 |
|
|
ASTROLOGY ARTICLES BY JON Eclipses in AstrologyI attended the Midwest Astrology Conference in Cleveland this past weekend and Sandra-Leigh Serio gave a very interesting lecture on eclipses; and so I thought it would be nice to share some of the information that she presented, along with some of my own personal thoughts on the power of eclipses. First of all for an eclipse to occur, the Sun and Moon have to be in conjunction or opposition (i.e. New or Full Moon); and this New or Full Moon must be within 18 degrees and 31 minutes of the Moon's nodes. The easy way to figure out when an eclipse will occur is look to the signs (always opposite) the transiting North Node and South Node are in. When the Sun makes its annual visit to those signs (six months part) and forms a conjunction or opposition with the Moon, that's when the eclipse will occur. For example, this year (2008) they are in the signs Aquarius (North Node) and Leo (South Node); so at the New and Full Moons in February and August, there will be an eclipse. There are between 4-6 eclipses in a calendar year. The solar eclipse (which occurs at the New Moon) happens when the Moon is located between the Earth and Sun. Solar eclipses, like a regular New Moon, signify a new beginning or a new direction unfolding. The lunar or Full Moon eclipse occurs when the Earth is located between the Sun and Moon, and, like a Full Moon, it signifies a time of conclusion, fruition, climax or culmination. An eclipse from an astrological perspective is a super-duper New or Full Moon. If you pay attention to the news around the time of an eclipse you will probably notice an increase in newsworthy stories. On a personal level the big events in life often happen when an eclipse makes a tight conjunction, opposition or square to a natal planet or point. Of course you want to tie the information the eclipse gives with the current transits, secondary progressions and solar arc directions for a clearer picture. An eclipse by itself might not mean much, but if there is also a major transit and progression happening, reemphasizing what the eclipse is saying, then you know it's going to be powerful. A transiting planet can symbolize an event by activating the eclipse degree well before or after the actual eclipse takes place. Sandra Leigh says, "an event associated with the eclipse can be experienced one year before and up to two years after." So if you have an eclipse make an exact conjunction to an important planet or point in your chart, it's going to be important. Even if it's not immediately clear what the meaning is, it might take time for a transiting planet to activate it. The house position of the eclipse is important as well especially if the eclipse hits a planet in that house. If the eclipse hits the 1st/7th house axis it emphasizes the polarity between individuality and relationships, and at these times relationships are often either made or broken. If the eclipse hits the 2nd/8th axis it emphasizes the polarity between personal values and resources and the deep intimacy of shared values and resources. Self worth issues and money issues are highlighted during this time. Every thing in astrology is a cycle and eclipses are no different, an eclipse will return to same sign and house approximately every 18 years and the opposite sign and house every nine years. So if you want to get a heads up on what this year's eclipses mean, think about what was going on in your life nine years ago in 1999 and 18 years ago in 1990. For example maybe the 1999 eclipses hit your 4th/10th axis and you bought a new home, started a family or started a new job. So maybe this year, similar domestic and career issues will come into sharp focus. Here are the dates of upcoming eclipses through 2010 so you can test them out for yourself. You can also visit Big Sky Astrology, the website of my friend and astrologer, April Elliott Kent, for additional information about eclipses.
|
| < return to the ARTICLES index |