#Lunar Eclipse 2024: Date

[astrologers1030]

Lunar Eclipse 2024: A Celestial Phenomenon Unfolding

Experience the awe-inspiring spectacle of the Lunar Eclipse 2024 as the moon gracefully transitions through Earth's shadow. Discover the precise date and time for this celestial event in India, marking a moment of cosmic alignment you won't want to miss.

[cosmiccannibalcamille]

YOUR 2024 Eclipse Season Survival Guide

     Mark your calendars, eclipse season is upon us. In just a few short days, 2024 Eclipse season ~officially~ begins with the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Libra on March 25 and ends with the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries on April 8. You might already be thinking, “Wait. What EVEN is Eclipse Season and why should I care?” Tbh, that’s not an easy question to answer. Because eclipses and, therefore, eclipse season is a MAJOR, loaded topic.      

     To get a little technical, eclipses occur when the luminaries—the Sun and Moon—align with the Earth in specific ways, resulting in a temporary obscuration of the Sun or Moon. Eclipses typically come in pairs—solar & lunar. Solar eclipses mark powerful beginnings and are potent for starting new chapters or projects. They often coincide with significant life events and can bring sudden changes or revelations. Lunar eclipses, on the other hand, represent endings, culminations, or turning points. They illuminate areas of our lives that need adjustment or release.

     Eclipses are potent game-changers. They often coincide with pivotal moments, both personally and collectively, and can trigger major shifts in consciousness, events, and circumstances. Eclipses can bring new people into your life, put you on a new career path, and bring an ending to a toxic relationship. They catalyze change, transformation, growth, and release. And they almost always pave the way for new beginnings and evolutionary leaps. That’s why they are feared. That is why they are so chaotic and crazy and…That is why they are MAJOR.

     That’s also precisely why I created the 2024 Eclipse Season Survival Guide. Part masterclass, part horoscope reading, the 2024 Eclipse Season Survival Guide is YOUR key to understanding, working with, and (yes) surviving this year’s ultra rocky and oh-so chaotic Aries-Libra eclipses. (And these eclipses are REALLY rocky, esp. the Solar Eclipses. Yikes.) From decoding the themes and planetary influences to understanding the unique astrology occurring at the precise moment of each 2024 eclipse, this survival guide is truly a must-have.

This Eclipse SZN Survival Guide is for YOU if:

You're feeling lost, wary, fearful, and anxious AF about the upcoming eclipses and YOU NEED someone to tell you it’ll all be fine.

You're struggling with turbulent partnerships, unresolved conflicts and excessive people-pleasing, and you don’t know why.

You're ready to embrace change with open arms and harness its transformative power.

You're feeling lost or uncertain about your path forward, and you’re seeking clarity, stability, and direction.

You want to make the most of this eclipse season.

You're tired of being at the mercy of life’s ups and downs and are ready to step into your power.

Count me in

    With every challenge comes an opportunity for growth and expansion. And I won’t lie, these eclipses are stirring up emotions, challenges, and feels for everyone. But how are you supposed to deal with these emotions? How are YOU going to cope with the chaos and craziness that eclipse season brings?

    The 2024 Eclipse Season Survival Guide provides insights tailored to YOUR sign to help you navigate these challenging dynamics with grace and understanding. (It also has in-depth audio readings for each of the Rising signs to help YOU find clarity amidst the cosmic storm.) This guide will help you seize the opportunities hidden within the chaos of the eclipses and leverage them to create positive change in your life.   

    So, instead of fearing the unknown, you can embrace change with open arms and harness its transformative power. Instead of feeling lost or uncertain about your path forward, you can gain the clarity you seek, you can find your direction, find your path, and find solace via learning. This survival guide will inspire you to lean into the winds of change and trust in the process of evolution and growth! It’s packed with insights into the themes and energies at play in your life, to help YOU discover how to align with your highest potential.

    The Aries-Libra eclipses are inviting you to step into your power and embrace your authentic self. This survival guide will empower you to stand tall in your truth, assert your boundaries, and reclaim your confidence, your passion, and your power in every area of your life. This 2024 Eclipse Season survival guide will equip you with the tools, knowledge, and mindset shifts needed to navigate the storms of life with resilience, grace, and unwavering optimism. So that you can go beyond merely surviving the chaos of the eclipses: you can thrive.

I'm SO Ready to Thrive

    I hope you seize this opportunity to take control of YOUR fate, to learn, grow, and put the worries about eclipse season to rest. More importantly, I hope you’re taking care of yourself!

Sincerely,

[jeevanjali]

Chandra Grahan Mrach 2024: चंद्र ग्रहण के दौरान इन बातों का रखें ध्यान, बरतें सावधानियांChandra Grahan March 2024: इस बार साल का पहला चंद्र ग्रहण 25 मार्च को लगने वाला है। यह चंद्र ग्रहण हमारे देश भारत में दिखाई नहीं देगा। हमारे देश में यह उपछाया चंद्र ग्रहण है।

[breelandwalker]

2024 Witches' Calendar

For all my witches out there, here's a handy list of the 2024 dates for the solstices, quarter days, full and new moons, and special events. I've listed my sources at the bottom.

Dates and times for all events are calculated for Eastern Standard Time, USA, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed and check the DarkSky Placefinder to see what special events will be visible in your area. Enjoy!

Solstices, Harvests, and Quarter Days

February 1-2 - Imbolc / Candlemas

March 19 - Spring Equinox / Ostara

April 30-May 1 - Beltane / May Day

June 20 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer / Litha

August 1 - Lughnasadh / Lammas / Summer Harvest

September 22 - Autumn Equinox / Mabon / Fall Harvest

October 31 - Samhain / Halloween / Final Harvest

December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule

Full Moons

January 25 - Wolf Moon ♌

February 24 - Snow Moon ♍

March 25 - Worm Moon ♎

April 23 - Pink Moon ♏

May 23 - Flower Moon ♐

June 21 - Strawberry Moon ♑

July 21 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♑

August 19 - Sturgeon Moon* ♒

September 17 - Harvest Moon* ♓

October 17 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon)* ♈

November 15 - Frost Moon (or Beaver Moon)* ♉

December 15 - Cold Moon ♊

*- Supermoon

Fun Fact: The title of Harvest Moon is given to either the September or October full moon, whichever falls closest to the autumn equinox. Once again this year, that month will be September.

New Moons

January 11 ♑

February 9 ♒

March 10 ♓

April 8 ♈

May 7 ♉

June 6 ♊

July 5 ♋

August 4 ♌

September 2 ♍

October 2 ♎

November 1 ♏

December 1 ♐

December 30 (black moon) ���

Special Celestial Events

January 3-4 - Quadrantids meteor shower peak

March 25 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

April 8 - Total solar eclipse

April 22-23 - Lyrids meteor shower peak

May 6-7 - Eta Aquarids meteor shower peak

August 11-13 - Perseids meteor shower peak

August 19 - Sturgeon Supermoon / Seasonal Blue Moon

September 17 - Harvest Supermoon / Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

October 2 - "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse

October 17 - Hunter's Supermoon

October 21-22 - Orionids meteor shower peak

November 15 - Frost Supermoon

November 16-17 - Leonids meteor shower peak

December 13-14 - Geminids meteor shower peak

December 30 - Black Moon

(Check the DarkSky Placefinder to see what will be visible in your area!)

Mercury Retrogrades (in case you need them)

April 1 - April 24

August 4 - August 27

November 25 - December 15

Happy Witching!

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

Bree's Lunar Calendar Series

Bree's Secular Celebrations Series

Moon Info - Full Moon Dates for 2024

Calendar-12 - 2024 Moon Phases

Full Moonology - 2024 Full Moon Calendar

AstroStyle - All the 2024 Full Moons

Your Zodiac Sign - Astrology Calendar 2024

Old Farmer's Almanac - Mercury Retrograde Dates 2023-2024

Lonely Planet - Best Star-gazing Events of 2024

Sea and Sky - Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2024

DarkSky International - Dark Sky Placefinder for Stargazing

Pagan Grimoire - Wheel of the Year: The 8 Festivals in the Wiccan Calendar (2024 Edition)

=

If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊

EDIT: Mercury is stationed direct on Jan 1st, 2024. The source I used which stated it was in retrograde until the 18th had a typo.

EDIT: Fixed the zodiac signs for the full moons using a new source.

[aeth-eris]

astrology masterlist 2023 - 2024

general astrology study guide exploring astrology for self care

astro observations composite , composite #2 , composite #3

ascendant & houses: rising signs : animalistic features leo in houses: what makes you proud? 11th house: social media profiles 3rd house: texting , 3rd house: writing astrology jukebox observations

moon ghosted vs. ghostee

synastry: ascendant in partner's houses moon square moon synastry venus signs heartbreaker vs. heartbroken 12th house overlay , 11th house overlay , 10th house overlay , 9th house overlay , 8th house overlay , 7th house overlay , 6th house overlay , 5th house overlay , 4th house overlay , 3rd house overlay , 2nd house overlay , 1st house overlay , synastry house overlays overview synastry placements as love tropes synastry observations synastry observations aspects in synastry

venus venus signs aesthetics venus signs & pet names venus placements + love language

solar return can mars rx in your solar return chart affect your energy levels? 4th house in solar return "how do i find my solar return chart?" 11th house friendships , 6th house health , 7th house partnerships , 2nd house finances retrogrades in solar return charts pluto house placements , neptune house placements , uranus house placements , saturn house placements , jupiter house placements , venus house placements , mars house placements , mercury house placements , moon house placements , sun house placements

planets maturity vs immaturity series saturn , venus , mercury , moon , mars

fun: mars signs when reacting to bad food during a dinner date mr darcy = cap rising take mercury signs as computer error messages , mercury signs & book recs 5th house & video games zodiac signs as classic literature philosophers & astrology

moodboards: libra mars conjunct midheaven , saturn taurus 5th rx , sagittarius mercury 12th , scorpio moon 11th , aquarius venus 2nd

rambles "Uranus in the 2nd/Aquarius in the 2nd/Venus conjunct Uranus/Saturn in Taurus/Uranus in Taurus" "TW : drug use, addiction, abuse, etc. basically a ramble of 12th house/square neptune energy."

asks that I answered : "Hey bro , do you know about northnode and uranus in pices 7st house" "I just wanted to know when looking at your solar return chart, would you recommend the placidus or the whole sign system." "would you consider making a long detailed post about taurus placements observations , please?😍" "Vertex 19° Piscis in the 7th house conjunct Attila 23° Agrippina 20° and Excalibur 16 and Fan 18° all in Pisces in the 7th house" "I would like to ask about how to deal with my aquarius neptune in 6th house." "hello 👋🏻 beautiful soul 🌸 would you consider making a post about Taurus in houses , please? ;)" "Hi! About career and public image, what would having Jupiter, MC and POF in Leo 10H mean?" "Hii whats the order to read a solar retun chart? Should i read the chart on its own or where those placements fall in my natal chart?" "what could all those planets in the 5h indicate?" "Hii! Can I have your opinion on north node in gemini and cancer in 9th house?"

transit full hunter moon in taurus lunar eclipse 10/28/23 venus trine/sextile transits , venus square transits , venus conjunct transits

daily routine 6th house series pisces , aquarius , capricorn , sagittarius , scorpio , libra , virgo , leo , cancer , gemini , taurus , aries

personal my chart as gifs

[mysticstronomy]

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY??

Blog#413

Wednesday, June 26th, 2024.

Welcome back,

Countless generations have looked up at the night sky to observe its twinkling stars and dancing lights. In dark and remote places, before the advent of today's modern metropolises, the shimmering night sky must have looked truly alive.

Early days (and nights)

Indigenous cultures around the world have long performed astronomical observation with the naked eye, frequently spotting stars, planets, and other celestial phenomena.

These communities often used their knowledge of astronomy for:

Navigation

Timekeeping

Agricultural planning

Spiritual and religious practices

A closer look at the heavens

Ancient astronomers from around the world made many early observations and predictions. Historical records include many star charts, which reveal clear efforts to map the night sky and learn more about the mechanics of our universe.

Some examples of early discoveries include:

Planets versus stars

Babylonian astronomers in the first and second millennia BCE tracked five points of light in the night sky that moved differently than the other stars did. They concluded that something fundamentally different existed: these five points of light were not stars at all. Historians and astronomers now believe the Babylonians were among the first to recognize the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, which become visible to the naked eye at different times of the year.

