Lunar Standstill 2025
Understanding the Importance of the 18.6 year Nodal Cycle
I was outside recently observing the night sky and noticed how little the Moon had progressed from the previous night; it seemed to be at an unusual position. A momentary cosmic disorientation? No, it wasn’t just my imagination. The lunar standstill has been taking place since 2024, a celestial event that happens only once every 18.6 years. This cyclical period, where the moon reaches its most extreme rising and setting points, is more than just a stargazer's delight. It's also a key to unlocking ancient mysteries and understanding the connections between our planet, the Moon, and the rhythms of time.
What is a Lunar Standstill?
A lunar standstill, also called a “lunistice,” is a period of about two years when the moon rises and sets at its most extreme points on the horizon. The last period of lunistice happened in 2006. This occurs every every 18.6 years. This happens because of the wobbling moon orbit, the lunar precession. [The moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle; it wobbles slightly over time, like a spinning top, which causes its extreme rising and setting points to shift over the 18.6-year cycle.] The lowest hanging moon of this 18.6 year cycle will occur on June 10th, according to Space.com.1
Historical and Archeological Significance
In a recent Astrology Hub podcast, guest, Gemini Brett, explains the lunar standstill. Brett breaks down the astronomy of this phenomenon for the general audience and how it links to astrology, world events, and ancient archeological sites. 2 Historical sites such as Stonehenge, Callanish, and Newgrange appear to be aligned with moonrise and moonset points during a major lunar standstill.
There's a strong connection between lunar standstills and ancient sites like Stonehenge. Researchers are studying how these sites might have been aligned with the Moon's extreme positions during these events. This intertwines astronomy and archeology.
This connection of ancient sites, and their alignments with the lunar standstills, gives this astronomical event a very strong astrological, and spiritual importance.
- from Griffith Observatory
Implications of Lunar Standstill for Human Activity
In addition to the archeological and historical interest, scientists have been researching this cycle’s influence on tides and coastal flooding as well. 3 According to one study, “In the mid-2030s, every U.S. coast will experience rapidly increasing high-tide floods, when this lunar cycle will amplify rising sea levels caused by climate change.”
And, it isn’t just the tides and weather impacted by this cycle. Astrologers find that the 18.6-year cycle of the lunar nodes is a significant long-term pattern that can also influence societal and individual trends, as well.
On a personal level, Athen Chimenti writes, “In astrology, the moon symbolizes emotions, intuition, and the subconscious. It governs our inner landscapes – the unspoken, the felt, and the intuitive. Thus, the lunar standstills, as periods of extreme lunar positions, are seen as times of heightened and lowered emotional energies.”4
Become a Sky Observer
One of the most helpful ways to better understand the relationship of the Sun and Moon astronomically, is simply to observe it regularly over the course of a whole year near your home. Make a point to notice the location of the Sun at the four important corners of the year: Summer and Winter Solstices, and Spring and Fall Equinoxes. This helps you understand the Sun’s movement over the year and it’s extreme positions. Incidentally, this can be helpful when planning the landscaping around your home as well.
Then too, observe the Moon through its phases over a year’s course and note its positions. Notice the Moon’s path and location and it’s relationship to the Sun’s relative path throughout the Moon’s waxing and waning phases.
I spend a good amount of time just checking out the sky each day and night when I go outside. I use the hashtag #neverstoplookingup in many of my social media posts on Eagle.Eye.Stars to get that message out and remind people to keep their perspective. It has multiple meanings. It can mean to look on the bright side or, “be positive,” or to expect the best outcome possible, and also to literally look up and “observe the sky” regularly and keep our human perspective on things. There is something comforting about understanding our world better and remembering that our lives are but a blip on the cosmic time scale. Wherever you are on earth, unless you are in a cave or underground, the sky is there too and is literally half of our reality. But often we are so busy looking down in the earthly realm at things that don’t truly matter that we forget to look up and ponder our proper place in the grand scheme of things. So my friends, #neverstoplookingup
For more info about lunar standstill, see the following:
Astrology Podcast: The Lunar Standstill with Gemini Brett
Or Watch Astrology Hub Podcast Video
https://www.space.com/stargazing/dont-miss-these-15-spectacular-moon-events-in-2025
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/study-projects-a-surge-in-coastal-flooding-starting-in-2030s/
Chimenti, Athen. https://masteringthezodiac.com/lunar-standstill