Saturn and her infamous return may be ruling the current pop star world, but another astronomical occurrence is hitting much closer to home: the Great Northern Eclipse. On Monday, Apr 8, 2024, stretches of North America will be blanketed in darkness as the moon moves between the sun and the Earth. NASA has cited 13 U.S. cities that fall in the “path of totality,” including Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York. But Dallas, which is expected to be in totality for four full minutes (from 1:40 pm to 1:44 pm), is the biggest, buzziest “Eclipse City” of them all.
The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse is a huge deal for North Texas, which will host an influx of visitors and viewing events, but anyone who dabbles in astrology knows that it’s also monumental for the cosmos.
Dallas astrologer Britten LaRue offers some insight into what the April 8 solar eclipse in Aries (along with the March 25 lunar eclipse in Libra) can mean for each of us.
From an astrology standpoint, what will happen during the solar eclipse this April 2024?
With eclipses, what’s happening is that the path of the moon and the path of the sun are lining up tight enough that one of the “luminaries” ( meaning the solar and the lunar parts of us) is getting blocked.
Something to think about with eclipses is that there are always two. April 8 is the solar eclipse, but two weeks before that [March 25] we’ll have a lunar eclipse, which is when the moon takes on an almost blood-red color. The eclipses are almost always happening in opposite signs of the zodiac. That’s the polarity.
When we get to the solar eclipse on April 8, that will be the focus of everyone’s attention, but we will have been in eclipse-y energy for two weeks. It will really be the culmination of the new moon.
What signs are being affected during these two eclipses?
Aries and Libra. Which is a really fun one because it’s so distilled. It’s Aries (you how you see yourself) and then Libra (you, completely relative to someone else).
What people may be finding during this eclipse window is how to update their relational contracts to be more fair to themselves or the other person. The goal is to have more peace in relationships.
[In LaRue’s new book, Living Astrology, she explains further. “Aries is a portal to understanding how to cultivate personal agency in the world. Libra, Aries’ polar sign, is a portal to understanding how to be in a relational world where you are constantly recalibrating relative to someone else’s needs and desires… In my experience, the six polarities of the zodiac are the most profound tool for wholeness that astrology offers.”]
What if neither your sun nor rising sign is Libra or Aries?
Eclipses affect you no matter what your sun or rising sign is. But if you do have placements in those signs, what those placements mean will be part of what’s showing up for you. Some may feel it in a life-changing way. For others, it may be more subtle.
When you were born, all the signs were represented as a belt in the sky. All the signs were there at your birth and are shown in your birth chart. All 12 are a part of your humanity.
What should we be focusing on during this eclipse season?
With the polarity between Aries and Libra, the fun stuff is to think about what to tune into: the self and partnerships. Focus on your relationships (friendships, love, co-workers, etc). And then on the flipside, try to identify where you’re unable to focus on your partnerships because you’re so fixated on your personal path.
You are a self separate from your partnerships, but your partnerships are essential to your experience of self.