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Reflections on the Lunar Eclipse & North Node in Cancer

[I’m late finishing this post intended for the astro of January 10th, but sometimes a retrospective perspective is helpful, post-event, right? And besides, eclipse intensity ripples out for a few days and the North Node is still in Cancer for a while]

My mom started working on this massive 3000-piece puzzle on December 26th, on the day of the Solar Eclipse in Capricorn.

And then, as the Moon took its place opposite the Sun for the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer on January 10th, she finished it.

Obsessively focused on finishing this difficult task (as one does under an obsessive Pluto transit), her Saturn-like persistence propelled her through the liminal eclipse tunnel, from one end to the other. She sat for hours, days, painstakingly examining the edges, the contours, the subtle colour variations of these Capricornian building blocks.

Why am I sharing this?

Because I want to point out how cosmic archetypal symbolism can leak into the most mundane nooks and crannies of our daily lives in such interesting literal ways, which can give us the opportunity to reflect and reframe the larger dilemmas of our lives.

Yes, the sky’s mythic stories play out in global politics, in the process of climate change, in large scale events that have widespread international implications. Indeed, we don’t have to look far to see their macro-level correlates in recent news headlines.

In so many ways we can see the Cancer-Capricorn axis activated as Mother Earth (North Node in Cancer) calls on us to recenter our priorities on what matters most right now – securing a sustainable, nurturing home for all life forms… while the existing political and economic systems engage in power struggles, resist change, and seek to maintain old structures and hierarchies at a great cost (Capricorn).

And yet the sky’s mythic stories also play out on the micro-level… like on our dining room table as this puzzle took shape throughout the eclipse tunnel – from a pile of tiny meaningless pieces to a grand picture of a house on a cliff overlooking sailboats navigating a channel of water.

How “Cancer-Capricorn” is this picture?

The water, the sailboats, the sweet magical-looking farmhouse home? Cancer.

The perilous, fierce-looking cliffs fighting land erosion in order to support the structures of the house? The hint of a wild, dangerous landscape amid the warmth in this picture? Capricorn.

The persistence and determination required for my mom to tackle this massive challenge? Saturn.

That one missing puzzle piece in the rays of the sun (which interestingly wasn’t the cliff-based piece she initially thought was missing)? Pluto.

A puzzle that takes hours and hours of brain energy and time investment in order to build a beautiful picture… only to get torn apart afterwards and put back in the box? A Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn.

During the Cancerian Lunar Eclipse, as I lingered deliciously on this symbolism while my eye compulsively was drawn to the missing puzzle piece again and again, I thought about Pluto’s underworld siren call; Hades’ pomegranate seeds that beckon us into dark shadows to discover that which is secret, hidden, repressed or disowned.

That same morning of the Cancer Lunar Eclipse of January 10th (the sign of the protected nest, home and family), I went to pull up the window curtains of our front room that I sewed so many years ago… and the pulley string snapped and broke. The vertical curtains fell closed.

My mom decided to take the curtains down entirely to wash them and fix them later that day.

“So strange,” she pondered, “How naked and exposed the windows look stripped of curtains, as if we were moving out.”

Indeed, our living room felt so vulnerable without its fabric boundary shield. And yet also, so much brighter.

This is the magic of life – of multifaceted universal archetypal symbolism, of synchronicity, of energetic resonance, of astrology – that utterly enchants me.

I’m a mega Pisces-type, so of course it does. My soul needs enchantment and magic like my body needs oxygen.

But I would argue that perhaps this small mundane magic and these moments of quirky synchronicity, are a tonic that can help keep all our souls afloat during challenging times.

With this delightful little yield of astrological signs and symbols in my harvesting basket, the questions that are asking to be cooked up, seem to me to be:

What is missing or lost in your life right now? What inner soul ache and absent puzzle piece, is your internal eye continuously being drawn to?

Perhaps what you thought you wanted, what you thought you were missing, does not accurately describe the shape of the empty void in your life’s picture?

How might the unique contextual contours of the puzzle pieces around it, give you essential clues to finding what you long for, what deeply nourishes you?

