Eclipse Season, Animal Wisdom, and the Many Mirrors We Face

When Pets Reflect Our Energy Back to Us

Sep 20, 2025

Relearning the Mirror

You may have heard that your pets are your mirror. That their behaviors faithfully echo our moods, our stress, our fears. And there is a lot of truth in that. But I want to pause here, to nuance what “mirror” really means because I believe the mirror idea is often overused, flattened, even misused. Animals are their own beings, with their own journeys, their own pains, their own wisdom. Sometimes they reflect us. Sometimes they don’t. And recognizing both is where real compassion, for ourselves and for them, begins.

Maisy-Cat and the Move

A few years ago, I moved houses. It was more than just a physical relocation, it was emotionally, financially, spiritually stressful. There were a lot of moving parts in my life, and I honestly wasn’t checking in with myself. I was pushed, depleted, not terribly patient, carrying anxiety I hadn’t admitted.

After the move, I noticed changes in Maisy’s behavior. In our old home she was outgoing, relaxed, often sunning herself on the catio, greeting me, sitting on my lap while I read. But in the new home, she withdrew. She hid where I could barely reach her. Sometimes I couldn’t even find her for hours. She was distant. Quiet. Almost depressed.

This went on for months. Six months, maybe closer to a year. At first, I thought maybe she missed the old home. Maybe there’s something physically off. But eventually I realized that I felt the same. I wanted to isolate. I wanted to hide. I wanted to go and hide where no one could reach me. I was Oscar the Grouch in human form and she was acting it out beside me.

Maisy wasn’t only withdrawing from me because my energy was overwhelming. She was also reflecting how I felt inside. When I began tending to my own healing through energy tools, spiritual practices, and getting support, she began to shift as well. The more balanced I became, the more she reemerged, curious again, seeking connection. It was one of my first lived experiences of seeing how closely our animals can reflect what we carry.

When It’s Not a Mirror

Baldr and Loki are my big boys. They are littermates and rescue pups that came to me at 10 weeks old, already neutered, as rescues often require. Very quickly, I learned that early neutering in large breeds can affect their musculoskeletal development. And indeed, Loki developed CCL (ligament) issues, while Baldr has hip dysplasia and back issues.

Here, it felt different. Their suffering wasn’t a reflection of my mood, my stress, or my emotional life. It was medical. Biological. Structural. Not something I had caused or mirrored in my own body. Did I learn from it? Absolutely. I learned to advocate, to question, to deepen my knowledge. But their pain was not my mirror.

This distinction matters. Not everything in our animals’ lives is about us. When I hear broad statements that “pets are always our reflection,” I think of Baldr and Loki. Their journey is their own. Yes, I check in with myself first whenever an issue arises. But when it doesn’t resonate, I move past the mirror and ask: how can I help them, honor their path, and support their wellbeing?

The Myth & The Truth

Flattening the mirror story into the only story can be harmful. If a pet hides, people assume we must be stressed. If a dog paces, we must be restless. If a cat clings, we must be needy. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes they’re just cold, or in pain, or responding to a change in their environment. When we assume it’s always about us, we risk ignoring their actual needs or minimizing their own journeys.

Holding both truths is the practice. Yes, they sometimes reflect us. And yes, they are sovereign beings with their own experiences. Compassion lives in the space where we’re curious enough to look inward, and humble enough to see that sometimes it’s not about us at all.

It’s also important to talk about something else. Animals are not here solely for human growth. While they do make us better in countless ways, their life’s purpose is not to merely serve as tools for our healing. I often hear people say that when your animal companion develops a serious illness, it is to teach the human a lesson. To me, that belief diminishes the animal’s sovereignty and reduces their life to a symbol for ours. Their journey is their own, just as our journey is our own. We meet, we teach each other, we grow together, but their existence is not defined by us.

