Welcome to the Pisces Full Moon, which is also a lunar eclipse. This is the time in the lunar calendar when the spotlight is on fulfillment and purpose, peace and spirituality, art and music, dreams and intuition. Pisces is the bridge between heaven and earth. The full moon is exact on September 17, 2024 at 10:35 pm ET, 25 degrees Pisces-Virgo. That’s 7:35 pm Los Angeles, 3:35 am London on September 18, 4:35 am Johannesburg, 8:05 am New Delhi, 12:35 pm Sydney, 2:35 pm Auckland.
Full moons illuminate. They can provoke or even demand action. They are the counter to the new moon two weeks before, revealing what we have set in motion and the results of the seed we planted. On the other hand, a full moon that is also a lunar eclipse can be dramatic, emotional. They can set in motion events that we may not see right away.
It’s important to understand that eclipses are one of the major markers of time in astrology. We need eclipses; they create momentum and often herald personal achievements, milestones, and recognition. Then again, they can shine a light in places that can be uncomfortable and bring things to light. Thus is life.
There are a few notable things about this lunar eclipse.
One, it’s the first in a series that will play out between Pisces and Virgo into 2026. (There is a final partial lunar eclipse in Virgo on February 20, 2027, an epilogue or coda to this eclipse.) A new story is beginning, one that touches on Pisces’s and Virgo’s desire to serve and to help, to find deeper meaning and purpose, to cultivate spirituality, to focus on health and wellness and the balance between body and spirit, to find healing, peace, and resolution.
The last time we had eclipses in Pisces-Virgo was, approximately, 2015-2016, 2006-2007, 1997-1998 ….
Two, the lunar eclipse activates Saturn in Pisces, a work that we’ve all been doing since March 2023. Wherever Saturn is, like a major hand on our personal and collective clock, we have to take things seriously. It demands accountability, responsibility, balance, and even hard work. As a result, the eclipse is a major focal point in this work. How are we taking Pisces seriously? Learning to let go? Find compassion? Build a more meaningful life? Depending on your personal astrology, this eclipse and Pisces may demand more responsibility or even reward hard work.
Three, Jupiter is square Saturn. As the ruler of Pisces, Jupiter directs the energy of the lunar eclipse towards Gemini, which is where we find Jupiter. A square is a point of friction. It activates the energies of manifestation, which is to say that something wants to become real with this lunar eclipse. Real as in tangible, even if “real” means a decision or the achievement of a new job title.
Gemini is the sign of duality and free will. Pisces is the result of our choices born out of this duality and free will. Saturn may show the reality of our choices as well as a need for accountability and commitment. In fact, Mercury is opposite Saturn at the time of the eclipse, making for a firm “yes” for some, and a hard “no” for others.
Four, Neptune’s in the mix. We don’t have to look too far away from 25 Pisces, the degree of the eclipse, and Neptune in Pisces at 28 degrees. (This is what we call a 3 degree orb.) If Saturn is reality, Neptune is the opposite, a contradiction to what I have previously said about Saturn’s involvement in the eclipse. While incongruous, it means that we need to satisfy the needs of a planet that pulls back the veil, that opens our hearts, that opens up our reality to a world beyond Saturn.
So, in summary, the maddening thing about Pisces is that it’s a sign that’s so subjective. It’s a feeling, often an existential one. Which means that your experiences this week are uniquely your own. They touch on your inner life, the quiet spaces that you’ve cultivated or have been reticent to cultivate. They ask for compassion, and often empathy on the experiences in life that our minds would tell us we shouldn’t have empathy. Take note of what you are feeling and experience.
And if you are looking for a more fulfilling life, emotionally and spirituality, a life that gives back and helps others, this may be a full moon where you need to make some more concrete decisions and steps.
In other news, I will be doing a free presentation on Energetic Sciences on Tuesday, September 24 at 8pm ET, via the Mercia Academy platform. (Recording available for those who register). Energetic Sciences is a framework to understand how energies influence your life as well as practical steps to manage them. In this hour-long presentation, we’ll learn about the Weft, the energetic fabric that connects everyone and everything. We’ll even start to open up to feeling the Weft. Link below to register for this free event.