November’s Full Moon is a partial Lunar Eclipse in Taurus. It’s also the Full Moon known as the Frost Moon. I’m writing this listening to the autumnal sound of the crows outside my window, but I have to tell you there’s no hint of a frost yet where I live. It’s still un-seasonally mild, which is maybe a reminder from nature that we need to take her rather more seriously than we seem to be doing at present.
The Frost Moon (or Beaver Moon as it’s also known) is the first Full Moon in the November lunar cycle – it’s also the first Full Moon since ‘the clocks went back’ so I’m hoping for some moonlight to brighten the dark nights – and the partial eclipse should be a great display. However, in astrological terms, the partial eclipse makes this Full Moon more than just celestial entertainment. For those of you with significant placements in the fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius – this is a lunar eclipse to watch. Don’t miss it.
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus: Overview
The partial lunar eclipse in Taurus makes this particular Full Moon more powerful than usual. Lunar eclipses bring transformation and change and it looks like this particular Lunar eclipse will be no exception. This eclipse also marks the beginning of a series of eclipses on the Taurus-Scorpio axis, and it’s also the opening salvo in the forthcoming eclipse season, with a total solar eclipse occurring on December 4th.
As December’s solar eclipse marks the end of the Gemini-Sagittarius series of eclipses, we truly appear to be in a transitional place – and I’ll be posting on that in due course. So, as we are right at the beginning of the Taurus-Scorpio eclipse series, let’s focus on the basic meanings we associate with the sign of the bull. We associate Taurus with stability, practicality, our material concerns and most of all? Our values. After the craziness of the past couple of years, these are potentially at the top of everyone’s list of ‘important stuff’. Many of us may have felt insecure or uncertain and now feel a need to connect with what’s important to us.
With the lunar eclipse in Taurus emphasising those matters in a big way, we need to consider what that means to us personally – and what may be playing out in the wider world to affect our feelings of security in some way. It’s worth reminding ourselves that Taurus is also concerned with the environment – both our personal need to connect with nature and the condition of the environment itself. Taurus is a conservative sign – so will we be conserving the things that we value or will we sell Mother Nature to the highest bidder? Let’s look at the lunar eclipse chart.
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus: The Chart
The chart for this lunar eclipse in Taurus has a t-square aspect pattern with the Sun-Moon opposition squared by Jupiter in Aquarius. A chart with a t-square is usually considered a tense chart and, though the other player in this aspect is Jupiter, I would still go with that definition. Jupiter is often regarded as benign – but that may not seem to be so at the time of the lunar eclipse as Jupiter may make tense situations blow up out of all proportion – so that is something to bear in mind.
The other major aspect contacting the lunar eclipse in Taurus is a trine to Pluto. Pluto is always a ‘red flag’ for irreversible change of the variety that is not always easy to deal with – though that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad. It’s usual in astrology to look at a trine connected to planets in a t-square to mitigate the tension in the t-square, but with a trine to Pluto? The usual rules may not apply – so let’s drill down into detail, because that’s where the devil resides…
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus: The Aspects
As I’ve done with other lunations, I’m going to look at the t-square configuration as a whole because I feel it makes sense to look at the overall impact of this aspect pattern rather than approach it as if it’s a series of smaller aspects. As the old saying ‘sort of’ goes, this is one of those times when the ‘sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’…
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus: The T-Square
The key issue I’m getting from this lunar eclipse is that the things being signified by the Taurus-Scorpio axis are really big issues. The Sun in Scorpio always highlights that we need to go deep under the surface to discover what’s really going on. We may discover things that may be deeply unpleasant or we may be confronted by things we were happy to overlook – but whatever the issues may be, they need to be brought to light so that we can deal with them once and for all.
A Full Moon has the habit of shining it’s light just where it is needed and a lunar eclipse portends a moment where the scales fall from our eyes because we see things in a completely different light than we did previously. A lunar eclipse is – in a literal sense – a different light and let’s not forget that Taurus is a very literal, earthy sign. The lunar eclipse in Taurus tells me that if you uncover things that have been hidden from view, then you’d better be prepared to roll up your sleeves and deal with them. Fortunately, the Taurus influence may give you the practical perspective you need to do exactly that.
