#hybrid eclipse

Hybrid Solar Eclipse 2023

When we look at the upcoming solar eclipse in Aries, we can see a number of things:

at 29 degrees (the last degree of the sign), this lunar event will strongly affect anybody with a personal planet within 5 degrees (so 24 - 04°) of any of the three boundaries between Fire and Earth signs in the horoscope wheel.

When fire meets earth we are always taking action towards the accumulation of physical things, this will be a very tangible alignment that will be physically present in the "real world"

Both the Sun and Moon will be in conjunction with our North Node which is sitting at 04° Taurus and making an ascending out-of-element trine to Saturn in Pisces - Saturn and our North Node will meet in an exact trine with one another the day before the eclipse (4/19)

The very next day, Mercury will station retrograde and begin to move backward at 15° Taurus

Our lunar Eclipse on 5/5 will take place at 14° Taurus and happen in conjunction with Mercury, reinforcing the message that Mercury's journey is a part of this puzzle here

Additionally, our moon is considered a "Black Moon" because it is the second new moon in Aries in a row - the original new moon was at 00° Aries on 3/21. Whereas a Blue Moon (two full moons in the same sign in a row) was considered to be lucky, the Black moon is somewhat maligned.

This will be the first solar eclipse in Aries in 18 years and will foreshadow much of what is to come when the lunar nodes transition from Taurus-Scorpio into Aries-Libra on 7/23.

It was a /drumroll TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN!

Sort of.

This type of solar eclipse is the rarest of all, known as a Hybrid eclipse which means that it shares the characteristics both of a total solar eclipse and an annual solar eclipse. It will be visible over parts of Australia and will happen during the night for those of us that live in North America. This Hybrid Black Moon eclipse is what is astrologically known as a double whammy (coined, so far as I know, by Stephen Arroyo) as we are experiencing two unusual events (the hybrid type and the black moon) on top of the unpredictable eclipse energy. This will supercharge the eclipse energy and make the events surrounding feel even more liminal.

But wait. There's more.

This eclipse is sitting in the well of Mercury's retrograde cycle as Mercury will retrograde a mere 27 hours and 59 minutes after the moment that the eclipse peaks. Normally the Sun overshadows Mercury by a lot - but that's the thing about the eclipse. A solar eclipse disrupts the energy of the Sun. For a certain amount of time, sunlight doesn't fall upon our planet because the moon blocks its light.

All eyes should be on Mercury, the Traveller, because they own this day. Without the sunlight to keep away the darkness, we are about to get dragged deep down the Low Road. It is time but if you are not comfortable with the widdershins path, the left-handed road, the Underdark - you need to be prepared.

The eclipses, by their very nature, draw you into the dark. Mercury's retrogrades, by their very nature, draw you into the dark. When you look at the mythos of Mercury - especially through his mantle as Hermes - you begin to understand. Hermes was one of the only gods to ever walk into Hades and then leave afterward.

Read that sentence again.

Mercury retrograde + Eclipse Season is Death walking. This shouldn't be a terrifying idea but in a culture that hides from the great inevitability, I know that it is for many. This is a time to check in with your Others who might not have a great relationship with death. It's likely to get really hard, and really low for some. If that's you, gather your resources early and make a plan to care for yourself through this.

Emotions are going to be all over the place. An Aries moon is hyperreactive and prone to fits of rage. The other side of an eclipse season will be a Scorpio moon which is not much better. It's worth noting that both ends of this eclipse cycle are ruled by Mars, our planet of action. What are you fighting for? Are you on the right side of this conflict? Something has got to end. That's fine by Aries, a sign that would rather just keep moving than sit around and try to mend fences. But Scorpio is deeply personal and very caught up in the mirror palace that we call nostalgia. We may find ourselves trying to let go and then being pulled back in as these next two weeks unfold. Scorpio has a vindictive side, too, so watch out. A bunch of Somebodies are going to be out for blood. Here we need to meld the ways to mitigate or tolerate eclipse energy with those that we would use for Mercury retrograde energy.

Check your work twice. Reread that email before you hit send. Save often (before you have to). Those work well with the eclipse wisdom that you need to pay attention. These next weeks it is highly ill-advised to check out in your own life. I say this very lovingly to those that learned to disassociate as a coping mechanism - stay present with yourself through this. Eclipse season is the important stuff.

It's not going to feel comfortable. There are going to be misunderstandings. Let's all work a little bit to keep them from becoming wars. Step away from your ego if you can.

The Sun will enter Taurus almost immediately after the solar eclipse where it will remain for the rest of the eclipse season. Don't be bullheaded.

Yeah, I'm looking at you. The energy is going to feel like too much. People are going to be really in it. Remember that you cannot control them, you can only control what you do with what is happening around you.

