Set Your Eclipse Alarm: The Hermit and The Moon are Here to Help

Photo by Victoria Voloshchenko on Unsplash

Early in the morning (3:30 am PT) on March 3rd, the Full Moon will turn a deep, burnt red, and a total lunar eclipse will be visible to most of North America. 

A Full blood Moon eclipse is genuinely spectacular. Humans have been awe of these celestial shows for thousands of years. You can appreciate the eclipse as a simple show, or if you are open to it, you can work with the eclipse’s energy to evolve some energies of your own.

I started observing eclipses in 2018 when we had back-to-back Blood Moons, one in January and one in July. There wasn’t anything I wanted to ‘get’ out of Moon manifestation; I was just curious to see how the lunar cycles affected me. 

Fast forward, I’m now a full-time tarot reader who also writes Moon manifestations! 

I’m not saying this coming eclipse will change your life, but it is possible…

When it comes to working with eclipse energy, you don’t need to do anything at all. 

But if you can, set your alarm and go outside to see it.

This current eclipse cycle opened two weeks ago with a Solar Eclipse in Aquarius. February 17th was also the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Fire Horse. I wrote about it here.

In eclipse seasons, we have an opportunity to upgrade our energy by releasing old baggage that no longer supports us.

Eclipses bring new beginnings. Doors fly open that you didn’t know existed, and paths appear that weren’t there before.

Since the 17th, the eclipse portal has been gently working upon us. You may have felt it clearly, it may still be coming into focus, or you might be oblivious to it entirely. Some portals are more powerful than others based on what energies are ready to move within you.

Whatever your eclipse season has been, the portal is open, and this Blood Moon is how it closes.

Tarot Cards of This Eclipse Season - The Hermit and The Moon

The Full Moon is in the sign of Virgo, represented by The Hermit, and we are in the season of Pisces, represented by The Moon.

The Hermit is rooted in the earth — deliberate, sure-footed, grounded.

Smith Rider Waite Deck, The Hermit

He’s alone on a mountaintop, in the dark, holding a lantern. He’s not lost. He’s not hiding. He removed himself from the noise of the village to seek wisdom through direct, personal experience. 

As I wrote when I first introduced The Hermit: he carries just enough light to see the next step ahead of him. That’s it. Not the full path. Not the destination. One step.

The Hermit moves slowly and deliberately. As a Virgo myself, I’ve found this card frustrating to write about. I want more light! I want to see the full picture so I can get organized and make a plan.

And yet, when I am wise and listen to The Hemit’s wisdom, I understand that more information wouldn’t actually be helpful.

Where The Hermit is grounded in earth, The Moon occupies the watery depths of the subconscious. It is the card of dreams and poetry, but also of nightmares and uncertainty.

Smith Rider Waite Deck, The Moon

The Moon is the card of imagination, mythology, and the unconscious mind.

The Moon is the second-to-last card in the Major Arcana, card 18, just before The Sun. By the time we arrive here, we’ve already passed through The Tower and The Star. We’ve survived disruption. We’ve received healing.

The Moon asks us to integrate it all, to let our deeper knowing catch up with everything we’ve experienced.

The Moon doesn’t ask for certainty. It asks for faith.

In the Smith Rider Waite, a dog and a wolf are both howling at the same light. Our domesticated self and our wild self, equally present, equally real. A crayfish crawls up from the depths, the monster under the bed.

The Moon above is full, but we know it won’t stay that way. The Moon is different every single night. If you come to this card asking for certainty and answers, you are going to be disappointed. There are times in life when we are supposed to be in the mystery of the dark.

And at a lunar eclipse, we witness the entire lunar cycle compressed into a matter of hours. The Full Moon is swallowed by shadow, dims to that deep blood red, and then slowly, slowly returns. It is the whole story of light and darkness in a single night.

Photo by Raju Bhupatiraju on Unsplash

The Hermit and The Moon Together

The Hermit and The Moon are not opposites in the way that fire and water are opposites. They are actually two different versions of the same invitation: go inward, trust what you find there, and take the next step.

The Hermit does it with a lantern and a plan. The Moon does it through dreams and instinct. One is earth; one is water. One is deliberate; one is receptive. 

Together, they’re asking you to stop waiting for the full picture and have faith that what’s on the other side of release is all that you will need. 

This is the closing message of the eclipse portal. The February 17th solar eclipse said: something new is beginning, and something old must go. 

This lunar eclipse says: you already know which is which. You don’t need more time to figure it out. The Hermit’s lantern has been lighting your path for weeks. The Moon has been working on you in your sleep.

You are more ready than you think.

What Are You Walking Through?

The portal that opened on February 17th closes with this Blood Moon.

Whatever the last two weeks have brought you — a clarity you weren’t expecting, a restlessness you can’t explain, or nothing you can put your finger on yet — the eclipse has been working. That’s what portals do. They move energy whether or not we’re consciously participating.

On the night of March 2nd, before you go to sleep, set a dream intention. Hold a question loosely as you drift off — something you’ve been sitting with, something unresolved, something you’re ready to release but haven’t quite named yet. Let The Moon work on it while you sleep.

Totality runs from 3:04 AM to 4:03 AM PT, with maximum eclipse (the deepest red) at 3:33 AM PT.

When your alarm goes off around 3:30 AM, write down whatever is in your mind. 

It doesn’t have to make sense. It doesn’t have to be profound. Just let what’s there come out onto the page. Then go outside and watch the Moon turn red.

As you’re standing there, here are a few questions to sit with. You don’t need answers — just curiosity and faith.

• What has shifted for you in the last two weeks, even subtly?

• What are you ready to walk away from — not because it was bad, but because it’s complete?

• What is your deeper knowing trying to tell you that your mind keeps interrupting?

• What would you do if you trusted that the next step was enough?

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You don’t need to have set any intentions. You don’t need to have been paying attention. The eclipse has already been doing its work.

All you have to do is walk through the door and wake up on the other side. 🌕