A spherical Earth

As early as the 6th century BCE, ancient Greek philosophers documented evidence that Earth was a sphere. They noted that the night sky looked different when seen from various locations on Earth, hinting at our planet's curved surface. They also observed the round shadow of Earth on the Moon during lunar eclipses. These philosophers were even able to calculate the circumference of Earth quite accurately. They did this by measuring the length of the shadow cast by an object at exactly the same time, in two different locations. Taking into account the distance between those two locations and the difference in the lengths of the shadows, they calculated that Earth's circumference was about 46,250 kilometres. That is very close to the real value of 40,075 kilometres!

Bright supernovae

In the year 185, Chinese astronomers became the first to document a supernova. Several supernova explosions have been observed since then, including a particularly bright one in the year 1054, which (at its peak) was four times brighter than planet Venus, one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Some supernovae are even bright enough to be visible during the day!

Cloudy galaxies

The notion that our own galaxy – the Milky Way – is but one of trillions of other galaxies in the universe only dates back about a century. Before then, nearby galaxies were thought to be cloudy regions of the Milky Way. The first documented observation of the neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy was in the year 964 by a Persian astronomer who described it as a "nebulous smear." For centuries, it was simply known in star charts as the "Little Cloud."

Originally published on www.asc-csa.gc.ca

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, June 29th, 2024)

"WHAT IS THE QUANTUM THEORY??"

[apod]

2024 March 30

Medieval Astronomy from Melk Abbey Image Credit: Paul Beck (Univ. Vienna), Georg Zotti (Vienna Inst. Arch. Science) Copyright: Library of Melk Abbey, Frag. 229

Explanation: Discovered by accident, this manuscript page provides graphical insight to astronomy in medieval times, before the Renaissance and the influence of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho de Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo. The intriguing page is from lecture notes on astronomy compiled by the monk Magister Wolfgang de Styria before the year 1490. The top panels clearly illustrate the necessary geometry for a lunar (left) and solar eclipse in the Earth-centered Ptolemaic system. At lower left is a diagram of the Ptolemaic view of the Solar System with text at the upper right to explain the movement of the planets according to Ptolemy's geocentric model. At the lower right is a chart to calculate the date of Easter Sunday in the Julian calendar. The illustrated manuscript page was found at historic Melk Abbey in Austria.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240330.html

[jooniperbonsai]

I'll Give You the Sun (jhs) | Part One

Pairing: SunDeity!Hoseok x MoonDeity!Reader (afab)

Rating: 18+

Part One Length: 10.6k

Release Date: Fri, April 19, 2024

Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, fantasy au, royalty, mythology

Summary: Fated to fulfill an ancient prophecy claiming he will ascend into a curse-breaking hero on the day of his kingdom’s first total solar eclipse, Hoseok is jaded and cynical over his lack of choice in becoming the king and god of the Solar Kingdom. He’s even less pleased that his coronation is to be shared with the future king of the Lunar Kingdom, whose clear obsession with power is already a sign of trouble ahead. 

But when the moon fully overtakes the sun and bathes everything in darkness, the ascension of gods and kings doesn’t seem to be all that the fates prophesied. With you now coming out of the shadows to claim your rightful title, the pressure is on for the two of you to break this curse together, before it completely destroys your two kingdoms. 

Warnings: Swearing, physical aggression, low self-esteem, implied emotional and physical abuse, dirty talk, grinding/thigh riding, dom! hoseok already making himself known

a/n: yayyyyy welcome to the new series! may sun deity hobi be as adored by you as he is by me. You can look forward to Part 2 where we meet our y/n very soon. -h

He can hear her shuffling down the hall. His mother. No doubt draped in the silky, long golden cape that shines as she passes by every sunny window. He doesn’t need to look at her to know that she’s wearing it. That, or her crown, pointed at all sides in honor of the many ancestral deities who have served the stars before, whose power and strength created the very particles of the universe. He also doesn’t need to look to know she’s heading directly toward his chamber, seeking Hoseok out. 

He knows she is, because he was supposed to be in the Great Hall an hour ago to go over his coronation and is instead sitting out on his balcony, looking up at the moon high in the sky despite it being one in the afternoon.

“Hoseok,” his mother echos from his doorway, breathless and exasperated. 

“I know,” he calls back. He knows he’s due for a lecture, but because his mother is impatient, because the entire palace and kingdom and evidently the entire fucking universe is impatient for their prince to become a king, and with that title, a god, there’s no time for a lecture. 

He takes one last look up at the sky, the pebbled moon inching ever closer, and scowls before retreating back indoors.

If Hoseok had things his way, he would seek out whichever god before him who uttered his prophecy to ascend to the throne and burn him with all the power of the Sun he is so called the god of. Apollo, Ra, Helios, Tsohanoai, Sol, Tai Yang Xing Jun, whoever it was who caused this, who murmured his message before the fates, he is probably laughing at Hoseok as his mother clucks at him and pinches away invisible specks of lint from his pristine suit. 

“Your father wants to see you before we begin.”

“I thought the party was already under way,” he mutters, his mother cocking an eyebrow at him. 

“It is, which I now take it you are staunchly avoiding instead of simply losing track of time like I was prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt for.” 

“Eomma, you know I don’t want to do this. I have told you so for years. I don’t want to be king. I don’t want to be a god.”

“Yes, but the fates decided it so. They chose you over your sister, and this means whether there’s a party or not, it’s going to happen. You might as well enjoy the food and music and make the best of it.” With a sigh, she adjusts the heady gilded crown pinned to her head and strolls out of Hoseok’s chamber, leaving behind the faint note of her jasmine perfume. 

Hoseok knows he can’t hide here forever. He knows that once the total eclipse occurs in a matter of hours, he will be thrust into a life of duty. And not soon after he ascends, he also knows that he will be expected to begin courting someone. That is another matter entirely, one he is not going to even entertain today.

He’s not opposed to marriage or courting, not in the slightest. His elder sister married a few years ago, a marriage that gives structure and stability. Her husband clearly loves her, and Hoseok enjoys when he sees his brother-in-law when they visit during the summer months, when the days stretch into nights and for a little while, the state of things feels less cursed and oppressive. 

They often have long, decadent dinners in the back garden, surrounded by the low hum of the bees as they move from sunflower to sunflower (his mother’s favorite). The summer months are coming, which means soon Hoseok will feel a little bit more like himself. Why wouldn’t he want to spend time with someone, to enjoy strawberries straight from the garden and walk along the river with the one he courts? 

All of these things are exactly what he wants. 

Or he used to, anyway. He glances at the mirror above his vanity, his black hair already losing some of its hold despite only being styled a handful of hours ago. Normally, it doesn’t do that. Normally, once set into place, he appears as the precise and put-together person in the room. 

But today, he realizes, is not normal. 

In his lifetime, there has never been a total solar eclipse over his kingdom. Which is why in many ways, today is the beginning of the end, as today he will fulfill his destiny within the prophecy:

On the Eve of day, the day of night,

when the moon fully captures the sun’s light

over the House of the ones who worship the rays, 

will an alliance occur that pleases the fates:

Two kingdoms will gain what they most need

after long years of suffering from past gods’ greed.

From the cliffs off the shore where the sky hangs low, 

will come the fated one crowned with a moonlit halo.

And from the flowering valleys where the rolling hills run, 

will come the destined one crowned with the beams of the sun. 

The shadows shattering during the fifteenth hour

shall bestow these two souls with ultimate power.

The moon stepping forward with nothing to hide

is burdened not by the sin of pride

nor the sun is he plagued by the darkness above, 

but balanced with allegiance, passion, and love.

United these two the fates will regard

with the highest of honor among the stars. 

What was once divided now becomes one, 

with the all sacred moon and almighty sun. 

And together these two blessed by the heavens’ ring, 

will end the curse of the promised false king.

He can recite the entire thing by heart. It is a prophecy that echoes in his oldest memories, ones when he could scarcely understand the phrases coded within, but recognized the cadence of over time as it swirled into words he one day understood. It was read on his tenth birthday as he watched the red wax of his “10” candle slide down the pillar and onto the buttercream frosting of his cake, the red upon white almost looking like blood. It was read at weddings, graduations, all a reminder of the great hope that is to come. 

Even then he knew it to be less of its intended blessing and more of a curse dooming him to follow its guidelines, to be “balanced with allegiance, passion, and love”. Hoseok doesn’t deny that these are traits he has, but he isn’t entirely sure if these are traits he was destined to have, or if through the power of suggestion and pressure over the years, he has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

He looks back in the mirror, scooping a curl off of his face, memorizing the rich brown of his eyes, the even slant of his nose. He knows his ascension isn’t technically supposed to change him, at least not in the ways that are noticeable. All of the royal advisors and lesser gods on the council have assured him, reassured him, and if it’s even possible, over-assured him as such. 

Even his parents have dipped their toes into the conversation, despite always and forevermore being mortal.

It’s not like you’re going to sprout a second head and start devouring the souls of mortals. You are just going to feel different. More powerful. Rightly so. You will be. 

And that’s what concerns him. Not the sprouting of another head or bloodthirst. 

How can things still be the same��how can he still be the same–if he is about to be given power? Not just any power either. This is enough power to end the long-standing drought that wiped out the southeast corner of the Solar Kingdom. A drought so severe that the only thing left in that part of the kingdom is abandoned homes and stories from the Elder gods that prove it was once a vivid place full of diverse life, with lush flora that bore plump, juicy fruits, art, and culture. 

The Elder gods have been around for, well, no one quite knows how long, including them. When asked, they often click their tongue, sipping whatever sparkly alcoholic concoction that fancies them that day before dismissing the curious soul who asks. After a while, time just rolls itself together. You mortals are so obsessed with it. Relax, take it all in. Hundreds, even thousands of years may have passed, but still we eat and drink and dance. 

And from all that eating and drinking and dancing came the many stories about the parts of the kingdom that Hoseok had never heard of, and some he is still sure don’t really exist. How on this planet were there once waterfalls that fell up instead of down, or vines that could bear grapes the size of his head? Over time, he has learned to take what the Elder gods say at face value; they are bored and ancient and looking for something to entertain them. The only reason he knows the southeast corner once had any of these things is because of the ruins. 

When he was young, he was taken there by the royal council and his parents to help him understand the weight of his place in all this, how crucial it was that he rise and grow to end the drought that forced thousands to become displaced and desperate. How better was he to understand the importance of the power he would one day be given than to see how selfishly wielding it only resulted in strife and suffering for all?

The drought is expanding, leeching more from his kingdom by the year. By his twenty ninth birthday, the Great Forest of Solaria, a region two hours south of the capital, known for its tall redwoods and cypresses, has had three sizable forest fires, forcing its people, including Hoseok’s best friend Namjoon, to flee north. Namjoon and his family have been living in the palace for almost a full year. 

But because of this curse, this reign of the nefarious king Mang Shin, who tore down Hoseok’s people and the land around it for his own selfish gain, because of his cruelty that angered the fates, the Solar Kingdom has been managing a worsening drought. How much longer before the capital city can no longer sustain any of its people, when it is no longer a refuge?

His kingdom is not the only one impacted by the cruelty of Mang Shin. The Lunar Kingdom to the northwest is half underwater after high tides that led to flooding. While the capital city of the Solar Kingdom has not directly suffered from the curse of Mang Shin, the Lunar Kingdom’s capital city has not been so lucky. 

A month ago, a large tidal wave capsized the northern end of the city, drowning thousands and destroying a major sea port that was essential to the booming trade industry of the north. From the rumors Hoseok heard, the crown prince was set to be in the district that morning on official business, but was running behind after spending a night out drinking and occupying the brothels in the southern corridor. He would have been washed away in the sea if he were on time. 

Which means all this, all that Hoseok has been procrastinating on attending, has stopped seven times in the short hallway over, would have been for nothing. There would be no end to this curse, only the slow suffering of his actual fate. 

No. The crown prince is in the Great Hall waiting for Hoseok to get his shit together and help restore balance to both kingdoms. A dual coronation. Two princes to become kings of their own kingdoms. The Lunar Kingdom exists as the Solar Kingdom exists. Both need each other now to ensure the longevity of the other. There’s no other destiny than this. 

He pauses in front of the door to his father’s study, grazes his knuckles against the wood of the door. He sighs. 

You have to do this. There’s no other way. 

And just as he thinks to turn, to run, to flee his home and this kingdom and go everywhere and nowhere all at once, the door to his father’s study opens. 

He expects to see the firm set frown of his father, to be given his final lecture and coronet before his father abdicates and Hoseok is the owner of the hefty, ornate crown he has come to despise.

He is not expecting to hear a soft feminine gasp that is very different to the sounds his father makes. Nor is he expecting to see you staring right back at him. 

You’re wearing a long navy gown flecked with what looks like stars shimmering in the glow of the study’s dim light. 

