What the Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon in Scorpio Mean for You

This article originally appeared on Yoga Journal

The power of a lunar eclipse will be present on May 5, 2023. Lunar eclipses are super-charged full Moons that occur in conjunction with a solar eclipse. This lunar eclipse continues the magic of the solar eclipse that occurred on April 19th. It is also part of a set of seven eclipses taking place on the Taurus and Scorpio axis from November 2021 through October 2023.

While a solar eclipse opens the portal for new beginnings and change, a lunar eclipse reveals energies that help us complete a journey or shift our course in some way. Lunar eclipses are also much more emotionally charged compared to a solar eclipse. They are more feminine in nature and affect the emotional body to a greater degree. They help us feel our intuition and honor the knowledge we hold. Sometimes we may not follow this knowledge, but it's always there, attempting to guide us.

Eclipses signify significant periods of change and transformation. These shifts do not take place all at once, though. They may start or continue on an eclipse, but their work continues throughout the period that eclipses are occurring in the same set of signs. Meaning, what occurs on this eclipse may be a continuation of events that occurred last fall or even last year at this time.

How a Lunar Eclipse Affects You

Lunar eclipses, like full Moons, are revealing. They reveal the truth in an often dramatic way and let you learn things that change your life course.

It’s important to accept what is revealed on a lunar eclipse. You cannot fight this knowledge. You can only take it in and ask yourself what is the highest manifestation you can create with this energy. Even if you are brought unwanted news or unexpected events, know that these are the Universe’s way of giving you a detour that will ultimately be the best course of action for your evolution. Open yourself up to the information available on an eclipse and trust that this is landing in your life at the exact moment you need it.

A lunar eclipse is an opportunity to create significant change in your life. This may come about abruptly. Lunar eclipses tend to bring information to you from out of nowhere. You may find yourself feeling surprised or even caught off guard at some of the things you learn about others and yourself over a lunar eclipse. Not all of this information is negative. Some of it may bring you inspiration along with encouragement to shift your life.

It’s also important to understand that a lunar eclipse occurs to move you forward. It is an energetic push from the cosmos to take you out of stagnant energies and old patterns. Sometimes this forward motion can feel disruptive to your nervous system, and you may even resist it initially. There is no moving backward on the lunar eclipse, there is only a path forward. If you attempt to cling to energies that no longer serve your evolution, you will only be met with frustration and misalignment. If the lunar eclipse reveals something in your life that needs to be released, it's best to find the least dramatic way to move on.

The lunar eclipse and the month that follows are an opportunity to detach from energies, emotions, and even people who do not serve your evolution. The emotional nature of a lunar eclipse often can cause an emotional breakdown as you break through these. Hold space for yourself and give yourself time to process the information revealed on the eclipse. Do not rush into any decisions at this time, but rather let the energy settle and then make whatever moves are needed to propel you forward.

These changes can feel scary and uncomfortable, but once you cross the bridge to another way of being, you will feel as if you’ve broken through a wall built between you and your highest visions. Eclipses are the time to break through the barriers, in whatever form they take, that prevent you from reaching your potential.

What the Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio Means for You

When the lunar eclipse meets Scorpio, magic is in the air. Scorpio is one of the most transformative signs of the zodiac. Paired with a lunar eclipse, this becomes a potent time for revelation, change, and immense psychological breakthroughs.

Ruled by water and the planet Pluto, Scorpio asks us to confront our deepest emotions. In doing so, Scorpio reminds us that we are magicians and healers. We can transform any energy, emotion, or behavior. We can turn darkness into light, and tension into relaxation. We can heal from the most painful wounds, turning them into wisdom, and we can navigate any storm with ease.

The key in working with Scorpio energy is a willingness to feel. This eclipse asks us to quiet our logical mind. It reminds us that when we analyze our feelings, we only prolong them. We need to feel to transform, and that means slowing down, courageously looking inward, crying, and holding space for any energy to rise from our subconscious.

The energy of the lunar eclipse will affect everyone, and its energy will be intense. There will be no hiding from the vibrations this eclipse will bring everyone in the world. Through its intensity, this eclipse has the power to create any transformation you need in your life right now. It may not feel particularly good at the time it is occurring, but the change it creates ultimately opens the door for your highest energetic potential.

