The Full Moon Eclipse in Libra: A Revelatory Shift
The recent full moon eclipse in the sign of Libra provided a powerful cosmic lens for examining the reciprocity and equilibrium in our closest relationships. As the radiant moon slipped behind Earth’s shadow, we were called to shine light on the dynamics of our interpersonal connections. This is a process I’ve been intimate with since the summer of 2023 courtesy of the lengthy Venus retrograde. Under these astrological conditions, you likely have also been in a period of contemplating the vitality of your Friendships, too.
For many, the revelations this eclipsed moon has presented will not be easy to integrate. The past few years of navigating the pandemic, political turmoil, and heightened collective stress have strained even the strongest bonds. It’s been painful at times to witness the ripple effects of these challenges testing our relationships. I’m hard pressed to think of an important relationship of mine that wasn’t rearranged in some capacity by the events of the last few years. I have endeavoured to do the work required to mend these rifts wherever possible, but the fabric of friendship isn’t complete without both warp and weft. It takes two to tango as the saying goes. Therefore, what has ultimately been the task of my spiritual journey has been my acceptance has been to realize that reciprocity is the only way forward, quite literally.
There are multiple layers contributing to the shifts we may be experiencing. The “temporary” upending of our normal social outlets and face-to-face interactions created distance that only grew in some cases. Diverging viewpoints around contentious issues drove irreparable wedges. The weight of personal stresses and traumas continue to make it harder to show up fully present with one another. The colleague I lost to Qanon comes to mind frequently, especially at this time of year. The close relative who cut me off because of their anti-vax stance and positive only focus mindset enters my thoughts less and less often, but the pain of that loss will unfortunately always ache like a phantom limb. I wonder “what happened to our love?” thinking of how so many of my other relationships are languishing under the strain of these circumstances. However, I know full well what we’re all enduring in the U.S. has created a perpetual weariness that has eroded what little energy so many of us have for sustaining our connections.
Ultimately though, the full moon eclipse in Libra has been a journey of acceptance – realizing it’s OK for relational dynamics to change over time. Just as the cosmos is in constant flux, so too are the connections that shape our human experience. This doesn’t need to erase or diminish the profound memory of “the good times.” Rather, it highlights the importance of enjoying them to their fullest when they are happening and releasing with gratitude what has run its course. Last summer, in the midst of the Venus retrograde and a heartbreaking tragedy that was rocking my immediate family I received a difficult piece of information. Someone who was once very close to me told another friend that “She loves me, but she just can’t live up to my standards.” I was genuinely curious about what that could possibly mean considering for years I had dropped my standards through the floor just to keep this person in my life. One look at our call history and it would be plain for anyone to see that was not a reciprocal situation. It took months of personal healing and more than one close look, but eventually I came to understand the truth of the friendship. This was someone who only spoke about our relationship in terms of the far off future, but who would not relate with me day to day. I’ve concluded that life is what happens when you are living it and it is the people who share that journey with you while you’re on it are the ones who have the privilege of your presence in your elder years.
I am aware that until one can acknowledge a relationship’s transition or ending through the lens of appreciation for all that was shared – the joys, the growth, even the challenging moments – they can remain in a state of resistance. It’s only through accepting the complete cycle that we alchemize and find clarity to truly let go. For too long I was so angry at this woman for being reckless with our decades long relationship. I blamed her for being a really bad friend for years and if I’m honest, she wasn’t great. Ultimately, though, came to see I was really angry with myself. I had to take responsibility for continuing to be in this “friendship” that wasn’t meeting my basic standards (like returning my calls, for example) and see plainly that we weren’t actually relating at all. What I had to accept was that I violated my own boundaries. Time after time, I let her know that I wanted to stay in touch more regularly, but she wanted to be there “in case of emergency only.” Year after year, that dynamic never changed, but I continued to hold space (too much space) in my life for this person. In order to move on, I also had to forgive myself for not seeing the truth and for taking so much less than I deserved for so long.
During eclipses, it’s best to remain open and receptive instead of attempting ritualized spellwork. These potent cosmic events circumvent our usual perspectives, revealing new pathways we may have missed. Rather than rigidly controlling the powerful energies, allow the eclipse to organically introduce shifts and revelations. Avoid prescribing magical workings and instead create space for receiving fresh energies from the universe’s grand movements. Eclipses are times of profound recalibration where we must surrender limited interpretations to integrate broader cosmic transitions. This eclipse was the final debridement of the emotional wound surrounding my failed long-term friendship. It took months to sit with my raw emotion and allow the tears to slowly wash any confusion away. There were no cord-cutting rituals, no banishing ceremonies, there was no need. The healing formula here is just good old fashioned shadow work and the tireless effort of continuing to point myself in the direction of truth whenever cloying sentimentality threatens to distort truth. The illuminating rays of this full moon in Libra have shown me I have an accurate picture of the WHOLE story now. Now my work is to let the tender parts of my heart heal and regain their normal sensitivity after having been numbed out in a fog of denial for many years. I see my old friend making a new, more authentic life for herself and I love that for her. So much! It is my full moon wish that we can release our projections and expectations of one another joy-fully, be grateful for the good years, and move on freely. I look back on our shared past with fondness and let go.
In many ways, the strong medicine of eclipses is better integrated through trust and surrender. Allowing the light of new awareness to pour in, even when that radiance exposes the shadows we’d rather not see. By flowing with the rhythms of creation and destruction, we open to the blessings of redirected energy that might initially appear difficult but lead us towards necessary growth and release. Relationship shifts catalyzed by this eclipse season remind us that magical workings, especially protection rituals, don’t always manifest as expected. When we set intentions around boundaries, the universe sometimes answers by gently closing some doors and opening new, better aligned ones. Rather than resist, trust that these cosmic redirections honor your deepest desires. I believe that because I have cleared out the stagnant energy of a past relationship with someone who would rather possess our friendship in a symbolic way than relate to me as a living, breathing person I have made the necessary room for the deep connections and soul bonds I seek. I have faith that the benevolent universe is conspiring right now to bring me kindred spirits with whom I am to forge new friendships.