It’s Eclipse Season Again!
Daffy Duck, Eclipse Season
The Fall Eclipse Season officially kicks off with the New Moon in Virgo on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 2:07am EDT. This New Moon is not an eclipse, but because the nodal axis is currently in Virgo (South Node) and Pisces (North Node), this New Moon still rings the bell to bring in the energy of what is to unfold for us in the coming weeks.
Chart for the New Moon in Virgo (#1), August 23, 2025
This New Moon is occurring in the early morning hours of Saturday, August 23, 2025 (2:07am EDT) when the Sun is newly in Virgo, at 0° 23’, and its ruler, Mercury, is nearby in Leo, still in its shadow after having completed its quarterly retrograde cycle. All are located in Mercury’s 3rd house of communication and messages, so the Mercury theme is amplified.
Uranus is squaring the Sun and Moon from the 12th house at 1° Gemini, and Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto are all inconjuncting it from early Aries (Saturn/Neptune) and Aquarius (Pluto), forming a Yod aspect with the New Moon at the apex. This New Moon is also tightly conjunct fixed star Regulus, which after being in Leo for 2,160 years, shifted into Virgo on November 28, 2011, signaling the shift from Kings (Regulus is “the king maker”) and patriarchy into Queens and matriarchy. Regulus currently sits at 0°9’ Virgo.
This is a deep soul message being retrieved, received, or zapped into consciousness. Things that come through the ether at this time, likely in dream form since Uranus will be enlightening us from the 12th house, are going to be pertinent for how the following 30 days proceed. I highly recommend engagement in some form of meditation ceremony Friday afternoon or evening before going to sleep to clarify, in writing, what you intend to purge and purify from both your inner and outer life during this eclipse season. You may even want to burn it before bed as a way to seal it and send the energy into the cosmos with the smoke. Ingesting Reishi mushrooms are helpful for dream amplification as well (these are non-psychedelic and available in grocery stores in supplement form). For as you likely know, eclipses are purging portals, and this one being on the Virgo-Pisces axis with Virgo being the solar anchor is going to be intensely focused on ridding the mind, body, and spirit of anything unhealthy, unkempt, unnecessary, or uninspiring in order to be of pure service to the higher realms of spirit (North Node in Pisces). Discernment, clarification, dissemination, categorization, refinement, purging, pruning, cleaning, and purification are the themes for the month ahead, beginning with this lunation. If you have any planets or points between 25° and 5° of any sign, but especially if you have planets or points in the early degrees of the mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces, you are going to want to pay special attention to what comes through for you during the night between August 22-23, 2025. Keep a dream journal next to your bed!
And it must be said: we don’t manifest during eclipses. Those two-week portals are times for allowance, for surrender, for release. So if you have things you wish to clear out of your life and things you wish to bring in, this New Moon on August 23 through September 7 is the time to get clear on that and set your intentions. September 7-21 is the eclipse zone.
This window of time - between August 23 - September 7, 2025 - is your opportunity to intentionally clear the dross and toxic energy in your life away yourself, before the eclipses come in and rip things away for you.
Fairy door, fairy dust sparkling
Eclipse #1: Full Moon -Total Lunar
Chart for Lunar Eclipse - Full Moon in Pisces, September 7, 2025
The first eclipse portal opens on September 7th at 2:08pm, with the full moon at 15°22’ Pisces and the Sun at 15°22 Virgo. Full Moons in general are about endings and letting go; lunar eclipses are intensified Full Moons and often things that are slated to end may end abruptly and we may have more difficulty letting go than usual. This is due to the lunar nodes being involved in the eclipse.
(Quick eclipse lesson: eclipses only occur when the new moon (solar eclipse) and full moon (lunar eclipse) happens within about 15-18° or so of the lunar nodes. The closer the Sun and Moon are to the lunar nodes, the more exact the eclipse will be (total vs partial or penumbral eclipse). That means that whatever signs the North Node and South Node reside in is where the eclipses will happen that year; eclipse season happens twice a year, six months apart. This year, the nodes are in Virgo and Pisces, so the eclipses will happen when the Sun is in Virgo and in Pisces. When the nodes shift to Aquarius and Leo, the eclipse season will occur when the Sun is in Aquarius and Leo.)
