Lunar eclipse in Libra. 3.25.24.
Image description: A colorful, swirling, ethereal image of a black hole that looks like a magical portal.
Happy eclipse season, friends.
That’s right — eclipse season is once again upon us.
The first of two eclipses taking place this spring will take place at 3am ET late tonight/early tomorrow, March 25th, at 5 degrees of Libra. Tonight’s Libra eclipse will be followed by a total solar eclipse in Aries on April 8th (more on that one in the next installment of Practical Woo).
Eclipse portals are some of the times of year I get the most questions about what to do with the energy (it’s probably a dead heat with Mercury retrograde—which, btw, starts on April 1, right in the middle of this eclipse portal—more on that later since that would be way too much astrology for one email :) . . .
So I’ve put together a little guide for surviving and thriving during the March 25th — April 8th Aries/Libra eclipse portal.
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First, a quick recap on eclipse energy:
While eclipse energy isn’t the kind of energy one traditionally works with for manifestation, as with “ordinary” New or Full Moons—tl;dr: it’s unstable, power-surge energy, making grounding a must during this roughly two-week period—eclipse pairs open powerful portals that we are all likely to feel and remember in retrospect.
The best way to work with the energy is to let it move through you; to surrender and allow what’s coming up vs. resisting it or trying to control the events in your life; and to witness what comes up in your life with curiosity and an extra dose of self-care.
Eclipses often mark beginnings and endings; the closing of one chapter and the opening of another. Sudden opportunities often arise. Events that feel fated may take place.
No matter what, it’s worth building in some extra buffer time for rest and reflection—and to prepare to whatever extent you can to expect the unexpected. Because that’s what eclipses tend to bring.
For example, say you’ve been wanting to start or leave a relationship or a job—or doing that is in service of your highest and greatest good even if you’re not looking for it consciously. During eclipse season, things may get sped up. (This isn’t something to try to make happen, it’s something to allow to happen and to be prepared for and to welcome in.)
Despite all the cosmic paranoia that gets peddled whenever we step back into eclipse season, eclipses aren’t to be feared. They’re a rich portal for reflection, surrender, and catalyzing the process of consciousness expansion.
My top advice is to allow vs resisting whatever changes might be arising for you.
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Eclipse season is a great time to practice the art of surrender—to trust that everything is working out as it should and your Higher Self is leading you wherever you’re meant to be headed even if you can’t see the full picture yet.
While this coming week’s eclipse is happening in Libra, a rule of thumb is that eclipses activate both the sign they take place in and the sign that’s opposite to it in the zodiac. Tonight’s Libra eclipse is thus, once again, activating the Aries/Libra axis that’s been up for review since last year.
Eclipses also work across time, highlighting ongoing stories that play out over the course of a couple of years. So the Libra eclipse happening on Monday is the third in the Aries/Libra eclipse sequence that was kicked off on April 20, 2023, and which will run its course up to March 29, 2025 when it culminates in the final Aries eclipse in the series.
(The full series of dates in the Aries/Libra eclipse series includes: April 20, 2023; October 14, 2023; March 25, 2024; April 8, 2024; October 2, 2024; and March 29, 2025).
So a powerful way to deepen your reflections on and around this Libra eclipse is to think about any connections between what was coming up for you back around April 2023 and now.
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Some of the themes that this series of Aries/Libra eclipses may be raising in our lives:
What we’ve been learning about how to be our authentic selves in relationship—and any blocks/fears we’re ready to release so we can do that more fully.
What we’ve been learning about how to set boundaries and communicate our physical and emotional needs so they get met in relationship—and where we have more work to do on that front.
Where we’re ready to let go of energy patterns in relationship that no longer serve us and which stand in the way of equality in relationship—people-pleasing especially, but also any other ways in which we sacrifice or abandon ourselves to preserve relationships/keep the peace/for fear of not being loved.
New relationships in our lives that allow us to be our full, authentic selves—as well as any unhealthy/toxic relationships we’re ready to let go of because they are no longer in alignment.
Libra is also about justice and harmony. And Aries is associated with leadership and courage. So this eclipse (and the others in the series) may also be inviting us to explore how we are being called to show up as forces for the Libran ideals of justice, love, equality in relationship, and collective harmony for the betterment of society as a whole. How we are being called to help move the collective beyond hierarchy and competition and aggression to other ways of relating to one another and organizing ourselves as humans. And how we are learning that justice is love.
The current eclipse portal will be open the whole period between the two spring eclipses, from March 25 — April 8th. This whole stretch will be ripe for going within, letting go of whatever is no longer in alignment, and reflecting on where endings, beginnings, and transformation have been playing out (and their significance as part of our larger ascension process).