How can you find your way “home” (metaphorically or literally speaking)?

What seemingly perfect life picture, plan or scenario, needs to be dismantled, disassembled at this time to make room for a new (or recovered) life puzzle project?

What curtains and b(l)inds in your life must fall so that you can see more clearly in the light of day, what needs to be washed, purified, and repaired?


The day after the January 10th Lunar Eclipse in Cancer, a Capricorn-rising individual I know, made a long trek to bring home a new dog. His natal Saturn (the ruler of his Capricorn ascendant) is in his 6th house – a house that is associated with pets.

His previous dog and long-time companion, Lilly, sadly passed away just prior to the December 26th Capricorn eclipse. Although initially uncertain whether he would get another dog, he discovered a dog breeder who was looking for a retirement home for an older dog. Both retirees, it seemed like a good match.

The dog he is adopting already has a name, given to her by the prior owners – Lilly.

Synchronicity Magic 🙂

I’ve been finding myself using the phrase “passing the baton” quite a bit these days as I observe people and institutions going through various transitions that involve a shift in power, leadership, and authority that correlate strongly with the monumental meeting of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn… the sign of the elder, the established structures they have built over the course of time, and the legacies they hope to leave.

Sometimes these “passing the baton” moments show up as power struggles and other times, as quiet initiations and transitions.

It would seem, that Lilly passed the baton forward 🙂

Now here’s a zoom-in on January 10th’s specific transits…

Retrospective Interpretation Tips for the Astrology of January 10th, 2020 (which is still relevant for a few days + ):

On Friday, January 10th, we had a (1) full moon Lunar Eclipse, (2) Uranus stationed direct in Taurus, and (3) Mercury and the Sun had their exterior conjunction – cosmic dynamics that are all somehow likely connected to the Saturn-Pluto-Sun-Mercury-Ceres soup in Capricorn that perfects a 5-planet conjunction on January 12th – 13th.

1) FULL MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE IN CANCER @ 20° (& North Node transiting Cancer)

Cancerian themes of this recent lunar eclipse with the influence of Capricorn, speak to emerging memories, nostalgia, home, family, our roots, mothers, mother roles and responsibilities, family boundaries, family karma, protection, safety and mental health, mothering or nurturing priorities, generative creative processes, and prioritizing self-care.

Where is your heart pulling you right now? Cancer is the zodiac’s emotional core, and that is where the North Node has been since November 2018, calling us steadily, with increasing volume, toward its embrace.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Duke and Duchess of Sussex), recently made headlines by announcing on January 8th that they would be stepping back from “royal [Capricornian] duties”, and prioritizing the safety, protection and mental /emotional health of their family, by relocating across the ocean in North America.

The lunar eclipse landed within a few degrees of Meghan’s Cancer ascendant, and it’s reported that on Thursday, January 9th, she was on a plane back to Vancouver where her infant son Archie, was waiting for her. Just in time for the lunar eclipse to peak.

Not an easy decision, to be sure. With the volatile Saturn and Pluto conjoining in Capricorn on the South Node side (a point of composting and release), opposite the North Node Cancer eclipse, it’s little wonder that this shocking announcement has led to phrases like “a new war of the Windsors“.

The Cancerian North Node’s magnetic pull on us all, is facing mighty (but not insurmountable) resistance.

As this Saturn-Pluto conjunction completes a grand earth trine in Prince Harry’s chart (trining his Virgo Sun and Taurus Moon), Prince Harry’s Capricorn rising is ready to take on the royal establishment in order to protect his wife and child from what his mother Princess Diana experienced so long ago (the Cancer eclipse occurred in his 7th house of relationships).

Prince Harry is ready to “break the traditional rules”, and push back against authority figures and long-standing power-structures (and the invasive, Plutonian, bullying nature of tabloid media), while standing firm in his integrity, his values, and maintaining his boundaries.

This weekend I’m sure, feels quite pressurized for him, as Saturn and Pluto collide in his first house of identity and he stays in the UK for a bit longer to attend to tense meetings and negotiations with the royal family who appear to be reeling from Harry and Meghan’s surprise announcement.

