Eclipse

Eclipses are new or full moons occurring near the lunar nodes. Astrologically they are read as longer-impact lunations whose themes may unfold over months rather than days.

A solar eclipse is a new moon occurring within roughly 18 degrees of one of the lunar nodes — the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic. A lunar eclipse is a full moon within the same range of the nodes. Eclipses occur in pairs or triples roughly every six months, falling in the sign axis where the nodes are currently located. In astrological interpretation, eclipses are read as new and full moons with extended impact. Where an ordinary lunation's themes might be active for a few weeks, an eclipse's themes are often read as unfolding over six months or longer. Eclipses near natal planets (within a few degrees) are given particular emphasis — sometimes read as marking the beginning or end of significant chapters in the affected area of life. The traditional reading of solar eclipses emphasizes new beginnings (built on the new-moon function) and lunar eclipses emphasizes culmination or release (built on the full-moon function). Modern psychological readings emphasize eclipses as moments when material that has been building beneath conscious awareness becomes visible or asks for attention. In this reading, eclipses are weighted more heavily than ordinary lunations when they make close aspects to natal points, but they are not treated as guaranteed event-markers. The eclipse points the attention; what the attention then sees and does depends on the rest of the chart, the rest of life, and choice.

Not: Eclipses are not dangerous. The cultural inheritance of treating eclipses as ominous comes from premodern frameworks that read the disappearance of the Sun or Moon as a disruption of cosmic order. Modern astrological practice treats eclipses as significant lunations, not as warnings. Eclipses do not predict death, accident, or catastrophe.

Eclipse interpretation is symbolic. The astronomical event — the alignment of Sun, Moon, and Earth — is empirically observable and predictable centuries in advance. The astrological interpretation of eclipses as longer-impact lunations is a traditional convention with no empirical validation.