by Robert Wilkinson
This Solar Eclipse will have a very beneficial effect for a very long time. All eclipses shut something down, taking away elements of our lives no longer true for us. Over the next 4+ years many will go through endings while finding forms of deeper and wider relationships and social interactions and an “appetite for larger things.”
Scorpio is the sign of elimination, purification, and regeneration of power. It is how Taurus externalizes. So old desires, magnetism, and ways of relating to shared and/or collective values will end, with the void sure to attract new forms of these.
Because this Eclipse lasts 4 hours and 14 minutes from start to finish, it’s of extremely long duration, so will have an impact for about 4 years and 3 months. Thus it will have effects for a long time to come, which is great given the excellent aspects in play at the Eclipse. Here we open to new ways of being with others, and let go of old attitudes about what we want and why we want it, with the void sure to attract new forms of Scorpio energy as the old ones get cleared out.
Look to the house where this Lunation falls to see what area of your life will be impacted, just as the houses where past Solar Eclipses fell have already been shutting down obsolete patterns since then. This one will take something away, leaving a void that will attract something appropriate to who you are becoming.
So What’s Happening Where?
This Partial Solar Eclipse happens on October 23, 2:57 pm PDT, 5:57 pm EDT, and 10:57 pm BST (Greenwich). This stabilizing, gifting, productive and harmonizing Solar Eclipse finds 21 Aquarius rising in Santa Monica, 2 Aquarius in Vancouver, 23 Aries in Toronto, 4 Taurus in Montreal, and 24 Aries in Washington DC. That means the span of Ascendants across North America is between early Aquarius and early Taurus.
Continuing eastward, we find rising signs of 14 Taurus in Rio, 12 Cancer in Lisbon, 28 Cancer in London, 8 Leo in Berlin, 10 Leo in Sofia, 17 Cancer in Johannesburg, and 27 Leo in Moscow Oct 24). That means the span of Ascendants across Europe and Africa is between mid-Cancer and late Leo.
Moving into Asia and Oceana, we find Ascendants at 18 Virgo in Abbottabad, 21 Virgo in New Delhi, 19 Virgo in Trivandrum, 21 Libra in Jakarta, 24 Libra in Hong Kong, 13 Scorpio in Tokyo, 9 Scorpio in Perth, 17 Sagittarius in Melbourne, 19 Sagittarius in Brisbane, 17 Capricorn in Wellington, and 15 Capricorn rising on Maui (Oct 23).
So you can construct a rough chart for where you are in the world, I’ll give you the rounded up degree for each planet. Use the Ascendants given above to get a rough sense of what’s on the eastern horizon where you are, and using an Equal House system, you can see what’s going on in your part of the world for the next 4 weeks.
In this New Moon Solar Eclipse at 1 Scorpio, Mercury is 18 Libra retrograde, Venus is 1 Scorpio, Mars is 29 Sagittarius, Jupiter is 20 Leo, Saturn is 23 Scorpio, Uranus is 14 Aries retrograde, Neptune is 5 Pisces (SD degree!), Pluto is 12 Capricorn, TransPluto is 2 Virgo, Chiron is 14 Pisces retrograde, and the NN is 20 Libra.
When a Lunation is on one of the angles of a chart, it is said to be particularly powerful. Among the cities covered in this column, this month the Lunation is culminating in Wellington, Maui, and the west coast of North America, and setting in Toronto, Montreal, Washington DC, and Rio. The Eclipse is on the nadir in London, Berlin, Sofia, Johannesburg, and Moscow, and rising in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Perth.
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.
Past Eclipses As Prologue To Our Present and Future
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 Solar Eclipse of January 2011 lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes, which also makes it a player in the events of 2012-2013-2014, since it'll be active for 4 years and 4 months. That influence is just about over. 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 only lasted 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!
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.
The May 2012 Eclipse was visible from S. China and Japan through the Northern Pacific and Aleutian Islands down to S. Oregon and N. California, central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, New Mexico (Albuquerque!), and the Texas Panhandle. The November 2012 Total Solar Eclipse was partial across a large area of the South Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand), southern South America, and part of Antarctica. The only place it was total was on the east coast of Queensland, Australia.
The May 2013 Annular Solar Eclipse at 20 Taurus will be in effect for 3 years and 9 months, putting its influence through early 2017. That one was visible in Australia, Indonesia, Oceania and much of the central the Pacific Ocean. The November 2013 Hybrid Solar Eclipse at 12 Scorpio will be in effect for about 3 years and 4 months. That one was visible within a thin corridor, which traverses the North Atlantic and equatorial Africa. A partial eclipse was seen in eastern North America, northern South America, southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
As an aside, of some note is that the Solar Eclipse at 12 Scorpio fell during Diwali, a great sacred Festival of Light celebrating the victory of good over evil through the Grace of Lakshmi, one of the Forms of Divine Mother. I suppose whatever is associated with that Eclipse that has been or is yet to be taken away, will be a form of Grace that blesses us.