You should be wearing a tiara, or at least some kind of diadem like your mother, whom Hoseok saw this morning when he snuck into the kitchen after skipping the official breakfast. He should have been embarrassed, but she seemed even more so for being there and helping herself to custard cakes that were meant for today’s celebration. 

I won’t tell if you won't, she'd said, her voice tight, possibly from speaking between bites of the creamy custard. Her diadem encrusted with diamonds in the shape of what looked like the constellation Cygnus gleamed in the sunlight that leaked into the kitchen. 

She didn’t care that he hadn’t given your family a proper greeting, and she seemed unbothered by his unwashed and unshaved state. She looked at him like he was just a boy. So he didn’t say a word, just stole a cake for himself and locked himself in his chamber until his mother hunted down Namjoon to let him in and at least convince him to bathe. 

Even informally dressed, your mother wore her head adornment, which is why it is not only odd to see you striding out of his father’s study, but to also see you walking around without anything to signify you are more than just a palace advisor or lady of the court. 

Then again, you were always odd. While your families were not close by any means, their strained allyship and understanding of their dependency on one another meant that Hoseok’s family and your family had met a few times over the years, and each time he was in the vicinity of you, he couldn’t help but notice how out of place you were. 

While your brother commanded the attention of everyone in the room, demanded the world stopped to hear the new song he composed on guitar or rambled on and on about diplomacy and trade relations over a feast, you instead faded into the background of every place you entered, a shadow that cast itself behind the path of her brother’s radiant glow. 

So maybe not wearing a crown isn’t so unexpected when it comes to you. A crown is the opposite of a shadow. It demands everyone look at it, too. And even if you wanted to be looked at– which he assumes is not true given the fact that you’re practically shrinking away from Hoseok as he looks at you now– it doesn’t seem as though your brother would be willing to share the spotlight long enough to even give you the chance. 

He realizes he doesn’t even need to ask what you are doing in his father’s study, he already knows: you are doing what you always do when he sees you, what he suspects you do when he isn’t around too: you made yourself invisible. You often snuck off during your visits here to the library or the palace gardens, returning late in the day with dirt on your skirts or charcoal on your hands. He notices the object that confirms his suspicions: a sketchbook nestled between your fingertips that is staining your inner fingers black. 

“I was just–” you begin, eyes wide as you stammer. “Your father, he said I could be in here. I didn’t touch anything, I was drawing!” You hold the book out in front of you like a shield. 

Hoseok raises his hands up. “Hey, hey, relax. I’m not accusing you of anything!” Your eyes soften a little, but you still remain frozen in the doorway, the sketchbook acting as if it's made of steel, not paper. “Speaking of my father, have you seen him? He said he wants to talk to me before, y’know…the thing.” 

“The thing…” you repeat, finally lowering the book as you knit your brows together. You give him a puzzled look before answering. “Uh, I did. I was sketching him, actually. But he left to go to the Great Hall about ten minutes ago to deal with something urgent. But he said if I saw you to tell you to get your coronet on. It’s in here, on his desk.”

With a flurry, you twirl, heading back into the soft glow of the office behind you. As you turn, a puff of air leaves Hoseok’s chest as he sees the effect your dress has in the shifting light. It’s as if millions of stars are swirling around you, centering you as their moon in a night sky. 

Whoa. 

For a moment, he’s stunned, not entirely sure what he just saw. But then he remembers what he is supposed to be doing, and he follows you like a sailor follows the stars, letting you guide him into the cold room. 

Sure enough on his father’s desk is the coronet, a small box of pins to fasten it into place beside it, and a handwritten note from his father. 

Be extraordinary. 

Or be nothing at all, he finishes mentally. Hoseok’s father has spent all of his life uttering that phrase, placing his very soul behind the words that are supposed to be inspirational. He had learned it from a book at the university he attended when he was a young scholar, coming across it and deciding it suited his philosophy: excel beyond ordinary leadership and be a great ruler to his people. If not, what was the point in being a leader at all?  

This was a phrase that always unsettled Hoseok, because extraordinary measures mean one-upping himself in the process, and that is something his father seemed to push in his youth. Top marks in his class? He then needed to be the top of his class and on the student council. Developed a grant for young dancers to encourage a stronger relationship to the arts from a younger age? He must establish an entire foundation for performing arts within the next five years. Higher and higher he has always been forced to climb, until the clouds once above him are nothing more than wisps of air at his feet. 

And he’s afraid of heights. Of falling from this place where he is held so high in regard and duty he might as well live among the stars. 

He swallows a knot in his throat, taking the note with his father’s message and crumpling it in his fist. 

You, who have been curiously watching him this entire time, raise an eyebrow. Hoseok suddenly feels particularly defensive and on edge from his father’s notice. The king has written it on official letterhead, technically making it Royal business and not familial. It’s not a phrase of encouragement for him to be extraordinary, but an order. 

“What,” he snaps, and immediately regrets it as he watches your face cloud slightly before you regain composure. 

“It’s a pretty morbid saying, isn’t it?” you say thoughtfully after a moment, nodding your head to the balled up piece of paper in his hands. “This idea that if you aren’t always beating yourself then you’re not successful or good enough to rule. But it’s so damning. How can you win when part of you must always lose?” 

Hoseok inhales sharply, the words hitting him hard. But before he can even think to respond, you are scrambling. 

“Exactly,” he says darkly. He takes the coronet in hand. “The thing is, either way you spin this, it’s a loss.” 

You chew your bottom lip for a moment before stepping toward him, reaching for the box of hairpins. “I’m sorry,” you mumble and pluck a pin from the box, gesturing for Hoseok to bend down. 

He isn’t the tallest man in the kingdom by far, and you’re not much shorter, but next to you, he somehow feels huge. Do you have horrible posture or something? He glances over at you, but then he notices that while your head would rest above his shoulder if you moved closer, and your back is perfectly straight–straighter than even he has been trained to stand– it’s not your height that makes you feel so small. It’s everything else. You are a walking optical illusion. In his memories, he had always placed you as half his size, and he finally understands why: it lets you fly under the radar.  

He sighs, placing the coronet upon his head at last, turning over the idea of being under the radar in his mind. Something in him sours, a prick of jealousy flaring up at how you will inevitably spend the rest of the night after the coronation. “Not like you had any part in this. Soon this will all be over and you can go back to hiding in rooms with your sketch pads and books and be invisible to everyone again.”

You flinch at his words, the pin you have begun fastening to his head to steady the crown snags into his scalp. 

“Ouch! What the fuck was that?” Hoseok yelps, and you jolt back, tears brimming your eyes as if you were the one who was just stabbed in the head. 

“Oh, I get it. So you think this is the end of the world for you and the rest of us are just going to go about our merry way like the savior gods have solved all our problems.” Your voice is sharp, unlike anything he has ever heard come from you, and he can see the fury burning into your eyes as tears begin to spill. 

“Have you ever fucking thought about how the rest of us are going to cope with these changes? Yes, I understand the ascension is damnation in its own way, and that this awful fucking curse has plagued our kingdoms for centuries but you’re so selfishly focused on yourself when there are two of you who will share the burden. And the power. Yes, you are vain and self-absorbed but your drought will end. The forest fires will have paved the way for nutrient rich soil and things here will thrive better than they ever have. Your friend Namjoon? He can return to his community and rebuild. And you, Jung Hoseok, you will live on forever in the glory of all that you saved and your stupid ego will be smoothed over with godly power. Power that who knows what the hell you’ll do with. In another thousand years you too will be bored and sighing with the other Elder gods talking about the time you saved us all and embellishing your stories to bring new life into them. 

“And the rest of us? We will be doing all that work for you as you sit on your throne and watch us break our backs to continue to pay for what Mang Shin did. And then we will die. My own best friend died in the floods we had a month ago. And I will die, having only lived a life that is in service to another god. Mang Shin or you or my fucking awful brother–” 

You freeze, realizing your mistake. But Hoseok is seeing red at your accusation. 

“You think I’m just going to be like all those other lazy gods? I want to be nothing like them! Unlike them I care about my home, my people, and family! And you have the audacity to stand in my father’s office and claim that I won’t do the right thing? That I’m in this and moping because of my ego? Oh, fuck you, Y/N! You don’t know the first thing about me. When I walk out of this room and into the Great Hall, I am no longer me. I am the pawn they raised me to be in some game I never want to play. And you, you’re free.” He spits those words at you with a sneer. 

Your nostrils flare and you close the distance between you two. He can feel the heat of your body as you shove it against him, backing him into his father’s desk so he can’t escape. The soft flurry of your gown grazes the back of his left hand. 

“Free?” you say low, your voice dripping with disgust. “Let’s get one thing straight. I am not free. I am invisible. And not by choice, by necessity.” You reach down between you, grabbing one of his wrists and pinching your fingers around it. Then, you grab the other with the same motion and hold them both up to him. “One shackle for being born without the fates’ blessing. That would have been damning enough. An outcast compared to my brother. At least your sister was given some response from the fates upon her birth. Some gift.”

You tighten your hand around the other wrist, your nails digging small crescents into Hoseok’s skin. “The other for being born into a life where I will always be cleaning up the messes of a tyrannical ruler, be it a king who lived a millennia ago or my own brother or a beloved god like you.” 

Hoseok’s stomach drops as you hiss the last word out and he tugs at his wrists to try to free himself from you. He feels as though he’s going to explode. Who the hell do you believe yourself to be? Royalty or not, you know there are rules in place that forbid you both from touching, though those rules were mostly enforced during the time of puberty for the both of you, but there was never an official retraction. If he thinks about it, this is the first time the two of you have ever even touched. And it’s probably for the best. 

He feels like he’s burning under your gaze, a fire hotter than anything he’s ever known. Your fingertips digging into his skin, feel like needles and iron weights under him. In one moment you have gone from being small and frail to fierce and terrifying, the radiant glow of royalty your entire family wears breaks from you as your raw emotion unravels your smooth exterior. 

You are in this moment the furthest thing from invisible and Hoseok’s heart beating wildly as you shift even closer to him tells him so. But Hoseok has trained his entire life for combat, knows how to put mind over matter. So he focuses and with an exhale composes himself, a devilish smirk spreading across his face. 

Your brows knit together, but your hold remains firm. 

“My sister can hold her own. The fates knew that. She was not suited to be a ruler when she had much better skills with people and commerce. That, and they probably knew that she too would lead with some kind of bias.” He snorts. “But you, that really is a shame. Maybe the fates were wrong about you. Maybe they made a mistake in forgetting to give you a gift.” 

You gasp, and he jolts, releasing your hands from his wrists. “Don’t say that. You shouldn’t say that.” 

He knows he shouldn’t. To speak ill of the fates could lead to serious punishment. When born, everyone is visited by the fates during their first long slumber. For most people of good standing, the fates bless them with some type of gift, be it physical wealth, talent, status, or some other quality or characteristic that solidifies them in society.

While there is no set pattern in who the fates often deliver gifts to, in the last few generations, most blessings from the fates are given to those born into nobility. At least for Hoseok, everyone in his family as far back as his great grandfather was given a blessing. His mother had received the precise skill of archery, picking up a bow and arrow as early as seven years old and shooting the target nearly dead center. The only reason she was off was because the bow was too heavy for her. His father was given his intellect, leading to him being a great scholar and general. His sister was given a hand mirror embedded with large rubies. 

All the gifts are left in a pouch tied to the baby’s bassinet. If the gift is not physical, a small note is often attached with an explanation or hint for what will be fulfilled. Some larger gifts may just be laid next to the bassinet, but rarely is it larger than the size of one’s hand. 

For Hoseok, the fates’ gift was a scroll with the prophecy copied to it, along with a gold ring engraved with a sun that he is wearing now. Not too cryptic to interpret. His parents knew from the start who he was. 

Your family, however, is another story. From what Hoseok understands, when your older brother was born, he did not receive such a literal interpretation of the prophecy. Rather, his gift was a monocular that for years people thought was broken. It wasn’t until he once used it while stupidly looking up at the sun that your brother realized the monocular wasn’t broken. 

Instead, it provided a very important film over the lens that allowed him to stare for hours at the sun and not go blind. During the sporadic partial solar eclipses over the years that gave Hoseok chills down his spine, your brother was often on the cliff banks, gazing at the sun flares and embracing his future. 

A monocular meant for solar eclipses. What else could that mean but that he is a fated one? 

As for you, Hoseok heard that the evening of your birth a handful of years later came and went with no blessing. When your parents had woken to find nothing in the pouch or the areas around your bassinet, had asked every palace worker thrice to see if anyone had entered the nursery that evening and everyone had assured that no one had entered and the door that separated the bathroom between you and your brother’s rooms had remained locked, your brother sound asleep, there was nothing left to do but accept that for the first time in generations, your family had ended its line of fated ones with your brother. 

