by Robert Wilkinson
We are about to have the THIRD Solar Eclipse of 2018! As I've told you before, no eclipse of itself is "bad," nor do we have anything to fear. We cannot lose what belongs to us; but there are good times to clear out the old to make space for the new that is not yet here.
Though I gave some of this to you a month ago, it bears re-posting since many fear eclipse effects, even though they shouldn’t. While this Solar Eclipse will of course lead to many endings, it also marks a time when we can leave behind old “social rigidities,” and find joy in human fellowship. This marks the beginning of learning how to release our heart’s potential and strength.
There is a lot of superstition about Eclipses, mostly focusing on "dreadful" or difficult elements that often seem to accompany them. However, while all eclipses take something away and/or shut something down, an Eclipse can have beneficial effects if we just know "when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, when to walk away, and when to run."
Eclipses are both dreaded and misunderstood recurring phenomena. Solar Eclipse effects usually last for several years, while Lunar Eclipse effects usually last for a few months. And not all eclipses are equal in strength or duration, making some stronger and longer than others.
The coming Partial Solar Eclipse falls at 19 Leo at 2:58 am PDT, 10:58 am BST August 11. The penumbral phase is 3 hours 29 minutes, indicating an influence lasting 3 years and 6 months. Even though the magnitude of this Eclipse is far stronger than last month’s eclipse in Cancer, it’s still not strong relative to (for example) last Summer’s very powerful Total Solar Eclipse at 29 Leo.
Today we'll continue our discussion about eclipses in general and a little about this one. In following articles I'll elaborate on the specifics of the phenomenon, who is most affected by this Eclipse, symbols, aspects, patterns, and what we can expect from this Partial Solar Eclipse at 19 Leo.
Remember that eclipses are “Cosmic Recyclers,” removing what is over and done in our lives. While eclipses shut down some elements in the area of life (house) in which they fall, this is needed for growth, since we must bring some things to an end if we are to embrace newer, better ways of doing our Being.
Though I gave this to you in January, here's another important article explaining the effects we can expect to result from Lunar and Solar Eclipses. For your reconsideration, The Solar and Lunar Eclipse - Is Any Eclipse Destined to Have Bad Effects?
As I’ve offered you in the past, there is a lot of fear and trepidation connected to Eclipses, an unfortunate leftover from previous centuries when Eclipses were believed to augur the fall of empires, dynasties, and powerful people anywhere the Eclipse shadow fell.
No Astrological event need be "bad," or have "evil" effects, regardless of whether we're using Vedic, Chinese, Western, or any other approach to defining "All-That-Is." Though a circumstance may seem to have "bad" omens for the future, we can always transcend any negativity and turn the future to beneficent possibilities if we find the right point of view. No matter where an Eclipse falls, we can turn it to good.
Favorable ways to use Eclipse energies can be seen by the aspects in eclipse charts as they impact our natal and progressed planets. And because time is an unbroken continuum, we can anticipate what is ending and let it go with grace and a sense of surrendering to a greater life in the becoming.
The choices we make at crucial astrological junctures bring pleasurable or painful circumstances, depending on what we need to learn. These choices are directly related to how evolved our planetary responses are. As I explain in my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend, each planet has a duality of function. It is up to us to determine whether our Moon, Sun, Mercury or any other natal planet involved in eclipses, "bad" aspects, and configurations manifests productively or non-productively.
While Eclipses do tend to shut down some elements in the area of life (house) in which they fall, this is not necessarily a bad thing, since we must bring some things to an end if we are to embrace newer, better ways of doing our Being. While the future effects of an Eclipse may be powerful, in that they last over a long period, it is useful to see that they only eliminate what we no longer need.
Some things are removed quickly, others are removed gradually, over time. Some Eclipses are VERY beneficial in that they create a void for us that we can fill appropriately, according to our evolved awareness and intention. Favorable ways to use Eclipse energies can be seen by the aspects in eclipse charts as they impact our natal and progressed planets.
