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This Aries season, a total solar eclipse coincides with the new Moon on April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely blocks the Sun. Day becomes night and all we can see of the Sun is a small glimmer of light.
The solar eclipse will be viewable across parts of North America (make sure you have eclipse viewing glasses so you can look at the Moon and Sun conjunction without hurting your eyes) although its reverberations will be felt everywhere, even if you can’t view the eclipse in totality. (The path of totality is where the maximum eclipse can be seen.)
What Time Is the Solar Eclipse?
The new Moon exact time (when the Sun and Moon are at the same degree in the sky) occurs at 11:21 a.m. Pacific time. This occurs within the eclipse window but is different from the maximum eclipse point, which will occur close to that time.
The duration of the total solar eclipse will be four minutes and twenty-eight seconds and the entire eclipse will last three hours and seventeen minutes.
What the Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Aries Mean for You
Solar eclipses occur on new Moons whereas lunar eclipses occur on full Moons. What makes eclipses possible is the proximity of the Moon and Sun to the north and south nodes, which exist where the Sun’s path and the Moon’s orbit intersect.
Eclipses disrupt the normal pattern of life, including the most fundamental pattern of life itself, which is that of the Sun and the Moon. This disruption provides us an opportunity to change our patterns. Our job is to remain open to the possibilities of what the eclipse can show us. The shift in cosmic energy causes a shift in us, facilitating change at a rapid rate and giving us a boost in a new direction.
The solar eclipse brings an abundance of intensity that can bring up many emotions, including restlessness or impatience. The shadow of the eclipse can act as a magnet for the shadow side that lies in our subconscious mind. It can bring to light things we are unconscious of but that affect our choices and our ability to create. Our unconscious can include attachments of any kind to people, places, or thoughts; our sense of self (and not just the one we project in the daylight); and our fears.
On the days around the eclipse, we may experience several reality checks. We may no longer be able to deny and make excuses or explanations for things in our lives. We will feel an urgency to confront our reality with courage and excitement for change.
To embrace the eclipse, we must give up our expectations of what may or may not occur. Let go of any sense of control. Be open to what the eclipse may show you and receptive to the information. Make plans loosely and remain flexible in the days around the eclipse. If you are drawn to do something, do it. Don’t ask too many questions. Just be your most open-minded self.
On an eclipse, we are reaching for the higher vibrations available to us. Each zodiac sign has a high side and a low side. Aries is the warrior of the zodiac. This sign can lead us to our willpower, courage, and motivation. It can also lead us to our frustrations and anger.
This solar eclipse is an opportunity to look at how the low side of Aries is blocking your evolution. It’s a time to become aware of how you may be fighting yourself or at war in your own mind. Are there certain behaviors, beliefs, or patterns that are fighting your growth and desires? Or do you feel there are parts of yourself fighting for attention or even survival?
Aries also encourages you to become aware of how you are battling yourself. You may be consciously or unconsciously fighting to overcome your obstacles or fighting against self-doubts that hold you back. This eclipse invites you to feel how you can align with support to overcome your blocks instead of feeling like you need to battle all the time. Life can have a sense of ease to it. If you feel like you need to battle each day against energies pulling you down, put down your sword and ask how you can align with what lifts you up instead.
For example, behaviors that lead to complaining, sarcasm, gossip, and judgment lower your vibration and fight against the life you are trying to create. This eclipse is a time to witness any of these shadow energies within you, understand them, and shift them. It’s a time to let sabotaging behaviors reveal themselves so you can begin to learn from them. It can be painful to look at the ways we hinder our evolution and growth. Allow yourself to confront any places within that need to transform in order for you to align with the life waiting for you.
This solar eclipse is an excellent time to face your fears around your soul’s mission. You may have an inner knowledge of your soul’s path and what it would look like to create this life. It takes courage, though, to align with your life’s mission. It may even take risks or leaps of faith to create a life you know you were born to live.
Over this eclipse, look at any fears you have around decisions that will help you align with your life’s path. Ask yourself if you are going to war with these places or if you can meet them with compassion. Your fears do not need to control you. Acknowledge them and, instead of battling them, hear them out. Ask them what they want to express. When you understand your fears, they lose their power over you. Confront your fears on this eclipse and place them in the back seat of your life.
This astrological year has the overriding theme of action. Begin this process on this first new Moon, which is a powerful total solar eclipse. Be decisive in your intentions, affirmations, and visions. Be open to immediate actions available to you that are aligned with your intuition.