In a way, did it matter? Whether you are blessed or not if your brother is the one who will finally end the curse? Perhaps not. But either way, Hoseok can’t help but feel pissed at the fates today, and wants to poke at them a bit and let him know he isn’t happy with the gift they gave him. 

Sure, no one is supposed to insult them. There are many tales told to children about what happens to those who test their authority, cautionary lessons that warn them not to misbehave or they will suffer greatly. It is, after all, the result of Mang Shin’s own challenging and disrespecting the fates that caused all of this anyway. 

But right now Hoseok doesn't have a single fuck to give about what they decided anyone is destined for. How they “always choose wisely.” That doesn’t make sense to him. The fates can’t be perfect, can they? In all things. Including you. 

Especially you, he realizes. Because he would be foolish to write you off as a boring nobody, even if that is the mask you wear. 

“Why not? Why shouldn’t I be pissed at them and question them? If they have decided this is a burden I must shoulder forever, then let me have my doubts! I’m actually disgusted by the fact that no one has ever questioned my role in this. A savior of an entire kingdom! Me? The one who broke into the armory and stole fireworks to launch on my eighteenth birthday?” 

Which, had been an awful idea. The fireworks had been locked away because of their tendency to cause fires. And with that winter having much less snow than ever before, the farmland he had drunkenly lit those fireworks in was full of dead, dry brambles. The perfect kindling. 

His transgression cost the kingdom millions. He was lucky there was no wind that day to carry the fire across the creek the farm jutted up to. But the fire did enough damage to burn that entire farm’s crops for that year. 

You snort. “Yes, well I think your accidental arson doesn’t alter your favor with the fates.” You gesture for him to bend again to finally pin on his coronet. The angry steam trapped inside his chest is starting to lessen. In some way, it just feels good to have said it out loud. 

So he obeys and lets you change the subject as you work. “Why did you want the fireworks anyway?” 

Hoseok stills, wanting to avoid another stabbing. Your fingers are more nimble this time, sweeping gently through his scalp before securing the pins. As you make your adjustments, your pinky skims the shell of his ear. 

It’s that tenderness that prompts him to answer honestly. “I was sad, or rather mad that in an entire ballroom full of people celebrating, I had never felt so alone in my whole life. It didn’t feel like they were celebrating me, but this idea of us getting closer to the end of the suffering. Another year passing means another year closer to when we could more accurately predict the eclipse, if it was actually going to be a total one and pass directly above us. So my birthday became this symbol of hope I guess.” 

You hum in response, a quiet prompt asking him to continue. He feels your fingers adjusting the pins in the back, gentle, oh so gentle. His eyes fall closed, trying to focus instead on his story. 

“I should be happy about that, right? To be this symbol of hope for everyone. But I didn’t want that. I never wanted to become a symbol of something over being a person, and that seems to be what all this ever is. I had come to realize it at the time, and wanted to rebel, to do something for myself for my birthday instead of being in service to others. 

“So I broke into the armory while everyone was dancing, said I needed a moment to relieve myself. The guard was easily bribed by a strong glass of whisky I claimed wasn’t to my taste and the smell of the feast in the hall. I told him I would find the captain to have him guard his post while he went to enjoy the celebration.” 

He hears you chuckle, an infectious, feathery sound that piques his interest. He wonders how often you laugh at things. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard you do so before. 

He smirks. “Yeah, he didn’t think twice about that. Why would the well-behaved, diplomatic prince try to break into the armory during his birthday celebration? Once he was out of sight I walked right in and grabbed what I was looking for. Ditched the ball, grabbed a bottle of whisky and went to drown my sorrows. The rest was history. I barely got to look up and enjoy the fireworks before I saw the fire begin. And by that point I was too drunk to walk straight to even know what to do. I couldn’t run fast enough to stomp it out and I didn’t have any water with me. So I just stood and watched it all burn before me.” 

Your fingers stroke the coronet in Hoseok’s hair and then he feels them fall, your fingertips combing through it, nails sometimes scraping against his scalp. It’s so soothing, grounding to him, and he inhales deeply as your hands weave around him, one side and then the other, as if you are guiding every hair, every part of him back into place. 

“That’s when I started to really wonder if the fates got it all wrong with me. Because I can cause so much damage so quickly if I’m not careful. And selfishly too. What I did, that was because I couldn’t let people see me as this symbol of something that I’m not even sure I represent And if I have power? What if I use it wrong?” 

“You’re right. I am vain and selfish to be complaining about this stuff when I’m lucky. I got to go on a bender and blow up a bunch of illegal arsenal and the most I got was a stern finger waggle because I’m a ‘fated one’. And once this is all over, I don’t know. I’m probably not going to be the king everyone thinks I’m going to be. And I’ll fight like hell but I’m terrified that I’m going to be different. That somehow the second I’m blessed with this power I’m going to wield it to hurt others, to be that same selfish asshole of a child that I was.” 

He feels your hand pause, and opens his eyes. Your eyes meet, and your hand falls from his head, returning into your orbit as you cross your arms in front of you. 

“But you didn’t mean for that to happen, Hoseok. None of that. I don’t think the fates are going to fault you for a mistake like that, and I don’t think they made the wrong choice for a human acting as a human. And even when you’re a god, I don’t know. You’ll probably make mistakes too, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be cruel.”

You sigh. “I’m sorry I said that about you. I…you’re not like him, Mang Shin. You aren’t going to be this lazy ruler or probably even a bad one. Because you care. Didn’t you repair the damage to the barn yourself?” 

He nods.   

“That really speaks more to your character than whatever air of diplomacy you think you need to have. And the same for your power that you’ll receive. The ascension doesn’t make you invincible, but it just amplifies the qualities you have. And you don’t have malice in you to burn down an entire farm.

“My brother however? I think if he was in your position, he would have argued the fire was the farm’s fault for not sprinkling the crops with a fire retardant or something. Or, if he wasn’t getting the attention he wanted, that might have made him so furious that he spread the fire beyond the farm on purpose. One time when we were younger, he received awful marks on an exam he admittedly did not study for, and when our tutor scolded him for it and wagged his finger in his direction, he bit the tip of his finger clean off. And he smiled as he did it.” 

Hoseok blanches. He has heard that your brother wasn’t the most savory of people, some of the people of the Solar kingdom having encountered him during the royal family’s visitations. Hoseok himself knows that he’s rude and narcissistic, often interrupting during their different conversations to talk about himself or scowl at the palace workers as they try to serve his meals. Particular, they always describe the Lunar Prince. He is not a bad man, just very particular. 

More like entitled, and borderline ruthless, Hoseok thinks to himself. 

“Your brother sounds very...particular,” he says instead of what he’s actually thinking.

You roll your eyes. “I hate that fucking word,” you mutter, uncrossing your arms and stepping back to look at Hoseok. You click your tongue once and then nod in approval. The coronet must be even. 

“What word would you use instead?” Hoseok whispers, taking a step toward you. 

This conversation feels private, and no matter how private his father’s study feels, he doesn’t want the physical distance between the two of you as you share more intimate thoughts. 

You hesitate. Your eyes flash to his, and then he can see the well of tears brimming up into your eyes once more. “Does it really matter anyway? A monster, a tyrant, an asshole. He’s going to be king, a god, regardless of how I describe him. And it would be treasonous, not to mention unwise, to question the decision of the fates. If he hears what I think, I’ll suffer worse. But everyone chooses to see something in him clearly that I do not, gifted him that monocular and wrote him into the prophecy to seal it. He is a fated one. And regardless of what you think or what I think, that’s how it’s going to be. I wasn’t gifted with anything. I’ll admit that I’m not looking forward to this transition and how messy it'll be. I spent most of my youth cleaning up his small messes and I’m sure I’ll be doing the big ones now. But I’m trying to make peace with it, I don’t have much of a choice.” 

A renewed anger boils in Hoseok. “So your way of handling and accepting all of this, the fact that your brother is about to receive hoards of untapped power that might teeter your kingdom into oblivion, is by being invisible? By throwing your life away? How is that supposed to be helpful?”

You jerk away, the small distance between you growing larger as your dress glitters in a spotlight, casting refractions of it onto the walls and bookshelves all around you. In every pocket of the dark room, there’s a part of you shifting yourself onto everything else, including Hoseok. He opens his palm where the refraction casts, almost as though he’s holding a part of your light in his hand. 

But just as soon as you’re in the light, you’re out of it, the refraction gone, and you into the shadows. 

He steps forward, tries to cross the distance once more, but the intimate moment of secrets is gone, and stops him in his tracks. He can tell he has struck a wound by the sharp laugh that blares from your chest. It sounds nothing like the one he heard before. 

“What am I supposed to do exactly? Go waltz in there and scream to the fates that he’s the wrong choice and we are all doomed? Demand he surrender his title and not accept this gift? Do you think anyone would even listen to me if I were to raise such doubt? I would be exiled before the eclipse reaches totality. 

“I’m no one Hoseok. Not to my kingdom, certainly not my parents or brother. I’m simply here to put as much of a wedge between the blows my brother deals and the people of my kingdom who will receive it. And as far as how I’ll handle it, I have two options: I can continue as I am now, cleaning up the mess. Or I can re-enter the shadows of life and marry the Duke of Nebula and leave the Lunar Kingdom forever.  Didn’t you say so yourself that I am free because of my position? That I am unburdened with the sense of duty that you are? Maybe you should think less about me and more about what you’re going to do after all this is over.” 

You turn away from him, the skirt of your dress rustling as you try to make your escape, to leave him without the last word. 

No, he thinks. Not like this. He has spent enough of his life not having the last word when it comes to matters about him. 

Fury licks through his veins. He feels heat rush through his face, the tips of his ears, the tingling part of his scalp you were touching mere minutes ago. No, this conversation isn’t over until he says it is. He stalks over to you as you reach for the door handle, grabbing your wrist in his palm, tugging it over your head as he shoves your back against the door, trapping you. 

You release the air in your chest with a huff, your other hand coming to fight him off. But he’s faster. Again, he’s trained his whole life to do this. He easily pins your other wrist above you. 

“So that’s it? Your two choices are to marry some old wrinkled Duke or stay as your brother’s punching bag.” 

He scoffs. You struggle against his hold. 

“That’s none of your business! Let go of me!” you growl, tugging, ragged breaths heaving your chest. 

“No,” Hoseok says. “I’m not done. If I’m going to walk out of here and take on the burdens of the world, then I’m going to at least spend the last moments of my mortal life ensuring you don’t waste yours. You have a choice in all of this freedom and you’re choosing wrong. The worst fucking things you can possibly choose. Consider it my first act of diplomacy as king.” 

You angle your head up to him, your brows furrowed. “Then please, your majesty, enlighten me as to what you would choose for me, since you feel so inclined to do so.” 

Your body is just as heated under Hoseok as he is now, a sheen of perspiration blooming in your décolletage. Both of you are boiling in your anger. Yet you take it a step further, widening your stance and looping one leg behind him to try and find the weak spot behind his knees. 

You succeed, his leg slipping and tangling itself in the skirt of your dress. Rather than break the hold he has on you, however, he falls forward, his forearms falling to either side of your head, his body now fully leaning into you.  

Under any other circumstance, Hoseok would immediately untangle himself, apologize, blush at the embarrassment of his body colliding with another, especially with it being taboo in the law. But this time he doesn’t. And as you struggle against him, he can feel your soft thigh brush against the front of his trousers, sending a lap of heat to his cock. It’s almost dizzying how hot it is in the study now. The room is kept at a cool temperature to ensure the books don’t warp from humidity. 

Which means the heat that is scorching through his veins is from the two of you creating it. He pulls a deep breath into his chest, trying to focus on finishing this conversation, on his frustration with you for being so careless with yourself. 

“If I was free like you, without the universe waiting for me outside my door, I wouldn’t be hiding in the cold shadows hoping no one noticed me. I would be out in the world, discovering all the things I’ve been denied.” 

He adjusts himself against you, and as he does so, his thigh lands between your legs, resting at the crook of where they meet. A sharp intake of breath crests from you, and your eyes meet, your gaze hard.

“Like what?” you ask. “What exactly would you be chasing instead of denying yourself?”

Hoseok smirks, knowing he’s trapped you in this conversation. He really has been trained well. “Pleasure,” he says, and your eyes widen.

“What?”

“You heard me, Y/N. Pleasure. You think you’re going to find that with the Duke of Nebula? He’s so ancient, I doubt he could even get it up. And even if he still can, god what a bore he would be. He’s sired enough children in his lifetime, and can't be expected to run around and play with or care for any of the ones you would give him. 

