Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn: Let It Go For Good

A full moon eclipse in Capricorn, the second eclipse this month, happens on July 16th at 5:58 pm ET at 24 degrees of Capricorn. This is a rich eclipse that’s ripe with potential for truly releasing burdens and bonds that no longer serve us. It also can bring unexpected challenge, and instigate the need to rise to a new level of ownership and authority in one’s life. So, of course, I want to be sure to give you the 4-1-1.

At the beginning of this month, we welcomed a solar eclipse in Capricorn’s opposite sign, Cancer. Since solar eclipses only happen at the new moon, this cosmic event opened up a potent opportunity to call in our desires, especially around home, family, and our personal definition of freedom. Now we experience another eclipse, and this one falls at the full moon, which is all about release and letting go. 

Changes and Transformations May Be Subtle

While it may be obvious what this eclipse brings up for you, plenty of us will require time and space to truly listen to our inner guidance on this one. So, please do take time to ponder the changes and transformations brewing in your life.

Full moon eclipses always close out 19-year cycles, so this event correlates with the eclipse series that went down in July 2000. Can you look back and think of where you were back in the first summer (or winter for those of you on the other side of the world) of the new millennium? Where did your values and experiences lie, especially as they pertain to Capricorn-related ideologies like structure, authority, or politics?

No matter where you were back in 2000, this eclipse gives us the chance to close out a major cycle and release that which no longer serves us for good. Think about it: We’re only halfway through the year, but this is the last lunar eclipse of 2019 and of this decade. Almost twenty years ago we were starting a new millennium and people were convinced it was the end of the world (Y2K, anyone?). But maybe that was just the beginning. Now, we prepare to enter into 2020, a pivotal and important year for so many reasons, and the next six months readies us for the commencement of this new chapter in the current millennium. NBD, right?

Eclipse Portals are Sacred

Eclipses expedite growth, ask us to honor our growth, and stay resilient in the face of fast change. And when it’s a lunar eclipse on the south node, as this one is, at a hot degree point (24 degrees of Capricorn will be a very important number come 2020), the changes they initiate are both karmic, and noteworthy.

To that point, with Saturn on our south node of karma and Pluto conjunct the moon, this eclipse commands the release of old stories and paradigms that no longer serve you. You’re being asked (or maybe even shoved) to step out of the old in one fell swoop, like a snake shedding its skin. Pluto is ruthless when it comes to uncovering the truth. As he travels so close to the moon, so don’t be surprised if this eclipse digs up some intense emotions. Memories may arise that require healing so you can truly let go. If so, take time to center yourself.

An Eclipse on the South Node: Feel Your Feelings

Remember, giving yourself permission to feel the range of your human emotions is healthy. Allow yourself the space needed to process what’s coming up for you. Yet, remain centered so you can witness your experience without becoming your experience. Doing so takes discipline, however. This is the point of contemplative practices, like mindfulness, yoga, and/or anything that helps you gain perspective. Learning how to witness life, and breathe through its intensity, while maintaining equanimity of mind, helps you to ride the waves of potentially overwhelming life events without getting trampled in the process. Practicing stillness, and learning to witness the fluctuations of the mind prepares you to stay steady during times of turbulence. 

And that’s what this full moon represents. This is an intense moment that invites you to stay steady despite the fact that the world around you might feel a bit jerky. Saturn and Pluto conjoined on the south node at the time of a south node eclipse activate the need to release, surrender, and transform.

It also asks you to step into your authority and own your growth trajectory. What are you fully taking responsibility for at this time in your life? What aspect of your personal development journey are you owning for yourself now?

If you do lose your center and your cool, it’s OK. That’s part of your process, too. Just stay committed to coming back to your indwelling place of well-being. Even if it takes a few days—heck even a few weeks—you will return.