This is a time to withdraw from the mass of collective energy and focus on yourself. Take a social media break, or go camping out in the woods. Grounding out excess energy in your body can help a lot - water is always really useful for dissipating energy.

The next two weeks are a great time to go to the lake, the river, the beach, or that favorite waterfall. It's a great time to rent a cabin in the woods, unplug, and write a book. It's a great time to connect with death deities and spirits of all kinds as the doors are always open during Mercury's retrograde cycles and the eclipses will heighten this energy. It is the perfect time for divination, pathfinding, or shadow work.

It is considered somewhat ill-advised to perform spellwork during eclipses that does not relate specifically to eclipse energy. Take that with a grain of salt. If you enjoy eclipse energy and find it to be an amazing wellspring of power, work that magic. If it makes you uncomfortable, don't. Just be aware that eclipse magic is always wild magic and things rarely manifest in the way that you expect them to. That can be used to your advantage. There probably won't be any killer plants, but you never know.

The bottom line here is that you need to stay aware of yourself and take care of yourself over the next two weeks. That is going to mean something different for everybody.

I'm making myself a large batch of fruity tulsi tea and hoping for the best.

Hybrid...

Coming around only once in a while, ever changing what those around may see from their points of view. A rare type of individual, a shape shiftier in our mist. Change it's spots, it surely can. A shadow across the surface, different views are different faces, disguise yourself from such tricks. When one morphs into another, no one can tell the difference. Come to me being of such awe and wonder. Teach me your ways, to be faceless, fierce and free is too like you what I crave...

image: APOD: 2013 November 3 - A Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse

The egos all end up going upstairs, once Schneep has fallen back asleep. They don’t want to leave him alone, but being in that basement is just too disturbing for them. Jamie made some more tea and joined them all back in the living room. “There’s something up with Eclipse, they seem so different this time,” Marvin tells everyone.

“What do you mean?” Chase asks.

“Did they hurt you or threaten you at all?” Jackie added in.

The magician shook his head, eye staring down at the ground. “No, they just seem much more exclusive. Like they’re only working with us because they have to.”

“Well they kinda are,” Anti muttered out.

Jackie laughed under his breath. “Sound like someone we know?” Jamie nudged his shoulder as anti sent him a cold glare. 

“What else did you notice?” Chase asked.

Marvin thought for a moment then looked up. “They seemed so emotionless now.” 

“That’s nothing new,” Jackie commented. “They were pretty cold before.”

“But not like this,” Marvin corrected. “Before they were lacking any kind of empathy, now they just seem empty, but not in a threatening way,” the magician shook his head with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

Suddenly, the Tv in the living room was on but the screen was nothing but static. the image of a person slowly began to come in, and as the static cleared, they could see Eclipse looking down at them. “Did you get the syringe from Amy?” They asked.

Marvin sighed and dropped his head. “No, they all went home for the night, I’ll get it when she comes back.”

“Why don’t you just get it yourself?” Jackie challenged, stepping in front of the TV.

“As I explained to Marvin, that wouldn’t make any logical sense because she still doesn’t trust me, and frankly neither do any of you.”

Eclipse had a point, after last time they really had nothing good to go off of besides the fact that they didn’t kill any of them yet. The masked figure on screen let out a heavy sigh and relaxed their shoulders.

“Look, I understand your frustration with me, but most of my focus is going to make sure that I don’t lose a grip on myself again. I want to get Pixel back and save Henrik just as much as you do. I know it’s going to be hard, but we have to work together now other wise we may just loose them both.”

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the red glow burning into my eyes. I tried to block out where it was coming from, but it was all around me, meaning I could only be in one place.

“Good of you to finally join us,” A voice called from slightly behind me. I sat up on the couch I found my self laying on and looked back at Eclipse. They were sitting at their desk, looking between their notebook and another one of their experiments. They had a Bunsen burner boil water, Eclipse added a drop of some black substance to the boiling liquid and  turned the heat down, pushing away from the table.

Eclipse looked over at me, their duplicate. They seemed to want to say something, but was unable to find the words. Honestly I was in the same position.

How are you feeling?

Eclipse paused, thinking about their response. “I’m not sure,” They finally said. “Realm 0 can only be opened in times of desperation. When a dark entity needs to be locked away, when two writers are fighting for control,” Eclipse released a sigh from their nose. “When the universe thinks that I’ve lost it.”

But you clearly haven’t.

“Oh no, I’m definitely fine, but I always thought that we couldn’t control Realm 0. That is,” Eclipse reached down and opened a drawer of their desk. They pulled out a familiar book; my journal. “until I remembered how easily you pulled me out from it.”

They looked at me with blame and accusation. Like I’d done something wrong, though regardless, I don’t regret my actions.

It’s not as easy as you think Eclipse.

