One year on from the release of their album, BE, BTS are flying to the US for a schedule of awards, performances and, finally (!), their first live concerts since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

It feels fitting, somehow, that we have a full moon eclipse happening in Taurus on the 19th of November. Not only does it open this end-of-year eclipse season, it marks the beginning of a significant shift of the lunar nodal axis. For the past 18 months, the eclipses have cracked open, shifted and reshaped the Sagittarius and Gemini areas of our lives. After a last solar eclipse in Sagittarius on December 4th, we will move into a new 18 months of growth and change where the Taurus-Scorpio axis lands for us, starting during Taurus season next year.

This eclipse lunation on the 19th of November, then, is a preview. A glimpse of the choices, challenges and opportunities that may come our way once the Taurus-Scorpio eclipses are fully underway. It feels like a marker of time, reminding us that the world moves on, unceasingly, and yet we are also where we’ve already been. Nothing is completely unfamiliar, whether because certain things have stayed constant, or because returning to a state we’ve known even if only as an echo. Astrological events show us time doesn’t really have a direction - it’s linear in some ways, cyclical in others, overlapping, looping…

As an album, BE was very much of its time, but its impact and importance persists. Through its introspection, we feel BTS’ desire to offer ARMY comfort and express their own struggles at a time when most people were being impacted by COVID. Although people’s experiences of the past year and a half will inevitably differ, BE was an exploration of what it means to be confronted with your own mind when you’re forced to slow down, when you might be cut off from connection in more ways than one, and when there seems to be no end to the uncertainty. Although many songs on the album offer hopeful and comforting notes, they don’t shy away from the reality of upheaval and its impacts on mental health. Through their music, BTS reaffirm their love for ARMY in their desire to offer support, and be supported in return.

Hey, let’s leave for the blue ocean,
The blue ocean where we used to romp around together
Meaningless worries, for a moment
Lay them down, for a moment
Let’s enjoy it among ourselves,
The little island in the middle of the blue ocean that we reminisce about together

— Telepathy

BE is also an album that is deeply about longing. And in that longing, finding anchors, pleasures and joys that can be anything from our relationships, to daily habits and routines, to BTS (and ARMY for them). It reminds us that we can only do our best with what we have, and that that’s what makes us resilient when our sense of security and grounding is disrupted. It asks us what resources and supports we have, however small or fragile they might seem. BTS may not have been able to see us in person, or make the album they might have been planning to make, but they made an affirmation of presence and care. An archive of a moment that still resonates today, and will no doubt resonate in many moments to come. They gave us BE-hind interviews around their creative processes, took on different roles than their usual ones, and allowed something organic to come out of that period of time.

Eclipses are the great movers and shakers of the sky - they shift things around us in ways that we might not immediately perceive or understand. Rather than trying to control or predict narratives and outcomes, eclipses create conditions where we must contend with balance in certain areas of our lives. They teach us that the best thing we can do is work out what we need to be flexible and to be supported when change is inevitable, including in moments of crisis. Eclipses are also tiring. Sometimes (oftentimes), it’s best to go back to the basics. Food, rest, grounding activities.

I created this tarot spread for you to use around the eclipse, as an encouragement to explore the different possibilities and truths - however conflicting - that are present for you at this time. I hope it can remind you that you can feel stagnant while things are actually changing, and that when it feels like things are changing (maybe too fast) there are also stable parts of your life to connect.

Sparks in the Night: a spread for working with non-linear time — celebrating the 1st anniversary of BE, and the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus

Card 1: Where am I/what is my situation at this point in time?
Card 2: Where do I feel trapped, stuck or destabilised right now?
Card 3: What is changing for me (that I might not be aware of) at this time?
Card 4: What comfort, constant or stability is available for me to create or lean into?
Card 5: How can I be open to different forms of supportive connection?
Card 6: Guiding sparks: what newness or desires can I explore and have fun with over the next 6 months?

I hope this spread can offer insight around how you can sustain yourself and find some ease during times of instability, uncertainty and/or growth. The comfort found in BE is that of connection, understanding, and remembering our capacity for flexibility even in challenging conditions. It’s a balm for all times, really, but I think there is a potency in going back to the simple things and back to the good roots of our lives as we move into eclipse season.

The upcoming live concerts and awards season are closing the chapter of BTS’ separation from meeting ARMY in-person, and it feels like an important marker of time. One, where if you feel called to, it might be helpful to reflect on what to mourn, what to celebrate gaining, and the countless ways you still have to grow and adapt through the messiness of living, and time.

Happy Anniversary to BE — on non-linearity, creating comfort and the Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus

Poppin’ Poppin’ (woah!) Our Way Into Sagittarius Season

Artista Feature — Sof