Your Eclipse Season Gift
a guide for navigating potent energies
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Tomorrow, March 14, 2025, we will experience a full moon, total lunar eclipse in the sign of Virgo. This will be a blood moon when the moon will appear a rusty blood red in the night sky. This blood moon will occur during the Jewish festival of Purim, as it did last year, and will happen again next year. This is astonishing since the date of lunar eclipses varies and the date of Purim, celebrated a month and a day before Passover, can vary because of leap years when an additional month is added to the calendar to assure that the vernal equinox always falls in the Jewish month of Nisan.
This week I struggled to decide what my writing should focus on. Geopolitics and Jewish history are outside Hedge Mystic’s wheelhouse, yet the events we are witnessing and the signs in the heavens can’t be ignored.
Setting the Stage
I decided that understanding the moment we are living in would benefit you because it will better equip you to navigate eclipse season in your own life circumstances and inner life.
If you are unfamiliar with Purim, here is a summary: Purim is the Jewish festival commemorating the events of the Book of Esther. Purim emphasizes themes of survival, identity, and the reversal of fortune, as the Jewish people go from impending doom to triumph and joy.
It is the story of a Jewish woman named Esther who becomes the queen of Persia. The plot unfolds during the reign of King Ahasuerus. When the king's advisor, Haman, plots to annihilate the Jewish people, Esther, with the guidance of her cousin Mordecai, reveals her Jewish identity to the king and pleads for her people's salvation. Through a series of events, including a dramatic banquet and the king's sleepless night leading to the discovery of Mordecai's earlier loyalty, Haman's plot is foiled, and he is executed. The Jews are granted the right to defend themselves, leading to their victory over their enemies.
The ancients interpreted lunar eclipses as bad omens of doom and destruction. The Chinese saw them as a great dragon devouring the moon. Traditional wisdom says that eclipses are disruptive and often dangerous times.
Here, I will simply say that ancient Persia is modern-day Iran. If you have been paying attention to the conflict in the Middle East and recent events, you can connect the dots back to Purim, apply the meaning of the blood moon eclipse, and draw your own conclusions. I think prayers for peace during this eclipse would be appropriate.
While massive changes in the world may be unfolding, we as individuals have plenty of inner work to do that will be influenced by the lunar eclipse and other celestial placements this month.
I’ve been particularly drawn to Mars, the War Planet, currently residing in the constellation of Gemini, the Twins. For those like me who are more familiar with Tarot than astrology, Mars corresponds to The Tower, which was in earlier times known as The House of God. Gemini corresponds to The Lovers and also to the Knight of Swords. On the spring equinox, March 20, 2025, the Sun moves into the constellation of Aries, the Ram, corresponding to The Emperor.
Mars in Gemini, Warring Twins
Rather than getting in over my head by exploring world events, I want to bring all of this season's energies back down to the personal and individual. In this realm of inner work, you and I will benefit from what we are observing and intuiting in this season.
Gemini represents The Twins: double nature, two halves to a whole, dichotomy, polarization, opposites needing resolution and integration. Gemini is an air sign, the world of mind, intellect, and thought. It is the matrix for reconciling good and evil, matter and spirit, anima and animus, light and shadow, old and new, freedom and restraint, war and peace.
Twins often experience a bond deeper than ordinary siblings. Sometimes, twins can be antagonistic, fierce rivals vying for supremacy. Archetypically and metaphorically, twins can symbolize a dualistic world view or represent a repressed or ignored aspect of the self, becoming a doppelgänger, or a shadow self.
Mars in Gemini signifies an inner battle in our minds, and this is the primary experience for us during this blood moon total lunar eclipse.
We have plenty of twin stories to help guide us. We are all many selves, twins in our inner being. Let’s look at a few stories and see what we can learn.
