How This Month’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse Will Affect Your Horoscope
No need to watch a Johnny Cash rockumentary if you want to catch a “burning ring of fire” this fall. Just grab your eclipse glasses and head west of the Rockies. On October 14, the year’s only Libra new moon is also an annular solar eclipse—i.e. a “ring of fire” eclipse. And yes, it will be visible in several states, including Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
Unlike a total solar eclipse, where the moon appears so large that it blocks out the entire sun and darkens the skies, during an annular solar eclipse, the size of the moon is smaller than the sun from our vantage point down here on Earth. When the eclipse reaches totality, the glowing edges of the sun peek out around the silhouette of the moon, giving the appearance of—you guessed it—a ring of fire.
Though the cosmic event is exciting on its own, astrology takes it one level deeper. This is also the very first eclipse to land in the sign of Libra since March 23, 2016. Libra is the sign of balance, peace, beauty, and harmonious relationships. All good things, we’d say!
Trouble is, eclipses aren’t exactly cakewalks. Solar eclipses, which always arrive with new moons, can be a bit like power outages. For a short period of time, they leave us groping around in the dark, forcing us to go inward to find solutions from a purely intuitive place.
When the Libra solar eclipse hits this Oct. 14, 2023, at 2 P.M. ET, our closest connections could get a shake-up. So, too, might the institution of marriage or gender equality, which fair-minded Libra rules. Will the backwards #tradwife trend go down in flames? It’s possible, especially since there are two more Libra eclipses on deck: March 25 and Oct. 2, 2024.
But we might have to wait until this October’s second eclipse is over. On the 28th, the final lunar eclipse in tradition-loving Taurus rounds out a series that began back on Nov. 19, 2021.
Lunar eclipses, which always arrive with full moons, shine a spotlight on the shadowy issues we wish we didn’t have to deal with. There’s a reason lunar eclipses have earned their title as “blood moons,” and it isn’t just because the Earth’s rusty red shadow appears across the moon’s surface. Conflicts heat up during lunar eclipses, forcing us to go to the mat for our beliefs.
For the past two years, we’ve been under the moralizing thumb of these Taurus lunar eclipses. We’ve seen right-wing and religious zealots sign restrictive rules into law. People have become polarized due to their ethics (Taurus’ domain), with some loudly crying for a return to values that only served a slim minority of the population.
Tides may be pulled by the new and full moons, but during eclipse season, they can also be turned. Here’s hoping they move in a direction that’s fair and favorable for all. To find out how these eclipses will affect your sign, read your monthly horoscope—we wrote all about it for you.
You Might Also Like