Be certain that your soul has a purpose, and be willing to find it. Once you find it, be willing to center your whole life around it and make it your priority. Remember, when you align with your true purpose and authentic vibration this lifetime, the whole world benefits.
Other Astrological Influences on the Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Aries
This new Moon sits conjunct, or next to, Chiron. The wounded healer of the zodiac, Chiron brings up our past, including our trauma. Its influence on this solar eclipse can shed light on how your past limits your path forward. Are there old patterns that are currently blocking your growth? Does your past pain control you and your decisions in any way?
Although there is much action and expansion to the new Moon in Aries, there is also an opportunity to go within and have deeper conversations with your soul. We tend to assume the past is bound to repeat itself, which contracts our energy to avoid future pain.
It’s normal to shy away from taking risks of any kind. We cling to safety and known elements. The past is the past, though. You may never be able to change what has already occurred, but you also do not need to assume painful feelings are bound to happen again.
As you work with the energy of this eclipse, ask yourself if you’re limiting yourself because of past experiences. Notice if your fear controls you from behind the scenes and sabotages your desires even before they have a chance to take hold.
Challenge yourself and align with the courage of Aries to step into a different consciousness, one that considers the future a blank slate. See yourself as the creator of your reality. Although your past has shaped who you are today, you can choose to no longer allow it to limit who you are in the future.
The solar eclipse also takes place near Mercury, which is currently retrograde. Experiencing a powerful solar eclipse during Mercury retrograde brings us the opportunity to reprocess events of the past so we can release them. Mercury retrograde allows us to have deeper conversations with ourselves. Paired with the solar eclipse, this retrograde could shed light on what is holding you back from your next evolution. It can show you where you need to detach and where you need to focus.
Mars, the ruling planet of Aries, is conjunct Saturn in Pisces during the solar eclipse. Mars’ conjunction with Saturn illuminates our commitments. As you write intentions, make sure you are clear about what you want. If it’s not a resounding yes, it’s a no. With the influence of Mercury retrograde and the chaotic energy of the eclipse, it may be difficult to determine what you really want in your life, and that’s okay. The answers will come to you, but they may take a while. If you need to wait a few days or even weeks to write your intentions, take your time.
The other energy affecting this day is Jupiter and Uranus, which are headed toward an exact conjunction on April 20, 2024, although their combined energy is already affecting the cosmic vibration. Jupiter and Uranus together encourage us to break the limitations and rules imposed by our minds. This conjunction asks how we can break through self-imposed limits to find our ultimate expansion and innate genius.
As you work with the energy on the eclipse, be aware of what is demanding change in your life. What messages are coming through loud and clear? Are you honoring them? Be open to a dramatic and swift change and unexpected insights and help in attaining your full potential.
Your Invitation During the Solar Eclipse
During a total solar eclipse, everything becomes still and seems to hold its breath in anticipation of the Sun returning. This is a time for you to find some stillness in yourself. Spend some time in meditation during the time of totality, even for a moment. Connect with your breath, open yourself, to the energy available during this time, clear out your thoughts, and focus not on the present moment.
There is an excess of energy in the Universe with an eclipse, and it may make you feel frustrated or anxious. You may even feel like you’re waiting for something exciting to happen, but you don’t quite know what it is yet.
If you feel uncomfortable in your body, move your energy through breathwork, a run, a yoga practice, or a much-needed journaling session. When you break up stagnant energy, you create freedom and unlock your potential. Having free-flowing energy will also allow you to soak in the energy of the eclipse for transformation and intention-setting.
If you choose to write your intentions, fully commit to them. If you’re ready for this commitment and ready for the energy to immediately answer you back, then put your intentions out into the Universe. They will be very powerful. If you’re not 100 percent certain of them, instead be open to learning about yourself and what you want.
Mercury retrograde can also help you understand how you need to communicate with yourself to help raise your vibration to align with your soul’s purpose. What affirmations or mantras can support you right now? Spend time alone. Let your soul speak to you along with your intuition. As the eclipse reaches full totality, close your eyes for a moment and listen within. What is your soul whispering? This is a time to journal, reflect, and feel.
RELATED: Mercury Retrograde Begins on April 1. (No Joke!) Here’s What That Means for You.
Explore the effects of the Moon on you, what your opposite sign means, and how astrology intersects with your everyday life with our astrology email newsletter.
Learn more about the solar eclipse in Aries, including additional astrological insights and journaling prompts, in the Aries Season + Total Solar Eclipse Workbook, from which the above is excerpted. You can also make the most of eclipse season with the 28-day course Finding Your Purpose.
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.