And what are the things you could be dealing with? The Taurus-Scorpio axis represents coming to terms with your deepest fears and your deepest needs and doing so in a creative way that brings you more stability and pleasure in your life. This lunar eclipse in Taurus may be asking you to be completely honest with yourself. If you have been in denial or making excuses to yourself about why you have been avoiding the path in life that you know, deep down, is the right one for you, then this lunar eclipse could signal that it’s time to change. Those excuses? They’re bull**** and you know it.
When you experience a moment of ‘realisation’, there is usually a trigger that confronts you with reality. With this lunar eclipse in Taurus, the trigger is likely to have a Taurus theme. So, look out for financial issues in particular. You may also be confronted by events that trigger questions concerning your deepest values. There may be issues connected with your own behaviour – or that of someone close to you – that trigger your emotional responses (remember the Moon is reactive) and the behaviour in question? Taurus related too.
This lunar eclipse could be the time you wake up to the fact that you have had enough of jealous, greedy or inconsiderate behaviour or you wake up to the fact that, like it or not, you are going to have to deal with the consequences. And you may be dealing with considerable consequences in both behavioural and material terms. A t-square always demands action, so hoping you can sit this one out will really not be an option, as this time things may be too big to ignore. Remember ‘big boy’ Jupiter is in the mix too.
The third member of this t-square configuration is, of course, Jupiter in Aquarius and what you need to remember about this placement is that Jupiter’s expansive energies will be directed in a radical, forward-looking manner when Jupiter is in this sign. (If you want to know more about Jupiter in Aquarius you can read my earlier post on this placement here). One of the easiest ways to understand Jupiter here is the phrase, ‘big revolution’, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be declaring war anytime soon. It does however, indicate that a radical re-orientation of your understanding of things is needed at this time.
If you’re faced with big events or big issues at the time of the lunar eclipse in Taurus, Jupiter signals that you have a great opportunity to turn things around. It may not seem like much of an opportunity at the outset, but that’s often the way that ‘lucky’ Jupiter works. Sometimes, dealing with things may be tough but if you work your way through them, you have a chance to turn things around and get your life back on track – and that may be the message of Jupiter here.
Being able to look beyond present circumstances and take practical steps to make radical and long lasting improvements to the quality of your life may be the best approach to take with the lunar eclipse in Taurus. And that may be what you need to do – as we turn to the other aspect in the frame, that trine from the Full Moon in Taurus to Pluto in Capricorn.
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus trine Pluto in Capricorn
Sometimes with a trine you feel that it’s a ‘chicken and egg’ situation – and that may be true of this lunar eclipse. As I mentioned earlier, trines often indicate some relief from the tension of a t-square – but that’s not always so. Trines can also indicate things that happen at speed because there are no obstacles in their way. With a trine to Pluto, what’s going to happen first? The chicken or the egg? In other words, are you going to need to respond creatively to events beyond your control or will your actions lead to a profound transformation of your life?
The answer, of course, could be either – or both. Whether you are going to have to respond to some unforeseen outer event, or your own inner realisation that some things need to change, you are likely to be confronted by a changing reality that you would do well to acknowledge. Pluto reminds us that change is inevitable – and there may be an inevitability about the things you need to deal with around the time of the lunar eclipse in Taurus.
You may feel you have no choice but to make that big life-altering decision. Equally you may feel as if it’s ‘now or never’. Acknowledging that things can’t go on as they were is likely to be the order of the day and, remember, it’s always better to be in control of change than have it thrust upon you. However, even if that happens and you do end up having to deal with things that seemed unimaginable only a short while ago, the thing to do is to respond in a controlled and creative manner – and that’s exactly what you may need to do at this time.
Regardless of what happens in your life, this is not a time to be making minor adjustments. Big, bold and radical responses are required to move your life forward and transform it into something that will serve you much better in the years ahead. If we look at both aspects together, there is the opportunity (Jupiter) to transform (Pluto) and the thing that makes the connection between them is your deep need for stability and security. This lunar eclipse is not about destabilisation – it’s about getting into a place of maximum security and having a more productive life.
© Sara Shipman 2021
Picture credit: Image by Dewald Van Rensburg from Pixabay
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