Lunar Eclipse Astrology: Fate or Free Will?

Do eclipses control your fate? Well, if someone is telling you that they do, then that is lazy astrology.

Yes, there's a lot of intense energy in the sky right now. But intense and inevitable are not the same thing. Don't let the doom astrologers scare you into passivity. You have the power, always.

Whether it's eclipse season or not, you have the power over your fate.

Intense Does Not Mean Inevitable

Yes, the energy during eclipse season is real and intense. You're not imagining it.

But right now, you have two horses pulling at you.

One is the shadow horse: fear, panic, the belief that somebody told you this eclipse is fated and there's nothing you can do about it.

The other is the light horse: awareness, intuition, the part of you that knows you have a say in your own life.

Which one are you letting lead right now?

There is a difference between the energy is intense and your life is predetermined.

There is a difference between this eclipse is powerful and you have no say in what happens next.

One is awareness. The other is fear. One puts you on a path of consciousness. The other puts you on a path of panic.

So which is it? What are you going to choose? Fate and panic? Or free will, agency, and the light?

The Chariot Is the Tarot's Answer

I think the tarot can help ground us in this moment.

Take a look at the Chariot, card number seven. It corresponds with the sign of Cancer, which rules the Moon. 

This is the card in play during a lunar eclipse, which is tied to the Moon. And what does the Chariot show? A driver in the driver's seat holding the reins, not a passenger.

The driver also has a magic wand in hand, tying the card to the Magician. This is a card about agency and free will. There are crescent moons on the charioteer's armor representing intuition. Not something external. Not something someone else gives you. Your own built-in guidance system. You wear it. It is part of your armor, your protection, so to speak.

Then we have the two sphinxes, one black and one white: shadow and light. The Chariot doesn't pretend the shadow doesn't exist. It doesn't say, "Just think positive." It says both paths are possibilities. Both are real. Both are powerful. Your job is to direct which one is going to lead.

That's not fate. That's free will in action.

The Chariot Comes After the Lovers

The Chariot comes right after the Lovers in the tarot. Yes, the Lovers can be about choices. The Chariot is about what happens after you choose: movement with intention.

It's about grabbing the reins and going somewhere. It's about taking that wand of will that you have in your hand, which ties back to the Magician, to decide and manifest the path ahead for you.

That's not fate. That's free will.

What Eclipses Actually Do

So what do eclipses actually do?

They mark powerful moments in a cycle. Yes, they can accelerate what's already in motion. They can illuminate what you've been avoiding. But ultimately, they describe energetic conditions, not predetermined outcomes.

Patterns are real, but patterns have nuance. Transits don't repeat identically because you are not the same person you were last cycle, or even a day ago.

An eclipse is not predetermined fate. It is a portal of possibility.

And who rides through that portal, and how? The shadow horse or the light horse? Fear or awareness? That has always been your choice.

Saturn in Aries Doesn't Do Helpless

Saturn just entered Aries, and Saturn in Aries does not do helpless.

It doesn't say, "I'm just along for the ride." Saturn in Aries says, "What you build from here has weight. Your choices have consequences. Your agency matters."

And the Chariot agrees with that. 

This is use the energies energy, not be used by them energy. We use them. We choose.

You can ride through the portal from fear with the shadow horse leading, dropping your reins and letting somebody else tell you where you're going, telling you you're fated. Or you can ride through it from your own awareness, with your reins, your intuition, your direction, and your choices guiding you.

That has always been the difference between doom astrology and no BS astrology. And that is exactly what Use the Energies means.

An Eclipse Is a Portal, Not a Prison

During an eclipse, the Moon goes dark. External light disappears, but it's temporary.

That is your invitation to pause for a moment. Consider what has brought you to this point. Consider where you're choosing to go next.

It is not the time to let some lazy doom astrologer scare you into thinking you're just a passive passenger in the ride-along of their doom forecast.

A Simple Tarot Practice for Eclipse Season

If you have a tarot deck, I invite you during eclipse season to take out the Chariot card and spend a few moments with its imagery. Envision yourself in the driver's seat of your own life and the next road you want to travel.

In my opinion, that is a much better use of eclipse energy than feeding into doom vibes that keep you stuck and scared.

Fate or Free Will?

Fate or free will?

I know where I stand with that question, and I hope you do, too.

If you'd like some help understanding the energies you're currently working with, not so someone can tell you what's fated or what to do, but to give you information you can use to make decisions about how you want to ride through this portal, you can always book a reading with me.

I'd be honored to help.