The lunar nodes represent where we come from and what is familiar, and what we are called to recognize and release, often representative of past lives or family karma (the South Node), and where and how we are destined to grow toward what is unfamiliar but necessary for our spiritual growth and what we are called to step into and become, often representative of our future or destiny (the North Node). The longer we cling to the ethos, default behaviors, and mindset of the South Node in our natal chart, the more we find we are repeating karmic lessons and keeping ourselves locked in the past and in unconsciousness, getting in our own way in terms of spiritual progression. But when we lean into the ethos, behaviors, and new-to-us mindset of our natal North Node, we find ourselves more at ease, blessed, and well-received in the world; the Universe supports our spiritual growth through synchronicity.
The trick is not to banish the energies of the South Node, but to integrate them as a foundational leaping off point that will carry us toward the energy of the North Node.
It is not negation, it is transmutation.
We use the South Node traits to help us become the North Node.
During eclipses, this dynamic is collective; however, if you have personal planets or points on or near the eclipse points, then it becomes intensely personal, a message for you that aligns with the collective message for soul release and growth. Eclipses turn the wheel of our soul’s development and evolution.
This eclipse will occur with the Sun and Mercury (Virgo’s planetary ruler) conjunct in mid-Virgo and both conjunct the South Node – the point of release or letting go. Thus, the hypervigilant, precision mindset of Virgo needs to be transmuted into the ethos of ethereal Pisces, where the Full Moon is conjunct the North Node, releasing micromanagement into spiritual faith and merging with the divine. This will feel impossible to do, lol. It will feel incredibly impractical, pointless, fantastical, unrealistic, and irrational. Goddess asteroid Astraea is squaring the eclipse from 13° Sagittarius in the 1st house; Astraea represents the inability to let go and points to blockages that keep us from seeing when something is over or finished, ready for something new to begin. In Sagittarius, this indicates an inability to let go of a personal belief system to make way for a more inclusive and bigger picture. This may include an inability to let go of the persistent belief in one’s own rightness. In the collective first house, this points to this belief system being about one’s self-image, clinging to the ways one has acted in the past (South Node), and finding difficulty in changing toward a more authentic presentation based on faith in the future and integration of different beliefs (North Node).
The key will be to integrate the OCD-type traits of the strictly Virgoan nature into a grounded spirituality, feet on the ground while the head and heart reach into the Piscean divine. We aren’t leaving rationality and discernment behind at all; we are using that to keep us anchored to reality while we simultaneously expand our hearts and minds into the divine consciousness of the Universe. It is not either-or, it is both-and. The perfection of Virgo is realized when full consciousness is attained – enlightenment – and by integrating the paradox that the world, and human nature, is perfect by being imperfect. We are not striving to denigrate the darkness or imperfection, we are compassionately accepting that everything and everyone is already perfect as it is, with Love. We are not reaching “higher” and releasing what is “lower”, that only furthers duality and division; we are integrating all of it into a unified whole. Everything is beautiful. Everything is divine. Everything is perfect. This is the Way of Pisces. There is nothing to do but to Love it All.
The aspects involved include:
Astraea square Sun, Mercury, South Node: We are being challenged to let go of a personal belief system to make way for a more inclusive and bigger picture that generates a more authentic faith in the future (North Node).
A Yod from Venus and Mars to the North Node: We can’t take our personal egos with us on this journey. We have to lean into our beautiful generosity of spirit and perform beauty not for our own gain, but for the collective spiritual benefit. Passive aggression will not serve us. We need to decisively act in ways that promote fairness and justice without being subversive.
Nessus conjunct the North Node and Moon: Themes of spiritual abuse are coming up for healing. We are learning to respond to past abuses with grace and forgiveness, though with an eye on preserving self-respect and personal boundaries (trine Lilith in Scorpio) and applying appropriate justice where necessary (inconjunct Mars in Libra). We are also learning to forgive ourselves for self-abandonment and to renew our dedication to self-love.
Psyche square the eclipse: The collective soul’s journey in curious and inquisitive Gemini is learning through varied life experiences how to develop awareness and understanding in order to evolve, through self-love, into its Highest Self – an enlightened being that can share wisdom with others. It is being opposed by Astraea, highlighting the need to observe and realize the balance between the natures of Virgo (discernment, perfectionism, obsession with details, surgical precision, being in control, hyper-health-focused) and Pisces (faith, trust in the divine, going with the Flow of life, artistic and imaginative, allowing imperfection with compassion, releasing control, merging into unity and Love).