What Does NASA Have To Say About This Eclipse?
From the NASA Solar Eclipse site (where you can find more than you could ever want to know about Solar Eclipses!)
The final event of 2014 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in southern Virgo. Although it is only a partial solar eclipse, it is of particular interest because the event is widely visible from Canada and the USA.The penumbral shadow first touches Earth's surface near the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia at 19:37:33 UT. As the shadow travels east, much of North America will be treated to a partial eclipse. The eclipse magnitude from cities like Vancouver (0.658), San Francisco (0.504), Denver (0.556), and Toronto (0.443) will surely attract the media's attention.
Greatest eclipse occurs at 21:44:31 UT in Canada's Nunavut Territory near Prince of Wales Island where the eclipse in the horizon will have a magnitude of 0.811. At that time, the axis of the Moon's shadow will pass about 675 km above Earth's surface. A sunset eclipse will be visible from the eastern half of the USA and Canada (except for the far northeast). The partial eclipse ends when the penumbra leaves Earth at 23:51:40 UT.
Local circumstances and eclipse times for a number of cities in Canada and Mexico are listed in Table 4, and for the USA in Table 5. All times are in Local Daylight Time. The Sun's altitude and azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and eclipse obscuration are all given at the instant of maximum eclipse. When the eclipse is in progress at sunset, this information is indicated by '- s'.
So this eclipse will be visible from east Asia across all of North America, with the greatest part of the Eclipse visible at sunset in the eastern part of the US and Canada. You can find more by going to the NASA site.
More On the Influence of Eclipses
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..."
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 this Eclipse will set developments into motion related to the October 2012, since Saturn was crossing 1 Scorpio then. It will also have some resonance with events in the Summer of 2013 and the month afterward, since Saturn went SD at 5 Scorpio then.
We also should get a major activation of the Eclipse effects beginning January 2016 when Mars crosses 1 Scorpio, and see the truth, blessing, or protection promised by this Eclipse in October 2017 when Jupiter crosses this degree, since the Eclipse will still be in effect then. And of course, each time the Moon transits 1 Scorpio we should catch forms of what this Eclipse is taking away and/or substantiating.
This Eclipse and these transits are opportunities to understand our power to open to a larger collective experience and deeper relationships in some way, to move into a deeper communion with life and experience, or let go of something so we can embrace these. As the Eclipse is conjunct Venus and is quintile Jupiter, there will be gifts and unique circumstances in the areas where the quintile falls in our maps.
Since it happens with Mercury retrograde on the exact degree where Saturn went stationary retrograde in 2011, I have no doubt this beneficial Eclipse will involve a “looking back” at various “cause and effect” processes so we can understand past actions relative to past and current consequences, and get new insights into how current choices could lead to alternative views and results in the future. If you want to know more about the possible manifestations of Mercury retrograde in Libra, you may want to order a copy of the new edition of my ebook, A New Look at Mercury Retrograde to check out possible ways this Mercury retrograde effect could play out over the next 4 years.
This eclipse will also reinforce the Grand Water Trine in early degrees set into motion between June and August 2013, allowing us to renew our emotional intelligence and move into a deeper and vaster feeling-experience of why things have had to end these past several years. This is another “shedding of skins” event that allows us to flow on, since we all have to respond to the promptings of Spirit in our own way. With the Lunation trine Neptune, forgiveness and compassion will be tools to use to "let go, let G_d."
Scorpio, being a Mars-ruled sign, teaches us that no one else can walk our Path for us. Each gets to walk their Way as they feel they need to. This sign is uncompromising, and “takes no prisoners” as it pushes every boundary of experience. Given the aspects in play, this one should be sweet!
In the next part of the series, we'll explore how this Eclipse will manifest and its astrological components, including Sabian Symbols, which signs will be most affected, and more on the incredibly favorable energies at work in this Partial Solar Eclipse. This one will be long and sweet, even if we do need to “let go, let G_d!”
For more on this one: Astrology in October 2014 - On The Threshold of A Partial Solar Eclipse at 1 Scorpio.
© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson
Hi Robert, Neptune in my chart is 0 Scorpio in the 6th. I hope this is a positive thing for a change!
Posted by: Ann | October 21, 2014 at 06:13 PM
I am a natal Scorpio with a 6 planet stellium, Mars natal retrograde in Scorpio, Mercury is retrograde for this eclipse,I have no place ets in the fire trine zones or in the 3 points star, this eclipse effect lasts over 4 years... Not to be pessimistic BUT is there ANY hope? Love your website and your teaching!
Aum.
Posted by: Nancy | October 21, 2014 at 06:48 PM
Thank you as always for your time, energy, and insights. Mahalo!
Posted by: Clay Uptain | October 22, 2014 at 02:40 PM