year. The Gemini-Sagittarius eclipses took place entirely during the pandemic--from June 2020-December 2021. Sagittarius season begins on November 21, and will encourage us to consider how far we’ve come since then.

Astrology as a study of time invites us to contemplate the development of life on Earth in a broader cosmic context. Humanity has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, and along the way we cultivated traits that ensured our survival as a species, but also baked cruelty and negativity into our DNA. Homo sapiens, as a species of primate, emerged around 300k years ago. Eventually we became dominant on the planet, beating out other forms of archaic humans, such as Neanderthals, who became extinct. Some of the earliest artifacts are carvings produced by Homo Erectus, between 350-250k years ago, that some scholars believe mark the passage of time.

Approximately 3000 years ago there was a shift on Earth with many matrilineal cultures that worshipped the divine feminine as an equal, if not more essential, than the divine masculine. Goddess worship was devalued and gradually suppressed, when not outright outlawed, as queens were demoted to nothing more than figureheads. The rise of patriarchy coincided with the belief in the supremacy of man over the Earth and all its creatures, and great violence towards cultures that continued to worship femininity and to live in balanced harmony on the planet. The myths of powerful snake Goddesses who commanded respect and presided over dark moon periods and difficult passages in human lives changed to reflect the patriarchal view. The once glorious goddess became vilified as evil and dangerous, a threat to be stamped out, and glorified the solar masculine principle as supreme in the universe.

The Bible inscribed these beliefs with Adam being the most like God, naming all of the animals, and through this definition claiming ownership of them. While monotheism was already established in many contexts, most notably Judaism, the rise in Christianity gave way to the exclusive view of God as the father and man as the Godhead of church, state, and family. The crusades, witch burnings, and Christian colonization have waged war on those not willing to adopt this worldview. The veneration of the Holy Trinity in Christianity, and the Blessed Mother in Catholicism, reflect the difficulty in stamping out paganism from the heart of worship. Nevertheless, the long and bloody history of battles over the nature and expression of divinity continue to haunt us and the pain and rage of those who were dominated demands to speak.

The Full Moon at 27’14 Taurus on November 19, is conjunct one of the most notorious fixed stars in the galaxy--Algol. Fixed stars are powerful because they do not wander like the planets, and their light comes from within. In the natal chart, when a planet is conjunct a fixed star creates a special force and potency. The energy of the star is merged with the significations of that planet, adding complexity and depth to its expression. The luminaries as the sources of light and life, and determine how we transmit our inner glow--the celestial lumen. In various kinds of astrologers throughout the world, Algol has a reputation for bringing difficulty and destruction. It has been called the Head of the Demon and the Wife of the Devil, but it has also been known to signify Lilith.

Lilith was the original wife of Adam in the Babylonian Talmud, who expected her partnership to be equal. When it was clear that Adam insisted on dominating her, Lilith fled paradise, and ran away to the banks of the Red Sea where she was said to fornicate with demons. She was considered a curse and a temptress, a demon of the wind, who would sneak into men’s beds at night causing wet dreams. She symbolized all the pleasure of sexual expression that became outlawed with the fall of Goddess religions, and was seen as a threat to social order and the sanctity of marriage. Lilith as the whore, has been a scapegoat for thousands of years. She is the shadow side of feminine sexuality that patriarchy recognizes as fundamentally uncontrollable so it must be suppressed, denied, and banished. Lilith is a force of nature, and contains the raw power of Earth to engage our senses and ignite passion that overtakes the rational mind.

The rage of Lilith is formidable. It is present in anyone who has been shamed for their sexual expression, the desire of their bodies, and representation of their authentic gender. It is vivid and visceral in the hearts of queer people, traditionally cast out from their families, who to run away to cities, risking unsafe situations just to be free. It is the rage of people of color, murdered in the streets by those paid to protect them, at the authorities who allow such atrocities to go unpunished. Who have been blamed and attacked for the very things the patriarch does. It exists in the fight for justice for all those whose bodies have been deemed disposable or lives considered collateral damage for the wars of greed.

Algol is the ghosts of the white supremacist Capitalist patriarchy that have always been with us, riding the wind, stirring up dust and debris, reminding us that injustice anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere. The Taurus Full Moon lunar eclipse triggers these wounds and reminds us that what we do to the Earth, we also do to each other. The way we treat animals and the environment exists along a continuum that leads to death and destruction. The patriarchal worldview is crumbling, but it is not giving up without a fight. The last 6 years have shown us that there are millions of people willing to protect and defend their right to attack and assail, and they consider themselves the victims.

This Moon is being ruled by Venus in Capricorn who entered its retrograde shadow on November 17, adding another layer of underworld exploration. Algol might stir up anger or frustration at the ways you’ve been ignored, melgined, or mistreated. The parts of you that still feel unwanted or unallowed may cry out in anguish, as Lilith is connected to the screech owl. But what this alarm is sounding is a desire to be seen, loved, witnessed, and included. Give that to yourselves and others on this eclipse and you’ll have nothing to fear.

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