Jupiter in Cancer sextile the South Node and Sun, and trine the North Node, Moon, and Nessus: A deep abiding faith in the unseen protection of a maternal divine feminine, Mother Nature, or Shakti, permeates this eclipse. A love, both soft and fierce, abides and provides a steady stream of optimism, nourishment, and faith in the future.
Ceres in Aries semisextile the Moon and North Node and inconjunct the Sun: Self-care during this time is super important. If you feel burned out or overwhelmed, retire from the fray. Being “self-centered” is a positive thing at this time. Do not overextend yourself. Take time out for tending to your inner world. Do things that tend your own garden. Do this in the spirit of “putting on your own oxygen mask first so that you can then help others with theirs.”
Pluto, newly out of bounds and still retrograde, is semisquare the Moon and North Node, and sesquisquare the Sun and South Node: omg, OK: Pluto OOB is a game changer. It is already extreme, intense, and transformative in the way that a volcano transforms the landscape and environment, but being OOB takes this ethos even further. We need to recognize how our need for egoic control can prevent us from making the necessary changes that enable us to progress in this lifetime. We may have maddeningly compulsive behaviors that are rooted in ego that keep us chained to repeating past negative behaviors that are karmic and detrimental. Think the Devil tarot card: we are complicit in our own imprisonment and thus have the power to change our circumstances if we can only control our need to be in total control of everything and yet simultaneously stubbornly ignorant and unconscious. Once we can release the (very loose) shackles of this and stop projecting blame onto others so we can remain in our victimhood, we can transform ourselves through awareness and completely change our circumstances. The power is in our own hands.
ASTEROID PSYCHE SQUARE THE SUN AND SOUTH NODE FORMS A THOR’S HAMMER WITH PLUTO AT THE APEX; PROPER PLUTO MANAGEMENT (ACCOUNTABILITY AND POSITIVE SELF-EMPOWERMENT) IS THE KEY.
The Devil tarot card (XV) from the Rider–Waite tarot deck
Uranus, which stationed at 1° 27’ Gemini on August 31 and then turned retrograde on September 6, is still stationary and thus at its most chaotic; it will begin moving backwards on September 11, 2025: While Uranus is not aspecting this eclipse, it is still a player in this game as it trines OOB Pluto exactly and sextiles retrograde Neptune and Saturn. With Uranus in its most volatile state, we can never rule out some wildcard Tower card-type antics that may occur. Especially if you have any planets or points near the very end or very beginning of any sign.
If you have any planets or points between 5° - 28° Virgo or Pisces, or between 6° - 22° of any other sign (that is most of us!), you will be feeling this eclipse in a big way. But those with planets or angles in the mutable signs (Virgo, Pisces, Gemini, Sagittarius) will be feeling this most of all.
Eclipse #2: New Moon - Partial Solar
Solar Eclipse - New Moon in Virgo (#2), September 21, 2025
This will be the second New Moon in Virgo in 2025, which, while somewhat rare, is not unheard of. Typically, when we have two new moons in one calendar month, we call that a “Black Moon.” This is similar to the “Blue Moon” we’d have when two full moons occur in the same calendar month. I personally think this is a bit of rubbish – mainly because the calendar is a man-made construct to organize time as we experience it and it has nothing to do with the cosmos. We can still refer to this double new moon in the same sign as a Black Moon if we want to just for fun though, even if it isn’t in the same calendar month.
New Moons signify new beginnings, and in an eclipse, this is exponentially so. This one occurs at the 30th degree of Virgo, 29°05’ to be exact, and it will carry all the karmic weight that comes with the anaretic degree placements.
29° - The Anaretic Degree
The term "anaretic" comes from the Greek "anaretikos," meaning "destructive." The 30th degree of each sign, that is, the last, between 29° and 29°59', is often referred to as the "degree of crisis" or the "karmic degree" or “degree of fate.” It represents the culmination of the sign's energy before transitioning to the next sign. It indicates an intensely sensitive placement in a natal chart that often is expressed with anxious anticipation in the native and even angst due to the fact that it is “filled up” with the energy of that sign and poised for change that never seems to come, as it is forever on the edge of changing signs - as opposed to 0° of a sign, which is brand new sign energy and generally more open to input. It is considered a critical degree and indicates a crisis point.