“Oh really,” there was a bit of aggression in their words now. “So you’re telling me that I’m wrong to think that you could have left the realm whenever you wanted to, but for some reason you didn’t.”

I needed to keep an eye on the Trickster. 

“Why would any force in any world allow that creature to escape the one place he can’t hurt people?” their anger and confusion was peaking through, the way the room shook from their voice was evidence enough of that.

Eclipse please, you don’t understand.

“You’re right,” They snapped before I could finish. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you wanted me to have to clean all of this up when you could have just popped back in and ended it all right there and then!” Eclipse fell back into their chair, head buried in their hands. “What was the point of all this?” The muttered.

I slowly walked over to them, standing on the other side of the desk and ran my hand through their hair. 

You know why I did this. I could have come back and given you all the answers you needed but I stayed away. I didn’t want you to think that you have to be alone, I wanted you to grow. I wanted you to believe in yourself. You can’t stay in here forever and by giving you this mission I hoped that it would help you become your own person.

Eclipse chuckled a little, slowly lifting their head to look at me. “We’re both writers, you can just say it was for character development.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that myself. 

If it helps put it into terms that you understand, than sure; it was for character development.

Eclipse stretched back, eyes wandering around for a moment. “I’m guessing you’ll want your powers back.”

Don’t say it like that. That makes me sound weird.

Eclipse shrugged, putting one hand out to me. “Well you are the true writer so it belongs to you. You were just gone for too long.”

I nodded in agreement. We locked our arms together and I felt the power flowing out of Eclipse and back into me. The blog was back under my control, Eclipse was just a secondary thought again.

We both pulled away once the exchange was over, although their gaze remained down for a moment. “so what happens to me now? Will I be sent back to my path?”

I don’t think that’s necessary. You’ve proven enough that you’re not a threat.

I sent a smirk at them and they just scoffed, pushing my shoulder gently. “So I can just stay here then?”

I made this place for you, it can be whatever and wherever you want it to be. Just don’t let it get to your head.

Eclipse laughed. “When have I ever done that?” I rolled my eyes and took my notebook back from Eclipse desk. I started walking out, when their voice stopped me again. “So hat’s going to happen to them? Henrik, and Jackie and Jamie. they went through a lot and it’s not going to be easy for them to recover. Are they going to be okay?”

I looked back at them and shrugged.

I don’t know. But they have people who will look out for them. they always listen.

Eclipse feels their body surge through the different time lines of the forest.

No thats too far back. No that hasn’t happened yet. Come on stay grounded, you know where you are.

They reach a hand up and feel the slight touch of Jackie’s hand on their shoulder, and everything begins to clear up more. They finally find the spot where Pixel brought them back from Real 0. they look up, and there it is, Pixel’s tree house. Eclipse takes a deep breath and climbs up the latter, only to find that once they get up there, the past writers are still there.

“How does this look?” Eclipse asks, showing Pixel the invite for Marvin’s birthday.

Perfect. Now why don’t you send that off and I’ll show you your place to stay. 

“I’m not staying here?” Eclipse asks. Pixel shakes their head.

No You’re going to be in your own realm. Don’t worry, you’ll like it. You control everything there and the entrance can move as you please.

Eclipse smiles slightly. “So it’s like Howl’s moving Castle?” Pixel laugh.

Sure. Here, you go down, I’ll be right behind you.

Eclipse watches as the past version of themself bounds down the ladder and peaks around the forest. Pixel stands by their desk, looking down at what Eclipse has been looking for; it’s a light blue notebook, where Pixel keeps all their knowledge about the stories, the egos, and about Realm 0 as well. 

Eclipse is about to speed up to when Pixel leaves but, the sight of the writer stops them.

Eclipse.

The double freezes for a moment, there’s no way they should be able to see them, right?

I know that you’ll figure it out, and I know that you’re going to travel to this point so that you can be here. Or maybe you won’t it just depends on how the timeline plays out.

Pixel chuckles for a moment.

Though knowing you, it’ll end up this way. Which means that one of the egos are helping you. I won’t drag on though. I know you don’t believe in yourself right now, you’re still scared that things will change, that you’ll change. But I promise they won’t. You’re strong and if you want to be better, you will. If something happens to me, I feel content knowing that the blog is in your hands.

Pixel pulls out a small box from their desk and sniffles a little, rubbing behind their mask before running down the ladder. 

The inside of the tree house turns grey, as Eclipse sits on the ground and time pauses. small tears are running down their cheek, weakly they wipe them away. Eclipse reaches onto the desk and takes the small box and the notebook. Something falls out of the notebook as they do. Eclipse looks down and picks up a golden ring, similar to the one that they’re wearing already. They examine it for a moment and put it on their other middle finger, the one without a ring already on it.