The Solar Eclipse at 1 Gemini May 20-21, 2012 Pt. 1 - Who Does It Affect and for How Long?

by Robert Wilkinson

This Solar Eclipse will have a huge impact on everyone for 3 ½ years. All eclipses shut something down, taking away elements of our lives no longer true for us. Over the next 42 months many will find “delightful" endings and discoveries!

Gemini is the sign of learning and discovery of new information and perspectives. It is how Sagittarius, the sign of adventure, broad views, and higher awareness, as well as truth, philosophy, "distant travel" (literal and figurative), law, and the Higher Mind externalizes. So parts of our thinking and how we perceive and interpret things will end, with the void sure to attract new forms of these.

Because this Eclipse lasts 3 hours and 30 minutes from start to finish, and it's of an extremely high magnitude (higher than any of the 2011 Solar Eclipses, and slightly less magnitude than the one coming this November), it will have a major impact on everyone for about 3 years 6 months. As it opposes the degree of the November 2011 Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius, and is within 11 degrees of the powerful June 2011 Solar Eclipse, we'll see effects directly related to those two eclipses.

So as with the themes of the June and November 2011 Solar and Lunar Eclipses, this one will help us end old mental leftovers, old truths, old perceptions and interpretations, and old ideas about our future, with the void sure to attract new forms of Gemini energies. Look to the house where this Lunation falls to see what area of your life will be impacted, just as the houses where the June 1 and November 24-25, 2011 Solar Eclipses fell have already been shutting down obsolete patterns since then.

This Annular Partial Solar Eclipse happens at 4:47 pm PDT, 7:47 pm EDT on May 20, 0:47 am Greenwich (BST) May 21. The Lunation finds 23 Libra rising in Santa Monica, 17 Libra in Vancouver, 25 Scorpio in Montreal, 25 Scorpio in Washington DC, 21 Capricorn in Rio, 27 Capricorn in Lisbon (May 21), 25 Capricorn in London, 1 Aquarius in Amsterdam, 14 Aquarius in Berlin, 25 Aquarius in Tallinn, 11 Pisces in Sofia, 26 Pisces in Cairo, and 25 Pisces in Johannesburg.

Moving into Asia and Oceana, we find the Ascendants are 25 Taurus in Abbottabad, 27 Taurus in New Delhi, 18 Taurus in Trivandrum, 14 Gemini in Bangkok, 1 Cancer in Hong Kong, 29 Cancer in Tokyo, 9 Gemini in Perth, 1 Cancer in Melbourne, 16 Cancer in Brisbane, 30 Cancer in Wellington, and 21 Virgo rising on Maui (May 20).

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth. The Moon blocks the light from the Sun and casts a shadow on Earth. In eclipse lore, where the Eclipse is visible will be where the greatest effects can be expected, lasting the number of years that the eclipse is long in hours.

The 2009 Solar Eclipse at 30 Cancer was one of the longest of the 21st century, so its effects will be powerful through 2012 and beyond. The Solar Eclipses of 2010 will also be powerful for a number of years. There's more in the archives, so please take a new look.

The Solar Eclipse of January 2011 lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes, which also makes it a player in the events of 2012-2013, since it'll be active for 4 years and 4 months. As noted, the June 2011 Gemini Eclipse was very long, bright, and powerful, while the July 2011 Cancer Eclipse was short and weak, and its influence will last only through the end of 2012. The November 2011 Sagittarius Eclipse was very bright, and will be in effect for almost 4 years. So besides the usual transits and Lunations, planetary stations and conjunctions to the outer transformational planets, we also have Eclipses as long wave influences still be in play years after the event!

As I've mentioned in previous articles, we had 4 Solar Eclipses in 2011, which is a very rare occurrence. The January 2011 Eclipse was visible in Europe and the major cities of the Middle East. Perhaps that Eclipse had some correlations with the "Arab Spring" revolutions spreading throughout that region. The June 2011 Eclipse was visible in Northern Canada, Iceland, Greenland, and Norway. The July 2011 Eclipse was visible only in a small area between Antarctica and South Africa, so was seen by no one. The November 2011 Eclipse was visible in South Africa, Antarctica, and New Zealand.

This partial Solar Eclipse will be visible across a wide section of the Earth from southern China and Japan through the Northern Pacific and Aleutian Islands all the way down to southern Oregon and northern California, central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, New Mexico (Albuquerque!), and the Texas Panhandle. From the NASA bulletin (where you can find more than you could ever want to know about Solar Eclipses!)

On 2012 May 20/21, an annular eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses Earth's northern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in eastern Asia and crosses the North Pacific Ocean where it ends in the western United States. The Moon's penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering East Asia, North Pacific, North America and Greenland.

The 2012 May 20 eclipse... will be visible from a 240 to 300 kilometre-wide track that traverses eastern Asia, the northern Pacific Ocean and the western United States. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, that includes much of Asia, the Pacific and the western 2/3 of North America…

The annular path begins in southern China at 22:06 UT... Traveling eastward, the shadow quickly sweeps along the southern coast of Japan as the central line duration of annularity grows from 4.4 to 5.0 minutes.

Tokyo lies 10 kilometres north of the central line. For the over 10 million residents within the metropolitan area, the annular phase will last 5 minutes beginning at 22:32 UT (on May 21 local time). The annular ring is quite thick because the Moon's apparent diameter is only 94% that of the Sun. Traveling with a velocity of 1.1 kilometres/second, the antumbral shadow leaves Japan and heads northeast across the Northern Pacific. The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 23:52:47 UT when the eclipse magnitude reaches 0.9439....

