Truth is Many, Love is Free: June 2020's Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius

On Friday, June 5th, at around 3:12 PM EST, we will have a Lunar Eclipse at 15'34 degrees of Sagittarius, the adventurous and truth seeking fire sign. This partial lunar eclipse will be visible from parts of Africa, Asia, Australia & the Middle East, causing major events in these parts of the world.

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

A Lunar Eclipse happens when the Earth stands between the Moon and the Sun, blocking off sunlight from the Moon. Since the Moon has no light of its own, a Lunar Eclipse will look to us as if the Moon has disappeared. While a Solar Eclipse coincides with the New Moon, a Lunar Eclipse always coincides with the Full Moon.

A Full Moon occurs when the Sun and the Moon are in opposition to one another. A Full Moon represents the peak or climax of the lunar cycle. A Lunar Eclipse has the same energy of a typical Full Moon, but even stronger. While the effects of a regular Full Moon last from about two to four weeks, the effects of a Lunar Eclipse can last up to six months.

Since the Moon rules emotions, there is a heavy emotional aspect to a Lunar Eclipse. Lunar Eclipses tend to bring out our darkest, most heavy, emotions. Feelings we've kept long buried will come rising out to the surface, often in ways we weren't expecting. Lunar Eclipses are said to draw out the shadow side—of both ourselves and of others. If we're willing to be honest with ourselves, and accept ourselves for who we are—both the good and the bad—a Lunar Eclipse can be a wonderful time for healing and transformation, helping us yield insights and revelations about both ourselves and the people around us.

It's always important to note that eclipses always occur when the Sun is near the orbit of one of the two nodes. The North Node and South Node are lunar points representing our karma. They are always in opposite signs from one another. The North Node represents where we are going, our purpose, what we came here to master. The South Node represents our karma and past lives, what we're familiar with and need to let go of. This is what makes an eclipse such a crucial time for evolution and spiritual growth.

June 2020's Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius

The Sun (our conscious ego or self) is located in Gemini, a mutable air sign ruled by the planet Mercury (the logic mind) is represented by the twins, carrying with it a certain duality. Gemini represents multiplicity in all it's form; options, choices. Gemini wants to try it all, making it a jack of all trades, master of none. Gemini is social, easily able to adapt themselves to any situation, and connect with various different types of people, but sometimes, Gemini can be scattered in too many different directions, unable to make a firm choice about anything.

The Moon (our subconscious needs and emotions) in Sagittarius is similar, but taken to a different level. A mutable fire sign ruled by the planet Jupiter (philosophy, faith) is represented by the centaur or archer. Half-man, and half-horse, this sign also has a certain duality to it. Sagittarius possesses both the friendliness, intelligence and civility of a humane sign, and the wild, untamed nature of a bestial sign. In it's bestial form, Sagittarius can be driven by base instincts, a need to be free and have fun, but the bow and arrow it holds is aimed towards transcendence, or true freedom, freedom from the constraints of the material world. Sagittarius represents the search for meaning, truth and coherence in a world full of chaos and falsehoods. It's search for knowledge is more driven by a search for religion or ideology than facts for it's own sake. It's search for knowledge is always driven by an emotional purpose.

The faith and hope of the Moon in Sagittarius will be temporarily eclipsed by the intellectual, social and fact-driven nature of the Sun in Gemini. This can be good in some ways - the Moon in Sagittarius will be moving towards a conjunction with the South Node, suggesting blind faith & false hope of the kind that gets us into trouble, and a hypocritical nature. Moon in Sagittarius doesn't always practice what it preaches. It can dish it but it can't always take it. The Sun in Gemini is on it's way to a conjunction with the North Node, moving us towards adaptability and communication with others.