“So you would either be sitting around just the two of you for the rest of his life–gods hoping it wouldn’t be much longer–or you would be raising his children practically by yourself. They would have no status either, too far down on the family chain to have any standing. Which means you would rot in that place until you found another man to marry. And that would be your life. What a waste of your potential. You’re young, beautiful, intelligent, and throwing your life away.” 

He clicks his tongue. “Pleasure you wouldn’t find with him. Maybe even the next guy. So why sign yourself up for any of that when you don’t have to? When you can feel alive while you’re alive and feel good. Know ecstasy, your joints coming loose in your body, fuc–”

“I’m not a virgin, Hoseok. I know what pleasure feels like,” you spit. Hoseok’s eyes flash. He licks his lips. 

“Do you really?” he whispers. “Do you know how it feels to really fuck for the sake of pleasure, Y/N? Of letting someone else hold the reins of your undoing and pulling them so taught you think you’re going to snap, only to finally give you what you truly need and set you free over the edge?” 

You shiver underneath him, closing your eyes. Good, he thinks. You’re listening, separating yourself from the rule-bound life you shouldn’t be bound to. 

“What is it you really want, Y/N? What is it that you’re denying yourself of having? Of taking?” 

“Nothing,” you whimper. 

“Liar,” Hoseok grins. “You want so much more than this. You’re too much of a dreamer. Tell me, what do you want?” 

“It’s none of your business,” you pant, though he can feel it, your resistance of your hold slipping. 

“No, it’s not. But I’ll trade you. Your secret, your dreams for mine.” 

You meet his gaze again, and Hoseok sees the shimmer in your eyes, curiosity blooming as you fall foolishly into his trap.

“Fine,” you yield. His grin spreads even further. He knows he probably looks deranged, but he can’t help it. He’s come this far. If the world is ending after this, he wants to know he at least spent his last moments of humanity trying to help someone else hold onto theirs. 

“I want things that don’t matter. To be a mother someday. I want to write and sketch and sit in an open garden where I can stare at the sky from morning to night, counting all the stars over and over again and laughing when I lose count. I want laughter the most. For someone to pull it from me in the darkness. To bottle the feeling he gives me and fall asleep in his arms. I want to feel warm, like this, because it always feels so cold and lonely out here. And I’d miss home, but I want to leave it because it’s just as cold there during the summer winds than it is on the most mild winter days. And I want pleasure. Fuck, I need pleasure. I would divide up the universe for it. I want to feel alive as I do at this moment. Electricity, fire and ice all at once. I want to be taken and held, fucked, devoured as if I matter.” 

You drag your hips up, and Hoseok gasps as you move yourself against his thigh, against what is now his throbbing erection. 

He feels it too. Electricity. Fire. Ice. All at once. So he grinds his hips back down into you, giving you more pressure as he releases some of his. This is humanity, he thinks to himself. This is what I fear losing when I ascend. 

He stops that thought there, buries it under the mountain of stability and refinement he’s been trained to put in its place.  

“Fuck,” you hiss. 

Hoseok releases your wrists, looking at your blown out pupils. He expects you to move away, but as your arms fall from over your head, they find hold on his biceps, steadying yourself as you move with each other. 

“You owe me yours,” you say breathlessly and Hoseok laughs, his voice light and airy in his chest. 

“You just want to know my dirty thoughts,” he teases and you dig your nails into his biceps, pinching him in warning. 

More. I need more. Before all of this is gone.

He laughs again at the challenge. “Okay, okay, fine. If I dream of freedom like you, I dream of excitement. Sailing away to cities we know nothing of, learning about the people there. Dancing different dances in the street and eating foods I never would have thought I would taste. Losing days to pleasure instead of deciding what treaty needs to be signed, what law approved. Lazy mornings where I lick every inch of my lover.” 

Hoseok leans in then and as if he is pulling you into his dream, licks a long strip down your neck, the salty dampness thrusting his hips sharper into yours. You moan. 

Something in him shifts, a desperate need to hear it again. So he lathes his tongue along your neck and collarbone, sucking sharply on the skin after. 

“Shit,” you rasp. 

“Yes. That’s it. This is what you are missing out on, Y/N, pleasure.” He ruts against you. “I bet under those skirts you’re absolutely dripping, aren’t you? Isn’t this what you want?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then take it honey. Give yourself what you want.” He pulls back slightly, enough to keep his thigh firmly for you to use, and he sees the lust in your heavy eyelids, welcoming more of him into your orbit. He dips his head again, this time his tongue exploring the cleft between your breasts that peeks out over your dress. He hears you sigh, and hums in satisfaction. 

He feels alive, not like those dinners with his family or sunsets in summer. This is different, a type of freedom he has never experienced before. Yes, he’s fucked people, he’s had fantastic sex in scandalous places, has known the thrumming of his pulse under his skin as he worked his body over another. But that was sex, and the two of you are still clothed, just exploring each other’s bodies. 

It dawns on him. Is this what freedom is supposed to feel like? 

He chases after the feeling, addicted now, teeth grazing along your breasts as you shiver below him, your hands leaving his biceps to pull through his hair, to cup the back of his neck to keep him steady. 

“It could always be like this, if you wanted. Those sweet sighs, long days where you lie back and stare at the clouds and stars while coming undone on my mouth.” He presses back and you let him rise, where he fixes his gaze on your mouth. 

You lick your lips, drawing him forward. 

“We could forget the whole world and just be free,” he says, his lips resting mere millimeters away from yours. 

And just as he moves in to claim them, Hoseok feels your hand on his chest, shoving him back. He recoils, pulling himself away to see your incredulous stare. 

“We can’t just forget the whole world,” you say, and Hoseok takes a deep inhale, feeling the natural cold of the study quickly overtaking the heat in his body. 

What happened? Weren’t you both on the same page?

“Why,” he asks. “Why not for a little while?”

“Why? Hoseok, look around us. What are we doing?” 

He obeys, the gray walls of the study a dull reminder of reality. He looks back at you. 

“I thought we were giving each other what we wanted,” he argues. “I thought you were finally understanding how much better things can be if you don’t keep pretending you don’t matter. Because you do.” 

He takes a step forward again but you push him back again, harder. 

Your face falls. “But I don’t.” You take a deep breath, pushing off the door and adjusting your dress. “Because what you are describing isn’t real. You said so yourself. It’s a dream. When we walk through those doors, you will be seated on the dais, waiting for the sun and moon to converge and to take your rightful place as a leader. And I will be standing in the crowd, watching you and my brother ascend and break this curse. I will not have the power to divide the universe for pleasure or anything else. I will go back to my kingdom, stare out at the cliff’s edge. Marry someone, maybe not the Duke, but someone and I’ll try to be happy. To live within my means. This is what the fates decided.” 

Another jolt of reality slaps against him. 

“Fuck the fates!” Hoseok roars, slamming his fist into the nearby bookshelf, toppling a few onto the floor. “Stop giving them this much power over us! To decide everything, to rip away the things we want!”

“Stop trying to assume you know what I want!” You yell back. “You don’t! You don’t know me! Stop trying to blame the fates for the world we live in! This is it! This is what we have. And we can’t play pretend that it could ever be any different. There are too many factors, too many risks. You said so yourself you care too much about your people to not do anything, so this feverish, desperate attempt at divorcing yourself from your reality needs to end.

“I’m sorry I fed into it even for a moment. I should have known better. I know it’s scary! I know this is fucking awful. A half an hour ago you were ready to dig your own grave over the reality of things. But that doesn’t mean we just…run from it!” 

“I’m not running! Gods, I’m sorry I just wanted to find some other way to make our bleak reality feel better. So that when I walk into the Great Hall and stand before your monstrous brother, as I let my entire world shift beneath me, I could have something to ground me from what is to come. Do you feel it, too? That feeling of hope that things could be different? Of feeling alive? There’s hope in these dreams we have and–”

“And they’re dreams, Hoseok! They aren’t real!” 

He feels like he’s been flayed open and then dragged through a pile of glass. He can see you drawing the curtain on yourself, going back into that hiding spot that he only just coaxed you from. 

You scoff. “What, you fucking me in a field will somehow fix all of this? Suddenly I will be healed and you won’t become an immortal god slated to stop the end of the world as we know it?” 

Hoseok sucks in a breath. His cheeks heat with embarrassment. Why did he let it go this far?

No, no you were just as much a part of this as him. “You didn’t seem to mind the idea of me fucking you a few minutes ago as you grinded against my thigh,” he says through gritted teeth. 

“Don’t try and act like you didn’t want this too.” 

“Stop! Stop assuming you know what I want!” 

“Stop pretending that no one could ever understand what you want! Stop denying yourself of a life you could be living!”

Your hands clench into fists, and you close your eyes, drawing breath in and out. 

“You know what Hoseok? I feel bad for you. Truly, I do. This is going to be a long road ahead and I know you feel like you don’t have a choice. But that doesn’t mean you get to choose for me. We are both imprisoned by something greater than us. Damned to be pawns in the universe’s game. But you need to get it through your head. This is fate. Like it or not. It’s time we stop dreaming about things that will never be real.”

His stomach sours, the music echoing down the hallway flooding his ears with an awful tinny ring. Somewhere inside me, the steady mountain of rock he’s steeled himself under cracks.

“Don’t say that.” 

You are looking down, though he can hear from the shakiness in your voice you’re on the verge of crying again. “Dreaming is nice, isn’t it? It’s a break from reality. A moment we get to feel alive. But at some point, we have to wake up.” 

“Stop.” He feels the fight leave him as the words lance from his throat, all the heaviness of the world that he’s been fated to carry bursting from him, toppling pillar after pillar, rock after rock among him. 

“I’m sorry,” you cry. “This is just how it is. You have to be extraordinary. I have to be invisible.”

That goddamn phrase is like pouring acid on his open wounds. You’re doing this on purpose, he realizes. Adding to his agony and he doesn’t know why. 

“Fuck you,” he spits, a knot forming in his throat as he tries to hold back his tears. “Fucking get out of my sight.” 

You reach for the door handle, turning it and opening it a crack. 

Bright light bursts forward, almost knocking Hoseok down. He can no longer see your face in the shock of it, just the glimmer of your gown as it captures the beams of the sun, using the very thing he will soon rule to blind him.  

“I know you think you’re not worthy of this. Or that you can’t do it. But you can. I was there on your birthday. Maybe I was too good of a shadow or you were too drunk to remember. But you saw me as you snuck out, begged me not to say anything. So I didn’t. And I watched the fireworks from the window. Saw the spark that caught the fire. And Hoseok,” he can hear a smile in your voice. “At no point did I ever stop thinking it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” 

If there were any more rocks left in the mountain, they’ve now buried Hoseok alive under them. The fury and fight left extinguishes. With his eyes finally adjusting to the brightness, he watches you walk out of the dark study, toward the Great Hall, never looking back.

The rage that licks at him starts to fall away, the dullness of the room now more familiar and steadying.

After a few moments, he composes himself, sliding the mask of allegiance, passion, and love back into place over his crumpled spirit. You are right. This is just how it is.  

When he steps into the light, a flicker of something on the wall catches his eye, and he realizes it’s a refraction of light like the ones you caused in the study. But you’re nowhere to be found in the hallway. Puzzled, he looks down at himself, his chest tightening at the realization. 

The glitter of your dress has transferred onto him, a large concentration of it along his crotch, but it’s everywhere, even in his hair. In a flurry, he tries to brush it off, to not draw suspicion from other party goers about you two humping like wild animals in his father’s study. But he realizes it’s useless. 

You’ve left your mark on him and he can’t get rid of it. As he catches his glimmering reflection in the window, Hoseok can’t help but think that he looks like he’s covered in stars. 

©2024 by jooniperbonsai

[elminx]

Energy Update: July 2024

July is a “6” Universal Month [7 (July) + 8 (2024) = 15 = 1 + 5 = 6] in an “8” Universal Year. Six months are connective and somewhat comforting; we tend to reconnect with our Others after the rough conflicts of the “5” month that came before. This is somewhat at odds with the month’s transits, which are pushing us forward and outward. We are in the liminal phase where something has ended, but the new beginning hasn’t happened yet; not really.

The Set Up

We begin the month with the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Cancer, Mars and Uranus in Taurus, Jupiter in Gemini, retrograde Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Pluto in Aquarius. When you include our North Node and Chiron sitting in Aries, we still have a long line of planetary activation stretching from the last signs of the horoscope (Aquarius and Pisces) through the first signs of the horoscope (Aries through Cancer). After this month, the cluster will break, but for now, we are still stuck in this in-between energy.

