Scorpio Lunar Eclipse, May 2023

The upcoming Lunar Eclipse occurs at 14°52' Scorpio on May 5, 2023 at 18:34 here in the UK.

This is not a total eclipse but a penumbral one. It takes place in the outer part of the Earth's shadow, not in the central, darkest part, called the umbra.

There are several ways we can parse this eclipse.

Pic of the Moon outside as I write…

The first is to consider that this is the culmination (full moon) of the Solar Eclipse in Scorpio that we had on October 25, 2022.

Saturn and Uranus were squaring the nodes in the October eclipse, which was at 2° Scorpio and conjunct Venus. 

So the October lunation was flavored by a push-pull between the traditional and the modern--between the need to fit in and the need to creatively transcend.

This time Pluto is squaring the nodes. Now we're feeling a more powerful, tunneling kind of energy that is asking us to check in with what has been cooked off and ensure the last bit of reduction is done before the dish is declared complete and the nodes shift into the Aries/Libra axis.

In the October lunation, we had Saturn squaring the lunation by sign at 18°. This was putting pressure on us to fit in (or not) and head down the path where we would be willing to take a stand. Uranus picks up the baton in the upcoming lunar eclipse by  being in 18° of Taurus and opposing the Moon. We are being pushed to reckon with the seed that was planted in the October eclipse and release (South Node) the material parts of our path in the most authentic way we can muster (Uranus).

The ruler of October's lunation, Mars, was at 25°25' Gemini in the October lunation and just about to station retrograde. This was potentially giving a certain edginess and mouthy feel to the ideas percolating around the solar eclipse. 

Mars is also the ruler of May's lunar eclipse, but this time is found at 21°36' Cancer. While Mars is in fall in Cancer, it is worth noting that last October, Mars was in the bounds of Saturn, and so the lunation vibe was one where it was just as likely that we were finding faults with others (and gossiping about it) rather than focusing on the path we might carve out for ourselves. But with Friday's lunar eclipse, Mars is in the bounds of Jupiter, giving off a possibly more spiritually inclined vibe or at least point to an air of energetic resourcefulness.

Eclipse energies are potent and unstable. As such, eclipses are really a time to lay low and go with the flow as much as possible (as opposed to grabbing the bull by the horns--the ouch factor with eclipses is exponential). As such, tomorrow's eclipse will be a time to reflect on the life events that have shaped you since last October.

Two more shout-outs. The degree of Friday's Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio could be linked to the nodal degrees of last September's Full Moon in Virgo on September 10th. What events around that date might there be echoes around and/or associated with tomorrow's eclipse?

Also, when we look at the 12th parts (the micro zodiac of 12 signs within each sign) of Friday's eclipse, we see that it falls at 29° Aries. Sound familiar? It should! That's the degree in which last month's Solar Eclipse occurred! 

The 12th parts of the lunar eclipse do make for interesting reading: the lunation is anchored by a 12th part Jupiter in sextile to the Moon and trine to the Sun. Meanwhile the 12th part ruler of that Aries Moon is Mars in Pisces. This seems to indicate an underlying need to trust our intuitive radar in acting and brings in the archetype of the spiritual warrior or the mystical agent of principles.

Finally, it might be worth noting that in October's lunation, Jupiter was at 0° Aries and Pluto was at 26° Capricorn. In tomorrow's lunation, we find the roles switched somewhat: Pluto is at 0° Aquarius while Jupiter is newly reborn at 27° Aries.

Pluto's Cap position might describe a weariness around working and building up things described by where Capricorn falls in the natal chart. Meanwhile, Jupiter at 0° was poised to take-off on some grand new adventure in other pastures.

This time around, we have a baby Jupiter in the end degrees of Aries (and in the bounds of Saturn) chugging along as best as possible under the beams of the Sun while Pluto stakes a claim on the Aquarian energy in our charts.

For me, the energy of last October's eclipse was perhaps speaking to some idealism (Jupiter in Aries) tempered by some hard-won pragmatism (Pluto in Capricorn). This time though, we have a more experienced pioneering energy mixing with a Plutonic force showing us a new world. Whether it's a brave one or not, I leave up to you to decide!

TL;DR: Tomorrow's Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio is a culmination of several intersecting story lines including ones from last October. The energy around this lunation is reflective and defensive, but with some agency (Moon in Scorpio witnessed by ruler Mars in Cancer). There is, however, an underlying sense of possibly sacred, non-linear, maybe even mystical forces (Mars 12th part in Pisces) guiding the events around us. There seems to be a sense also of wrapping up, of having chosen a path, of having chosen which multiverse universe to participate in, and now we must make sense of the choice (Moon's 12th part falling in 29° Aries).

Eclipses are portals. They are doorways that contain the unexpected behind them. The burden is on us to navigate these doorways in a way that is conducive to our long-term well being as much as possible, and perhaps always remembering that we are in the process of becoming ancestors to those who come after us. What kind of ancestor would you like to be?

Wishing you well as always!