In the Fall of 2019 Prince Harry included the following sentences in his public statement after indicating his intention to take legal action against certain abusive British tabloid media companies, who have been bullying Meghan:

Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself.

The first two sentences in particular, resonate so strongly with the energy of these times.

It is time for major change.

These first two sentences in particular, resonate so strongly with the energy of these times.

It is time for major change.

This how the Cancer-Capricorn dynamic is playing out for these two individuals. And yet their public struggle vividly illustrates the cancer-cap themes in very tangible ways that likely resonate for many of us on a personal level.

Personal interpretation PRO-TIP for the lunar eclipse in Cancer and the meaning of the North Node in Cancer (where it has been transiting since Nov. 2018):

In addition to considering the house in your birth chart that is occupied by the sign of Cancer, where is your natal Moon in your birth chart by sign and house, and how is it aspected?

The Moon rules Cancer and thus the Moon’s placement in your birth chart will help to explain the direction you are being pulled toward right now, as well as perhaps, the ways in which you are trying to cope, emotionally-regulate, and seek self-care during some of the emotional turbulence lately.

For example, I was born with a Gemini Moon and on January 10th I binged obsessively on Instagram posts, blog posts, podcasts, and youtube videos about 2020. I often cope with intensity by absorbing enormous amounts of information – but honestly, some journaling would have likely been a beneficial counterbalance for me!

My natal lunar imprint is, however, also pulling me toward sharing my writing publicly, more often (Gemini Moon in the 10th house, North Node & Lunar Eclipse landing in my 11th house).

2) URANUS STATIONING DIRECT @ 2 ° TAURUS

A jolt. A suprise. A shock. A spark.

Erratic. Liberating. Spontaneous. Accidental. Rebellious.

The motivation and strength to do the weird thing, the quirky thing, the independent thing, the courageous thing.

Those of us with planets or points being directly impacted by 2 degrees Taurus would have felt this forward lurch more sharply. Uranus can be exhilarating and exciting… or extremely anxiety-provoking with the high levels of uncertainty and the shock it can bring.

Case in point:

Sunday morning, the morning of January 12th as Saturn and Pluto explosively come together, as Mercury the messenger passed over both of them, and as Uranus continued to slowly pivot and change direction, people in the Canadian province of Ontario got quite a Uranian shock as their phones alerted them that there was an issue with a nuclear power plant in the province. After a tense 45 minutes, people of Ontario were then informed that it was a “false alarm” and that during a training drill at the provincial emergency operations centre, the warning had gone out BY MISTAKE.

WHOOPS! And oh hey, good morning Ontario.

That’s a Uranian-type jolt, mixed in with Capricorn Pluto-Saturn-Mercury intensity.

[ e.g., Harry’s natal Pluto in Scorpio opposed Uranus’ direct station, and Meghan’s North Node in Leo squared Uranus’ direct station.]

3) MERCURY’S EXTERIOR CONJUNCTION (ITS MIDCYCLE POINT):

Finally, the third major event that happened on January 10th, was the exterior conjunction of Mercury and the Sun @ 19 degrees Capricorn – this was the culminating match to the interior conjunction that was seeded in Scorpio on November 11th. Do you see any themes that link these two time periods?

For example, someone I know booked an important flight ticket on November 11th (Mercury’s interior conjunction & cycle inception), for a flight that departed on January 9th, and arrived at its destination on January 10th (Mercury’s exterior conjunction & cycle culmination). Sometimes it really is that literal and tangible!

Mercury has now moved on, passing the Sun on the far side, away from the Earth, but it is currently conjoining with Saturn and Pluto as I write, on January 12th, extending this point of illumination and clarity further, and deeper.

During the exterior conjunction, Mercury’s content is illuminated by the Sun (Mercury represents thought, insight, communication, information)…. and yet is also blocked by the Sun (often symbolizing our own ego defences and fears, as well as authority figures). In order for Mercury to be heard, it will need to speak louder, negotiate, and boldly assert itself.

There’s potential for great decisive clarity this weekend (Friday – Sunday/Monday), but we will need to work hard for it.

