Why are they significant?
Over the next two weeks two eclipses will occur, one darkening the Sun on February 17, the other darkening the Moon on March 3. These are moments in the year when the sky itself seems to pause and breathe differently. Eclipse seasons are like that. They are not ordinary lunations. They occur when the Sun and Moon meet at the lunar nodes—the invisible crossing points where the Moon’s path intersects the apparent path of the Sun. The lunar nodes are not physical planets. They are symbolic points of intersection, and in astrology they describe a deeper storyline.
The South Node symbolizes where we have been—habits, old identities, familiar emotional patterns. It represents what we are holding onto emotionally from the past because it feels safe. The North Node symbolizes growth—the direction the soul, or simply the psyche, is trying to move toward. It is a soul intention to outgrow what we are holding onto that no longer serves us.
The lunar nodes are called “lunar” because they belong to the Moon’s orbit. And because the Moon represents our emotional body—our instincts, memory, conditioning, and sense of safety—eclipses always carry a strong emotional tone. The Moon governs eclipses not only astronomically but symbolically. When the Moon aligns with the nodes, our emotional patterns align with our evolutionary axis. Something ancient inside us stirs. The nervous system registers it before the intellect does. During eclipse season, the emotional body becomes part of the story.
Eclipses come in pairs. A solar eclipse at a New Moon opens the cycle, and a lunar eclipse at a Full Moon completes it roughly two weeks later. The time between the eclipses is a portal. It is an opportunity to recognize our emotional patterns of behavior and work on ourselves. It is a threshold space in which awareness heightens and the contrast between past and future becomes more visible. It can feel as though life is slightly tilted, as if the inner compass is being adjusted.
This season carries two intertwined themes.
One axis is Leo and Aquarius. Leo represents self-expression—the courage to create, to stand in the light of your own heart, to say, “This is who I am.” It is ruled by the Sun, the archetype of identity, vitality, and conscious purpose. The Sun is the inner light that declares, “This is my essence.” When eclipses activate Leo, they touch our relationship to confidence, leadership, visibility, and pride. We may ask ourselves whether we are living from our authentic center—or performing a version of ourselves for approval.
Aquarius represents individuation—not rebellion for its own sake, but the process of becoming distinct within the collective. In modern astrology, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus. Uranus is the archetype of awakening, disruption, originality, and liberation. It breaks patterns that have grown stale. It insists on authenticity that is electric and alive. Under Aquarian influence, we feel the urge to step outside inherited roles and think for ourselves. Self-expression asks, “Am I shining?” Individuation asks, “Am I truly free to be who I am?” These are not identical questions. One can perform boldly and still not be authentic. One can rebel loudly and still not be individuated. Eclipse season presses gently but firmly on that difference.
Collectively, the Leo–Aquarius axis highlights leadership and community at the same time. We may see bold personalities stepping forward, dramatic displays of authority, or challenges to it. We may witness communities redefining themselves, questioning who belongs and who does not. When balanced, this axis produces courageous leadership in service of the whole. When imbalanced, it produces spectacle and ideological rigidity. Eclipse seasons reveal where that balance is out of alignment.
Running underneath that visible axis is the deeper evolutionary current of this season: the lunar nodes in Virgo and Pisces.
The South Node in Virgo describes the familiar pattern. Virgo is work on the self. It is ruled by Mercury, the archetype of the mind—analysis, discernment, detail, improvement. Virgo energy wants to refine, correct, and become better. It asks, “How can I do this more skillfully?” At its best, it builds competence and integrity. At its most strained, it becomes anxious, overly critical, and trapped in endless self-correction. When the South Node is in Virgo, we may cling emotionally to being useful, efficient, and in control because it feels safe.
The North Node in Pisces points toward growth. Pisces correlates to our connection to that which is greater than ourselves. In modern astrology, Pisces is ruled by Neptune. Neptune represents compassion, imagination, surrender, and spiritual awareness. It dissolves rigid boundaries and invites trust in a larger current of life. Where Virgo works on the self, Pisces opens the self to the whole.
So beneath the drama of Leo self-expression and Aquarian individuation, there is a quieter spiritual lesson unfolding. We are moving from Virgo toward Pisces.
From control toward trust.
From analysis toward compassion.
From self-improvement toward acceptance.
From perfectionism toward surrender.
From over-management toward faith in something larger.
When eclipses activate the Virgo–Pisces nodal axis, emotional pressure builds around these themes. The Moon—our emotional body—becomes more sensitive. Old anxieties may surface. The urge to fix everything can intensify. We may notice how quickly the mind moves to correct, refine, or judge. That is the Virgo South Node speaking through Mercury. But alongside it is a softer longing—to let go, to forgive, to trust. That is Neptune’s call through Pisces.
Collectively, this can look like societies confronting the limits of hyper-management and data-driven control. Virgo wants metrics, precision, efficiency. Pisces asks about meaning, mercy, and shared humanity. Virgo organizes the parts. Pisces feels the whole. We may see increased focus on systems, health, productivity, and measurable outcomes—while at the same time a rising call for empathy, spiritual grounding, and emotional healing.
Personally, this season may feel like standing at the edge of a river or an ocean after years of walking narrow, carefully measured paths. The South Node in Virgo says, “Check the map. Measure the depth. Prepare.” The North Node in Pisces says, “Trust the current.” Neither voice is wrong. The lesson is integration. Keep your discernment—but release the illusion that everything can be controlled.
Because the Moon governs eclipses, the experience is emotional before it is intellectual. Sleep may shift. Sensitivity may increase. Conversations that have been simmering may come to a head. Relationships may reveal their strengths and weaknesses. You may question where you belong, whether your goals are truly yours, and whether your effort has been motivated by love or by fear of imperfection. The South Node whispers of familiar safety; the North Node beckons toward growth that feels slightly destabilizing. An eclipse makes that whisper and that call louder.
A solar eclipse can feel like twilight at noon—the light briefly obscured. We sense something beginning, but we cannot yet see its full outline. A lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow, reveals what has been stored inside. It is not weakness to feel more deeply at such times. It is awareness. The Moon shows us our reflexes—where we cling, where we retreat, where we overcompensate.
Eclipses are not catastrophes written in the sky. They are thresholds. They are portals of clarity. Not only that, but they illuminate where the old way of coping no longer works and where a softer, wider consciousness is trying to emerge. They reveal where ego has overshadowed authenticity, where systems have grown rigid, and where the heart longs to participate more honestly in the collective story.
After the shadow passes, the light returns. The Sun resumes its steady glow. The Moon regains her fullness. Yet we are rarely quite the same as before. The mind loosens its grip a little. The heart speaks more clearly. The emotional body, having felt the pull of the larger current, begins—perhaps quietly—to trust it.
And the lunar nodes continue to ask their enduring question: Are you willing to grow beyond who you have been?