Use Your Spiritual Practices to Illuminate Your Dreams

Thankfully, Venus—the planet of love and beauty—conjoins the North Node of fate and destiny, making a beautiful trine to Neptune this lunar eclipse. Even though she’s in an opposition to Saturn and Pluto—aka, she’s asking you to own your dreams, and take responsibility for them—she’s also helping you come into contact with your truest sense of personal value too. While this can feel painful, it also illuminates power. Meaning that dreams become more pronounced, while spiritual practices amplify positive outcomes and expeditious healing can occur. It’s asking you to commit to who you really are.

 In the words of Francis Bacon, “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” This is a time of radical transformation that needs to be handled with the utmost care.

If you have a moon ritual practice please allow yourself to work with these sacred energies. However, also please be mindful of practices like drinking eclipse water. Yes, there’s a sacred process in witchcraft to making it, but sometimes in this digital world, we’re all looking for the next cool thing. The Internet tends to get ahead of itself. Eclipses are not energies you want to overexpose yourself to. Eclipses illuminate shadows and bring things that otherwise unseeable into the forefront of our lives. Handle them delicately. This isn’t a time to make moon water or intentionally ingest influences that don’t contribute to your highest good. Rather, use discretion, and tend to what’s most meaningful in your life.

Slow and Steady: The Capricorn Way

When in doubt, remember: Capricorn is the sign of structure and stability. While we may want to hack our growth, these aren’t truly aligned with Capricorn traits. Only by working reliably, with focused commitment, can we truly make a change that sticks around for good.

Here’s a short list of my most recommended practices this full moon.

1. Journaling:

Take time to process your thoughts with a good ol’ pen and paper. Open-ended questions and 15 minutes of unedited, free-flow writing goes a long way (always, and especially now). Consider journaling on this question: What is coming to completion at this very moment in my life, right now?

2. Mindfulness:

Mindfulness can look like a sitting meditation practice, but it can also be non-meditative mindfulness. If a seated meditation practice feels out of reach, take a long walk instead, but do it mindfully. Leave your phone at home. Instead, count your breath as you walk, taking in the sights, sounds, and aromas of your environment with astute attention.

3. Spend time with your parents:

Saturn rules Capricorn, and Saturn correlates with authority figures, especially parents. Spending time with your parents this week might catalyze perspectives. It could help you contextualize where you’ve been and where you’re going.

4. Gardening:

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s summer, which means veggies, berries, and other fruits are in abundance. But when was the last time you got your hands dirty in a garden? If you are curious about the grounding impact of growing your own food or lending a hand in someone else’s garden, check out your local community garden and spend some time communing with plants and soil.

5. Listen to music:

There’s nothing more magical (in my opinion) than putting on my headphones and immersing myself in music that allows me to have a meditative experience. (Even more so when Venus trines Neptune.) When we synchronize with music we connect to rhythm that has the potential to elevate our mood, change our breathing practice, and motivate us to move our bodies, too. Hello, dancing! So, please do check out a live performance, hit up that sober dance party, or rock out in your living room.

6. Cooking:

Um, what’s more grounding than cooking one of your favorite meals and nourishing your body with delicious food. And, cooking can be an activity that cultivates mindfulness too if you do it with intention and focus. Eating a blood sugar balanced diet helps you to hold your center amidst the storm. So nourish yourself and nourish yourself well now.

7. Working out:

Yes! Getting enough exercise is pertinent, always, but especially with challenging transits like this full moon, you’ll definitely want to make sure you are getting enough movement in your day-to-day life. Consider taking a walk, or going for a jog.

8. Getting rest:

Take that hour-long siesta, or go to bed early if you can. Granting yourself permission to sleep is one of the most pertinent ways to expedite your healing after all. And with so much cosmic commotion in the ethers, allowing yourself time to decompress might just be precisely what your body needs. Having trouble sleeping due to the full moon? Trust that this too shall pass. Practice winding down early. Take a shower before bed and set a strong intention for restful and restorative sleep.

Now over to you. What is this current eclipse cycle bringing up for you? Do you have tip and tricks for riding out the cosmic complexity of the moment? Any A-Ha’s you want to share? Leave a comment below and let me know!