Boo, hiss!
Gather ’round, friends, foes and familiars: I have a word of warning and a damper to deliver this Halloween weekend.
While All Hallows doesn’t technically transpire until this Tuesday, Oct. 31, most of us live and work in a capitalist, work-centric, moon-averse society/simulation that demands we toil on that Monday-to-Friday grind and schedule our fun on the weekends.
Thus, many among us will be painting our faces, baring our flesh and bringing out the dead on Saturday, Oct. 28, right in the dark-heart aftermath of a lunar eclipse in Taurus that begins at 2:01 p.m. EDT and peaks around 4:14 p.m.
Loathe as I am to impart this truth, the time is nigh for quiet reflection rather than wanton, costumed abandon.
Boo buzzkill
If you’ve been feeling exhausted, thirsty (physically or sexually), troubled, sad, stagnant or just plain rage-filled of late, eclipse energy is likely to blame.
The power of these lunations can be felt acutely for roughly a week leading up to the big show — or shadow, as it were — and for a week after.
During a lunar eclipse, when the moon is under shadow, our psyche calls out for exploration and draws our attention to areas of life in serious need of shift. Those heady underbelly undertakings are best performed in quiet solitude rather than the thick of a crowd in which everyone is wearing an unfamiliar skin.
In a word: yikes.
Shock and awe and severed ties
Because this is the last eclipse in the two-year saga of eclipses in the Taurus/Scorpio axis, expect a last gasp of shaking up and cutting ties.
Relationships that are rotting could receive the righteous death blow they need, jobs where our value is compromised could reach a cumulative end, and our living situations could shift in shocking ways.
It’s all necessary and it’s all for our benefit — but it might be best not to deliver or receive this kind of upheaval half drunk and nipple out in a unicorn onesie at a dive bar.
Just a thought.
Many spiritual practitioners advise against eating, sex, sleeping or using sharp objects during the exact time of the eclipse
Add to the moon mix that Jupiter, the gilded planet that expands everything it touches, will be opposing Mercury, the planet of communication, and Mars, the planet of conflict.
Translation: inflation with gossip, ire and drama at an all-time high.
Abstinence is the name of the game
While the full moon is typically the time for ritual spell casting, crystal charging, howling and healing, the energy of a lunar eclipse is too volatile to support the proper execution of our intentions.
Most astrologers and spiritual advisors caution against any kind of ritual practice, serious exertion or altered state at this time. Many advise against eating, having sex, sleeping or using sharp objects during an eclipse — so pause the orgies, candy gorging and pumpkin carving.
In truth, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) do anything during an eclipse because the eclipse is doing the heavy lifting and fate dealing for you.
It’s real “Jesus take the wheel,” hold on loosely energy — and the best thing we can do is let it be and let it unfold.
Ditch the garish costumes and drunken debauchery and chill at home alone.
Don’t interfere with the architects of the universe, fam.
While you can’t cleanse your crystals during an eclipse — you don’t want your citrine to smell like upheaval, nor your selenite smudged with putrid vibes — you can purify yourself by burning herbs for a good, long steam.
While eclipses are not a time for ritual, they are a cause for release. Because this eclipse is happening in the hoarding heart of Taurus, we are called to loosen our grip on the people, things and habits that are impeding our progress.
Where do we accept stagnation and call it security?
Like all things in nature, recognition and reverence lend themselves to revitalization. Let yourself go dark in this darkness. Silence your phone, cut the lights and let the shadows show you where you shine.
Let go of what you think you want in order to invite what you truly deserve.
How to deal?
My advice? Ditch the gratuitous costumes and drunken debauchery and chill at home. Consider saving your masks, revelry and ritual sacrifice for Samhain on Oct. 31 when the energy will be decidedly less fraught.
Until then, I urge you to rest, reflect, receive and restore yourselves, and proceed with caution — but without fear.
In the words of Reiki Master and past life regression facilitator Manu Del Prete, “It’s all part of the design and everything is divine.”
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.