Partial lunar eclipse in Pisces 2024: Everything you need to know

Look up and let it out, folks: a partial lunar eclipse is coming. This eclipse falls in Pisces, the sign of poets, escape artists, illusionists, dreamy deceivers, and gentle conmen.

Eclipses have long been associated with fate, reversals of fortune, and points of no return. The word itself comes from the Greek ekleipsis, meaning “to abandon, to forsake a usual place.”

In this sense, we can begin to understand the energy of this eclipse as disembarkation, shedding skin, and wading/walking/stumbling raw and renewed into our next stage of being.

When is the partial lunar eclipse?

The partial eclipse in Pisces is happening on Tuesday, September 17th, at 10:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but we will feel its effects for several days before and after.

Aiding and abetting our understanding of this week’s lunation is the brilliant astrologer Evan Nathaniel Grim, founder of Inner Worlds Astrology.

Grim imparts, “Eclipses are essentially energetic resets. Slightly fated events will go down and unfold that we don’t expect to happen but are meant to really steer us in the direction that we’re meant to go in. Eclipses can be associated with wake-up calls and uncomfortable truths that break us out of our comfort zone.”

What is a partial lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse transpires on a full moon when the Earth stands between the Moon and the Sun, cutting off the latter’s light. A partial lunar eclipse happens when the Earth stands between the Sun and the Full Moon, but they are not perfectly aligned.

Because this eclipse is happening in Pisces, the sign of cumulative release, universal healing, and escapist tendencies, these themes are surfacing around and through this lunation.

Grim explains, “A full moon in Pisces is an amazing release valve. I would argue if you can’t let go of something on this Pisces moon, then I don’t know when you’ll let it go. I think it’s a really healing full moon that can help people recover.”

Grim expounds, “There are a lot of opportunities to release during this eclipse. Maybe you release a belief system that’s no longer guiding you in the right direction. You could release a grudge that you’re holding towards somebody. You could release a delusion that’s misguiding you. You can release an unhealthy habit that has been holding you back.”

Lunar eclipse September 2024

Because Pisces is the domain of dreams and delusions, this eclipse could also signal a coming to light of things we’ve been avoiding or unclear about.

Grim says this lunation could provide irrefutable evidence that supports our growth, “For some people, this could be confirmation that they want to get sober, confirmation that they want a new job or confirmation that their partner is a pathological liar, confirmation that they’ve been lying to themselves.”

The underbelly of Pisces is the urge to disconnect, get comfortably numb, and deceive the self. Grim says this eclipse will bring to the surface themes of withdrawal and surrender, “People have been experiencing withdrawal from something in their lives that was traditionally a reliable source of escape. This eclipse can be a fine point on that journey as we withdraw from fantasy and embrace reality.”

At its best and brightest, Pisces energy is aimed at the pursuit of universal love, and this eclipse calls us to question whether we’re aiming high or living low.

Grim encourages all of us to ask, “Where am I gaining pleasure? Where am I gaining comfort? How am I getting that sense of bliss? How am I experiencing universal love? Am I getting it from the right sources or from escaping into mindless territory?”

Other astro aspects to consider during this eclipse?

Mercury, our planet of communication, will oppose Saturn, the planet of restriction. Grim suspects this face-off will result in many people going ‘no contact’ with someone who has harmed them, choosing to forgive but recognizing there can be no forgetting and moving on from the relationship.

During the eclipse, Venus, our planet of love and attraction, will be in Libra, opposing Chiron, the asteroid of deep pain and the profound potential for healing, in Aries.

“Chiron in Aries has a lot to do with self-love, self-worth, embracing all sides of yourself, not seeing your weaknesses as things to run away from but things to address or accept.”

With this opposition, that acceptance comes with and through another person.

“Venus in Libra is any union in which we trust that another person has some advice to give us that we cannot give ourselves.”

Grim explains that this opposition can express itself by opening up to a partner or seeking out the counsel of a friend or shaman.

Regardless of what release and acceptance look like for you, there’s no finer time to find it than now.

Astrology 101: Your guide to the star

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.