Welcome to the Taurus Full Moon, a lunar eclipse that not only lights up the sky, but points to major transitions that can turn our lives in a new direction. Taurus is the sign of money and resource, property and assets, stability and security. It’s pleasure and touch, too. The full moon is exact on October 28, 2023 at 4:24 pm ET, 5 degrees Taurus-Scorpio. That’s 1:24 pm Los Angeles, 9:24 pm London, 10:24 pm Johannesburg, 7:24 am Sydney (October 29), and 9:24 am Auckland.
Full moons are decision points. They put an area of our lives in the spotlight. They demand our attention. But a lunar eclipse? There’s a sharpness. Events may quickly bring something into focus. A door may open and close.
As you may know, this is the second in a pair of eclipses that proved that October was a month of transitions and rapid change. That’s what eclipses do. They usher things in and out of our lives. They can bring something to a swift end, all in preparation of something new.
What makes this eclipse series unique is that it hands off the baton to Aries and Libra after two years of eclipses in Taurus and Scorpio. If Aries-Libra is the relational axis in astrology, which means that we can expect that one of the major themes right now is relationship and individuality, then Taurus-Scorpio is the axis of matter and the material. It’s two powerful signs that pushes and pulls at our physical lives and delves into the complex emotions that come up when we feel that we don’t have enough or when we’re striving to find solid ground.
It’s worth seeing the October 28 lunar eclipse as a bookend to a similar Taurus lunar eclipse that occurred on November 19, 2021. Like then, Mars and Mercury are in Scorpio. But what is different this time is that the Lunar Nodes, the two points that make eclipses happen, have moved onto Aries-Libra. The story has changed somewhat. A story that began in 2021 is coming to a close. It’s not just a bookend, it’s a punctuation point.
Taurus being Taurus, we have to take a look at our material lives. Do we have everything that we need? What have we accumulated over the last two years? What have we invested in? What have we inherited? What have we let go? Sometimes the way in which we learn about what is truly of value is through experiences of loss and transition. And with eclipses in Scorpio over the past year, it’s possible that some aspect of our lives looks very different this year than it did at the start of 2021.
A lunar eclipse in Taurus is a push to find security, to feel safe. We may be looking at our spending or what we own. We want to enjoy life more and make space for the things that give us pleasure. With Venus in Virgo, this is not a full moon of high luxury or indulgence. Instead, it’s practical and pragmatic. It also wants to share what it has with others as an act of service.
There’s a lot of emotion in this full moon lunar eclipse. Venus is opposite Neptune in Pisces, a planet that can bring up deep feelings, a sense of shared humanity, or a witness to collective suffering.
That said, there’s a confrontational energy with this full moon lunar eclipse. Mars and Mercury are in Scorpio opposite Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus. There’s not a lot of compromise. Events may provoke or inflame. Opinions may run high.
Again, with Venus in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces, it’s important to open our hearts and try to have empathy, compassion, and even grace in difficult times.