New Moon in Aries/Hybrid Solar Eclipse

A whole lot going on up there...and down here.

Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash

This week there’s a whole lot going on between the Sun, the Moon, and Earth. You can read any number of articles about this but I’ll try to sum it up briefly. A solar eclipse will occur on April 20th which can only happen during a new moon which will happen a few hours earlier on April 19th.. The “hybrid” nature of this solar eclipse only happens a handful of times each century, the next one will be in 2031—the hybrid is a combination of total and annular eclipse. The moon is at a precise distance away from the sun and earth that its shadow is affected by the curvature of the earth. We won’t be able to witness this in person in this hemisphere in the United States this week. It will be visible on the other side of the world, in Australia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor. There is a ton of information all over the web on the science of all this. There will be web cams live streaming too if you want to check it out.

We are closing out Aries season and about to head into Taurus. Aries is a fire sign, full of hot energy and intense feelings. Taurus is an earth sign, grounding and level-headed, practical and strong. I like this idea of shifting signs combined with powerful eclipse energy, and the necessary new moon all happening concurrently.

Eclipse comes from the greek ekleipsis, a failure to appear, ceasing to exist. Dane Rudhyar said of the solar eclipse, that “our present is obscured by our past.” Think of the Sun, our guiding star, the moon, our closest celestial body, and the earth, our home and world. Then think of them all lined up, and the shadow created.

The Sun, The Moon, The World

So now we come to the tarot. There are three cards which represent what is going on up there this week, down here. The Sun and Moon cards are such beautiful juxtapositions of the conscious and unconscious, with The World being where it all happens for us, where we are.

The Sun reminds us of what is clear and conscious, bright and visible. It is the card for getting outside and playing, digging in the earth, reveling in the new Spring energy. It is also the card of newness (i.e. that baby), learning that which can be known with the conscious mind. White horses have had special meaning throughout mythology, as sacred animals who carry blessed or powerful figures. Think also of the charming prince who arrives on his white stallion, or a unicorn or Pegasus. White is light and good and powerful, such is the Sun.

Jessica Dore speaks of The Moon as the positive process of sitting with confusion:

“In a culture that worships at the altar of knowledge, confusion is generally seen as a void of value. Disorientation is pathologized and understood as a condition to be remedied and rid of as soon as possible. A reflection of this collective bias toward knowing, people who seek counsel through tarot tend to fear the Moon because it appears to be the opposite of what they think they need: clarity, guidance, answers.”

The Moon comes before the Sun in the Tarot as it presupposes the need to get in touch with that which is not always easily visible, the subconscious, those times when we sit in confusion and that sitting is necessary to balance between the clear and opaque. It makes me think of The Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime” where David Byrne sings “Water dissolving…and water removing. There is water at the bottom of the ocean. Under the water, carry the water at the bottom of the ocean, Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean.”

“How did I get here?” he asks. To me that is a question for the Moon.

And then we have The World, the last card in the Major Arcana, the end of a cycle in the Fool’s Journey. The World, the Earth, our home. When the Sun, the Moon, and Earth line up it is an invitation to get in balance with your subconscious and conscious worlds, to accept the invitation to set intentions for the coming lunar cycle.

The questions to ask are:

What seeds needs planting?

Why these seeds?

What needs to change?

What small habit can I commit to implementing, which will enact good change in my life?

What do I need to clear out for new growth to come?

I see this week as a powerful opportunity to ask yourself these questions and journal, draw, create your answers in real life somewhere, on this Earth.

I think I’ll share my answers next week.

Feel free to share this as you see fit. Happy New Moon!

xoHanna

Sources:

Tarot For Change, Jessica Dore

The Moon Book, Sarah Faith Gottesdiener

The Astrology of Transformation, Dane Rudhyar

Stop Making Sense, The Talking Heads