If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
~ E.B. White

Nov. 19 ~ LUNAR ECLIPSE IN TAURUS (27:14 Taurus/Scorpio)

Let's start with the chart itself, which is quite frenetic with a plethora of aspects flying around. And although there's a reasonably good balance of easy and hard aspects, there's a lot of different energies to juggle here.

In addition, the primary aspects consist almost entirely of the trine aspect family, coloured in blue (conjunction: 0°, trine: 120°, sextile: 60°) and the square family, coloured in red and orange (conjunction: 0°, square: 90°, opposition: 180°, semisquare: 45°, sesquiquadrate: 135°). And there's only one aspect from the inconjunct family, coloured in green (semisextile: 30° but no quincunx: 150°).

A chart composed of mostly or all red/orange and blue aspect lines indicates a lot of black-and-white thinking – it's this or it's that, it either is or it's not. There is no in between. It's the green lines—the semisextiles and quincunxes—that tend to add a philosophical ability to read between the lines and appreciate the shades of grey between the extremes.

So, if you're someone who like to "call it as you see it" in definite terms, this energy is likely to be your cup of strong coffee—although in situations that call for a lighter touch, you might find you need to dial it down a bit since a little will go a long way. And if you're someone who lives in the shades of grey, always seeing the subtle fluctuations in the world around you, this chart may not be the easiest energy for you since you may have to make hard decisions that leave you wondering if you made the right choice.

She found that the whole world could be contained in one place because that place was herself. Nothing had prepared her for this.
~ Jeanette Winterson, The World and Other Places: Stories

The chart is a Bowl-ish shape (all planets in one half of the chart and the other half is empty), which suggests a kind of containment that can hold the energy so it doesn't fritter away. We often tend to interpret the idea of containment in terms of being suppressive, inhibiting or restrictive, but it is also about supporting, protecting and shaping how the energy flows within it.

A Bowl distribution pattern in the chart usually have one opposition aspect that links the leading planet (Mars in this case; the last planet of the bowl, going clockwise) and the trailing planet (the Moon in this case; the first planet at the start of the bowl, going clockwise). It's the polarization of the opposition aspect that acts like plastic wrap stretched tight over top of a bowl – ideally being sturdy enough to ensure its ingredients don't spill out, yet flexible enough that its contents can be accessed easily.

However, in this chart's case the aspect between those two planets share a quindecile aspect (165° – based on the circle divided into 24 parts) which becomes the containing energy. Noel Tyl worked extensively with the quindecile aspect, which he described as "a burning point of focus, often a place of extreme concern and effort in the life, even to the point of upheaval, disruption, and obsessive mania."

So, this is the kind of energy holding together the busy energy of the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus – Mars and Moon, action and feeling, ambition and appreciation, intensity and calm. The Moon and Mars are in opposing signs, which helps to stabilize the energy but might also increase its forcefulness.

There is also an extremely tight quindecile aspect between the Sun and Uranus, also in opposing signs. This indicates a willingness, perhaps even the urge, to break through anything that's in the way of what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you are prepared to get there.

The themes and issues that are being shaken up by Uranus in Taurus (2018 to 2025) could be triggered during this time, spurred ahead by determination, insistence and persistence, either directly or subtly—although with so much direct red-and-blue energy in the chart, it's more likely to be directly or by force.

But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.
~ George Eliot, Middlemarch

Adding to this salty broth are some more savoury flavours contributed by the Moon. For one thing, the Moon is exalted in Taurus, meaning that Taurus helps to bring out her best side. The Watery Moon tends to crave containment of some kind – not the kind that inhibits but the kind that supports – and Earthy Taurus can provide that.

But Taurus isn't all sweetness and light, bliss and blessings. It is also the home of Fixed Star Algol at 26:28 of Taurus. And right now it's just ¾° behind the Moon, which channels Algol's intense themes into the eclipse field. In astronomical mythology, Algol is the eye of Medusa that can turn you to stone. On the surface, Medusa was demonized and became a target of retribution. However, if you look more closely at the mythology, Medusa seems to be a tragic, misunderstood woman who was blamed for events that likely weren't entirely within her control.

In the context of the eclipsed Moon being conjunct Algol, it suggests there may be an edge to this eclipse that taps into rage, a "scorched earth" reaction to stress, or feeling like you're carrying the responsibility for wounds that aren't originally yours.

Interestingly, the Moon is also tightly conjunct dwarf planet Sedna, whose Inuit mythology tells of the tragic fate of another woman. Could this Lunar Eclipse see themes rise in the collective around women's rights and issues? Or shine a light on the ugliness of social injustice? Or stir up some deeply-hidden, personal Taurus obsessions, perhaps around your relationship to food, money, pleasure or values? Any of these is possible.

