eclipse integration 🌑

processing + reflecting in a season of shakeups

Here we are: post-solar eclipse, still in the thick of Mercury retrograde, and navigating weather that swings wildly from 75°and sunshine to rainy, chilly temps from one day to the next (plus last week’s surprise dusting of snow and an earthquake here in the northeast — nbd.) If you’ve had a chaotic couple of weeks marked by heightened emotions, unexpected detours, deep revelations, or last-minute pivots, you’re not alone. It’s always a jarring transition from the quiet, reflective days of winter to the sudden reawakening of spring, but the cosmos have made the shift even more intense this year.

Photo by Karl Magnuson on Unsplash

While I never support astrology-based fear mongering (around eclipses, retrogrades, or anything else), I can confidently say that this eclipse season absolutely lived up to its hype. Right on time — between last month’s lunar eclipse in Libra and this week’s solar eclipse in Aries — things bubbled to the surface that I didn’t even know were lying dormant in the first place. Suddenly, things that had previously seemed inconsequential transformed into monstrous problems that needed to be dealt with RIGHT NOW, lest they overtake me completely. My mind was full of questions like “how could I not have seen that before?” and “how long has this been going on without my noticing?” I remember hearing Lindsay Mack once describe eclipses as “taking the blinders off,” and that description felt spot on: I was seeing things in a totally new light, and I couldn’t unsee this new perspective. Sprinkle in a healthy dose of anxiety, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for an eclipse season meltdown.

The thing about eclipses, though, is that just like the more confronting cards in the tarot, they’re not here to torment us or bring us pain & discomfort just for the sake of it. If and when they do deliver harsh truths or challenging feelings, it’s all in the name of growth and transformation. Just as the Tower card clears things away so that we can build anew — even if it’s not in the gentlest, most preferred way — eclipses and other intense astrological occurrences often bring us insight and new perspectives so that we can move forward with more clarity and shift gears as needed. They give us information, and what we do with it is up to us.

So where does that leave us now, post-eclipse season, with intense transits still playing out and a weird energy still lingering in the air? This moment feels like a good time to revisit a few concepts that many of us know to be true, but often forget to apply to own lives: that healing and growth aren’t linear, that it takes time to process and integrate new information, and that we’re always in flux, ebbing and flowing and figuring it out as we go. As we gain wisdom through experience, stumble upon new realizations, and honor our ever-changing needs, we get more and more intimately acquainted with our true selves. The best thing we can do is to try to stay present, be patient with ourselves, and let our own inner knowing guide the way.

If you gained some useful insight this eclipse season (as I did), it’s ok to sit with it. It’s ok to come back to it when you’re ready. It’s ok to take baby steps towards change. Yes, we’re in Aries season — a time that favors and supports swift, bold action — but we’re also tender, sensitive, and complex human beings who often need time to process before we venture out of our comfort zones. For me, it feels like the best way to come down from the intensity of the past couple of weeks is to take things slowly, and to treat myself with extra compassion and grace. I hope you’re able to do the same.

And what if you didn’t have anything of note happen during this transit? That’s totally valid too! While eclipses are significant events worth honoring, they’re experienced differently from one person to the next. Thinking back to last spring’s eclipses — which felt eerily similar to this year’s — it would appear that the springtime eclipse season is somewhat of a doozy for me (I’m making a mental note of this right now for next year.) There are other significant astrological transits, however, that pass me by without much fanfare. I know plenty of folks who deeply feel the intensity of the full moon — experiencing heightened emotions or struggling to sleep when it rolls around each month — but it’s not something that typically affects my routine (the new moon, on the other hand, tends to send my brain into overdrive!) No matter how in sync you are with the world around you, there’s no right or wrong way to experience its shifts.

That brings me back to one of my core beliefs: that we each get to honor our own unique experiences, because they’re all valid. I used to think that being a spiritual person meant being in perfect alignment with things like the seasons and the moon’s phases — but I now know that it’s actually about honoring your truth. If nothing else, things like eclipses and retrogrades act as a helpful reminder to slow down and check in: they’re the perfect time to assess your priorities, take note of where your energy levels are, and ask yourself if anything needs adjusting. Moments don’t need to feel life-changing or to shake our belief system to its core in order to bring clarity — sometimes all it takes is carving out time for a quiet moment of self-reflection.

Here’s to embracing the unpredictability of spring, making slow and intentional shifts as needed, and having a slightly more chill rest of the month, maybe? ✷

PS: need more Mercury retrograde guidance? Check out a post on all things Mercury Rx from last year!