By the end of July, the Sun and Venus will have moved on into Leo, Mercury will have moved all the way through Leo and onto Virgo (starting the pre-shadow phase of its next retrograde cycle), and Mars will enter Gemini. Additionally, Neptune will retrograde at 29° Pisces.

The Nitty Gritty

There is a notable lack of major planetary aspecting during July because all of our personal planets are still so closely stacked together. Instead, we see repeat activation between these planets and the lunar nodes in Aries. Cancer is the midway point between our North Node in Aries and our South Node in Libra, and we are at a turning point late in this lunar cycle. We have one last set of eclipse to get through before our nodes switch to Pisces-Virgo with the new year, and it’s starting to show. This is crunch time – whatever has been coming up in our lives around the themes of independence (Aries) versus codependence (Libra) is coming to a head.

We are experiencing these nodal hits thrice over: the first time through a sextile while the planets are in Gemini, a second time in square while they are in Cancer, and a third time in trine while they transit Leo. Things will be easier and then more difficult and easier again. But easy, when it comes to the lunar nodes, is really just a matter of perspective. The lunar nodes can be read as a compass pointing in the sky, away from the South Node’s current position and towards the North Node’s current position. Where the North Node is needs work – it is where we are heading.

Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up for debate. The lunar nodes happen to us—they create the eclipse cycles that enact the greatest moments of change in our lives. Like the influence of the outer planets, eclipse cycles are beyond our comprehension; at best, we can control how we react to them.

In essence, the days of nodal activation throughout the month (of which there are many) are days to watch out for. Let’s take a neutral stance here—eclipses help when we need doors opened but can also slam doors shut that we shouldn’t walk through. If you are on top of things and paying attention, you can use days like this to determine where your life is headed. Eyes wide open is the name of the game all month long.

Lunar Nodal Activation Dates:

7/2 – Sun in Cancer square the lunar nodes, 7/9 – Mercury in Leo trine the North Node in Aries/sextile the South Node in Libra, 7/12 – Jupiter in Gemini sextile the North Node in Aries/trine the South Node in Libra, 7/19 – Venus in Leo trine the North Node in Aries/sextile the South Node in Libra

Each of these dates will be highly liminal (7/2, especially as it is also the date that Neptune stations retrograde) and can be used for divination, pathworking, dreaming, and other magics with which this type of energy is naturally augmented. Stare aware of what happens to you during this time and believe it. Sometimes, difficult truths are revealed through lunar node activation; looking them straight in the eye is better than burying your head in the sand.

Likewise, Chiron – our Wounded Healer – is also in Aries and will be our other major player of the month. To gain a better perspective, we should take a wider step away and discuss how these move around the horoscope wheel. Chiron, like our planetary bodies, moves forward through the horoscope wheel while our North Node, as a mathematical point in the sky, moves backward through the signs. These two have already met and passed each other – Chiron is nearing the end of the Aries, and The North Node is nearing the beginning. This has made Aries (and, by default, the other cardinal signs) the seat of change in the world right now. And since it’s Aries, it is quite the hot seat.

I’ve written a lot about how this whole era we’re in has a major theme of “change before you have to,” which is running afoul of our very human urge to do the exact opposite of our best interests.

There’s a line between standing up for ourselves, allowing each other to BE ourselves, and being a collective that sees each other and cares for the whole that we’re just not getting right. This long-term opposition between the North Node and Chiron in Aries and the South Node in Libra fully represents this in the skies. Whatever this story means to you – whether you’ve been seeing it in the news, experiencing it personally in your life, or ignoring it all together; this chapter of it is ending.

And it fucking hurts. Let’s take a minute to stop and acknowledge the very real pain that most of us (I suspect it’s all of us) are feeling. The aloneness of the quarantine – that was Chiron in Aries. The way that it’s been triggering you every time you realize that your parents don’t actually see you as a separate human being – that’s this whole opposition coming into play. Has your friend group completely fallen apart? South Node in Libra. Has your relationship? Same. We can infer that, in general, what the South Node removes is for the greater good, but with Chiron so involved, it does not feel this way.

If every fiber of your being hurts, you are right on time. And I’m sorry. As somebody who has Chiron on my Ascendant, I can attest to how much it sucks to have to feel all of the pain that Chiron brings to the party.

We’ve got about six more months of this intense Chiron action interconnected with the lunar nodes, and then the nodes will move on. Sure, we all need to sit with this Chiron in Aries energy for another couple of years, but it won’t be involved in our eclipse cycles any longer. That will be a huge relief.

I can also say that, like eclipse/Node energy, Chiron is best faced with your eyes wide open. Chiron is the cosmic reminder that shit is compost and all decaying matter feeds life once more. Fields need to lie fallow. Pain is a signal that can be followed to a source. Sometimes, it’s faulty wiring. Sometimes, you can even replace that wiring. This tends to take a lot of self-compassion, and there doesn’t seem to be much going around – do what you can. Treat yourself like your favorite pet or houseplant.

Chiron days to stay aware of:

7/6 – Venus in Cancer square Chiron in Aries, 7/15 – Sun in Cancer square Chiron in Aries, 7/18 Mercury in Leo trine Chiron, 7/30 – Venus in Leo trine Chiron

All of these dates could be used for healing magic of all kinds.

This month, our big day to look out for is 7/15, when Mars conjuncts Uranus at 26° Taurus. This is an accident waiting to happen, so don’t do anything stupid. Avoid unnecessary travel, don’t play with fireworks, etc. The Sun is square to Chiron all day, too, so it has the potential to really hurt. This isn’t a reason to panic – this is an astrological weather report; whereas some days you might need to bring an umbrella, this is the kind of day where you might want to stay inside. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Our day to look forward to for the month is our full moon on 7/21, which is a true astrological blue moon – meaning it’s the second moon in a row in the sign of Capricorn. This is highly auspicious and doubly so because we also have two new moons in Capricorn this year (one in January and another in December!). Sitting at 29° Capricorn, it will call in a lot of the energy of Pluto, who is sitting at 00° Aquarius, inching its way back toward Capricorn one last time.

Again, note the intense cardinal sign activation that is happening all month. This full moon will also tie in Chiron in Aries through a wider square. Heads up to anybody with their lights or personal planets in late Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn – now can be your time if you can get through the pain enough to see the change. Y’all are stubborn folks, so I have faith in your capabilities.

This moon, along with the full moon on 6/21 at 01° Capricorn, are great days to do any long-form intentional work towards money, finances, career, or any task that involves structure. Work with the moon’s cycles here: where do you want to be in six months when the moon is new in Capricorn once more? But stay aware that Saturn will crash your party whether you invite them or not, so you might as well extend an official invitation.

The numerology of this full moon is 5/2. [0 (Capricorn Moon) + 4 (Cancer Sun) = 14 = 1+4 = 5. 5 (Capricorn full moon) + 6 (July 2024) = 11 = 1+1 =2.] There’s a chance to break a cycle (5) that can become the start of something new (2).

Our new moon on 7/5 is at 14° Cancer and should be more low-key. The moon is in its home in the sign of the crab, making this day especially lunar and watery. If ever there was a day to wash wash wash it all away – either with a mop or the ocean waves, it is a Cancer Moon. The numerology of the day is 8/5 [4 (Cancer Moon) + 4 (Cancer Sun) = 8. 8 (Cancer New moon) + 6 (July 2024) = 14 = 1+4 = 5.] The innate 8 energy echoes that of the moving tides; it ebbs and flows. We see the echo of the 5 energy of change and movement throughout this month.

Otherwise, the seasons shift as we move deeper into summer energy all month. There’s an echo of egoic Leo energy in the air all month long as all three of our more moveable personal planets move through the sign of the lion. It’s summer when, most of all, we really start to feel ourselves. Remember, this isn’t a bad thing. Do a bit of magic to remind yourself how much of a badass you are. As a little treat.

Neptune will retrograde, but we won’t really notice as it’s so slow-moving anyway. We need to keep an eye on Mercury, though, as it is whipping through the summer signs before its mid-summer retrograde. The crossover from Fixed to Mutable signs is highlighted here as Mercury will retrograde from 04° Virgo to 21° Leo starting in early August. Be aware. I will be writing more about this soon.

Months that begin with the sign of the crab on the horizon are usually emotional and moody, and this is no exception. Remember that it’s okay to tread water when things get too deep, and you can let the rip current take you – eventually, it will let you go, and you can swim to shore. It’s when you fight it that things can go really wrong, really quickly.

Practice your very best self-care. Treat yourself with the same kindness that you would your most loved Other. If you’ve got anything left after that, extend it to as many of your Others as you can.

The Details

7/2 – Sun in Cancer square the lunar nodes in Aries/Libra, Mercury in Cancer trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Mercury enters Leo, Venus in Cancer trine retrograde Saturn in Pisces, Neptune retrogrades 29° Pisces 7/3 – Mercury in Leo opposed retrograde Pluto in Capricorn 7/5 – New moon 14° Cancer, Mars in Taurus sextile retrograde Saturn in Pisces 7/6 – Venus in Cancer square Chiron in Aries 7/8 – Mercury in Leo sextile Jupiter in Gemini, Venus in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus 7/9 – Mercury in Leo trine North Node in Aries/sextile South Node in Libra 7/10 – Sun in Cancer trine retrograde Saturn in Pisces 7/11 – Venus in Cancer trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Venus enters Leo 7/12 – Venus in Leo opposed retrograde Pluto in Aquarius, Jupiter in Gemini sextile North Node in Aries/trine South Node in Aquarius 7/15 – Mars conjunct Uranus 26° Taurus, Sun in Cancer square Chiron in Aries 7/16 – Mercury enters their pre-retrograde shadow 21° Leo 7/18 – Mercury in Leo trine Chiron in Aries, Sun in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus 7/19 – Venus in Leo trine North Node in Aries, sextile South Node in Libra 7/20 – Mars in Taurus sextile retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Mars enters Gemini 7/21 – Full moon 29° Capricorn, Sun in Cancer trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Mercury in Leo square Uranus in Taurus, Venus in Leo sextile Jupiter in Gemini, Mars in Gemini trine retrograde Pluto in Aquarius 7/22 – Sun enters Leo 7/25 – Sun in Leo sextile Mars in Gemini, Mercury enters Virgo 7/30 – Venus in Leo trine Chiron in Aries

Do you like my work? You can support me over on Kofi by tipping me, signing up to be a monthly supporter, or commissioning me to write an astrology report for you. (I also have art for sale if that's more your speed)

[the-mortuary-witch]

2024 WITCHES CALENDAR

Here's a handy list of the 2024 dates for the solstices, quarter days, and full and new moons.

Dates and times for all events are calculated for Central Daylight Time, Canada, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed and check the DarkSky Placefinder to see what special events will be visible in your area. Post credit for this goes to @breelandwalker

SOLSTICES, HARVESTS, AND QUARTER DAYS

• February 1-2 - Imbolc / Candlemas

• March 19 - Spring Equinox / Ostara

• April 30-May 1 - Beltane / May Day

• June 20 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer / Litha

• August 1 - Lughnasadh / Lammas / Summer Harvest

• September 22 - Autumn Equinox / Mabon / Fall Harvest

• October 31 - Samhain / Halloween / Final Harvest

• December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule

FULL MOONS:

• January 25 - Wolf Moon ♒

• February 24 - Snow Moon ♓

• March 25 - Worm Moon ♈

• April 23 - Pink Moon ♉

• May 23 - Flower Moon ♊

• June 21 - Strawberry Moon ♋

• July 21 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♋

• August 19 - Sturgeon Moon ♌

• September 17 - Harvest Moon ♍

• October 17 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon) ♎

• November 15 - Frost Moon (or Beaver Moon) ♏

• December 15 - Cold Moon (Black Moon) ♐

NEW MOONS:

• January 11 ♑

• February 9 ♒

• March 10 ♓

• April 8 ♈

• May 7 ♉

• June 6 ♊

• July 5 ♋

• August 4 ♌

• September 2 ♍

• October 2 ♎

• November 1 ♏

• December 1 ♐

• December 30 (Black Moon) ♑

SPECIAL CELESTIAL EVENTS:

• January 3-4 - Quadrantids meteor shower peak

• March 25 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

• April 8 - Total solar eclipse

• April 22-23 - Lyrids meteor shower peak

• May 6-7 - Eta Aquarids meteor shower peak

• August 11-13 - Perseids meteor shower peak

• August 19 - Sturgeon Supermoon / Seasonal Blue Moon

• September 17 - Harvest Supermoon / Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

• October 2 - "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse

• October 17 - Hunter's Supermoon

• October 21-22 - Orionids meteor shower peak

• November 15 - Frost Supermoon

• November 16-17 - Leonids meteor shower peak

• December 13-14 - Geminids meteor shower peak

• December 30 - Black Moon

[boilsyouroil]

Is Eclipse Okay Yet!? It’s Been Months!