In addition, the Moon is conjunct the North Lunar Node, and the Sun is conjunct the South Lunar Node. Being a North Node eclipse, this is about taking more steps in the direction of your life path's destination. In what natal house is the eclipsed Moon in for you? And where is your natal North Node in your chart? The areas of life indicated by these houses will likely feature prominently in the direction you are drawn to at the Lunar Eclipse.

I finally figured out that not every crisis can be managed. As much as we want to keep ourselves safe, we can't protect ourselves from everything. If we want to embrace life, we also have to embrace chaos.
~ Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Breathing Room

There is a kind of cross-hairs of intention in this chart. The Sun and Moon are in opposition, as are Mars and Uranus, and these criss-crossed opposition lines are flanked by quindecile aspects on either side. This not simply a multi-pronged opposition, since the Sun-Mars and Moon-Uranus pairs are too wide to be conjunct.

However, they are within about a degree of being 15° apart, which joins the two oppositions at the short end and completes a rectangular circuit of energy. Rectangle aspect patterns tend to show one kind of energy on the outside (to the external world) while the aspect force driving from within is typically a pair of oppositions. This Rectangle figure forms a complicated "lid" on the Bowl into which is poured the steaming soup of energy in the eclipse chart.

So, in this case, we're experiencing a storm of obsessive effort that is being fueled by a need to stabilize the turmoil by clarifying "what is what" – Is it this or is it that? Am I capable or am I messing up? Should I make something happen or let it flow in its own time? Is it time yet or should I wait?

In other words, there's a lot going on that needs to be both accessible (so you can utilize that energy) and contained (so it doesn't splash out in all the inappropriate places). It suggests that in order to gather together and hold into the powerful energies at the Lunar Eclipse, you may be required to put on your Scorpio hat and wear your cloak of intensity, determination and persistence, driven by passion. At the same time, this needs to be balanced by some calm self-containment so you can recharge your batteries and not burn yourself out.

It's not exactly the luxurious, peaceful bubble bath Taurus usually has in mind, but the Taurus side of us is likely to be happy with the results if we can buckle up and ride out this energy.

From the anguish of life
Stories of love.
~ E.A. Carter

So: what's "in the Bowl?" Let's start with Venus, since she's the planetary ruler of Taurus and whatever she's up to will be passed back to the Taurus Moon. Venus is a busy girl! She is in communication with both the Sun-Moon opposition and the Mars-Uranus opposition, forming two aspect patterns with them.

Venus forms a Hard Wedge configuration with the Sun-Moon opposition, which spawns struggling energy similar to a T-square, but with sharper corners that tend to feel pricklier than the more straightforward stress of the T-square. Venus is sesquiquadrate the Moon (135° or a square-and-a-half) and semisquare the Sun (45° or half-a-square).

In this figure, Venus in Capricorn challenges the Sun and Moon, saying, "You guys are so wrapped up in fulfilling your sense of passion and pleasure, but what is it all for? What's your purpose, your destination, your end game?"

Venus also forms an easy-going Wedge, with a sextile to Mars (60°) and a trine to Uranus (120°). She seems to encourage them, saying, "It's good to take action that breaks away from the past and speaks to the future—as long as you do it with love and do it with commitment to the long game, not just a flash in the pan that starts a brief fire and then burns itself out." In addition, this Wedge suggests that there is room for sensible risks and trying new things; just don't get too carried away.

Venus is far Out of Bounds by declination right now (Oct. 10 to Dec. 8), so she's off on her own tangent with her own agenda for a while. The Venus' themes of love, values, creativity, artistry, money, possessions, balance and harmony are being stretched beyond our usual comfort zone in some way.

Are you reaching to achieve something in these areas that is taking more commitment and more hard work than you thought would be necessary? Venus' message here at the Lunar Eclipse is that whatever you're longing for, whatever desire you're acting on, whatever you're trying to manifest so that you "have" it in your life – make sure you also do it for the love of it, not just the end result. Do it with a grounded sense of joy that enhances pleasure without losing yourself in a state of elation.

Venus is now in the shadow and preparing to go retrograde (Dec. 19 to Jan. 29, 2022). She remains in Capricorn for 4, count 'em, four months! (Nov. 5 until March 6, 2022) In Earthy Capricorn, Venus tends to be very practical, structured, conventional expression, which isn't entirely foreign to her since she rules Earthy Taurus.