This is the same as with other humans. Every person who crosses our path brings something to teach us, and we bring something to teach them. The dog on your couch, the lizard in the yard, the eagle overhead, the neighbor across the street, each life carries its own meaning and its own lessons. Calling attention to that equality helps us resist a common spiritual pitfall where humans assume the world exists chiefly to serve human evolution. That tendency, often described as anthropocentrism, flattens the rich autonomy of other beings. Every being enters our path for a reason, and we enter theirs, but each life carries meaning beyond what we project onto it.

Eclipse Season and Cosmic Mirrors

All of this feels especially timely, because we are in eclipse season. On September 7th, we experienced a total lunar eclipse in Pisces. On September 21st, a partial solar eclipse in Virgo arrives, exact at 29° Virgo, a critical degree, often signaling a threshold, culmination, or turning point.

This eclipse will be most visible in Oceania, Antarctica, and parts of the southern Pacific, with up to 80% coverage in southern New Zealand and Stewart Island. For many of us, we will feel it energetically more than see it physically.

Astrologically, Virgo governs health, service, boundaries, daily rhythm, and detail. At this degree, the eclipse invites us to:

Release perfectionism and harsh inner criticism
Let go of habits or obligations that feel draining
Reorient daily structures toward what truly serves
Attend to the body and nervous system with practical care

Because this solar eclipse opposes Pisces, there is tension between Virgo’s grounded service and Pisces’ dissolving, emotional waters. Add in square aspects to other mutable signs, and the theme intensifies. Boundaries blur, emotions surge, clarity feels harder to hold. For our animals, this can look like restlessness, clinginess, sudden shifts in behavior. They sense the field changing, even if they don’t know why.

Just as eclipses reveal shadows in the sky, they also illuminate hidden patterns in our lives. Eclipses are cosmic mirrors. And when we bring pets into that frame, we notice the many mirrors reflecting back at once. The sky reflecting our collective tides, our pets reflecting our energy, and our own inner world reflecting itself in everything around us.

Ritual for You & Your Animal

Eclipses can stir anxiety. But they are also potent opportunities for release and reset. Here’s a simple ritual to ground yourself and your animal during this eclipse:

Gather:

A candle (or soft light)
A journal and pen
Optional: dried herbs (lavender, chamomile, lemon balm for tea; rosemary or bay leaf for gentle smoke clearing)

Practice:

Find a quiet space. Light your candle. Prepare a cup of calming herbal tea.
Invite your animal to join you. Place a hand on your heart and, if they’re comfortable, a hand on them. Breathe slowly together: in for 4, hold for 2, out for 6.
If you enjoy smoke cleansing, burn a bay leaf or rosemary sprig in a fire-safe dish, letting the smoke lightly waft. Keep windows open for your pet’s comfort.
Journal with the prompts below.
Close by thanking your animal companion for walking this journey beside you, not as your mirror alone, but as a being with their own path.

Journal Prompts:

Where have I been carrying pressure or perfectionism?
What habits or obligations feel draining right now?
What behaviors in my pet stand out to me lately? Do any feel like reflections of my own state? Which feel like their own journey?
What is one thing I can release tonight, for both of our wellbeing?

Embracing Many Mirrors

Eclipses are cosmic mirrors. They show us what is hidden, magnify what is unresolved, and invite us into deeper alignment. Our pets are sometimes mirrors too, reflecting what we can’t yet see in ourselves. But they are also sovereign beings, carrying wisdom and lessons of their own.

In this eclipse season, may we honor all of it, the reflections, the individuality, the cosmic tides, the ordinary days. May we breathe with our animals, notice the mirrors, and welcome the chance to release what no longer serves. And may we remember that every being in our lives, human, animal, cosmic, is both a teacher and a traveler, walking their own path beside us.

Thank you so much for reading this post! I’d love to hear from you! What are your animals reflecting (or not reflecting) for you during this eclipse season?

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Disclaimer: The information shared in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. I am not a veterinarian, and my services are intended as a complementary practice to support your pet’s overall well-being. They are not a substitute for professional veterinary care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your veterinarian regarding any medical concerns, conditions, or treatments your pet may require.

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