Chapter 2 - Do Words Bite Back?

[ AO3 LINK ] - [ CH 1 ] - [ CH 3 ]

Word Count ; 1892

Date ; 2024-05-17

AU ; The Oil Au

Notes ; Eclipse might be okay soon. // And as promised, there’s cuddles!

Eclipse groaned as he walked. Where the hell was the popcorn located in this damn store!?

Moon sat with Sun, wrapped in a blanket and helping him organize their DVDs. "Moon, are you sure Eclipse was the best person to send out to get stuff? He's been away for like three hours."

Moon sighed, "He'll be fine, and if he's not he can call me." Moon pulled his blanket tighter over himself. He always got a bit of anxiety when Sun began to worry. Maybe it was just paranoia, but a part of him worried now that the thought was in his head.

Solar, Earth, and Lunar soon arrived. Earth has brought cupcakes that Lunar decorated, and Solar had blankets, lots of blankets.

The blankets ended up being used in a fort, and the movie picked was Mrs. Doubtfire, as suggested by Solar.

"Don't start the movie without me!" Lunar yelped as he dived into the fort. This earned various sets of laughter from everyone in the room.

Sun groaned, "Where the hell is Eclipse!? We still need our snacks to start!"

"We need Eclipse to start!" Solar choked when Earth said that.

Moon sighed as he pulled up the movie, "We aren't waiting for Eclipse, he'll get here when he can. Besides, he's seen this movie before."

Everyone got into their spots, Earth and Solar next to eachother, Lunar with his recently replaced Spigot, Moon and Sun cuddling up to eachother for warmth.

Eclipse groaned as he carried the bags into the house. He prepared all the snacks and drinks and went up to the movie room. He noticed the fort and frowned.

Of course Eclipse wouldn't get to join them in what looked like the softest thing ever. He knew they'd shoo him off as soon as they got their snacks.

As he shimmied his way into the fort to deliver snacks, Moon spoke up, "I think you forgot something."

Eclipse groaned, "What could I possibly forget?"

"Pajamas and one bowl of popcorn."

Eclipse laughed rolled his eyes, "Very funny, what the actual hell do you mean?"

Earth, who had been paying more attention to the conversation than the movie, immediately tried to explain, "I think he means that you forgot to put on pajamas and get a snack for yourself."

This earned a minor look of surprise from Eclipse, though it was quickly replaced with his nearly permanent cold stare. He let out a sarcastic chuckle and got up. He'd just watch a movie in his head and curl up under... nothing.

Yeah, that sounded like a plan. But about halfway through his own movie, the others had finished watching theirs. While everyone was replenishing their snacks before watching another movie, Moon noticed Eclipse sitting on the couch silently.

He walked over to the taller animatronic and tapped his shoulder. Eclipse flinched and nearly fell off the couch. Moon held back a laugh as he spoke, "Why didn't you come and watch the movie? We invited you to join us."

Eclipse stared at Moon for a solid thirty seconds before coming up with a response, "I'm not gonna just sit around and watch a movie with people I don't even like, that would be dumb!"

Moon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He groaned and hooked an arm under Eclipse, dragging him into what was previously assigned to be Eclipse's bedroom. "Pajamas, now. Don't come out until your ass is all comfy cozy or whatever."

Eclipse snorted at the terminology Moon used. Of course he would say something so childish. "Fine, oh Moon your majesty!"

After having forced Eclipse to pick a snack and the arrivals of Jack and Frank, somehow the entire celestial family had been shoved into the blanket fort. Eclipse tried to escape, but every time he made his way to an opening he was yanked right back in.

He didn't like practically being on top of everyone else. So many different clothing materials, different body temperatures, and different sizes. Earth soon noticed and wiggled over a bit to make room amongst the pillows and blankets, which Eclipse hesitantly but happily took over being sprawled across five people.

About halfway through the movie, specifically a movie about a dog trying to find its way back home, Eclipse snapped back into reality. He was trapped under a heavy blanket with an arm around his body and someone underneath him. He had fallen asleep and been carefully tucked into a blanket and moved.

Sadly his nap was short lived due to Moon having sneezed in his ear. He looked down at two bowls sitting next to whoever he was on. One was empty, and the other had what looked like melted ice cream in it. Of course he forgot he had gotten a snack.

The person under him shifted a bit and tucked the blanket tighter around him. He could tell now who it was based on the size difference, this was Earth.

Eclipse wondered for a moment, what would happen if he alerted her that he was awake. Would he be pushed off? Or would they pull him closer? Would they even notice?

His train of thought was cut short as he felt a hand underneath him and another around him, pulling him from the warmth and safety of Earth's body. He whined, which earned a small chuckle from whoever was yanking him up and away.

Eclipse turned his head a bit to see that Moon was the culprit of his removal. He groaned softly, too tired to fight back.

Hell, Eclipse couldn't move if he wanted to, the weighted blanket was tucked around him so perfectly he was practically swaddled like a baby in it.

Moon's face softened. He whispered when he set Eclipse in his lap, "I'm sorry for waking you up, go back to sleep."

Eclipse let out a long huff and very hesitantly settled against Moon. It wasn't long before he was dead asleep again.

Eclipse woke up again. He whined and squirmed against the blanket. As he finally opened his eyes, something blocked his vision.

He tried to get it away, earning a chuckle from whoever was in front of him. He sat there for a moment before he felt something press against him very suddenly. He flinched and tried to get away from whatever it was.

The sudden sound of a car horn, followed by Monty yelling, was the last thing Eclipse heard before he was right back to sleep again.

Eclipse groaned as he sat up. Where the hell was he? A quick look around the room and he realized he was at Monty's place. Of course! No place better to wake up than the couch on someone you don't even care about.

It was midnight, according to his internal clock, and sadly he couldn't go back to sleep. He got up and began to wander around the house. As he made his way into the kitchen, he was stopped by someone trying to get to the living room.

Puppet smiled at him, "Hey Eclipse, I was just about to come and wake you up. Do you want some ice cream, y'know, 'cause yours melted earlier?"

Eclipse groaned and pushed Puppet aside, heading right towards the fridge. He began to look for literally anything edible.

"Eclipse, I'm serious, I can get you some ice cream or something."

"I don't want ice cream."

"Then what do you want?"

"Actual food, and something to do."

Puppet smiled and closed the fridge.

"We can do that. I was about to take Jack to Popeye's, you wanna come along and then afterwards we'll go to a bookstore or something."

Eclipse sighed, "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really, come on."

He suppressed the urge to groan and followed Puppet out of the house. Not far ahead was Jack, clearly excited to go out and do something.

Eclipse sat stiff, after the recent events, all of that felt like a dream. Now he was sitting next to Moon, waiting for the final touches on his new body so his AI could be transferred. He could finally get the hell out of this damn place.

A hand coming to rest on his shoulder brought him back to reality. He looked up and saw Moon looking back down at him with tears in his eyes.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'll be fine, Moon. You'll have Solar back, and I can get the hell out of here."

Moon sighed, then did something he never thought he would do. He crouched to Eclipse's level and hugged him.

"Thank you, Eclipse..."

There was no sarcasm, no anger, no hatred, no hostility. Just a genuine thanks. Eclipse felt his eyes sting with tears, but he quickly shoved that feeling away.

For a moment, he wanted to stay, to not leave. But he knew he had to, so he pushed that feeling down, just like every other feeling he's ever had.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on the back of his head. He nearly melted at the touch.

"What's this...?"

Eclipse winced and ducked away from Moon's hand. Whatever he had touched sent a small shock through Eclipse.

"Don't touch that!"

"I have to get it out in order to plug you into the computer."

"Are you fucking kidding me...? God fucking damnit!"

Moon sighed, "Just relax and let me pull it out, okay?"

"I just said not to touch it!"

"I have to plug you into my computer to move you to the new body."

"I know!"

"Then let me do my fucking job!"

Eclipse sighed, "You can't take it out without damaging this body."

"Then what am I supposed to do!?"

"I'll handle it later!"

"Fine, but I'm gonna be there the entire time. I don't need you getting yourself killed."

Eclipse stood up and moved to leave the room. He decided he'd go spend some time with Earth. She wasn't too bad, at least she didn't hate him.

It wasn't long at all until he found himself standing on Monty's doorstep, ringing the doorbell. The moment he saw Earth, he forgot about everything else.

"Hello, Earth..."

"Hello, Eclipse. What brings you here?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted some company, is that an issue?"

"No, not at all! Come on in."

He stepped in, following Earth to the living room. Monty looked up at him in a way that made him want to run out of the room and hide.

"What the hell is he doing here!?"

Earth looked mildly offended at that, and stepped in front of Eclipse.

"He wants to obliterate me- No I'm joking he just wanted to hang out!"

"Fine, but one wrong move and he leaves."

Eclipse soon found himself sitting on the couch with a heated blanket and an arm over his shoulder. He didn't remember when it got there, but that was okay.

On the screen was some random show He didn't care to know the name of. On either side of him were the other two people in the house. Eclipse smiled softly, feeling a few fingers gently caress his rays. He let out a relaxed sigh, his tension fading away with each soft pet.

Monty watched the two, only just now beginning to realize that Eclipse wasn't evil, just lonely.

[saturniandevil]

October 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's October Forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock.

Here's a graphic from honeycomb.co showing the exactness of planetary transits throughout the month as well:

September Recap: We're starting the month in the middle of eclipse season (there was a lunar eclipse in Pisces on September 17th). Chris talks about how the biggest intensity of events usually occurs within 10 days on either side of an eclipse. For example, on the 10th there was the US Presidential debate, which fell in Harris's 10th house/North Node and indeed represented an improvement in her public image. The Vice Presidential debate also takes place today, October 1st, right before the next eclipse. Another Pisces eclipse story is the second assassination attempt on Trump--Chris & Austin connect these to the close square of Uranus on his natal Mars and on top of his natal Midheaven. Using nativities, Chris points out that for the past 20 years the winning presidential candidate has had an eclipse in an angular house, which would point towards Harris winning. However, using zodiacal releasing, Trump is set to enter a new era of prominence in April of next year--whether from presidency or another set is unclear. There are a lot of factors indicating this year's election (and the time between then and the inauguration period!) will be confusing and full of surprises.

Another eclipse story is Israel's attack on Lebanon--the pagers were detonated on the day of the Pisces eclipse. The current war in Palestine began under last year's Libra eclipse, and escalation with Iran occurred along an eclipse as well. They predict October 2nd may very well be the date Israel starts a ground offensive into Lebanon, with implications of a regional war (A/N: this episode was recorded September 29th). There will be another eclipse in Aries before the nodes move off this axis, but the Pisces eclipse's coincidence with the electronics attacks and assassination of Nasrallah may be foreshadowing another 2 years of conflict.

The Pisces eclipse also highlighted Saturn's transit through Pisces: the OceanGate submarine wreck was finally found (crushed during Saturn rx), as well as the sunken wreck of the Erebus, a 19th-century polar exploration vessel. In other water disasters, Hurricane Helene ravaged much of the Appalachian US, the worst storm in a century for many cities and small towns. There were also devastating floods in Europe, Nigeria, and India and typhoons hitting much of East Asia.

October 2nd - Solar eclipse in Libra

Immediately afterwards, the Sun and Moon move towards a square with Mars, boding ill for world events with its significations of war, anger, and aggression. Eclipses on a particular axis often indicate a series of events over about a year and a half (this one began early October), so we know already know which stories are going to wrap up to make way for something new. In our personal lives changes may be for the better--for example, for one viewer this indicates the end of a relationship making room for a new one. Mercury has just separated from a cazimi with the Sun (11♎), and Mars is waiting at 15 Cancer to square all of these planets after they conjoin each other. The changes will take place abruptly, jarringly, and painfully for some. Eclipses shock us, even when they're positive. Mars-Mercury indicates arguments, fighting words, and foul language (goes direct at 17 Libra/Cancer on the 6th). Be careful with your words, as this may represent a longer conflict than you realize, as Mars enters its pre-retrograde shadow period soon after:

Like all retrogrades, Mars brings revisions, repeats, and unexpected delays. With Mars hanging out in the same few degrees of Cancer & Leo for awhile, we'll be spending a lot of time and energy in those areas of our chart. Mars retrograde can work well for those born under one, though--for Mars rx natives sometimes it's when big projects finally come to fruition with them.