Cafeastrology.com states, “If a natal planet is found at 29 degrees of any sign, also known as the Anaretic degree, there can be some real issues with decision-making in that part of the personality represented by the energies of the planet. The native may evaluate and re-evaluate situations before making a move one day, and the next day, jump into the action without listening to himself or herself! For example, if Mars is at 29 degrees, the native may devise many plans of actions, worry excessively about the possible actions and different routes to take, and then execute a spontaneous action that is contrary to the decision! … Besides decision-making problems, vacillation, and jumping into situations blindly, the 29th degree is also associated with a sense of urgency. It’s the last degree of the zodiac sign, and there can be a real sense of urgency surrounding the characteristics and associations of the particular sign. There can also be a general weakness in this area – it can be a point of poor choices, difficulties, crisis, or overcompensation. While the classic critical degrees above are thought to give added strength to the planet or body, the anaretic degree is more of a debilitating position.” (https://cafeastrology.com/criticaldegrees.html)
In a solar eclipse configuration, this expands the tension present in the Virgo-Pisces axis (described in great detail above in the Lunar Eclipse section). The intentions we set now will carry us forward into the next six months, cementing our eclipse portal journey to arrive at this critical point where we choose how we energetically proceed. Will we remain chained to the South Node in Virgo’s need to always be right, correct, precise, hypervigilant, and perfect? Will we remain slaves to our critical minds and our hypochondria? Or will we learn to use our minds as tools that help us to release the ego’s need to compete for perfection and to control our attention and our projections in ways that benefit both us and the collective instead?
Mars is also at 29° Libra and is semisextile the eclipse. The anxiety and indecision may be high during this transit. This echoes the need for grounded, intentional choices that assist with where you want to go in the long term. Grounding practices like guided meditation, journaling, and breathwork may be very helpful in directing your energies productively during this transit. Having a good workout will be helpful too.
This is a stepping-off point into the future. Mercury is conjunct this eclipse again but has now moved on from Virgo (from the lunar eclipse) to fair-minded and graceful Libra, while Libra’s ruler is in Mercury-ruled Virgo (mutual reception). Analysis feeds diplomacy and grace, and vice versa.
Additionally, both Saturn and Neptune retrograde are opposing this eclipse casting doubt and confusion, and all (Saturn, Neptune, and the Sun and Moon) are straddling the Aries Point (also called the Cardinal Point or Equinox Point), as the Sun is poised to cross into 0° Libra at the Equinox in less than 24 hours from the moment of the eclipse. This has led me to pull up Asteroid Persephone’s position, since she is the ruler of the Equinoxes – and lo and behold, she is at 27°56’ Aquarius and inconjunct the eclipse, with Saturn and Neptune semisextile Persephone.
This is the preparation before heading into the Underworld, the clarity of purpose gleaned before a life-changing decision. Something is indeed ending, and something else is beginning. The thing to remember about Persephone is that leaving the world of light where she was a maiden and her mother’s prized and protected daughter transformed her into the crowned Queen of the Underworld and compassionate yet powerful ruler when in Hades’ realm. She integrated her light and her shadow - her duality - to successfully become a whole, sovereign human. This message resonates in this New Moon Solar Eclipse.
(See my post about Ceres to understand more of the myth and meaning of her daughter, Persephone.)
Persephone: copyright Janaina Medeiros, www.janaina.net
Again, while this eclipse is conjunct the South Node (this time both the Sun and Moon are conjunct it), it does not mean that there is an “ending” regarding Virgoan ways. The eclipse acts to release what no longer serves, in both the inner (Moon/dark/shadow/reflection) and outer (Sun/light/projection) worlds, in order to manifest the spiritual perfection, unity, and oneness of the North Node in Pisces.
With the ruler of the Virgo eclipse, Mercury, being in Libra, the message is:
“That which has not been purified and wisely discerned to be inherently valuable or useful, fair, elegant, or beautiful, must now be released with Love.”
If this is pinging a relationship issue for you (Mercury in Libra will have you thinking about relationships), it is likely time to release that person or situation with Love so that more soul-aligned situations can come in.
If this is pinging a health-related issue for you (as Virgo is so calibrated), prepare to purify yourself, body, mind, and spirit, over the coming months so that you can easily discern that which no longer serves your journey and overall health and well-being and begin to lovingly release that which has held you back. This could be a habit, mindset, nutrition, exercise, or psychological issue (or all of the above) that comes up for discernment and release.