The shadow passes just south of Alaska's Aleutian Islands as the central track slowly curves to the southeast. After a 7000 kilometre-long ocean voyage lasting nearly 2 hours, the antumbra finally reaches land again along the rugged coastlines of southern Oregon and northern California at 01:23 UT (May 20 local time).

Redding, CA lies 30 kilometres south of the central line. Nevertheless, it still experiences an annular phase lasting 4 1/2 minutes beginning at 01:26 UT. It is already late afternoon along this section of the eclipse path.... Central Nevada, southern Utah, and northern Arizona are all within the annular path.

By the time the antumbra reaches Albuquerque, NM (01:34 UT), the central duration is still 4 1/2 minutes, but the Sun's altitude has dropped to 5°. As its leading edge reaches the Texas Panhandle, the shadow is now an elongated ellipse extending all the way to Nevada. Seconds later, the antumbra begins its rise back into space above western Texas as the track and the annular eclipse end.

During the course of its 3.5-hour trajectory, the antumbra's track is approximately 13,600 kilometres long and covers 0.74% of Earth's surface area.

Besides the factor of where the shadow falls, in Astrology Eclipses are said to be most powerful when they conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Midheaven of a birth chart. When this happens it always brings endings related to the planets and sectors involved, but these can be of great benefit in clearing away old life factors that have no place in our future. As it was once sung, "something's lost and something's gained in living every day..."

All Solar Eclipses are New Moons. When a Lunation is on one of the angles of a chart, it is said to be particularly powerful. This month the Lunation is rising in Pakistan, India, Bangkok, and Perth, on or near the Midheaven (culminating) in New Zealand and Hawaii, setting in Montreal and Washington DC, and on the nadir in the UK and across Europe. These places will all see developments related to this Eclipse over the next 3 1/2 years.

This is a powerful Eclipse due to its duration and magnitude that will trigger effects from other recent Eclipses due to several factors. This Eclipse North Node is the same degree as Mercury in the December 2011 Lunar Eclipse, and both Mars and Saturn have positions within about 3 degrees of their position in that Lunar Eclipse as well as the preceding November Solar Eclipse. It safe to say that this Eclipse will trigger what Mars and Saturn taught us then, and have been teaching us since.

Of course, besides these past echoes and the usual general effects, the Eclipse will also bring losses and endings where it falls in our individual birth charts. In an example of how a loss can work to great benefit, if it conjuncts the Saturn in a birth chart, it can indicate the ending of old, lesser responsibilities, limitations, or fears, and open the being to a greater sense of purpose. If it conjuncts Jupiter, then it could show the ending of an old philosophy or belief system and open the gates to something far greater.

Given a Solar Eclipse is a New Moon, then like all Lunations that work their influence over time, it's triggered by subsequent transits to those points. Thus we can assume we will see developments related to this Eclipse when Mercury, ruler of the Eclipse, transits the Eclipse degree on May 24, with huge openings and discoveries directly related to this Eclipse when Jupiter moves across the first degree of Gemini on June 11-15.

We can also assume significant releases of the Venus energy in the Eclipse when Mercury hits 24 Gemini on June 4, when the Sun crosses that degree June 13, and when Venus returns to that degree on July 29-30. This will impact everyone in 2013 when Jupiter crosses the Eclipse Venus degree next May 26-30.

Another significant set of signs, signals, and developments will arise when the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars cross the degree span where Mercury conjuncts Jupiter in this Eclipse next May. Also when Mars conjuncts the Lunation degree on May 31-June 1, as well as when it crosses the Venus point July 2, 3, and 4, 2013.

In the next part of the series, we'll explore how this Eclipse will manifest and its astrological components, including which signs will be most affected over the next 4 years.

For more on this one: Astrology in May 2012 - On The Threshold of A Partial Solar Eclipse at 1 Gemini

© Copyright 2012 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Lainie]

thank you Robert! This eclipse is quite close to my ascendant at 28'38 Taurus, so....curious and open to what it will bring. The university observatory here in Boulder is going to live-stream the eclipse itself.

[Heather Rodgers]

I've been reading your site for years. First time poster. Thanks for all of your insightful articles.

I'm sure this eclipse is going to affect many born around august 1972 as the eclipse is exact conjunct pluto 0 degrees. The eclipse tomorrow transits my first house. I have natal pluto 0 degrees in the 5th, Mars transits 5th. Any ideas how this may manifest??? :)

[Etienne]

I'm in Mexico, I hope I'll be able to see it well enough. Are you planning on watching the solar eclipse? Take my quick poll http://knockoutsurveys.com/will-you-watch-the-solar-eclipse.html

[helina]

This eclipses 9th house saturnus.
I'm waiting for an (unfriendly) talk with my bosses.
Not expecting any thanks but opposites.

It seems my place on earth needs less of my worrying.
Question is if I still keep worrying;)

Hard to pay pills and take care of health of own without money. But hopefully I will figure out something. Faster the better....

[anca]

My natal Sun is at 0.13 Gemini...and this year SR has the natal ascendant...wish me luck....

[Damien Ruud]

Transiting my 12th house..what's your interpretation Robert? Been moving through deeper energies/patterns lately.

[Jennifer]

Hi Robert
I don't usually write although I am always reading your posts. Today, however, since the eclipse is 1 degree Gemini and my sun mars conjunction is 2 degrees gemini in the 8th house, I decided to ask, what do you make of that? Ending of the personality?
Thanks, Jennifer