The moon is very much at large 🌕
Tuesday's lunar eclipse is basically Midsommar... 🌺🌻🌸🌼💮
The lunar eclipse is coming
Yes, I am scared, and it’s basically starting tonight at 7:05 p.m. ET when the moon enters Capricorn, where it’ll stay until it’s full.
✨ Reminder: All lunar eclipses are full moons, but not all full moons are lunar eclipses. That means this one is more powerful than the others.✨
The eclipse itself will peak on Tuesday evening, but these events don’t just snap into place and revert back. They build up, they culminate, they wind down. Full moons, and especially lunar eclipses, enact stress tests on some part of our lives to see if it breaks. If so, we have to say goodbye to whatever the thing is (a relationship, a project, CONTROL over someone, control over ourselves, an interpretation of a memory, etc.), and the consequences can be anything from a quiet drifting away or a cataclysmic rupture that leaves you bloody.
But good news! Full moons—especially eclipses—are usually not about surprises. It’s an emotional pattern that tracks the moon’s waxing path, so you’ve likely already been feeling and grappling with the issues this one will raise. Whatever’s been making you tense in the tummy is the thing. You can trust that now.
So it’s already go time. Get ready to CRUMBLE.
I’m being too much of a fear-monger. We’re fine. We already have our assignments and know what to do. And then it’s over! The best thing about full moons is that they pass quickly. The moon is forever moving through its phases, so this one will last no longer than any others.
If you want a little more reading material on eclipses, this is a good summary from Queen Susan Miller, and then below is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for InStyle on 2019 moons to watch out for (including this one):
The full moon in July, also known as the Buck Moon, the Rose Moon, or the Hot Moon, depending on which aspect of summer you want to highlight, is yet another lunar eclipse. This moon is in Capricorn and will oppose Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and luxury. It’s likely we’ll feel torn between what we value and what we can reasonably afford, and things we want may seem depressingly out of reach.
To mitigate this somewhat, the moon will also be in harmony with Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto, the planets of limitations, glamour, and intense desire. That means that we’ll be as successful as we are resourceful, and if we can find a way to fulfill our needs within tight constraints (think DIY centerpieces or staycations) we’ll end up surviving this moon without much incident.
One little caveat: Mercury will be retrograde, so double-check all directions, ingredient lists, and texts. One cannot have too much certainty during this time.
Oh right, Mercury’s still in retrograde. Wish I could say I forgot, but I’m reminded by a looming tidal wave of technological delays and miscommunications. 🌊
Horoscopes for the week
All times are Eastern because I live in New York.
MONDAY: Moon is in Capricorn, and it’s basically ramping up to peak fullness and peak lunar eclipse. This day itself is fairly un-turbulent, with one fantastic aspect for creativity and mental clarity between the moon and Uranus at 7:08 a.m. I might do a crossword puzzle or free write or something to jog the mind first thing in the morning. Do something to shake up your marbles because you might be brilliant today!
TUESDAY: The lunar eclipse is here!!! 🚨🚨🚨 But first: the moon is opposed to Venus (at 12:42 a.m. the night before), which is love and harmony and DIPLOMACY, so you won’t be in a very conciliatory mood Monday night or Tuesday morning. This aspect will pass quickly, because these are two fast movers, but just know it’s happening. Then the moon is in a good, harmonious place with Neptune, which rules glamour and romance (or DRAMA and BETRAYAL—but probably not in this case since it’s a good aspect), Pluto, who is all about power and deep desires, and, most importantly, Saturn, the natural ruler of Capricorn, where this whole messy moon is taking place. It’ll be good to have the zodiac’s taskmaster-in-chief on the moon’s side for this one, even as it opposes the sun (note: all full moons are sun/moon oppositions). Then the LUNAR ECLIPSE HERSELF peaks at 5:38 p.m., so we get to enjoy its foreboding energy all day. Love that. (I don’t!)
WEDNESDAY: An Aquarius moon to cool us off! Good. Aquarius can be emotionally detached but mentally engaged, so if you’re like me and tend to intellectualize as a defense tactic (or trauma response), that tendency will be in full regalia today. With the moon opposed to Mercury at 7:39 a.m., expect peak Mercury retrograde fuckery to hurt your feelings. I picture people throwing tantrums and stress sweating to the tune of computers shutting down before you were able to save your work. Or just someone not passing along information you thought they would. Or sending half an email. Could be anything. Then at 5:44 p.m., the moon squares Uranus, which means you might get surprised by more technical failures or insensitive behavior from someone who should know better. Uranus is the next level of Mercury—where Mercury thinks, tricks, and communicates, Uranus knows, rebels, and invents. With this square, we may be presented with a new direction, and we may not like it. Embracing the new is a good way to deal with this aspect, but you may need a minute to really sit with how you feel. If you can, disengage and table the discussion.
THURSDAY: Finally, a really nice day. Not only are the moon and Jupiter, planet of good luck and bounty, getting along at 11:53 a.m., but then Venus and Neptune are highly simpatico at 2:03 in the afternoon. Just as Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, so is Neptune to Venus, so it’s really advantageous to have these two working together. Venus is all about love, beauty, luxury, and diplomacy, and Neptune represents the transcendence of spiritual communion, glamour, and artistic vision. So this is a powerful time to work on something artful or creative, or even to express your taste through buying new clothes or getting a haircut. If you dream it, it will be realized. Oh, but one caveat: the moon is void of course (kind of like its retrograde) from 11:53 a.m. on today. So best not to start new big creature ventures but focus on the ones you already have. 🔮
FRIDAY: This is the most Mercury retrograde day of them all, because Mercury is crossing back into Cancer, having been in Leo for the past few weeks. You may feel hit with unresolved emotions or a wave of powerful nostalgia. With Mercury retrograde in Cancer, your wistfulness for the past cannot be overstated. Great time to revisit the books, TV shows, movies, or music from your youth.
SATURDAY: Calm and relaxed day, with a little potential for innovation or unique perspectives around 6:16 a.m. The dreamy Pisces moon might make you nostalgic or bring out your spiritual side. 🕊
SUNDAY: Last day of Cancer season, and it’s a mostly terrific day. The moon is friendly with Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Venus, which represent responsibilities, dreams, desires, and love. That’s a pretty broad swath of one’s life, so just know that you’re on pretty solid astrological ground considering it’s the eve of Leo season. One fantastic aspect is between the sun and Mercury, who are very much in cahoots at around 8:35 a.m. That’s very good news for anyone desperate for a break from the retrograde chaos (read: everyone). With Mercury and the sun aligned, it’ll minimize those issues and allow us all to communicate a little more clearly.
That is it for now. May we all have good luck this week. 🌕