“Full Moon Over Town,” chalk pastel by Maria Theresa Maggi
The moon is full at 5 degrees Taurus of the tropical zodiac at 1:25 PM Pacific Daylight Time on October 28, 2023. As we begin this conversation I ask that the forces of love and light surround us and bless our communication.
Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, the first earth sign and its energy informs our values and resources. Taurus is very physically and sensually oriented and can often be quite patient and placid unless its comfort zone is threatened. Taurus rules the throat in the physical body, which is why many with a beautiful singing voice have a strong Taurus presence in their charts. They often are in some way musical, or at least love music (like my tone-deaf Taurus Dad, may he rest in peace, who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but who would have won a Dancing with the Stars contest with my musician Mom if there had been such a thing back in their day. They could stop a dancing crowd who watched in admiration when they jitterbugged . To the end of his life, my Dad watched Dancing with the Stars regularly). Although Taurus doesn’t like to have comforts interrupted, as the first fixed sign it learns most profoundly through just such experiences.
We won’t be able to view this partial lunar eclipse in the Western United States unless we happen to live in the northernmost part of Alaska, but most of the rest of the world will be able to—even in Antarctica.
As we’ve talked about over several eclipse cycles, the eclipse doesn’t have to be physically visible or we don’t have to physically see it for us to feel it. This particular one in Taurus opposite the sun in Scorpio could feel a lot like being involved in a practical sensual Taurus activity—like putting the garden to bed, eating your favorite sweet, sinking into your favorite chair or sofa, or singing along to a song on the radio—when a sudden invisible shadow seems to be cast on your entrainment to this sensual activity. Or maybe you are looking into a home or foundation strengthening upgrade and something more than you bargained for comes into the equation. Whatever experience comes to us this eclipse, it’s meant to stretch the limits of our comfort zones.
It’s also important to note that solar and lunar eclipses always come in pairs—sometimes there are even three in succession. Together they are part of a larger cycle. So this lunar eclipse is inextricably tied to the solar eclipse we just experienced, in essence and theme. We continue with the theme of disruption (in this case of Taurus comforts and security) in order to free us up for deep change.