This month's Sagittarian Total Lunar Eclipse knows that "forever's gonna start tonight" —because, if a Sagittarian could, they would go about treating all their nights that way. And, if they belted out the song, they wouldn’t think about it as an incantation because they know that a lunar eclipse isn’t about spell work since the lunar eclipse is a spell in and of itself — an earthly intervention between our two luminaries. They would also know that the totality of the eclipse is just one physical manifestation of the universe's synchronicities, one moment in time when everything lines up and feels like fate. And it’s this relationship to fate, to the many roads not taken and the ones that led us here, that suffuses the song and the feeling behind it. Forever starts tonight, and an altered forever starts tomorrow and the day after and every day after that.
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Of course, faith is meant to be tested, otherwise it would just be fact and fact is no fun at all. This lunar eclipse is squared by Jupiter in Pisces, a tense aspect between two signs ruled by Jupiter, two constellations that thrive on their relationships to others. While the orb for the square is over 4°, the eclipse fuels it, and so it’s wise to think about where these transits can meet in mutuality and when it’s better for them to stay wary.
Both Sagittarius and Pisces like a little edge play, both signs dabble in pushing limits, and the occasional pleasure of surrender. A full moon in Sagittarius needs wide open spaces, it asks “do you trust me?” before inviting you on a magic carpet ride; it rarely makes its intentions known, preferring to let the moment define what transpires. Jupiter in Pisces wants to believe another world is possible and is willing to place some bets on it. At best, this transit is dreamy, open-minded, and flexible. At worst, it's gullible and easily swayed by false promises. At odds, these placements resent a world that fills them with doubt. They work with and against each other in order to preserve an optimistic imagination in the face of structural and systemic inequality.
It’s a little bit like choosing to stay in a relationship when the odds are forever against you. Like choosing love when isolation sounds easier. Odds being what they are, Mercury and Venus both make a square to Neptune during the lunar eclipse. In the mutable sign of Gemini, both planets wish desperately to relate, to share what they know and grow closer because of it. Venus in Gemini might find herself rushing to relate in situations where more discernment is necessary. Meanwhile, Mercury in Gemini is preparing the station retrograde and as such has at least two weeks of uncertainty to look forward to. Of course, Saturn square Uranus adds some celestial restraint to the mix. One is left wondering if living in a powder keg and giving off sparks is sustainable, if falling in love is ever as good as the idea of it, if maybe it’s time to not only change our practices but also our ideas.
Changing our ideas is no easy task, of course. It won’t be accomplished by time spent reading and discoursing with like minds; it won’t be rushed by exposure therapy or touristy immersion. To change our ideas of how to live with each other, to love each other, to see others as they are and not as we wish them to be is a faith practice. It requires intention and commitment, it requires showing up every day ready to be humbled, to say “I don’t understand but I would like to understand.” It requires giving it your best and admitting when you didn't, which is a practice in self-forgiveness and in accountability. It requires accepting that there are certain things, certain experiences and perspectives, that you will never fully know but that doesn’t make them any less valid or true. So, one begins with questions and moves toward the future and away from the past.
Under the full moon and lunar eclipse, do not ask: Who is to blame? Instead, ask: Who stands to suffer? Spend some time thinking about how to alleviate that suffering, so that communication is possible. If forever’s gonna start tonight, what road is right this time?