What makes Scorpio's energy so intense is that it brings us face-to-face with the present moment. It asks us to stop in our tracks, let go of our distractions, and confront our inner reality. In the red glow of this lunar eclipse, our facades are stripped away. This energy cuts through any exterior and brings us to the heart of the matter. We cannot lie to ourselves on this eclipse, and we cannot be lied to.

It is a time of revelation, when our shadows come out to be seen in the full light of the Moon. Our unprocessed emotions come out to heal, our suppressed memories are triggered to awaken, and it is obvious how we project our wounds onto others. This revelation can cause many emotional reactions and may even make us feel as if we entered a downward spiral of negativity against ourselves. It's important to know that when shadows are revealed, it's best to accept them and understand them. It is through love, compassion, and acceptance that our shadows come out of the darkness and meet us in the light.

This lunar eclipse is a potent time for shadow work and its resulting transformation. It all starts with the willingness to look beneath the surface of your conscious mind and become keenly aware of who you are. Transformation begins with confronting what is occurring right now.

It may be challenging, uncomfortable, and downright nerve-wracking to take an honest look at your unconscious tendencies. Scorpio points out, though, that what is underneath the surface is still controlling you even if you don't acknowledge it. We are puppets, and our unconscious energies are the strings that pull us. When you face your deepest fears, triggers, beliefs, and conditioned patterns, you cut the strings and free yourself. You take control of your life and your behavior.

Facing the depths of your shadows and revealing the truth of your soul is the work of the Scorpio lunar eclipse. It's scary, intense, and full of raw emotions. It's also incredibly healing and empowering. This eclipse is here to remind you of your power.

Facing your shadows takes courage and compassion. As you shift through your deeper layers this eclipse, remember to love all of them. They are all part of you and your story. They need love and acceptance to heal. As you discover hidden pieces of yourself, shine a light on them. Know that you are only human. You are not perfect--and that is okay. Only through knowing your whole self can you reach your highest potential.

Full Moon in Scorpio and Sun in Taurus

As we work with the power of Scorpio this eclipse, we also work with the power of Taurus. Scorpio and Taurus stand in opposition in the sky and on the zodiac wheel. While the Moon is in Scorpio, the Sun remains in Taurus.

Scorpio and Taurus both want us to become completely absorbed in the present moment. They ask us to set aside our anxiety about the future or pain of the past and feel the moment. Taurus encourages us to connect with Mother Nature and use our senses to find presence. In contrast, Scorpio asks us to connect with our inner world and release emotional reactions to find presence. Both of these signs ask us to align with the rhythms of the Universe--Taurus, by connecting with the Earth, and Scorpio by connecting with ourselves.

Over this lunar eclipse, we have the opportunity to feel one with everything and know that we are part of the magic in the Universe. We can feel how we are made of the same energy as the trees, the oceans, the mountains, and the stars. We can feel the vastness of life and become inspired by our own power.

While Scorpio and Taurus both connect us to the infinite rhythms of the Universe, they differ in their view of resources. Scorpio focuses on energetic resources, such as the time to transform, space to feel, and courage to travel inward. On the other hand, Taurus focuses on tangible assets, like the physical space to feel supported, external comforts to soothe, and nourishment for the body. Both of these signs give us tools that help us ground our energy, transform what we need through healing, and step into unknown territory. Both want us to feel our power and our oneness with everything in the Universe. They each have a different method for getting us to this place.

This lunar eclipse brings us great opportunities to do shadow work, which helps us understand how we limit ourselves out of fear and insecurity. Our shadow is where we store all of our unprocessed emotions, including those from childhood. It forms the basis of our unconscious reactions. It also represents our deeper wounds that forced us to store emotions that the conscious mind could not understand when they occurred. Our shadow works behind the scenes and often undermines our conscious efforts to manifest our dreams.

We can begin to understand our shadows by looking at the lower frequencies of zodiac signs on the eclipse. They can help us understand how we may act on our shadows and bring light to unconscious patterns. Scorpio's and Taurus’s low sides bring us away from our power and place it outside ourselves. The Scorpio eclipse allows us to look at our shadows around our self-worth, fear, inner reliance, and overall power.

When we align with the low side of Scorpio, we don’t allow ourselves to feel. We distract ourselves with external preoccupations, which leads to anxiety and obsession. We also find clever ways to avoid the internal work we need to do to transform ourselves and our lives. We blame others, project our feelings onto them, and ignore our internal cries for help. Instead of facing our deepest fear, wounds, and pain with courage, we avoid these places in ourselves. We also mistrust our intuition and instead look outside ourselves for validation of our self-worth. We may obsess over money, loved ones, and our place in the world.

