Key points for 3/25/24 Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon)

Basic information on eclipses; chart examples of tropical and sidereal astrology

The upcoming Full Moon that is exact at 12:00 am PDT on March 25, 2024, is also a Lunar Eclipse. This means that the Sun and Moon are close to the Moon’s Nodes. The North Node and South Node are two points directly across the zodiac from each other where the orbit of the Moon around Earth intersects with the orbit of Earth around the Sun. A Full Moon (where the Sun and the Moon are across the zodiac from each other) close to both of the Moon’s Nodes is a Lunar Eclipse, and a New Moon close to either the North Node or South Node is a Solar Eclipse.

Typically, there will be a pair of eclipses two weeks apart — a Full Moon and the subsequent New Moon, or a New Moon and the subsequent Full Moon — and then sometimes there is a third eclipse two weeks after that. Then, the next cluster of two or three eclipses comes roughly six months later. This happens every year.

The current Lunar Eclipse will be followed by a much-anticipated Solar Eclipse on April 8. I have been hearing a lot of fearmongering on the internet about the April 8 Solar Eclipse, mostly from people who are not normally into astrology. Astrologers know that there are at least two Solar Eclipses and at least two Lunar Eclipses every year. Yes, they can bring change, but they’re not likely to bring three days of darkness or anything on that level. People spreading this kind of fear need to get a grip.

The April 8 Solar Eclipse is getting more attention than usual because it’s expected to be especially visible in the southern and eastern United States. Each eclipse is more visible in some parts of the world than in others. You can look up the predictable paths of various eclipses here: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/

The Sun and Moon are further from the Moon’s Nodes at the March 24-25 Lunar Eclipse than they are at the April 8 Solar Eclipse, so the visual effect is expected to be less dramatic.

Tropical and sidereal astrology

In my Full Moon and New Moon reports to date, I have intentionally focused on aspects between the celestial bodies and what’s angular in the chart. I have not said much about the zodiac signs. This is because I am making the reports for use at Jane de Forest’s Moon gatherings (sign up for free at https://www.janesinspiration.com/moon-gatherings), where some attendees use tropical astrology and some use sidereal astrology.

Aspects between celestial bodies are the same in both tropical and sidereal astrology. A good way to remember this is that a Full Moon is an aspect between two celestial bodies. The Full Moon is clearly visible in the sky when it happens, so there is no system of astrology that gives you a plausible way to say that the Full Moon is taking place at some other time. Tropical and sidereal astrologers therefore celebrate the Full Moon simultaneously.

Between tropical and sidereal astrology, the planets and luminaries are in the same relative position to each other. They are also in the same relative position to the angles of a chart.

The main difference between tropical and sidereal astrology is the zodiac signs. The tropical zodiac divides the 12 signs based on relative position to the spring equinox. The sidereal zodiac is based on the actual positions of the constellations, which shift over time. Currently, the sidereal zodiac and tropical zodiac are about 25°, almost a whole sign, apart. To tropical astrologers, the March 25 Full Moon is in Libra, but to sidereal astrologers, the March 25 Full Moon is in Virgo.

Tropical astrology, also known as Western astrology, is the kind most commonly used in North America and Europe. Vedic astrology is the most well-known form of sidereal astrology, and that is commonly used in India.

I have discussed this difference at least a couple of times at the Moon gatherings, but rehashing it at every meeting would get tedious. That’s why I decided to just focus on what we share rather than continually bringing up how we differ.

My fellow tropical astrologers would laugh and say that that is exactly the kind of solution a conflict-averse Libra Rising would come up with.

What’s good about this approach, however, is that it pushes me to look more closely at the aspects — I can’t just hide behind stereotypes of the zodiac signs. Major themes in an astrological analysis often appear in multiple places, and plenty of them are still there once I take away the signs.

Like my tropical chart above, my sidereal chart below also has Venus conjunct the Ascendant and Venus square Neptune. This configuration could be read as wanting harmony and being willing to relax some boundaries to make that happen. In both systems, the March 25 Lunar Eclipse highlights this configuration in my natal chart.

The Moon group hasn’t yet gotten into the controversy over different house systems in astrology. I prefer Placidus houses because I think Venus in the 12th house makes a lot of sense for me; switching to whole sign houses gives me Venus in the 1st house. However, I have Venus square Neptune either way, and that has a lot of the same issues as Venus in the 12th house.

Lunar Eclipse chart for Washington, D.C.

For Washington, D.C., I have prepared both tropical and sidereal charts to show that the planets and luminaries have the same position relative to the angles of the chart in both systems.

Tropical

Sidereal

For any city, this particular Full Moon happens to have the Moon set apart from the rest of the celestial bodies. The Sun and planets are all clustered together within four signs, and the Moon is on the other side of the chart.

This seems like a good time to ask yourself, “What am I NOT thinking of?” The Sun and planets clustered together could represent an atmosphere of groupthink. Perhaps everyone around you has agreed on the same explanation for a given problem — and they have also agreed that that problem is the problem. There might be a widely accepted scapegoat.

The Moon challenging all that suggests there’s more to the story. The dissenter you encounter may be someone who appears raw and emotional, not necessarily looking like a polished and reliable source. Perhaps they have a point, though.

At this Full Moon, Venus and Saturn are still separating from a recent conjunction, which took place on March 21. A Venus-Saturn conjunction is a time when love and connection might seem hard to come by. Under those conditions, taking the risk of revealing our true emotions potentially isn’t appealing — it’s better to stick with what’s known, even if that isn’t entirely satisfying.

The sort of figure who speaks out at the Full Moon may wind up saying what others are secretly feeling. Suppressed emotions have a way of being unconsciously picked up by everyone around them.

Back to Washington, D.C., specifically, everything but the Moon is below the horizon for this Full Moon. Typically, celestial bodies below the horizon have to do with one’s private life and internal affairs. Lately, the United States government has been occupied with figuring out its budget, which makes sense for the Full Moon chart having the Venus-Saturn conjunction in its money-oriented 2nd house.

However, the Moon is in the 9th House of Foreign Countries. Over the next month, concerns involving the wider world could potentially drag the United States out of navel-gazing mode.

Lunar Eclipse chart for London

For London, the Lunar Eclipse has the Sun and much more in the secretive 12th house opposed by the Moon in the health-oriented 6th house. This makes a lot of sense for the British royal family’s health challenges — King Charles III has cancer, and Princess Kate just disclosed that she has cancer as well. At this point, I personally want to wish everyone involved in that situation the best and move on from writing about it. Although speculation about Princess Kate continues, the 12th house also has to do with rest and privacy, and that approach seems most reasonable to me until any other definitive information is known.