Pisces Lunar Eclipse 2026
We’re mercifully nearing the end of eclipse season, and I for one am ready to move past this eclipse energy! But we’ve got one more eclipse to get through before moving on, folks. The Pisces Lunar Eclipse/full Moon is exact at 04°54’ on Thursday, August 27 at 11:18 pm CST. This is a North Node eclipse, with the North Node situated at 29°50’ Aquarius.
Before we get into this eclipse chart, here is a shameless plug for my upcoming collaboration at Harvest Preserve with Dawn Frary of Folkloracle:
Wednesday, September 9, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Understanding Your Natal Moon through Astrology and Tarot
Dawn and I taught this class at Press Coffee at the Virgo Lunar Eclipse back in March, and it was a real good time. We’ll be teaching this time during the dark Moon just before the upcoming Virgo new Moon, which I think might be an optimal time for this class. As I mentioned last time, many class participants could see their experience of their mothers in their natal Moon, and many could see their own mothering style in their natal Moon - fascinating stuff! It’s not all about mothering, though - one artist was able to deepen his understanding of the scenes that he is drawn to create through the exploration of his natal Moon. So fun and interesting - if you’re curious to learn about your natal Moon through Astrology and Tarot, I encourage you to register here!
Now, back to our exploration of the final eclipse of this eclipse season. What do full Moons, eclipses and Pisces have in common? Emotions! Are you feeling it yet? Based on the astrology of this full Moon eclipse chart, you may be feeling it as a buzzy, heady, free-floating anxiety sort of emotional state - one that can turn on a dime and explode outward with seemingly little warning. And this brings me to a golden nugget of wisdom that I’ve come across lately that I keep coming back to, and it is this:
Just because somebody has an emotional reaction, doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong.
Good, hunh? And on the flip side, just because we are having an emotional reaction, doesn’t mean that somebody else has done something wrong. We are all responsible for our own emotional responses, and it is our responsibility to sit with those responses - just sit with them, without assigning blame. It may be helpful to cultivate curiosity about our emotional responses, to ask ourselves ‘what could this emotional response be about?’ Is it about something more than what initially catalyzed the emotion? Does it go much deeper than the present situation? What is our role in this emotional response, rather than what is the role of the other person? Because it is all too easy to come to the conclusion that we have been wronged, and that is why we are in the emotional space that we are currently in. But, friends, I ask, what the hell good is that? Where does that leave us? Ok, we can say that this person who has catalyzed this emotional response is no longer good for our emotional well-being, and we need to keep our distance if we’re able, or if we’re unable to keep our distance, then we need to have better boundaries around our interactions with them. Beyond that, is it helpful or even fair to relegate or assign responsibility for our emotions to somebody else? Life can be disappointing - we are disappointed by others and we disappoint others, and sometimes the only thing we can do is feel disappointed and move on, having learned something about ourselves and our interpersonal relationships.
I say this for the following reasons. The North Node is symbolic of the path forward, toward our highest Self. With this Pisces full Moon conjunct the North Node in Aquarius, it seems this eclipse could be an invitation for us to step up our emotional game by attaining some level of objectivity with regard to our emotions. Perhaps we can cultivate a healthy curiosity around what our emotions are trying to teach us, or how our emotions are inviting a measure of soul growth into our lives. Pisces is all about the emotional depths, which if traversed mindfully and with honesty, can be a most fertile space for catalyzing growth. However, it can be all too easy to become trapped in those depths, swimming among the emotions in a way that is somehow both self-indulgent and self-harming. One problematic signification of Pisces to be aware of is this:
Emotional manipulation of others, especially manipulation through helplessness.
As in:
‘I’m so helpless, you do it for me. I can’t’
I mean, even if we don’t have Pisces prominent in our natal chart, we all have it somewhere - and we’ve all been there in that feeling of helplessness and needing to be rescued. However, if we can identify the types of situations when these sorts of emotional thought patterns occur, as well as any disempowering behaviors that may stem from these thought patterns, we can then begin to make some changes. For me, it’s when one of my pets turns predator and hunts a prey animal. I just can’t! I’m so helpless. I’m not a farm girl, I’m not a Scorpio. I cannot deal! Recognizing this disempowering thought pattern itself is the first significant step towards personal responsibility, which can be a very empowering state of being. Maybe someday I’ll be capable of cavalierly disposing of rodent corpses, and possibly even mercy killing, but not today. Not as long as I’m married to and surrounded by Scorpio/farmer type neighbors. I will remain personally irresponsible and disempowered in this area of my life, just how I like it.
The ruler of this Pisces full Moon is Jupiter in Leo at 12°53’, who is in a close applying trine to Saturn in Aries at 13°53’ - a fiery flow of self-expression and ‘go forth and conquer’ energy if there ever was one! Jupiter in Leo seems to ask ‘what is the most creative vision and expression of my most fabulous self?’ With Jupiter’s trine to Saturn in Aries, Saturn seems to answer ‘how can I make this vision of fabulous creative self-expression happen ASAP’?
Now, Mars in Cancer at 10°57’ is applying to square Saturn in Aries at 13°53’, so any action that we may take toward making this vision of creative self-expression happen could encounter a great big ole
Nope. Do-over.
With Mars in Cancer, our emotions may be urging us to take action, or more specifically, our need for emotional safety may be spurring us to action. We may also be taking action in fits and starts, or in a less than straightforward manner. Saturn in Aries is there to offer us the aforementioned NOPE, especially if we haven’t developed an organized plan of attack prior to acting, or if we didn’t get our ducks in a row before we set ourselves in motion (albeit a likely sidling motion).
