by Robert Wilkinson
This Solar Eclipse will have a beneficial and stabilizing effect (even if occasionally a bit hard edged) for a short time. All eclipses shut something down, taking away elements of our lives no longer true for us. Over the next 2+ years we will go through endings while finding more appropriate ways to do our Being in the Cancer arena of life. This Eclipse will show us our integrity.
Cancer is the sign of the Crab and our ability to act instinctively in our own self-interest without ulterior motives getting in the way. It is the Wisdom of our primal Innocence, where we instinctively know what we need, what nourishes us, what protects us, and what we want in our “shell of personality.” It is where we gather what is integral to our moment to moment existence. A Solar Eclipse in Cancer takes away old habits, leaving space for new ones; old needs give way to new needs, and old feelings give way to new ones.
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.
Because this Eclipse lasts 2 hours and 25 minutes from start to finish of the penumbral phase, it’s of fairly short duration, so will have an impact of about 2 years and 5 months. As its magnitude is weak and it’s only visible in Antarctica and the southernmost area of Oz, eclipse effects are not strong.
Because an Eclipse conjuncts the Moon’s Nodal axis, the nodes are very important guides showing the line of greatest development and showing what we know. The NN shows the line of development, so because it is still in Leo, the challenge is to grow into a greater heart expression. Whether playful, creative, dramatic, or “sporting,” whether easy or difficult, grow in that direction.
Embrace children, or your inner child. You could even remember times when you “put on the show,” and grew in strength and courage. You could also be called on to “put on a show” in the future in ways that bring a greater social harmony or even “beatitude.”
SN in Aquarius helps eliminate old ideals and any obsolete ways of viewing group work or a greater good. It can also provide opportunities to express the heart energy of the NN in a group situation. Whatever is cleared out via the Aquarius SN will over time attract new forms of Leo expression and activities.
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. I gave you the positions and links to past eclipses in the previous eclipse article. And remember that whatever is taken away will create an attraction for something more appropriate to who you are now, and who you are becoming.
So What’s Happening Where?
This Partial Solar Eclipse happens 7:48 pm PDT July 12, 3:48 am BST July 13. As I just offered, it will not be visible to anyone on Earth except those in the far southeastern part of Australia, Tasmania, and some penguins. I’ve been using information from the NASA Solar Eclipse site for many years. In the past, they included a bunch of information about each eclipse, but now they’ve changed their site and it has very little scientific data about this eclipse.
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 which have no place in our future. As you know from a recent article, I believe that "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 I offered in the article explaining Solar Eclipses in general 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 triggers events related to previous celestial events, and is triggered by subsequent transits to those points. For example, because of where the North Node is, we can assume this Eclipse at 21 Cancer will have similar evolutionary energies as were present in Nov-Dec 1999, the last time the NN was in this part of Leo. And because 21 Cancer is where Jupiter went stationary retrograde in November 2013, this Eclipse should take away excess useless growth from then through June 2014.
Summing Up
Given the mixed bag of aspects in this Eclipse which I’ll cover in greater detail in future article, we can expect some friction related to numerous quincunxes and sesquiquares, but also overall harmony and stabilization provided by the outer planets. Saturn is ultimately a stabilizing and faith-strengthening force in this Eclipse, and has so many important aspects that if your inner Saturn function is healthy, you’re going to find yourself on the edge of serendipitous choices and changes that will open new possibilities of unique self-expression.
This fairly weak Solar Eclipse will be followed by a VERY powerful Total Lunar Eclipse at 5 Leo-Aquarius on July 27, so this weak Cancer “seed energy” will be culminating with exceptional force in late July and early August, as well as the following 3 months. That one will be seen in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oz, so get ready!
While the North Node remains in Leo, I regard these eclipses as productive for shutting down old Leo/Aquarius things and attitudes we no longer need, with the void opening new heart connections, new forms of natural living, new ideals to be realized, and new ways of being genuinely happy in our social milieu. We demonstrate these through the house where we have early Aquarius.
Remember that some endings are more a blessing than a problem. With this, we’ll see how we have prepared since 2013 to express a dream offered to us then, and should find ourselves at the end of the quest, one way or another. Accept recognition for the excellence of your “performance,” but also understand that when it’s time to leave the stage and the lights come up, there’s nothing to do but get in the bus and move on to the next performance.
We left the series of Virgo and Pisces Solar Eclipses behind in 2017 (except for dealing with the effects for some time to come). Since then we’ve been in our series of Leo and Aquarius Solar Eclipses, and this is the first involving Cancer. In 2016-2017 what was shut down opened the way to bless, forgive, forget, generate compassion, and get in training to use the Aquarian and Leo energies we’ve been dealing with since then in wise ways.
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 mixed energies at work in this Partial Solar Eclipse. This one will ultimately yield a lot of need for faith to overcome some serious dualities, and those who have prepared should find some degree of recognition, as well as the end of the old quest for recognition and a turning to a new understanding of truth and the permanent elements in Life.
See you soon with the next article on this Solar Eclipse!
Previous Solar Eclipse articles in this series:
On the Threshold of a Partial Solar Eclipse at 21 Cancer
What Is A Solar Eclipse and How Does It Affect our Life?
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Wow, you must have a really special map - I don't see Oz on any of my maps...
Posted by: Denise | July 10, 2018 at 06:23 PM