Purify your consciousness reverently. Seeds planted in the immediate aftermath of the eclipse will begin to show over the next six months, when our next eclipse season begins February 17, 2026.
The Nodal axis will remain in Virgo-Pisces until July 27, 2026, when it will shift into Leo-Aquarius, beginning a new level of soul development that will focus on the evolution from the self-focused ego into the collective.
The aspects involved include:
Eclipse conjunct South Node in Virgo and Mercury in Libra: “That which has not been purified and wisely discerned to be inherently valuable or useful, fair, elegant, or beautiful, must now be released with Love.”
Saturn retrograde in Pisces opposite the eclipse: We are being called to create a structure of self-generated love and esteem within ourselves while we sit with the feeling of loss or of not getting the love or support we needed in our lives. This is a maturation process; here is your challenge: to learn to parent yourselves and to create your own rules and belief systems on which to build your life.
Neptune retrograde in Aries opposite the eclipse: (Neptune is the modern ruler of the North Node in Pisces) You will be drawn to unusual people during this eclipse. These people will either be artistic and spiritual or delusional and confusing. Or all of these. Clarity will be hard to come by and you may feel a lack of confidence. Your challenge is to channel your own artistic and sensitive potential without idealizing others or getting caught in their emotional drama or diffusion. Going within to access your own source of inspiration, whether that be in the arts or music or dance or meditation, would be the most stable course of action during this transit. Trust in your inner perception.
Nessus conjunct the North Node in Pisces: As with the lunar eclipse two weeks prior, themes of spiritual abuse are coming up for healing. We are learning to respond to past abuses with grace and forgiveness, with an eye on preserving self-respect and personal boundaries. We are also learning to forgive ourselves for self-abandonment and to renew our dedication to self-love.
Retrograde Saturn widely conjunct North Node: Saturn brings clarity of purpose and structure to the ineffable realm of Pisces – the ship to help us cross the vast spiritual sea. Its retrogradation serves as a reminder that we know what to do here. We have resources available to us when we feel lost and adrift. We have ballast in our ship and rigging in our sails to help keep us afloat and on course. Reality truly can blend well with the realm of the spirit. This is how dreams are made manifest.
Jupiter in Cancer trine North Node in Pisces (and sextile the South Node) and trine Lilith in Scorpio (forming a Grand Water Trine): (Jupiter is the ancient ruler of the North Node in Pisces)
Faith in our selves and in our inner, authentic truth will help guide us to make the choices that serve us best. Going within provides all the information and direction that we will need.Persephone inconjunct the eclipse: Something is ending, and something else is beginning. Meditate on integrating both light and shadow to successfully become a whole and sovereign human.
Psyche square the Nodes: There may be questions and frustrations about your life direction and purpose during this transit. Self-reflection and introspection will help clarify personal spiritual meaning and direction.
Astraea square the Nodes: We are being challenged to let go of a personal belief system to make way for a more inclusive and bigger picture that generates a more authentic faith in the future (North Node).
Hygeia square the eclipse: Health issues may come up for recognition and healing during this transit. Something health related may be either ending or beginning or ending one phase and beginning a new phase.
Pluto trine the eclipse: OOB Pluto supports this need for evolution toward choosing wise discernment and loving release. As Pluto was in a conflicted aspect during the last eclipse, and we have likely undergone some tough scraping away of energetic dross, we are now primed for a cosmic stepping up to the plate of our collective calling. May we rise beautifully.
Uranus trine the eclipse: Uranus is actively retrograde now and is inspiring change and a look toward an innovative future, one which we may not have had the creativity or spiritual expansion to imagine just yet. This configuration makes room for just that.
Pallas trine the eclipse: Logical planning for future success is possible by applying graceful, intelligent strategy and intuitive insight to whatever stymies during this transit. Emotional intelligence will be a strong asset.
Juno sextile the eclipse: Graceful Juno in intense Scorpio adds a potent energy to the eclipse. Money, sex, and sensuality themes will be present in the mix of this transit portal.
Whew! Eclipses are a lot! As always, if you would like to see how these transits will affect you or a loved one personally, please reach out to me for a reading. I would be happy to help you make the most of these transits.