Castor and Pollux, the twins of the Gemini constellation, share a human mother and have different fathers, one mortal and the other a god. Thus, one twin is mortal, and the other is semi-divine. Castor represents mortality and the earthly realm, while Pollux embodies immortality and the divine. Together, they symbolize the duality of human existence—life and death, the mortal and the immortal. Here, we see the battleground within ourselves; we are human but also made in the imago dei and contain a divine spark. Our two natures are constantly in opposition: our lower self and our higher calling, our redeemed and reborn self, and the new creation, which are struggling to integrate with our earthly human nature. The twins bond is tested when Castor is killed, leading Pollux to share his immortality with his brother, touching on themes of loyalty and sacrifice. Moreover, the sisters of Castor and Pollux, Clytemnestra and Helen, are also twins with two different fathers as if to underscore the universality of this struggle.
Hercules and Iphicles are another set of famous twins. Hercules represents strength, heroism, and the divine, while Iphicles symbolizes the ordinary human experience. Their contrasting natures highlight the tension between the extraordinary and the mundane. While they are not in direct conflict, Hercules's heroic feats often overshadow Iphicles, leading to feelings of inadequacy and rivalry, reflecting the struggle between different paths in life. Here the tension between the outer, active, extraverted life and the inner, introverted, contemplative life struggle against one another. Doing and being, activism and prayer, inner and outer, work and faith are different paths. Our culture and inner self struggle to honor both.
Romulus and Remus symbolize the founding of Rome, embodying themes of civilization versus chaos. Romulus represents order and authority, while Remus represents rebellion and the challenges to power. Their conflict culminates in Romulus killing Remus over a dispute about the city's founding, highlighting themes of ambition, rivalry, and the sacrifices made for power. Inner conflicts stemming from control, power, ambition, and an impulse to rebel and challenge authority often play out in our inner world and relationships. Do we submit to civilizational and cultural expectations or rebel and forge our path, casting aside traditions and taboos? At what cost to ourselves, those we love and our communities?
In the story of Jacob and Esau, Jacob represents cunning, ambition, and spiritual lineage, while Esau symbolizes physical strength, impulsiveness, and the earthly realm. Their story highlights themes of rivalry, family conflict, and the struggle for blessings and inheritance.
The primary conflict arises from Jacob's deception to steal Esau's birthright and blessing. This rivalry leads to estrangement, and examines the tension between the desire for the spiritual life and the temptations of the material world. The struggle here goes deep, exploring the value of true spiritual life and blessing. Can it be obtained through false means? What are the ramifications of casting off the spiritual life to fulfill material lusts and satisfy our desires?
This lunar eclipse rattles relationships in our inner being, bringing conflict and disruption as we wrestle with our dark twin, our shadow. This is the work that is laid before us. Integrating parts of oneself, especially those in conflict, is complex and challenging. If you would like support and guidance during this season, a Tarot Reading and Coaching Session can help you gain clarity and confidence as you encounter your shadow and embrace the promise of light within you.
My gift for you is a brand new Eclipse Season Guide to help you navigate light and shadow within yourself.
It includes:
a pre-eclipse preparation ritual
shadow work deep dive
eclipse energy tracking
integration and release ceremony
post eclipse reflection
It also includes an entire section for the upcoming March 29, 2025 partial solar eclipse including:
pre-solar eclipse visioning
eclipse-inspired goal setting
manifestation roadmap
divine downloads and revelations
integration and action planning
closing ceremony and commitment
Don’t forget to grab your Eclipse Season Gift!
»» Eclipse Season Guide ««
The Eclipse Season Guide is also on the School of the Seasons Page, HERE; scroll down to Seasonal Supplements.
Mindfully living means being intentionally aware of what is going on in the skies above. It means noticing the small and incremental shifts in nature, the significant seasonal changes, how they correspond to various systems and structures, and your soul’s experience as you move along your life’s journey.
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Thank you Jan, beautiful gift! I am always filled with gratitude and curiosity when reading your wise words.
This is fantastic! Thank you so much! Are we allowed to share this with others?