When a New or Full Moon occurs close, by degree, to the Moon’s own nodes—those invisible sky points where the Moon’s path intersects with the Earth’s path around the Sun—that’s an eclipse. The September 17 Full Harvest Moon, at 25° 40’ Pisces, will be a partial lunar eclipse, visible in parts of North America and Europe.
Eclipses are strange disruptions of the status quo in the sky, which is why ancient people feared them. We now understand an eclipse to be normal, a supercharged new or full Moon that intensifies the symbolic power of the signs involved.
For the September 17 lunar eclipse, the Moon’s nodes will be in Libra and Aries. The nodes will shift to Virgo and Pisces in January 2025 so that the next series of eclipses will also be in Virgo or Pisces. When the lunar nodes change signs every 18 months, as they do, it’s like a shift in the wind of our collective destinies. Each pair of signs brings new emphases, the themes resonating most strongly if the nodes’ signs figure prominently in one’s chart. Since July of 2023, for example, the transiting nodes have been in Libra and Aries, the axis of partnerships versus riding solo. These months have been extra intense for people (like me) whose natal lunar nodes lie in Aries and Libra.
Lest all this seem confusing, what’s key for the September 17 Full Moon is simply the Pisces/Virgo polarity. Pisces is our mutable water sign, the last of the zodiacal signs, known for the quality of having compassion for all beings. Whereas Virgo wants to improve everything, Pisces cares less about fixing details and more about accepting things as they are. Where Virgo’s style can be critical and self-critical, Pisces can be weak on boundaries. Balance is called for, especially at a Full Moon.
The September 17 Pisces Full Moon will be conjoined with Neptune, the far-out planet associated with visions and themes like altruism, sacrifice, and surrender. Under this Moon/Neptune conjunction, our dreams might become unusually vivid. Our art might be more ethereal. The Full Moon and Neptune, at the last of the zodiacal signs, suggests something coming to a conclusion, not as a hard stop but more like a hint of a new wave about to rise from the sea.
The traditional ruler of Pisces is Jupiter, the planet of expansion. Jupiter is now in Gemini, manifesting in all sorts of ways, from the freshness of a “beginner’s mind” to too much talking, too much information. At the September 17 Full Moon, Jupiter in Gemini will be the focal planet of a tense t-square from both the Virgo Sun and the Pisces Moon. This is a brief transit. The Sun and Moon will quickly move on. But under the light of the Full Moon, you might want to focus on expanding (Jupiter) that which most enlivens your mind (Gemini).
At the September 17 lunation, the Moon will also make an inviting sextile with break-through planet Uranus. We might be surprised by some new insight or a sudden change of heart.
Meanwhile, Mercury is now moving directly in its home earth sign of Virgo, and is transiting opposite Saturn in Pisces. Mercury’s domains include thought and communication, while Saturn is a taskmaster, offering up one life lesson after another. While transiting Mercury briefly opposes Saturn, we might be worrying about weighty matters or studying serious subjects.
A major transit of the coming fall and winter seasons is Mars in Cancer from now until early November, before Mars will enter Leo for a while and then move back through Cancer for one of its biannual retrograde cycles.
Mars’ transit through Cancer may show up as a time of uphill struggles and patience worn thin, but there’s a lot more to this planet in this sign. Mars is a planet of action and assertion. Cancer is the sign of the Great Mother, fostering emotional well-being and safety. Cancer is a cardinal sign, moving forward even when moving crab-like, sideways. One shouldn’t under-estimate the potential fierceness of Cancer, nor the Cancerian motivation to get a job done. Cancer is the sign of birthing. Mars in Cancer is actively protective, like a mother bear.
The transit of Mars through Cancer is an excellent time to take action (Mars) on projects in creative, Cancerian domains, including homemaking but, really, anything that sparks loving care. Cancer’s domains include memories: feeling them and preserving them. If there are slow-downs when Mars moves in retrograde motion later in the year, so be it. The Cancerian way of being thrives on retreat, and retreat does not mean doing nothing.
Each year at this time, when autumn arrives in the north before winter draws near, the Full Moon in the zodiac’s last sign, Pisces, speaks to endings. And because physical and meta-physical phenomena are more cyclic than linear, endings are also the breeding ground for beginnings.
The glyph for Pisces is a good one to contemplate. Two crescent Moons, back-to-back, face outward in opposite directions, the two crescents held together by a single, horizonal bar. Like Pisces, we might sometimes feel like we’re swimming in two directions, or adrift with no clear destination. There’s a safe harbor, though. It’s got something to do with acceptance of endings, and maintaining faith, always, while sailing toward the other shore.
Blessings for the Pisces Full Moon eclipse!
~ Sara
Sara R. Diamond, an astrologer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a life-long student and practitioner in several esoteric paths. Her style of astrology combines modern-psychological astrology with insights from traditional astrology. Sara is also an estate planning attorney. In addition, she has published four books on right-wing movements in the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. You are invited to contact Sara via her website at www.SaraDiamondAstrology.com.
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