the aries eclipse for writers

with writing prompt horoscopes

Quick announcement for nonfiction writers! The next 3-week session of How to Write a Book Proposal starts Sunday, May 7th. Registration is open now. Payment plans are available. 

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This first eclipse of 2023 arrives at 12:12am Eastern on Thursday, April 20th at 29* of Aries. Technically, you could call it a second new moon, right before Taurus season kicks off almost exactly four hours later, at 4:13am Eastern. But, being a hybrid solar eclipse, this isn’t the kind of new moon you want to work with in the traditional sense of intentionally starting something new. 

Eclipses, and the two week period in between every pair of them, which is called the bardo, herald massive energy spikes (and also drains) where we often find that if we haven’t been doing the work, the universe does it for us. Breakups and other such losses abound around eclipse season. Things we have been trying to hang onto, justifying its place in our lives, when really, it would be much better/healthier to let it go, is suddenly pfft — out the door. 

Similarly, eclipses can incite a sudden and intense hunger for more: whether more accomplishment and accolade, more love, more peace, more satisfaction. Whatever it is, a ravenous yearning can lead some to crawl over the witch’s garden wall and quite possibly steal the rampion therein. The satisfaction of great hunger can come with a cost. 

Which is why, at the onset of this, our first eclipse season of 2023, my best and primary advice is to level set as best you can. Whatever methods you have for self-soothing and emotional regulation: prioritize those. Whether it’s meditation and breathwork, going for walks, or simply making sure your pantry is as stocked as it can be with comfort food: that is important for the weeks going forward. 

The Reader of Novels b. Antoine Wiertz c. 1853

This may seem like non-specific advice to writers and otherwise creative folks. But if I have learned anything about the creative process over the years, it is that it is absolutely impossible — for me, at least — to create with an empty cup. 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to tap into my creativity if I am hungry. If I am sick. If I have a migraine. If I am not taking care to adequately water and feed myself. If I am not going outside. If I am not moving my body. If I am not doing my daily modules which keep me as sane and regulated as possible. 

Things which become all the more difficult in eclipse season. 

Creativity activates our fear. I am talking about this with almost every single person who comes in for a third house reading. Humans have made a great many developments over the years, but unfortunately, our bodies are not developed so much as to discard vestigial organs like the appendix; our brains are not so developed that vulnerable processes like creative writing do not immediately activate the amygdala, which is essentially the panic room.

The amygdala does not know the difference between cliff diving and starting a new novel. It cannot differentiate between slamming on the brakes to avoid a collision with the car in front of you and writing about your mother. 

To the amygdala, it’s all the same thing, and consequently, the singular message it sends to your nervous system and other parts of your body is: DANGER DANGER DANGER.

Which is a problem, when you are otherwise entirely physically safe in your home, sitting down at your desk (or couch, or coffee shop table) to write.

Which is why it’s all the more important to create as much safety, structure, comfort, and “home” around ourselves as possible during otherwise challenging astro weather like eclipse season. 

In order to preserve whatever sanctuary of writing for ourselves we possibly can. 

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Writing Prompts for the Hybrid Solar Eclipse in Aries

• How have your creative practices/routines/rituals felt to you this year? Similarly, how have you felt about your routines/rituals/practices in daily life? Do these feel connected, or supported? 

• This eclipse will have more to do with managing hunger and increase. Your rising sign will tell you more about what area of life this eclipse is impacting. How are you feeling about this area of life lately? Are you writing about it, thinking about it, doing work (personal, professional, or otherwise) related to it? How does this land for you?

  • Aries rising: self-expression, identity, appearance, persona, your style of showing up in the world

  • Taurus rising: the subconscious & our personal connection with the unseen world; what we are slowly integrating into our consciousness; ancestral legacy

  • Gemini rising: friendships; community commitments; professional networks; the internet; hopes and dreams

  • Cancer rising: career & legacy; professional and public roles

  • Leo rising: teaching & learning within the wisdom pathways (philosophy, religion, spirituality, and astrology); beliefs; long-term plans and ideas; publishing; travel

  • Virgo rising: collaborations with others; debts, taxes, inheritance, alimony, child support, and other such arrangements; grief and loss; mental health

  • Libra rising: committed partnerships (whether romantic or business; also, agents, long-time editors, and co-writers)

  • Scorpio rising: daily work life; health & wellness; how work impacts the body; pets

  • Sagittarius rising: your creative and erotic energy; important children in your life

  • Capricorn rising: home; relationships with caregivers, parents, and grandparents; roots and cultural heritage

  • Aquarius rising: your daily rituals and routines; communication; K-12 education; siblings and close friends; local neighborhoods

  • Pisces rising: your budget and personal finances; how you spend and how you save

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Thank you for reading this edition of astrology for writers. I am a working writer, and this newsletter is only possible because of folks who support my work with paid subscriptions. Your patronage is appreciated more than you know.