Dear Earth,

Today we see a new moon in Capricorn, which is also a solar eclipse. From our perspective on earth, it is a solar eclipse when our moon is perfectly aligned with the sun such that the moon temporarily blots out the light of the sun. This eclipse is on the south node in Capricorn — and while it is a strong one, it is not the first of its kind. Actually, we’ve been dealing with eclipses like this and the energy of the Capricorn / Cancer duality since July 2018. These eclipses have asked us societally to reframe our idea of success, away from the mainstream and material definition, and toward one that is rooted in collective care and family. 

Today’s eclipse reignites what we’ve been working on in the past year or so, around shedding old patterns, rigid boundaries, and inherited attitudes + behaviors that keep us from each other. It reignites how we’ve been working to reclaim and make family on our own terms. Eclipses signal a quickening in the area of life we are working on (aka the part of your chart the eclipse falls in) — so this kind of new moon brings our work to a gallop.

This eclipse is beautifully conjoined Jupiter, the planet of grace and generosity. As such, it helps us practice understanding. It brings extra good faith as we seek to understand each other and bridge the gap of separation. To extend a warm hand of compassion + solidarity across the expanse of our old wounds to heal the isolation of our times. 

Trine Uranus, this eclipse helps us make a major cleanse from past patterns, and to start the next decade with a great reset for change. 

It reminds me of my relationship with my father. Without getting too much into it... as an adult I was angry at him for many years for the way he behaved toward me when I was a child. The anger was essential for me to find myself again and to learn about boundaries. But interestingly, it also seeped through everything. Every man I met, I looked at with eyes of disgust and distrust, consciously or unconsciously. A couple years ago, I started to find my agency again. I realized I had the power to write my own story, but so far that power was cowering under the power of my attachment to victimhood. I had to choose— did I want my life to be defined by pain, or by my recovery from that pain? The realization helped me slowly start to forgive my father and re-engage with him. It’s an ongoing process, and sometimes I just cannot be around him. And still, even then, I know I have the ability to do metta (loving kindness meditation) and say prayers for his healing and for my patience.

Holding my father at a very far distance was a kind of generosity toward myself. I know I needed it. Eventually, though, I chose change. I chose the kind of generosity which is compassion. I now choose to live in a world in which my father gets to be human, where I can see he has been deeply hurt and has hurt me in response. I choose to be deeply human myself, to be angry at times, and to be understanding at times. Choosing a world in which we both get to be human, where there is space for both of us, for all of us. 

I think this eclipse is about generosity. Whether for ourselves or for each other, it is the generosity that brings healing. 

What change in attitude, what generosity, are you practicing this eclipse? I wanna know! We’re in new moon phase for another 3 days, so your intention and practice can still start now!