Meanwhile, this spring’s eclipses are happening with Chiron right on the nodal axis. This is infusing the eclipse portal with an extra dose of healing potential (which may feel like current events bringing buried pain/trauma/wounds up to the surface for healing). If that’s part of what’s coming up for you, try to remember any pain getting triggered is an opportunity for healing. <3
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Working with the Libra eclipse as the best kind of black hole:
Tonight’s eclipse is taking place at the Moon’s south node. So this Libra eclipse carries immense black-hole power (hence the image that wanted to be chosen to lead off this newsletter).
Think of it like a portal into which you can send any Libran energy patterns that are no longer in alignment or serving your highest and best good (e.g. fear-based patterns like people-pleasing, relationship martyrdom, sacrificing our own needs for fear of losing love, etc.).
Ditto for any limiting beliefs, self-doubt, outdated self-concepts, etc. holding you back from being the embodied expression of your Highest Self.
(If you work with crystals, obsidian is a powerful stone for this kind of work—since it’s like a black hole when it comes to absorbing and holding detrimental energies and thought forms.)
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To help catalyze your eclipse reflection work. . . scroll on for the prompts I crafted to reflect on whatever the Lunar Eclipse in Libra energy brings in case you feel called to see where they take you as well.
I’ve also included some bonus self-care tips for surviving, thriving, and taking good care of yourself while the eclipse portal is open for the balance of the time the portal is open—plus a few affirmations, too. <3
As with all horoscopes, take what resonates and leave the rest.
XOXO,
Rebecca
Image description: A black and gold representation of The Moon tarot card, with a crescent moon with a profile of a face inside it, five stars, and the Roman numeral XVIII up top.
Prompts for the Libra eclipse.
Here’s a 7-card tarot spread/journal prompts for working with this week’s Lunar Eclipse in Libra energy at its highest vibration. (Why 7? Libra is associated with the 7th house in astrology).
As always, feel free to work with only the ones that resonate. <3
What is coming to light now about how I’ve been learning to more fully be my authentic self in relationship since April 2023?
What fear-based relationship energy patterns are coming to light now that are no longer in alignment/not serving my highest and greatest good? What am I ready to release into this eclipse portal?
What have I been learning about how to set and enforce boundaries? How have I been learning to better communicate about my emotional and physical needs so that they get met in relationship? What is coming to light about where I still have work to do on that front?
What is coming to light now about how I abandon myself to preserve relationships/keep the peace/avoid conflict/for fear of not being liked or loved? (ex: people-pleasing, suppressing needs/desires)
What progress am I witnessing now when it comes to the work I’ve been doing (between April 2023 and now) to release fears or limiting beliefs that have kept me from claiming my personal power in relationship?
What buried wounds are coming up for healing now? What am I ready to heal/release so that I’m no longer run by my wounds?
How am I feeling called in this moment to show up as a force for justice and equality for the betterment of the collective?
Image description: A black puppy and a white kitten hold each other while sleeping in the shape of a ying/yang symbol, against the back drop of a night sky with crescent moons scattered throughout.
Self-care tips for eclipse season 🛁💗🐉
Around eclipses, we run a LOT of energy. Here are some tips for taking care of yourself to survive and thrive during eclipse season:
Get a lot of rest. Take naps. Sleep in where you can. Honor what your body needs without judgment.
Drink lots of water. Eat whatever is comfort food to you (and allow yourself more food if that’s what your body is asking for, without judgment). Again, we are running lots of energy so our systems may need more to stay nourished than we are used to.
Other things I find really helpful personally: hot baths with epsom salt; time in a sauna/whirlpool/hot shower—whatever you’ve got access to to help your system process and clear energy.
If you work with crystals, grounding stones like hematite and super-absorbers like obsidian and smoky quartz can be extra supportive during eclipses.
GROUND, GROUND, GROUND. You probably have techniques that work for you. If not, or you’re looking to try something different, here is a quick and easy grounding visualization I find helpful (and which only takes about 1-2 minutes, so you can do it anywhere, whenever you need it during the day):
Get into a comfortable seated or standing position.
Close your eyes.
Take a few deep, cleansing breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth) and relax your body.
Feel the weight of your feet and/or sit bones.
Visualize roots going down through your feet, through the floor/grass/surface you’re on, all the way into the core of the Earth.
And then visualize a vertical pillar of light running up through your feet, up your spine, up through the crown of your head, and into the sky/heavens.
A simple affirmation/mantra I like to accompany this—or as a substitute on its own: “I am profoundly grounded into my body.”
Image description: A cartoon depiction of a girl with blonde pigtail braids and a green dress holding two scales in her outstretched arms, in the shape of the Libra astrological symbol, against a dark blue sky filled with gold stars.
Affirmations for the Libra eclipse.
If you’re someone who likes working with affirmations or mantras, here are a few to consider around this Libra eclipse As with all else, take only what resonates and leave the rest.
I love myself unconditionally.
My most important relationship is with myself.
Boundaries make for stronger relationships.
I wield my greatest power when I’m my full, authentic self.
Self-care is self-love.