However, Capricorn isn't a peaceful, pleasurable, stop-to-smell-the-roses kind of energy that Taurus likes to be, but rather prefers to be driving, ambitious, and focused on building something enduring for its own sake (never mind the roses). So, if you prefer the Taurus side of Venus, spending 4 months in Capricorn may feel like an eternity considering she usually moves through a sign in about 3½ weeks.

Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.
~ Eugene Peterson

Adding some extra spice, there are also two T-square aspect patterns "in the Bowl." One of them involves the Saturn-Uranus square with Mars forming the 3rd corner of the configuration. This has been with us since Nov. 6—well, actually since Oct. 28 if you count the Sun that occupied that 3rd corner for about a week. Mars is just moving out of range of the square to Saturn, which means the T-square energy is dissipating now, but its residual effects are still with us.

The other T-square involves the Sun-Moon opposition which is aligned along the Nodal axis, and Mercury which is conjunct the Sun (exact Nov. 28). All are squared by Jupiter in Aquarius. In a nutshell, this pattern is about avoiding the trap of getting so deep into the quicksand of intensity, cynicism, obsession and emotional depth, that you forget how to think positively about the future. Jupiter's message to them all is to lighten up, take a step back, take in the vastness of the Big Picture, and let go of some of your stubborn attachments so you can fly free.

On the positive side, there are also two Mini-Trine aspect patterns forming over the next 2 weeks. They consist of two planets in a trine aspect, with a third planet sextile to them both. These figures contribute some smooth, savory potential to the otherwise spicy soup in our Bowl.

One of them involves Mars trine Neptune, sextiled by Venus, in effect from Nov. 22 to Dec. 9. On Nov. 29, all of them align at 20° of Feminine/Yin/Receptive signs: Mars in Scorpio, Neptune in Pisces, and Venus in Capricorn. What makes this extra noteworthy is that during the time when it is in effect, Venus is in orb approaching her first conjunction to Pluto, which becomes exact on Dec. 11, just as the Mini-Trine has dissolved.

In other words, Venus has two awesome escorts as she goes to meet up for her date with Pluto, which should make their conjunction's intensity a lot easier to manoeuvre. Venus spends a lot of time in Pluto's realm, remaining within 8° of each other for almost 8 weeks (Nov. 25 to Jan. 9). This is because Venus stations retrograde less than a degree from Pluto (Dec. 19), making 2 exact passes on Dec. 11 and Dec. 25. Their final dance is on March 3. Much more will be said about this in upcoming updates.

The other Mini-Trine aspect pattern includes the Sun and Mercury trine Chiron, and Saturn is sextile to them all. On Nov. 30, they all align at 8° of Sagittarius, Aries and Aquarius, respectively. Although this is the same kind of aspect figure as above, it has a distinctively different flavour, being in Masculine/Yang/Active signs and of course different planets.

And amazingly, both Mini-Trines become exact within a day of each other: Nov. 29-30. See below for more information about these two Mini-Trine configurations.

Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.
~ Moliere

So, where does all that leave us? In front of a proverbial steaming bowl of hot, spicy, sweet, sour and savory soup to feed our souls with. The Scorpio-Taurus axis (where the Sun and Moon are) is all about how we pursue and experience pleasure, and the intense ecstasy that can envelop us when we submit to the love of life.

In both cases, it's all too easy to wander off-course into an echo chamber of obsession, seduction, self-indulgence or over-attachment. When that happens, it's important to ask ourselves why. What are we really looking for? What is the hole in our heart that we're hoping it will fill? And what will it look and feel like if/when we finally get what we're searching for?

This Lunar Eclipse in Taurus brings us to a pivot point where we can choose to turn in a different direction – maybe not dramatically so, but different enough that slow, gradual, sustained effort could result in significant changes down the road.

When we arrive at the Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius on Dec. 4, we will be in a position where we can make a fresh start based on the gradual changes we have started to put into place.

Until then, be good to yourself and others. Stay safe. Stay sane, Stay awesome. The world needs you.

This old world may never change the way it’s been
And all the ways of war can’t change it back again,
I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea...
I’m not the one to tell this world how to get along
I only know that peace will come when all hate is gone...
~ The Dolphins, by Fred Neil

© 2021 Wendy Guy. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or used without the author's written permission. Astrology diagrams © Wendy Guy unless otherwise noted. OTHER CREDITS: Most or all of the quotes on this page were found at GoodReads.com. Illustration of current Zodiac Sign based on illustration by iiuliawhite, via 123rf.com. Divider made by artist Gordon Johnson via Pixabay.com. Sabian Symbol photo of tiny statue of old couple by Erika Whittlieb, via Pixabay.com.