Full Moon Lunar Eclipse Saturday, Oct. 28, 16:24 p.m. ET in sidereal Aries, Ashwini: Strengthen During the Overwhelm

*Eclipses usher in massive change. They shine the spotlight on areas that have been hidden or are ready to be seen. In the news the days immediately surrounding an eclipse, truths are revealed and secrets made public. Eclipses highlight our karmic connections within ourselves and with others. Events that begin around eclipses tend to have a massive karmic impact, so take time making decisions or taking bold actions. To utilize this time and energy wisely, it’s recommended to go within using guidance from the planetary alignments and the nakshatra (Vedic signs) prominent during the eclipse (below). Eclipses have a magnifying effect, so it’s suggested to not treat the time around the eclipse like any other day but rather to engage in spiritual and personal practices: doing yoga, journaling, grounding breathwork, and focused visualizations before the eclipse followed by meditating around the height of the eclipse is recommended.

*LONG FORECAST with RECOMMENDATIONS at the end!

This Lunar Eclipse is in sidereal Aries, in the healing sign of ASHWINI: the Physician to the Gods, the Miracle Healer, the Heroic and Tenacious One. Its symbol is the horse, connected to pure Prana -our breath and vital life force- and is directly linked to Ayurveda: the Science of Life, the Mother of All Healing. It’s a powerful Moon urging us to focus on the healing at hand. Use this time to become “as strong as a horse,” to strengthen the areas of your chart where the eclipse is sitting, and to support the indications of the Moon and the eclipse sign.

The Moon signifies our emotions, our mindset, our mothers/mothering, our nourishment, the water systems (of our bodies and of the earth), our homes, our motherland and our sense of security. It’s our most basic human needs of love, safety, and being cared for. While we can see these areas currently being afflicted in unthinkable ways, it’s also time to focus in on these areas in our personal lives. Remember: we each play a role in the manifestation that lies ahead as the parts affect the whole.

This healing Ashwini Lunar Eclipse comes along in the most intense month in the final weeks of 2023 to make sure that we take time to fortify ourselves. The Moon connects to “rasa dhatu” in Ayurveda (WBC, lymphatic system, water systems), and the overwhelming number of planets in Aries or sitting with Mars highlight the muscles, the blood and Agni (digestive fire esp in the liver). Focusing on building internally in the most basic ways and staying strong in the body and mind are critical right now. Ayurveda says: when life gets hectic, go simple – especially with diet and lifestyle.

The challenge of this Full Moon Lunar Eclipse is that it’s also sitting with Rahu and Jupiter Retrograde, currently in Aries and in sensitive degrees or positions in the chart, creating extremist energy. Rahu and Jupiter R (together April 13, 2023-Nov 28, 2023) can be so eager to charge towards their ideals that they can sometimes be thoughtless of others, wanting to do what they want to do without thinking of the ramifications they may have. They can be incredible visionaries, but they can also create overwhelm and rattle us in ways other planets simply don’t. This can be depleting to our bodies, hearts and minds. This complex energy will begin to shift at the end of the year and into the first quarter of 2024, so we aren’t out of the woods yet. The Moon can take things to heart and take things personally. The Lunar Eclipse adds a level of emotional intensity to this planetary sea we’ve been swimming in, making everything feel even more intense, overwhelming and fragile at the same time. Fortification is needed in order to manage the energy in the sky and around us.

Questions to consider:

·      Are you feeling depleted?

·      What can you do to simplify and fortify?

·      What is asking for healing? In your life and in your community?

·      Where can you take action? In your own life and in your community?

·      Where are you feeling a draw re: the Moon’s connections (listed above)?

·      Are you feeling secure? On what levels?

·      How much are you ruled by your head or your heart? Which do you listen to more?

·      How’s your “Agni” - digestive fire? This goes beyond the food on your plate and connects to everything you’re digesting, which is a lot (too much) right now. Easily digestible foods helps (like kitchari) and foods spiced well to help boost your fire are helpful. Three deep belly breaths with feet on the ground before eating (or even engaging with others, including going online) will help ground you into your parasympathetic nervous system.

Tips for this Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon:

1. Remember the fastest way to change your emotional state is to take action. Aries and Mars are activists at heart.

2. Aries, Ashwini and its ruler Mars likes modalities like yoga, acupuncture, Ayurveda, massage, martial arts, marma therapy; anything to encourage moving “the issues out of the tissues” (Dr. Lad’s famous saying).

3. Keep doing your healing work (nobody can do it for you anyway). Remember a breakthrough is often times proceeded by a breakdown.

4. Practice detoxifying “pranayama” (focused breathwork). Breath into your belly for 4 and out for 6 (or in for 6 out for 8, whatever you can easily do). The longer exhale is detoxifying so push it out if you need to. Stay steady with the breath, rooted in your pelvis. Do this 10 times and build up from there.

5. Eat healing nourishing foods, and add some spice (ginger, pippali, cayenne pepper) to support your “agni” (digestive fire). Aries and Mars likes red and orange foods that are strong in iron and are good blood builders (red lentils, yams, beets, carrots) and ones that are good oxygenators (dark green leafy veggies, eggs especially the yolks, raisins and prunes, beans and legumes). In Ayurvedic terms, boost rakta dhatu (RBC). (See my resources page for agni boosters.)

6. Be around horses if you are able. Ketu (Ashwini’s ruling planet) likes film so any movies revolving around horses would be a nice way to honor this Moon.

7.Try doing Abhyanga - Ayurvedic self massage - as Jupiter, Rahu and the Moon are all pacified by this. See my resources page for how to: Resources — Alexia Neonakis Vedic Astrology

 :::PEACE:::