During the Mars-Mercury conflict, we will have some support: Venus (14♏) will trine Saturn (14♓) on the 4th-5th, and on the 8th she'll (18♏) trine Mars (18♋) with reception. She comes in to offer a bit of a salve after the chafing of Mars contacts. Also on that day, soon-to-retrograde Jupiter (21♊) will trine Mercury (21♎) with reception, soothing some of the previous hard aspect to Mars. These are the kinds of situations where a terrible accident occurs, but you miraculously escape major injury. This can also represent extremes of good and bad happening at the same time.

October 6th - Mercury square Mars (discussed above)

October 9th - Jupiter stations retrograde He's going to hang out in the same few degrees of Gemini for a long time. See eclipse above for some details on transits leading up to this.

October 11th - Pluto stations direct From the 11th-13th Pluto, while slowing down and stationing, squares Mercury as the inner planet moves from Libra to Scorpio. We've been having Pluto stations in Capricorn since 2008-9, and this is the last he'll be in Capricorn for the rest of any of our lifetimes. Mercury brings the underworld planet's hidden matters to light: think investigative journalism, mystery stories, and exposés on dark scandals. Conversely, we can also see manipulation, control, and suppression of information by forces who prefer to remain in the shadows. Pluto is like a doorway to the underworld: it both plunges things into obscurity and brings up secrets from the depths. This is one last burst of intensity in late Capricorn/cardinal signs for those of us who've been feeling its effects--think of molting, with its vulnerabilities and benefits alike. This also marks the end of the United States' Pluto return--an uncertain evaluation of the next 250 years.

October 13th - Mercury enters Scorpio

October 14th - Sun square Mars While the Sun (21♎) squares Mars (21♋) with Jupiter (21♊) attempting to mediate by trining the Sun, Venus (26♏) opposes Uranus (26♉). With Uranus-Venus we may see some surprises in our relationships. (Chris notes Mercury is at 01Scorpio this day, same as Kamala Harris's natal chart, so the news will probably be about her.)

October 17th - Aries Full Moon, Venus enters Sagittarius

Normally we'd breathe a sigh of relief that eclipse season is over, but the luminaries (🌙:24♈,🌞:24♎) are coming right off a square to Mars (22♋), and are headed right into a square with Pluto (29♑). Thus, by the end of the month, Mars and Pluto begin to oppose each other, an intense configuration that will stay with us for the rest of the year thanks to Mars's retrograde. Don't ignore the little issues that Mars is highlighting in your life; nip things in the bud or keep an eye on them because the problems will only intensify over the next few months. The Mars-Pluto opposition will go exact right around election day in the US, or early November. Thus this full moon sets an ominous tone for the months ahead.

Mars signifies cutting, separation, and conflict, while Pluto takes themes to their utmost extremes, making the small massive and the massive small (think of a mushroom cloud explosion borne from mere atoms colliding). Combined, this indicates annihilation, survival responses, severe overreactions, power struggles, aggression & confrontations, manipulation and control. Other keywords are ruthlessness, forcefulness, and lashing out at perceived enemies, real or imagined. Pluto really enjoys hidden power as well--we may fall for decoys of where the real power lies. Unfortunately this strongly overshadows the US election. Overall, with Pluto involved we can't see clearly, so paranoia and conspiracies abound. It can also indicate horrific acts coming to light, like CBS News publishing the first photographs of torture at Abu Ghraib during the Mars-Pluto opposition of late April 2004, and financial developments like the 2008 bank crashes.

In our personal lives, this may be a period of extreme mental or physical exertion where you accomplish more than you thought possible. Austin cautions us not to react to negative things in a way that makes the situation worse, which is our impulse with Mars in Cancer. Sometimes we have to accept that events beyond our power--control what you can and accept what you can't. Uranus in Taurus will also get folded into this background tension via sextile with Pluto.

October 22nd - Sun enters Scorpio

October 25th - Auspicious electional date

This is a difficult month, but if you have to do something important, the 25th is a good time. A few different times will work; Chris likes around 3PM local time, adjusting until the Ascendant is at about 20 Aquarius. This makes the ruler Saturn in the 2nd house in a day chart, good for financial matters. The Leo Moon applies to a sextile with Jupiter, boding well for earthly events--as long as you can catch it when the moon is applying (at a lower degree; moving towards the aspect) rather than separating (at a higher degree, moving away). (Viewers on the West Coast of the US, for example, may have to move it back a day.) With 20Aquarius rising you get a nice, supportive trine from Jupiter in the 5th house, good for games and leisurely activities. Venus in the 11th house is also helpful, and in Denver they were able to get her near the Midheaven as well, though it's not a dealbreaker if you can't get that to line up. Venus in the 11th, ruled by Jupiter, does well with friends and alliances. Furthermore, though she is applying to a square with Saturn, in this chart it has her in contact with the Ascendant ruler, affirming and supporting you and the actions you take at this time. Not recommended for health or routine matters with a cranky day chart detriment Mars in the 6th house, and beware of Pluto in the 12th house of hidden enemies and self-undoing. Thus, it's not ideal, but we can get some things done.

October 28th - Venus square retrograde Saturn Venus would normally be happy to get out of her detriment Scorpio and into a neutral sign like Sagittarius, but she has to get past this square to Saturn before she can really party. However, this does put her in a whole-sign opposition to Jupiter while being received by him (in his domicile), giving a silver (copper) lining to everything else going on. When one benefic is setting, the other is rising for us.

October 30th - Mercury opposes Uranus (not pictured) At 25 of Scorpio and Taurus respectively, this may be an "October surprise" news scandal (or events in our personal lives).

[ton-618-ton-618]

2024 March 30

Medieval Astronomy from Melk Abbey

Image Credit: Paul Beck (Univ. Vienna), Georg Zotti (Vienna Inst. Arch. Science)

Copyright: Library of Melk Abbey, Frag. 229

Explanation: Discovered by accident, this manuscript page provides graphical insight to astronomy in medieval times, before the Renaissance and the influence of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho de Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo. The intriguing page is from lecture notes on astronomy compiled by the monk Magister Wolfgang de Styria before the year 1490. The top panels clearly illustrate the necessary geometry for a lunar (left) and solar eclipse in the Earth-centered Ptolemaic system. At lower left is a diagram of the Ptolemaic view of the Solar System with text at the upper right to explain the movement of the planets according to Ptolemy's geocentric model. At the lower right is a chart to calculate the date of Easter Sunday in the Julian calendar. The illustrated manuscript page was found at historic Melk Abbey in Austria.

[breelandwalker]

2023 Witch's Calendar

For all my witches out there, here's a handy list of the 2023 dates for the major holidays, full and new moons, and special events. I've listed my sources at the bottom. Dates and times for all events are calculated for Eastern Standard Time, USA, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed. Enjoy!

WOTY Holidays and Solstices

February 1-2 - Imbolc

March 20 - Spring Equinox / Ostara

May 1 - Beltane

June 21 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer

August 1 - Lughnasadh

September 23- Autumn Equinox / Mabon

October 31 - Samhain

December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule

Full Moons

January 6 - Wolf Moon ♋

February 5 - Snow Moon ♌

March 7 - Worm Moon ♍

April 6 - Pink Moon ♎

May 5 - Flower Moon ♏

June 4 - Strawberry Moon ♐

July 3 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♑

August 1 - Sturgeon Moon ♒

August 31 - Blue Moon ♓

September 29- Harvest Moon ♈

October 28 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon) ♉

November 27 - Frost Moon ♊

December 26 - Cold Moon ♋

Fun Fact: The title of Harvest Moon is given to either the September or October full moon, whichever falls closest to the autumn equinox. In 2023, as in 2022, that month will be September.

New Moons

January 21 ♒

February 20 ♓

March 21 ♈

April 20 ♈

May 19 ♉

June 18 ♊

July 17 ♋

August 16 ♌

September 14 ♍

October 14 ♎

November 13 ♏

December 12 ♐

Special Events

February 20 - 2nd New Moon in lunar month

April 20 - Solar Eclipse

May 5 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

August 30 - Blue Moon

September 29 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

October 14 - Solar Eclipe (Annular)

October 28 - Lunar Eclipse (Partial)

Mercury Retrogrades (in case you need them)

Dec 29, 2022 - Jan 18, 2023

April 21 - May 14

August 23 - September 15

Dec 13, 2023 - January 1, 2024

SOURCES:

Moon Info - Full Moon 2023

Calendar-12.com - Moon Phases 2023

Full Moonology - Full Moon Calendar 2023

Moon Calendar - Full Moons and New Moons in 2023

Yearly Horoscope - Mercury Retrograde 2023 Dates and Times

Your Zodiac Sign - 2023 Astrology Calendar

The Pagan Grimoire - The Wheel of the Year: The 8 Festivals in the Wiccan Calendar

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If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊

EDIT: Updated Jan 6, 2023 to correct full moon signs and include additional celestial events. Enjoy!

[the-cool-space-nerd]

1/1/2024

Hey guys! I know it’s been a while, life has just been kind of crazy recently. Below, I have put together a list of all the astronomical events to look forward to this year. Enjoy!

January 3: Earth at perihelion

January 3-4: Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak

January 11: New Moon

January 12: Mercury at greatest western elongation

January 25: Full Moon

February 9: New Moon

February 24: Full Moon

March 10: New Moon

March 20: March Equinox

March 22: Possible viewing of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

March 24: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation

March 25: Full Moon, Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

April 8: New Moon, Total Solar Eclipse

April 21-23: Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak

April 23: Full Moon

May 4-5: Moon Earthshine Mornings

May 6-7: Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak

May 8: New Moon

May 9: Mercury at greatest western elongation

May 11-12: Moon Earthshine Nights

May 23: Full Moon

June 6: New Moon

June 20: June Solstice

June 22: Full Moon

July 5: New Moon, Earth at aphelion

July 21: Full Moon

July 22: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation

July 28-29: Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak

August 4: New Moon

August 12-13: Perseids Meteor Shower Peak

August 14: Conjuction of Mars and Jupiter

August 19: Full Moon

August 21: Lunar Occulation of Saturn

August 28: Possible views of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

September 3: New Moon

September 5: Mercury at greatest western elongation

September 8: Saturn at opposition

September 18: Full Moon, Supermoon, Partial Lunar Eclipse

September 20: Neptune at opposition

September 22: September Equinox

October 2: New Moon, Annular Solar Eclipse, Micromoon

October 7-9: Draconids Meteor Shower Peak

October 17: Full Moon, Supermoon

October 20-22: Orionids Meteor Shower Peak

November 1: New Moon

November 4-5: Taurids Meteor Shower Peak

November 15: Full Moon

November 16: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation

November 17-18: Leonid Meteor Shower Peak

December 1: New Moon

December 7: Jupiter at opposition

December 14-15: Geminid Meteor Shower Peak

December 15: Full Moon

December 21: December Solstice

December 22-23: Ursid Meteor Shower Peak

December 25: Mercury at greatest western elongation

December 30: New Moon

***Please let me know if there are any mistakes I need to correct. This list was compiled using multiple websites, so some dates may be a day or two off. I also tried to keep this list inclusive to both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres***

Image credit: @cora.a.harris on Instagram

[ms-m-astrologer]

2024 Capricorn New Moon

Thursday, January 11, 11:57 UT, 20°44’ Capricorn Chart erected for Washington, DC

The key phrase for the New lunar phase is “set a new intention for the month” - not a drastic overhaul of your entire existence; rather, some good habit you think you can establish in one month’s time.

There’s an Earth sign grand trine:

Sun and Moon in Capricorn (the “seed” we plant)

Uranus Rx in Taurus (but stationing direct in a couple of weeks)

Juno in Virgo (but stationing retrograde in about 42 hours)

We’re looking at practical alliances - practical, reality-based communities of better citizens, better neighbors, better partners. What useful skills do we have that we can share with others?

This seed may take some time to sprout. All the participants are in aspect to Pallas Athene/Scorpio - sextiles to Sun, Moon, and Juno; an opposition from Uranus - and Pallas Athene has just entered its pre-retrograde shadow. We may need a new skill, or we may need to brush up on a skill.

One of my biggest problems with “New Year’s Resolutions” is that we seldom remember that the target date is December 31. Too often we’re discouraged if we haven’t “achieved,” to the extent we want to achieve, after a few January weeks.

We have the whole year to get it right and to get there!

Also want to point out that the New Moon is exactly square the Nodes. We’re halfway between eclipses! The previous one in October was a South Node solar eclipse - we had to let something go. This upcoming doozy in April is a North Node solar eclipse - we can gain something. Let’s not get in our own way with this - the eclipse (April 8) has an unbelievable potential for healing, and we wouldn’t want to jeoprdize that with outgrown ways of being and doing.