A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur May 15 and/or May 16, 2022. The exact date and time will depend on where you live. This Eclipse will be visible in North and South America, Africa, and most of Europe. Solar...
A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur May 15 and/or May 16, 2022. The exact date and time will depend on where you live. This Eclipse will be visible in North and South America, Africa, and most of Europe.
Solar Eclipses get a lot of attention, but in many cases, Lunar Eclipses can be as, if not more, important than Solar ones. Eclipses always come in at least pairs, and sometimes they come in triplets.
The Solar Eclipse of April 30, 2022 was a rather weak one and only visible in the Southern tip of South America. The Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022, like all Lunar Eclipses, will be visible over half of the planet. It will also be a Total Eclipse.
All eclipses cause disruptions during their corresponding Eclipse Season, and they can cause ripples over the next several months. Total Eclipses, however, have a much more lasting impact. Total Lunar Eclipses have an effect lasting one month for each minute of totality, and their full impact is usually not felt until the end of that time period.
The Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022 will last for 85 minutes. This corresponds to 85 months or 7 years and 1 month. Its full effect will be felt around June of 2029.
Eclipses generally manifest on the global level, but they can cause personal disruption as well, especially during Eclipse Season. It is generally best to avoid looking at an eclipse or allowing its light to enter your home. This will provide protection from its influence, at least on a personal level.
Chart of the Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022
At first glance, this chart is a bit troublesome. The Sun/Moon opposition that marks a Full Moon is forming a square with Saturn. Any time either of the luminaries interact with Saturn, there is potential for hardship and difficulty, even when the aspect is pleasant. In this case, both of the luminaries are involved, and the aspect is a tense one.
The other main difficult with the chart is that Mercury is retrograde. I tend to think that Eclipse Seasons are more disruptive than Mercury retrogrades, but in this case, we have them both at once.
For more information about Mercury retrograde, see:
Another cause for concern is that Jupiter has just moved into Aries from Pisces. Jupiter loses dignity as she rules Pisces. She does have some dignity in Aries, though. The reason it could be a cause for concern is that Aries is a warlike sign.
Yet, this chart is more benign than it would appear on the surface. The Sun and Moon are separating from the square with Saturn, which means that is weakening. Also, neither planet will perfect any other aspects before they change sign. This will minimize any effect this eclipse will have.
Also, although Mercury is retrograde, she is in Gemini, one of the signs that she rules. This means that the disruptions to communication will mitigated. Mercury is also moving into a sextile with Jupiter, which give the ability to talk through conflict.
lunar Saros Series 131
In addition to being a part of a pair or a triplet, each eclipse is part of a family of eclipses that occur approximately 18 years apart. This family is known as a Saros Series, and it has a beginning and an end.
For more information about Saros Series, see:
Eclipse Seasons and Saros Cycles, The Solar Eclipse of August 11, 2018
The Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022 is a part of Saros Series 131. The first eclipse of this series occurred on May 10, 1427. It will produce its last eclipse on July 7, 2707. This series is in the prime of its life, which is why it is producing Total Eclipses.
Lunar Saros Series 131 began producing Total Eclipses on April 2, 1950. This eclipse had 27 minutes of totality, so it reached its full impact in July 1952. The next Total Eclipse was on April 13, 1968 and lasted 49 minutes. Its full impact was felt in July 1972. On April 24, 1986, the eclipse was total for 64 minutes, and its impact was fully manifest in August 1991. The most recent eclipse was on May 4, 2004, and it lasted 75 minutes. It became fully manifest in August 2010.
In researching these dates, all of these eclipses were either occurring or reaching their full impact during major conflicts that the United States has been involved in overseas. On the other hand, none of them seemed to exactly match when considering both the beginning and end dates of their influence.
This would seem to indicate that this series might have played a minor role, but that it was probably another Saros Series that was the main culprit. Between Solar and Lunar Eclipses there are between four and nine Saros Series that are in play every year, so any one of them could have been involved.
Transits from May 15 though May 29, 2022
As discussed above, on May 15, the day of the eclipse, the Sun and Moon will square Saturn. In most cases, these would be minor transits that only lasted a day or so, but in this case, they are embedded in the Lunation and Eclipse chart, so their impact will be felt for a longer period of time.
These are heavy aspects that could create some frustration and trouble, but on the whole the way to manage them is through patience and persistence.
On May 18, Mars will conjunct Neptune in Pisces. This could create problems if you act upon rumors or misinformation. Avoid taking action if it can wait for the next few days.
The Sun will enter Gemini on May 20. The next day, May 21, Mercury will from an exact conjunction with the Sun, which will bring several hours in which communication will be greatly enhanced.
After that, on May 22, Mercury will return to Taurus for a short time, which will make communication more difficult again. This will also mark the 3rd Quarter Moon, in which the Lunar Cycle begins to wind down.
On May 24, Mars will enter Aries. It has not been in this sign since the Summer and Fall of 2020, when it stayed in this sign for 6 months. In Aries, Mars is strong and in her most volatile sign, so be careful of losing your temper. The good news is that she will be direct the entire time, so it will only last two months.
On May 28, Venus will enter her own sign of Taurus, which will help to soothe tensions that Mars can create. This will be helpful, as on May 29, Mars will conjunct Jupiter, which could either make tensions larger or bring harmony and perspective to them, depending on the choices people make on an individual and collective level.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022 could stir up a lot of emotions and tensions, but its impact will be mitigated by the Void of Course Moon. Its full influence will not be known until June of 2029, but given the pattern of the previous eclipses in the Saros Series, whatever it is will probably not make the history books of the future.
On a personal level, those who have planets or major chart points in the later degrees of the Fixed Signs, which are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, will be the ones who feel the impact most deeply. For those, I would advise battening down the hatches for a couple of weeks to ride out the storm.
For everyone in the path of the eclipse, as always, I advise that, if at all possible, you do not look at it and close your curtains or shades to keep its light out of your house. I believe that this will provide some protection from its influence.
