Laying Low After the Lunar Eclipse - Surrender & Letting Go
This week's newsletter is very astrology heavy. Get ready to learn more about our current eclipse season ✨
Eclipses occur every six months. ‘Eclipse season’ is a period in which a full moon and a new moon (lunar and solar eclipse) follow each other within the span of a few weeks. This window, - or ‘eclipse season’ - is an important time of the year for astrologers . Eclipses portend times of frazzled energy and obscured truth, which is why ancients such as the Mayans viewed eclipse periods as an ill omen: the sun and moon are temporarily deactivated or disabled from moving in their own shadow, rather than in the shadow of the other.
Eclipses reveal key themes for the season. They come at six month intervals, but take place with the same planets for a cycle of three eclipse seasons, or nine eclipses in total. Yesterday’s eclipse is part of a cycle that started last October and will end in the coming October. This Full Moon Libra Eclipse, in the South Node of the moon, was all about release. The South Node of the moon is said to represent the sun sign that a person was in a previous life (sun signs are a zodiac sign that most people are aware of - if you’ve ever been asked ‘what’s your sign?’, this is what the person is referring to). If you have already mastered the temperament, characteristics, and tendencies of that sign, then your goal is to move towards the faculties of the sign in your North Node (the opposing sign), which you will be exploring in this life. Your birth chart is made up not only of signs in certain positions, such as your sun, your moon, and your rising, but these signs also sit in certain houses. As Chani Nicholas explains, a good way to read your astrological birth chart correctly is to understand three of your birth chart ‘placements’, i.e. where certain zodiac signs are in your birth chart. Your sun sign, for example, denotes your life’s purpose; your moon sign, your physical and emotional needs; and your rising sign, your motivation for life. The moon sign is otherwise known as the ascendant sign.
For me, my moon and rising is in Libra. As it is my ascendant, it is in my first house. The first house ‘rules’ (guides or influences) your appearance, your body, and how others see you. It is also the domain of certain parts of your identity. As this Libra Full Moon eclipse was in the South Node, it was therefore about facilitating a point of release and letting go, or surrendering, all of these things in total. What patterns, behaviours, ideas about my body, appearance, and identity could I release or surrender to this eclipse season? In other words, how could I let go of control over the direction of my life?. As Chani Nicholas states in her description of the three keys to the birth chart, your Rising sign also determines or guides the direction of your life.
There are other important aspects to your birth chart, such as the planets, aspects, signs, houses, and many other positions in your chart (for more information on birth charts and their fundamentals, explore this blog on Chani’s site here). Our basic understanding of astrology, which began with horoscopes in the back of newspapers and magazines or through online ‘personality tests’, has moved on. So has our engagement with astrology. Astrologers such as Chani Nicholas, Jessica Lanyadoo (Ghost of a Podcast and Author of Astrology for Real Relationships), Colin Bedell (Queer Cosmos and Psychology-Astrology extraordinaire), and Chris Corsini allow us to take a deep dive into our traditional understanding of astrology; they then blow it up with queer, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, intersectional feminist theory. These creators use astrology to challenge the gender binary, our interpretations of power, and the ways in which we relate to world events whilst maintaining our integrity.
I tend to think of astrology as something that is not deterministic, in that it does not remove our agency or our ability to have a choice over our journey in life. It is simply a tool for self-reflection and a way of enabling us to reflect on characteristics or approaches to other people, our work, our energy levels, our interests in travel, our demeanours,, our bodies, our minds, our reactions to every single type of relationship we have to others, and the wider world. Regardless of whether or not you believe in astrology, it is indisputably an ancient tradition containing many schools of thought, allowing the astrologer to study, interpret, and hone in on a multitude of its aspects. Some specialise in the planet Jupiter, which is responsible for abundance, luck, and expansion; others focus on Saturn, the taskmaster which is responsible for personal responsibility, time, and rules.
Each of these planets have a life of their own outside of your birth chart; these are, after all, celestial beings, constantly moving through the skies on their own journeys. Their movements and connections to other planets - whether by a square, conjunction, opposition, or trine, a sextile or cazimi - give us indications of what the general feeling of the day might be. These connections have the potential to explain world events, tensions at work, or even repeated historical events taking place today that last occurred when a planet was previously in the same relation to another. Astrology opens up worlds for us. It helps us see patterns, prepare for dips in our energy levels, and better understand our reactions to others. It is like a weather forecast that allows us to understand the theme of our lives for years to come and, because it touches on every aspect of our lives as well as the lives of others, it can help us understand why we might feel stuck, uninspired, or constantly shifting in particular areas of our lives. It is an endlessly evolving sage tradition, there for us to mine for insights. More importantly, it allows us to reframe our perspectives, our self-understanding and our self-image, so that we can better relate to others or the world around us.
With Libra featuring so prominently in my chart, I found this eclipse particularly exhausting. It was almost like I was experiencing the aftermath of a short circuit. It did not help that I had a sore throat, headache, and bad cough leading up to it (which in some ways was a blessing, as it allowed me to stay in bed). I try to prepare for these moments by blocking off time, keeping the day free, or at least giving myself more breaks, but in our hyper-productive world, and especially as a self-employed person running my own business at the end of the financial year, it is not always possible to pause. This is also taking into account that Libra is a cardinal sign. There are three types of sign - Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable -that usher in different parts of the season. Cardinal signs are initiators, and are therefore the first in this cycle; fixed signs sustain, and are in the middle of the cycle; and Mutable signs are adaptable, sitting in between the start of a new season and the end of an old one. Each sign within these ‘modalities’ initiates, sustains, and ushers in different things (If you would like to read more about this, visit Chani Nicholas’s blog here or grab a copy of her book You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance). For me, I find that Libra initiates new relationships, among other things. So, I spent some time this eclipse reflecting on what new relationship I would like to have to myself, my body, and my self-image, alongside my important relationships with others. However, a lot of those relationships are not to people, but to my work This is especially true given that my sun sign is in my 10th house, public life and vocation, suggesting that work is a big part of my life (which, of course, it is). What are the important relationships in your life? Spend some time this weekend thinking about these important relationships. Which aspects do you want to continue to nurture and which aspects of these relationships can you release in order to allow things to change, evolve, and grow?
Upcoming Events
There are no new announcements for Make Good Trouble book events. Please visit my website to book in to any of the events that have already been announced.
Book Event Cancellation Announcement
I have canceled the book event that was set to take place the week of the 1st of April at the Fruitmarket Gallery. This is because of the funding they receive from, and ties on their board of directors to, Bailie Gifford. Fruitmarket Gallery’s chair is also a Bailie Gifford staff member. Baillie Gifford funds a number of book festivals and arts organisations in Edinburgh and beyond; however, the recent discovery of their investment in Israeli-based settlements in Palestine has led me to cancel my event at Fruitmarket Gallery in order to boycott this unethical investment.
Make Good Trouble News
We are getting closer and closer to the 9th of April - publication day! I will be announcing a book giveaway very soon, which will include a number of other book-related items, including a tote bag and some Ostara related goodies from our friends at Black Moon Botanica. Keep your eyes peeled!
What I’m Currently Reading:
The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent ⚡️
Another Edinburgh-based author writing a beautiful novel set in Edinburgh. For this book, think Dark Academia. Her novel has been compared to the likes of Donna Tartt and gives Saltburnvibes. I discovered this book through Golden Hare Book x Smith & Gertrude's Wine & Cheese Book Club events. I unfortunately missed last night’s book club event, where this book was being discussed, because I have been poorly for the last week and wanted to prevent spreading my germs to anyone else. It is a tantalising read so far!