Usually, New Moons indicate a time for fresh energy and initiating activities. But this one is different. On October 25th, we’ve got a New Moon Solar Eclipse in obsessive Scorpio: prepare to feel possibly love sick, a bit drained, and way up in your feelings. Reasons?

Let’s focus first on the “solar eclipse” part. Astronomically, this term just means that, from our vantage on earth, the sun occasionally finds itself shrouded by the moon at a certain place in the sky known as a “node” (more on that later).

Astrologically, however, solar eclipses indicate something more foreboding. During them, the Sun (ego, self) is overshadowed by the Moon (emotion, inner life). Rather than feeling sunny, we feel melancholically moony (if that’s a word…. it should be).

Now, this particular New Moon Solar Eclipse occurs in Scorpio, the twisted sister of the zodiac. The Moon, in general, is weak here due to the Big Sting’s darker nature. Scorpio is a fixed water sign – whereas the Moon wants to keep things moving and changing. So, we have competing cosmic energies, with Scorpio slowing down or dragging the Moon into the Stinger’s obsessive tendencies. Moon (emotion)+Scorpio (fixation)=brooding on stuff.

On top of this, our New Moon Solar Eclipse will be conjunct the South Node, which deals with karma, the past, ancestors, where you were rather than where you’re going. The South Node is like that bummer friend who’s always talking about the good old days. Conversely, the North Node is that friend looking toward the future. In other words, transits around the South Node can have a draining effect. Expect, accordingly, to feel both nostalgic and a bit world-weary this lunation.

Anyhow, you see where all this is going. Lots of feelings (Moon overshadowing Sun), lots of nostalgia (South Node), lots of Scorpio fixation. Of course, things like nostalgia usually have an object. In our case, that object is going to be related to Venus (love, beauty, and desire). Indeed, Planet Diamonds will be sitting right on top of the Sun and Moon during this transit, which could warp its impact.

So, one consequence of this complex lunation: extra-sensitive (sad Moon) about our appearance or things people say or don’t say about it (warped Venus).

Another consequence: finding yourself wanting/fixating on things and people from the past (South Node+warped Venus+Scorpio).

What are some pieces of advice, then, given all this nasty astrological weather? Think about the following three points.

Look but don’t touch

There is a ton of backward moving energy around this Moon (and we haven't even mentioned the Mars retrograde approaching on October 30th, providing further undertow). Don’t try to swim against this current. If you’re feeling a bit love-lorn or misty-eyed for something or someone, look at a few of their posts on Insta, but don’t touch send on your phone after writing a sentimental message. The past is past for a reason.

Get some Drano

In the States, there’s a cleaning product called Drano that unclogs your bathtub or sink. The South Node is like a clogged pipe filled with the past. Therefore, apply some cosmic Drano somewhere in your life (phone, closet, harddrive) that’s blocked with bad memories.

Walk Don’t Run

Eclipse season comes in pairs. We have the New Moon eclipse on the 25th–and then another Full Moon eclipse in Taurus in a couple weeks. That means that the effects of this intense New Moon will last longer than a more ordinary lunation. With Mars set to go retrograde in the next few days (where it will be forming an opposition to Neptune, the illusionist), we are all going to be as though walking through the dark in a cosmic haunted house around Halloween. Go slowly so you don’t bump into any ghouls. No rash decisions during this extended lunation. This Moon isn’t just about the big emotions of the day, but managing their recurrence over the next two weeks.

Final food for thought. Fixed sign eclipses (like this one) are much more challenging than those in the mutables. Ultimately, eclipses are harbingers of change but fixed signs, by their very nature, want to stay put. How do we reconcile this antinomy? Well, the cosmos waits for no one, meaning that you can go along with its pull or you can be dragged. Either way, though, you are going to be moved, so don't dig your heels in.

Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash