Has this eclipse season been as intense for you, too? We're two days out of the two-week span that marked a Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon) on the North Node (New Stuff) and a Solar Eclipse (New Moon) on the South Node (Old Stuff), and I have to say, I don't remember going through a more intense eclipse experience in at least 8 years. Many of the folks I connected with during these past two weeks reported extreme experiences as well, from intense disturbances, such as with sleep, to path upgrades that took them out of slumps that had lasted numerous decades.
Of course, whatever your Astrological knowledge level, it’s natural to want to know why this particular season brought us through such a wild ride. The answer may have to do with other factors besides the eclipses themselves, or even other chart factors, particularly the solar flares that have been going on. Often, folks with *just enough* knowledge of Astrology will note having a challenging experience, and assume it's because of a certain thing going on that actually is probably not the culprit. This happens a lot with Mercury Retrograde: many people know about it, and so it takes the blame. Blaming Mercury Retrograde without further investigation is like reading WebMD and diagnosing yourself as having a rare disease because you have a dry cough and itchy ears. And, likewise, sometimes we blame eclipses when, although their energy can be strong, there is something else going on either for everyone, or in your particular chart, that’s causing the disruption.
So, why was this portal was so intense? Well, it turns out, the solar flares that we've been going through may have been instrumental. After looking at the charts and not seeing anything stand-out, I then went to Spaceweather to investigate, and, lo and behold, there it was:
It just so happens that so far this Gregorian year of 2024, two of the most powerful CME (coronal mass ejections) were ejected the day before, and the day after, this most recent eclipse on October 2!!! The flare on October 1 was an X-class 7.1, and the one on October 3rd an X-class 9. And, a few days before the eclipse on September 17th, there was an X4.45. Note that it takes about 3 days for the CME to hit Earth, so actually, it hit during the Lunar Eclipse itself. So, actually, we’re still experiencing the hit from this most recent year-record CME.
These numbers don't really mean anything without context, so, let's put that context down:
Solar flares come in different classes: B, C, M, and X. Each subsequent letter is ten times the strength of the previous one. This is just like the Richter scale, which we use to measure earthquakes (NASA).
Over the past few years, the flares have been getting stronger and stronger. They fluctuate in cycles, like most things in nature do. Before the current cycle, the last year we had X-class flares was 2017. They started again in 2021, and have been increasing in strength since.
Solar flares affect everything about our experience on Earth. In a time where many of us are quite disconnected from our inherent life-giving relationship with the Sun (and the Earth itself), we are unaware of how deeply we are affected by the electromagnetic surges. Our bodies are inherently electromagnetic, too: our very beating hearts, and our brains, are flesh-machines that are only able to function because of the electromagnetic balance of this planet. And so, when the Sun expels CMEs, our bodies, and the electromagnetic machine-systems we have co-created, are affected.
Folks who are Highly Sensitive may find themselves deeply affected from Solar Flares by fatigue, anxiety, and other symptoms. Experiences of emotional or psychic overwhelm, stress, feeling bombarded with energy, and compulsions to act out are all very normal during, and after these events (it can take a couple of days for the energy to reach us and fade: think of how waves start in the ocean, and don't crash on the shore immediately, but a bit later).
If you're sensitive, you may remember the first two weeks of September 2017, which were marked by multiple X-class flares, including an X11.99 on September 10th, and an X13.37 on September 6th. There were *four* other lower-number X class flares in between those dates too. It was an incredible relentless extended surge over the course of a week. My memory of that time is vivid as having been wildly intense and fast-moving. Looking back to what your experience was during that week's time is a good way of using retrospect to understand how solar flares affect you when they are particularly strong. If you've been around for long enough to remember the few days before and week following Halloween 2003, those flares ranged from a bit stronger from the one we just had, to over four times stronger at over X40.
So, if you noticed this Eclipse Season as particularly affective, it may have partially been that your chart was affected by the charts of the eclipses, of course, but across the board, regardless of your personal chart, we are all affected by Solar Flares equally, or based on our level of sensitivity. If you want to stay up to date on Solar Flares, Spaceweather Live is a good place to start. Remember, the energy from a CME can take up to three days to reach us.
If you have enjoyed this article, you may be interested in my book Quilless: An Astrological Journey of Poetry & Wordcraft. The book is a compilation of some of my poetic works from the very beginning of my poetry career (between 2011 and 2015), and each poem is astrologically cast and analyzed. It's an experiment in merging the practices of poetic wordcraft and astrology. I am offering a free Taster Sample in PDF form, which you can download here. If you like the sample, I invite you to welcome the whole thing into your realm. The book is currently available in Paperback, Kindle, PDF, and hopefully EPUB soon.
You may also be seeking bespoke Astrological Consultations, Reports, or Readings. I share my offerings for these and other services here.
Blessings to your Post-Eclipse Forward Movement!
Why Solar Flares Affect Our Eclipse Experiences (ARTICLE AND PODCAST)