Now, where is the outer planet small talent triangle with relation to this full Moon? I’m so happy you asked! Uranus at 05°37 Gemini is squaring both the Sun at 04°54’ and Mercury at 05°22’ Virgo and also the Moon at 04°54 Pisces. This Uranus square is where the buzzy, anxious tinge of this emotional full Moon in Pisces comes in. Uranus is the planet of electricity, of sudden and/or shocking break-throughs or break-ups, as well as genius “a-ha!” moments. If we are able to identify these shocking a-ha moments for what they are, that can be a very exciting, liberating experience. But if we’re experiencing this energy as shocks from out of the blue, that can be less exciting and liberating and more disconcerting, anxiety-inducing, and upsetting. So let’s simply be aware that this energy is prevalent at this Pisces full Moon eclipse - don’t let’s get ourselves too rattled. Instead, let’s invite in those a-ha moments of genius if possible.
That’s not the end of the outer planet engagement with this eclipse chart - the Sun and Mercury conjunct in Virgo are forming a yod aspect pattern with the other two outer planets, Neptune at 03°45’ Aries, and Pluto at 03°35’ Aquarius. So for guidance here, we go to the woman who wrote the book - Karen Hamaker Zondag. (Hamaker-Zondag, Karen. The Yod Book: Including a Complete Discussion of Unaspected Planets. Red Wheel Weiser, 2000. Pgs 55, 62, 63, 67)
Karen H-Z teaches that the energy of the yod has a searching quality to it, and travels in a zig-zag pattern, rather than a straight line. With the transiting yods especially (such as the yod that is formed in this Pisces full Moon eclipse chart), a theme that can occur is having to make seemingly impossible choices, or feeling that circumstances dictate that we must make a choice that we don’t want to make. Yet, Karen H-Z says that to force a choice with a yod is unproductive, and a better way to approach the situation is with ease rather than urgency, simply being in the moment and open to any adjustments that likely will arise.
Transiting yods can be thought of as important turning points that may offer unexpected experiences that can reverberate within ourselves for some time. Because of this, Karen H-Z says to pay attention to the subtler things in life such as dreams, intuitive inclinations, and synchronicities, which may be beckoning us somehow into a new phase of being or understanding. However, she also cautions us to not become overwhelmed by tuning in to these subtler aspects, and to keep ourselves grounded, so as not to lose our wits and do something wack. And finally, the last thing I want to touch on with the yod aspect is this idea that even though the path we’re on may feel zigzaggy, or ‘one step forward, two steps back’, if we zoom out and take it all in, we can see how each experience and activity that we’ve been involved in has somehow prepared us for our path ahead. While our past activities and experiences may seem unconnected with one another, we may be able to find a thread that we can follow through each experience that has allowed each subsequent experience to build somehow on the prior experience. While we may look back and think, ‘well that was a random class I took, or activity I involved myself in, or person I hung out with’, you may be able to see how that seemingly random activity has actually helped move you along on your path.
If you’re following along closely, you’ve noticed that Mercury is conjunct the Sun. Mercury is currently in direct motion and located on the other side of the Sun from Earth, which is known as the superior conjunction of the Sun and Mercury, or a “full Mercury” - similar to a full Moon in the lunar cycle. When Mercury is in retrograde motion and conjunct the Sun, it is known as an inferior conjunction, or a “new Mercury”, and this occurs when Mercury is located in between the Sun and the Earth.
A “full Mercury” has similar significations to a full Moon - something is coming to light for you to absorb into your awareness, and since Mercury is the messenger, this something can be in the form of a conversation, a dream, a song, a thought, or any type of communication. Since the Sun and Mercury in Virgo are conjunct the South Node in Leo, it may be that something comes to light that you are ready to release, let go of, or not rely so heavily on in your soul-growth journey toward your highest Self. Mercury rules Virgo, and in Virgo, Mercury is separating the wheat from the chaff - identifying what is useful and healthy from what is no longer useful, and possibly toxic.
In any astrology chart, we look for echos, or repeated themes. The repeated themes in this full Moon eclipse in Pisces chart include:
A feeling of going at things sideways, or in a less than straightforward fashion, perhaps in fits and starts
Experiencing your emotions and being curious about them, but remaining grounded, avoid becoming overwhelmed by emotions. Sitting with emotions, but not wallowing in them
Unexpected experiences that reverberate within ourselves for some time
Being aware of subtle messages, in conversations, dreams, songs, thoughts, intuitive inclinations, synchronicities, or any type of communication, which may be beckoning us toward our soul’s growth or a new phase of being or understanding
A big picture vision of our creative self-expression that wants to be made into a workable structure, despite a feeling of progress being temporarily thwarted through roadblocks or restrictions; a ‘back to the drawing board’ sort of vibe.
Eclipses are thought to be optimal times to turn inward and reflect. In this quiet inward reflection, we may begin to notice and perhaps allow for what wants to emerge from the shadows of our conscious awareness. This Pisces lunar eclipse seems to be inviting us to sit with our emotions and allow what wants to come forth to do so, and allow for what wants to be released to go. While sitting with our emotions, we may start to become aware of what wants to be released, perhaps to make room for our soul’s growth. I hope that you are able to take a quiet moment with yourself at this Pisces full Moon eclipse to turn inward and allow your higher Self to guide you forward on your soul’s journey.