In this lower frequency of Scorpio, we avoid our true feelings, forgetting that they are a place of power and allowing them to control us subconsciously. They pull our strings and sabotage our intentions to build our visions. They can make us feel helpless. Instead of owning our power, we slip into a victim consciousness, where we feel everything is being done to us and we are helpless against it. This low, or shadow, side can make us feel we don’t belong anywhere and are alone in this world. Without inner reliance on ourselves, we may feel we have no rock to stand on and that the ground will slip out from beneath us at any moment. We are then triggered when issues come up around security, revealing our shadow of feeling unsafe in the world.

We can also become stuck in a transformational loop, never accepting our perfection. We may also look for the next shift we need to make in our lives, never appreciating what we have already accomplished. This is the part of us that self-sabotages so we may build again, transform again, and do it better next time. Scorpio is the rising Phoenix, but sometimes the Phoenix does not need to rise. She just needs to fly.

Taurus holds a similar low side in regards to resources. When we align with the low side of Taurus, we also feel insecure. We may obsess over material possessions and finances, thinking they define us. We forget our ability to create abundance through inner reliance and creativity and instead seek it externally. We move away from stillness and peace only to become preoccupied with the figure in a bank account. We may even compete for resources, taking on a scarcity mindset and forgetting that abundance is everywhere.

Taurus’s low side is full of anxiety and thinking about future scenarios. Instead of staying in the moment, we go to the future in fear, thinking we might lose everything. We become triggered by others who appear successful, and we experience jealousy or envy. We forget that we can never lose our most valuable resource: ourselves.

The low sides of both signs are a question of security, worth, and underlying fear. When we align with Taurus’s shadow side, we place all of our value on the goods we can collect. When we align with Scorpio’s, we lose touch with our power and rely on others to tell us our worth, often continuously altering ourselves to meet their standards. Both low sides lack understanding of their oneness with nature, and both find it impossible to stay grounded in their power moment to moment.

If you find yourself aligning with either of these low sides, know that is okay. You are seeing your shadows. It’s challenging to become aware of your shadow sides, but it is essential if you are going to shift them.

Your Invitation on the Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon in Scorpio

Throughout this eclipse, pay attention to your feelings, intuition, and signs from the Universe. This energy will begin about two days before the eclipse and last for about two days after.

The first step in confronting these feelings is to sit still and allow yourself to feel. You may cry, journal, laugh, or experience a roller coaster of emotions, but feeling is the way through. You must travel through the depths of your body and the stories that you live with each day. You may not want to read them, but they are always there. It’s best to take control of them so they don’t control you any longer.

As feelings arise, sit with them and let them run through you. Journal to learn more. Ask yourself what you are feeling and what this feeling helps you understand about yourself. Avoid distractions, though. Notice your reactions and your triggers. Also notice when you feel surprised by a thought or a feeling. Remember, this eclipse just might show you something essential for your evolution, so pay attention.

Give yourself time to process whatever is arising in your field and avoid making any hasty decisions at this time. This energy is part of a continuing path that will last throughout the year. Allow your transformation to unfold naturally. Be kind to yourself and know you are exactly where you need to be right now for your highest energetic evolution. Remember to be kind to others, as they are going through these intense energies as well.

In working with this eclipse, ask yourself if you’ve become preoccupied with things outside yourself as a means to distract you from what’s within. Have you looked to others for security instead of owning your power? Have you felt obsessed about resources and untrusting of your ability to create abundance? Furthermore, have you forgotten your connection with the Universe?

As you look at some of these lower aspects of Taurus and Scorpio in yourself, have compassion and courage. Release what you can this eclipse and know that just becoming aware of these energies is enough to be a catalyst for great transformation.

It all starts with your willingness to look deeply at yourself as you stay grounded in the present moment. Align with the Sun in Taurus to feel held by the Earth as you align with the Moon to feel into the deepest places of your soul and revel in the journey of learning about yourself.

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Learn more about the lunar eclipse and full Moon, including additional astrological insights and journaling prompts, in the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse Workbook, from which the above is excerpted.

About Our Contributor

Jill Wintersteen is the founder of Spirit Daughter, a lifestyle brand devoted to helping you live your best life through understanding the energy of the Universe. She also writes workbooks on each full Moon as well as other astrological events. Follow her on Instagram @spiritdaughter.

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