Eclipses are as old as the Sun and the Moon. The earliest records of eclipses come from the Babylonians, who noticed that eclipses preceded important events such as the death of the king, the birth of a future king or unusual weather patterns.

Some eclipses were bad omens, others were good omens. Babylonians discovered thousands of years ago that while solar eclipses seemed to be connected to kings and queens, lunar eclipses affected everyone.

This makes sense when we know that Solar Eclipses have a path of totality, and are visible only from a narrow part of the Earth, while lunar eclipses are visible from anywhere in the world where it is nighttime.

The total eclipse on Friday, July 27 is a lunar eclipse, meaning it will affect everyone, common people, like you and me. You may feel already the heat.

Mars is closer to the Earth than ever and people all over the world feel the heat, literally. Many parts of the globe experience heat waves, and if you wondered why it’s so hot – it’s because Mars, the planet of fire and heat is close to the Earth. Sometimes astrology is that literal!

If you haven’t seen Mars in the sky, I highly recommend you go and look for it. If you see how bright and red Mars is in the sky these days and you’ll know what I mean! It’s easy to find it – no other star is as bright and red as he is right now.

The intensity will give you an idea about what to expect from this lunar eclipse. You can also spot Mars by looking for the Moon. The Moon is getting closer and closer to Mars and will be right next to the Moon on the night of the Eclipse.

I’m not going to lie to you, this is a challenging eclipse. The eclipse is engaged in a T-square in fixed signs: we have the Moon, Mars and South Node in Aquarius, Sun and North Node in Leo, and Uranus, the ruler of the eclipse, squaring it from Taurus, adding unpredictability in the mix. Mercury also goes retrograde one day before. As if we didn’t have enough tension, right?  

T-squares in fixed signs are tough because fixed signs are stubborn, and squares are all about change and push, so they don’t go well together. The only fixed sign that is not engaged in this T-square is Scorpio.

Thankfully, it’s not all grim. Venus in Virgo is trine Pluto in Capricorn, while Sun in Leo is trine Chiron in Aries. These are favorable aspects which will channel the intense energy of the eclipse into healing.

This is your chance to confront an issue that has been bothering you for a long time (South Node) and get rid of it for good.  

Chiron, Mars and Pluto, and the Nodes will make you feel like a sacred warrior who finally breaks through the chains of illusion.

If you choose to face your fears, you will finally release the warrior inside you. Now it’s time to cut off the cord of emotional attachments that no longer serve you.

You can absolutely make it right this time, with one condition: to be brutally honest with yourself! Your vulnerability is where your deepest strength lies.

Aquarius is an air sign, while Mars is a fire planet. When you put fire and air together you get an implosion,  a spontaneous combustion. Mars is retrograde so he won’t spit out the flames, but burn you from the inside out.

The flames of Mars will only burn what is no longer necessary, releasing outdated (South Node) perceptions and beliefs (Aquarius).

The eclipse is in Aquarius, and Aquarius is the sign of humanity, and the groups to which we belong to (political, national, spiritual, interest based, friendships).

The South Node in Aquarius means we need to let go of whatever is outdated about these groups, or let go of our beliefs about what belonging to a group is supposed to mean.

And the retrograde Mars in Aquarius will brutally expose where we’ve been hypocritical about our beliefs and expectations. Mars will cut, will actually BURN those perceptions that don’t truly serve humanity as a whole.

There is a bit of cosmic irony in having Mars, the planet of assertive action and individuality, right next to a Full Moon in Aquarius (Aquarius is the planet of the collective). Mars in Aquarius is like a soldier who fights for his motherland. 

The shadow side of Mars in Aquarius is chaotic action, while the evolved Mars will fight for the rights of humanity as a whole.

How many more wars have to start in the name of people’s rights, where in fact, everything is a political agenda in disguise?

You and me – we – can change that. It all starts with us. We can start by being brutally honest about our own ‘political agenda’ (Aquarius, together with Capricorn are the sign of politics).

We can start by asking ourselves: “What’s really behind my motivations?” “Do I genuinely want to make the world a better place, or am I’m hiding behind groupthink?”

The shadow side of Aquarius is false humanitarianism and starting a revolution for egotistical reasons.

The evolved side of Aquarius is about being human, for the love of people (as opposed to Leo, which is concerned with the love for the Self). Is about honoring humanity, not because we can take some advantage out of it, but because we sincerely love our fellow humans.

The Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius is a reminder that we have human rights, but also obligations.  

We’re all in this together, a part of the collective. No individual is more important than another. In the same time, each one of us has a responsibility to speak up and stand for the truth, as long as it serves a greater good. 

Finding the thin line between fighting for your rights and fulfilling your obligations is exactly what the Lunar eclipse is about. We all have layers and layers of outdated beliefs about what we are supposed to do.

What outdated belief will you burn?

The Lunar eclipse on July 27 is a blessing in disguise. If we’re honest with ourselves, this is one of the greatest opportunities to rapidly burn out thousands of years of collective conditioning. 

The portal opens on July 27 and stays open until August 11 when we have the final eclipse of the season.

• Lunar Eclipse