The Gemini/Sagittarius axis is predominately about knowledge, the taking in and exchange of new information. Sagittarius, in particular, has a strong association with religion and other types of belief systems, such as political ideology, that help us make sense of our world. As a fire sign, the Moon in Sagittarius will fight to death for what it believes, and as the Moon represents family, these beliefs are often those that are passed down to us from generation to generation. Gemini is more willing to change it's mind when new information comes available, without ever completely close itself off to anything in fill. Even if stuck in their ways, Gemini is more willing to have a conversation about why they believe what they do than a full-blown argument. With that in mind, this eclipse can potentially help us to ease away from rigid dogmas, allowing for broader more open conversation and an acceptance of the wide variety of diverse beliefs different people hold. This is especially true for the parts of the world in which the eclipse will be seen.

The Sun will be conjunct Venus Retrograde at 12'18 degrees Gemini. Therefore, the Moon will be opposite Venus Retrograde. This affects our beliefs about love, beauty and other Venusian topics. Our relationships are coming under review & our desire for love and romance may be increased, but that doesn't mean they will be fulfilled or even if they are fulfilled, we may find we're insatiable, like no amount of affection is ever enough.

It's possible that rigid beliefs passed down to us from our families (the Moon in Sagittarius) prevent us from exploring our relationships the way we desire to (Venus in Gemini). For some of us, our families may outright forbid us from seeing the person we love. Perhaps, this is due to a refusal for them to accept one's sexuality, or perhaps, our loved one comes from a family or a culture very different than ours. For others of us, unhealthy patterns of behavior that we learned from our parents in childhood could be playing out in our relationships, getting in the way of healthy love. Our needs and desires may be at odds with each other and feelings of loneliness may be increased.

The Moon in Sagittarius & the Sun/Venus Retrograde conjunction in Gemini will also be making a T-square to Mars at 15'52 degrees Pisces & Neptune at 20'52 degrees. The square to Mars is nearly exact, increasing feelings of anger and aggression, particularly in our intimate relationships. The type of arguments we've watched our parents have, or that we've had with our parents, as children man manifest themselves again in our romantic relationships as adults. This aspect creates feelings of love and hate. If in a relationship, it can create hostility and tension towards our partner. If single, this aspect increases our sex drive and we're at risk of behaving impulsively. We may be tempted to break protocol in order to satisfy our sexual desire or with Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces, we may use sex as an escape from our emotional problems. This aspect can also indicate other (non-sexual) forms of impulsive or escapist behavior, as a result of negative emotions. The square to Neptune, which is wider, also indicates feelings of idealization and disillusion & with Neptune conjunct Mars, our disillusion may take the form of anger at the other person.

While not making a direct aspect to the Lunar Eclipse, Uranus at 8'47 degrees Taurus will be sextile Mercury at 9'05 degrees Cancer. This aspect will bring exciting conversations, as well as genius ideas. It stimulates creativity.

Conclusion

Eclipses are known to affect everybody. They are known to influence events that happen on a mass scale, particularly in the areas in the world where it is visible. On an individual level, eclipses are often known to coincide with big events such as a marriage, a promotion, or a baby being born. Since this is a Lunar Eclipse, it will especially bring about events that are of a personal, and/or emotional nature, and strongly affect our relationships. Check your natal chart to see if you have any placements between 10 and 20 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) for people with these placements will be especially affected. Don't necessarily expect the events brought on by the eclipse to happen right away, however, because energies surrounding an eclipse are generally effective for up to six months.

It may help to think back to whatever intentions you set around the time of the New Moon in Gemini for they should be coming into fruition at this time, as well as six months back to the New Moon in Sagittarius. Because eclipses come in cycles, themes related to the last Lunar Eclipse in Cancer, as well as the Solar Eclipse in Capricorn, may also be repeating themselves. Intentions you set now will likely manifest themselves by the time of the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer on the date of the Summer Solstice.

Overall, with the Sun conjunct Venus in Retrograde in Gemini, opposite the Moon in Sagittarius, and making a T-square to Mars (and widely, Neptune) in Pisces, relationships are a main focus of this Lunar Eclipse, and we may find them riddled with problems. However, our relationships will benefit from adopting the open-minded and accepting attitude of the North Node in Gemini, and being willing to listen (and communicate) with our partners, rather than letting rigid and divisive beliefs of the South Node in Sagittarius get in the way of genuine intimacy.