This Partial Solar Eclipse in Leo over time will lead us to a greater joy in human relationships and a greater sense of freedom from rules and “shoulds.” Because of the Mercury retrograde, it’s another “back to the future” Eclipse, where we may remember past events and people that helped free us from old “social rigidity” and allowed us to be happy in our relationships.
This is a “fork in the road of destiny” Eclipse, with a lot of hard adjustments and reconsideration of our relationship to matter, since Jupiter is on a degree of “the 5 senses and the mind as the playground of God and Soul.” Mercury’s square to Jupiter will allow us to rethink many plans, simplifying what we need to, finding resolve when we need to, and finding a certain degree of happiness or bliss singing our song with other “birds on the wire.” When in doubt, put on the show!
Whatever is shut down by this Solar Eclipse creates space for new ways to demonstrate our heart power and creativity, whether by remembering an old way we did it, or finding a new way to express an old love or strength. This is almost a “second chance” Eclipse, where we get to put our truth to the test, and express our balanced elegant natural Self in what will ultimately yield cooperative work in some collective sphere. Much that is taken away in the next few years will lead us to opportunities to participate in “building future vehicles” that will serve as social-cultural “touchstones” in the distant future.
All Eclipses radically transform areas affected by the planetary positions, so look to where you have Leo to see what will be shut down. That life area will yield a new way of looking at everything associated with the Leo sector of our lives. With the Sun as the ruler of the Eclipse, it joins the other three final dispositors in the chart, which we’ll discuss in a future article.
Though there are always endings associated with any Eclipse, these open the space we need to align with Spirit in natural and productive ways. Take a new look to see what really matters and what you do and do not want to bring with you into the new world you're already living.
We've all been shown our skills and roles to play in society over the past few years, have redeemed promises, learned how to sing in our “cosmic choir,” and had life transforming blasts of electricity in 2018. We’re grounding the inspiration of 2017 in practical forms this year while adjusting to the pace of having SIX planets retrograde! This will wane over the next few weeks, but it’s still forced everyone to be patient, rethink plans and strategies, and get a new view of what to do and how to do it.
This will help us eliminate parts of who we used to be socially, clearing out space in our hearts for greater, more natural forms of enthusiasm or creativity to come forth. This Eclipse, though not as strong as many we’ve had these past few years, will still help us make needed adjustments as we rehearse power rituals we need to be good at by September. With the tredecile to Uranus, unexpected events will be VERY beneficial for those who can cut loose from some of their old rules and be happy.
I consider this Eclipse to usher in a time of “benign testing,” with the need to spot seeds of potential good or bad things and further the good while uprooting the bad. Many will find a deep wisdom and nourishment after they let go and bless certain passages, while others will find “seed knowledge” from which they could build a life philosophy. And of course with Mars retrograde, keep adapting to the slowed pace, prepare for action in the near future, and see the larger works you want to participate in so you can be a builder of the future.
I've composed quite a few articles on past eclipses in the archives that bear re-visiting, since the Solar Eclipses of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 are still manifesting effects since then, if traditional Eclipse lore is to be believed. I just gave them to you two weeks ago in the article Astrology in July 2018 – On the Threshold of a Total Lunar Eclipse at 5 Leo-Aquarius, so if you need a refresher, when you’re done here you can investigate the many Solar Eclipses in that article at your leisure.
See you soon with more on this 2018 Partial Solar Eclipse in Leo!
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Hi, Robert. Is there any chance you can review and expand on the concept of releasing into the voids created by various configurations?
I have the impression that 19 Aquarius has much potential for the coming three years. Even that the next three years can be a time of slow development of new ideas for cultural change.
If I'm asking about something you've made clear before, could you point in the direction of those articles?
Thanks. And thanks for this heads up on Saturday's eclipse that seems to revisit the total eclipse of last August and the work of the last year.
Posted by: Jo Garceau | August 08, 2018 at 10:40 AM