Earth will be directly between the luminaries, Sun and Moon, shortly after 9:30 EST Saturday morning. When it happens, our planet’s shadow will cause the Full Moon to turn red. That will be a total lunar eclipse. It will be visible from Eastern Europe, across Asia and the Pacific Ocean to western North America. Even if you are not in a position to see it, you will be part of the event.
The occasion will likely coincide with an opportunity to integrate patterns you have created or taken on since the partial solar eclipse on Nov. 25. If age and memory serve, you may also be in recollection of last March, or December 1992, perhaps even in anticipation of the new year. That’s because eclipses have a way of connecting the vastness of space-time into the now, a connection that invites your participation.
Earth’s orbit around Sun carves an elliptical plane through space-time. We see it as the Sun’s apparent path across the sky. We call it the ecliptic. Moon’s orbit around Earth traces a different plane, at an angle to the ecliptic. We see it as Moon’s path across the sky. The separate luminary paths cross at two slowly moving and perpetually opposing points called the lunar nodes.
Every month Sol and Luna are also at an opposition (with Earth in between) called a Full Moon. Every six months or so, the luminaries oppose while each one is in the vicinity of a node. When the nodes and opposing luminaries are thus conjoined, they are aligned with our planet. This results in visible evidence of a common connection through space-time: a lunar eclipse. It does not stop there. Eclipses connect to each other.
Eclipses usually take place in pairs, at consecutive New and Full Moons. That’s an eclipse cycle. While there are sometimes three in a row, as earlier this year, there are never less than two. The period between them expands the reach of Luna’s monthly cycle through its connection with the Sun’s annual cycle. Regardless of whether the period begins with a solar or lunar eclipse, the first event opens a fortnight that favors new patterns while old ones tend to dissipate. Awareness of that tendency gives you a chance to connect yourself, participating with a feeling of gain. Lack of awareness can lead to a sense of loss. The results can last for a long time, because eclipse cycles also connect to each other through the nodes.