Case in point:

A friend of mine has tried a few times to get her birth time from her protective mother (a necessity for accurate astro insights), but her mom has always refused, saying that “people could control her if they had her birthtime”. On January 10th as the Sun met with Mercury, I was surprised to hear that she had obtained her precious birth data (Mercurial information)!

How? By negotiating with her Mom (symbolized the Sun we could say) and pointing out that someday her mom would die and she would never know when she was born. This is a very Capricorn argument!

Perhaps you had a similar interaction around Friday, January 10th?

Or perhaps this showed up entirely within yourself as you wrestled with ego defences and fears in order to bring clarity to your priorities and goals, for example. This dynamic could be relevant throughout the entire weekend through to Monday.

Below are more reflective prompts from a previous post on exterior Sun-Mercury conjunctions…

And now, of course, zooming forward to January 12th, the day that I am finishing this post… we are in the throes of the Saturn-Pluto collision. This conjunction is at peak strength January 10th, 11th, 12th, and the 13th in particular, but as I’ve previously stated, Saturn-Pluto is not a short term transit whatsoever.

Certainly, the timing of Saturn and Pluto coming together along with the personal celestial bodies of the Sun and Mercury (Jan. 12th/13th), activate it in very specific ways at this time, but Saturn and Pluto have been within a few degrees of each other throughout 2019, and will continue to journey together for all of 2020.

If 22 degrees Capricorn is important for you, you are likely very aware of some obvious shifts and transitions right now. If this degree is not significant for you, then perhaps it is difficult to pinpoint a correlating event and the first few weeks of January may slide by relatively quietly.

The current astro is serious and significant, no doubt about it, as I’m sure you’ve heard. But for many, rather than being a chaotic breaking point, this could (also) be a pivotal and positive break-through.

How you experience the current astro depends on a number of variables…

Technical Variables to Consider when Interpreting the Saturn-Pluto Story in Your Life:

  • The aspects the Saturn-Pluto mega conjunction @ 22 ° Capricorn is making to your birth chart and the house themes where the conjunction lands.
  • The type of relationship that your natal Pluto and Saturn have with each other in your birth chart.
    • Do they like each other (trine, sextile)?
    • Or not (square, opposition, quincunx)?
    • Do you carry the imprint of an earlier Saturn-Pluto cycle launch in your natal chart (a conjunction)? 
  • The type of relationship your natal Pluto and Saturn each have to the rest of your birth chart, which will be referenced by the current conjunction. Consider the house, sign, and aspect of each one separately – particularly your natal Saturn placement since the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto is occurring in Saturn’s sign of Capricorn and thus ripple effects, or the originating catalyst, will be felt in the house where your natal Saturn lives.
  • The type of relationship between your natal Saturn and natal Moon in your birth chart (relevant for eclipse seasons on the Cancer-Capricorn axis, Summer 2018 – Summer 2020), in terms of any aspects that connect them, and the houses and signs they occupy – are they on friendly terms? Or are their interactions more challenging with a square, opposition, conjunction or is your Moon in Saturn’s sign of Capricorn (or Aquarius)? With the North Node in Cancer right now, your Cancerian house and Moon placement tell the story of a directional calling.

The Saturn-Pluto conjunction has quite the explosively-intense reputation (and for good reason, due to the historical context around its previous interactions).

However, I’m also seeing a lot of big opportunities and successes coincide with this conjunction for various people. I would suspect though, that if this massive global transit is showing up as major opportunity and success in your life, it is likely the type that stretches you waaaay out of your comfort zone and asks you to step up in big ways.

Many people, myself included, have gone into depth looking at some of the global themes emerging from this Saturn-Pluto dynamic. I will continue to write on this particular transit, but for more content on this pivotal Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn as well as the eclipses and the nodal activation of the Cancer-Capricorn polarity, you can check out my six previous articles below…

I also highly recommend this excellent astrological panel talk on the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, hosted by Acyuta-bhava Das on January 9th, 2020 featuring skilled astrologers Samuel Reynolds, Jason Holley, Gray Crawford, Rebecca Gordon, Becca Tarnas, Patrick Watson, and Leisa Schaim:

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