Eclipses, An Introduction

reprint of a 2000 workshop, minor editing 2025

By Marilyn J. Muir, LPMAFA

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Our astrological roots go deep into man’s history, with our symbolic language derived from actual experiences. Primitive man believed that serpents, monsters or anti-heroes were devouring the Sun as the dark shadow of an eclipse slowly marched across the solar disk. At times the Sun was only partly obscured. At other times, the Sun seemed to vanish altogether. In some cultures, an entire community would create as much racket as possible to frighten a supposed monster and drive it away from the god-like, life-giving Sun. Since an eclipse of the Sun is very short-lived, the community would succeed, and the Sun would emerge victorious over the threatening shadow. Imagine the local shaman or mage who studied the star patterns and could predict

when an Eclipse would occur (cyclic),
how much of the Sun would appear to be devoured (partial or total eclipse),
and when the Sun would emerge victorious over the interloping shadow.
Further imagine a crafty leader using such knowledge to his political advantage!

What is an Eclipse and how does one form? The ‘lights”, the Sun and Moon, are the two dominant light bodies of our earthly experience:

the Sun due to its sheer mass,
and the Moon due to its proximity to the Earth.
The ancients believed these were Father and Mother, respected as equal in size.
Remember that the Moon has no light of its own and only reflects light from the Sun.
The Moon orbits the Earth while the Earth orbits the Sun.
From our earthly perspective, the Sun travels about one sign (or 30˚) in thirty days. The Moon travels the entire zodiac (360˚) in 27-1/3 days (one Sidereal month).
The moment when the Sun and Moon are together in the same area of the sky (conjunction) is marked as the beginning of a new cycle and is called the New Moon.
Because the Sun is so bright, the Moon is temporarily not visible to us, so this is also referred to as the “Dark of the Moon”.
In about two weeks, when the Moon has traveled around the earth to its furthest distance (opposition), the Moon is as fully illuminated on its front side (to us on Earth) by the Sun as is possible (59%), and is known as the Full Moon.
These New Moon phases occur every 29-½ days (Synodic Month), with the Full Moon phases occurring two weeks before or after. Each calendar year has 12-½ New and Full Moon cycles, or 25 pairs every two years. Having said all that, please know that according to the encyclopedia we can have two to five Solar Eclipses in a year, with two as average. Five would be extraordinary by sheer impact. Interesting study possibility of these historical years.

Occasionally, the Sun, Moon and Earth form a relationship where the Moon interrupts the light from the Sun, or the Earth interrupts the flow of sunlight to the Moon, and an eclipse occurs.

If the Moon obscures (occults) the Sun, the Eclipse is Solar.
If the Earth occults the Moon, the Eclipse is Lunar.
Solar Eclipses occur at the New Moon and Lunar Eclipses occur at the Full Moon.
When the Sun / Moon conjunctions or oppositions are close to the Lunar Nodes, an Eclipse occurs. How close is close?
A partial Solar Eclipse can occur when the Sun / Moon pair conjuncts either the North or South Lunar Node within 18˚31’.
A total Solar Eclipse occurs within 11˚15’ of the Lunar Nodes.
A partial Lunar Eclipse can occur within 12˚15’ of conjunction of the Sun / Moon with both Nodes,
with a total Lunar Eclipse occurring within 6˚of conjunction.
Therefore, the closer the degree of the Sun and Moon to the Lunar Nodes, the more total the Eclipse.
A partial Eclipse can occur where some part of the Sun or Moon is still visible.
Also, a corona effect can occur with the outer rim of the occulted object visible.
Each Solar Eclipse is visible to only a limited portion of the Earth (Eclipse path).
Because the Moon blocks the light from the Sun, a Solar eclipse usually traces, much like a pencil, a path across the earth, the path of maximum darkness (Umbra).
Adjacent to this path on both sides is a wider band of only partial darkness (the Penumbra).
A long Solar Eclipse can last only 7 and 1/2 minutes, but during that time, temperatures can drop by 10˚, a wind can pick up, and bats have been known to fly, anticipating darkness.
How could something as small as the Moon obscure something the size of the Sun? Distance equalizes the size (differential) and the Moon looks as large as the Sun (perspective).

How to read an Eclipse:

Visibility equates to strength of impact on a chart, with visible being the strongest. In my experience, an Eclipse visible on the other side of the Earth does not seem to have as much impact on a chart. (Perhaps the Earth itself blocks some of the energy. As you study the Eclipses personally, see if this interpretation works for you.)
A global map of the Solar Eclipse path can be useful in determining which locations and residents will feel more impact from any Solar Eclipse. The map sources I used when researching were published by AFA and the U.S. Government. (See sourcing)
The Lunar Eclipse shows the light of the Full Moon being gradually eliminated by a dark circle (the Earth), the movement of the Earth between the Sun and the Moon, and can last up to two hours.
Interpretation: The light of the Ego (Sun) illuminating the emotions (Moon) is interrupted with the emotions in full flow, but without the direction of the will. (Ever wonder about Full Moons?)
Again, not all Lunar Eclipses are visible from every part of the Earth simultaneously, and to me visibility is an indication of impact.
Lunar Eclipses usually accompany the Solar Eclipses about two weeks on either side of the Solar. (Since we can have up to five Solar Eclipses a year, this would make an interesting study.)

Back to how to read an Eclipse.

As usual, by sign, by house, and by aspect to the natal and the progressed charts. Keep the orb tight, 5˚ or less natally, tighter for progressed (which are temporary positions, constantly changing or becoming). Conjunctions, oppositions and squares show the most impact, with sextiles and trines operational, but seem to be more difficult to illustrate. The tighter the aspect, the more accurate the timing. Wider aspects might also indicate timing associated with ongoing progressed events or as accompanying other transits.
The Solar Eclipse / New Moon phase implies a beginning, a time to initiate, a planting of a seed. It is done in the dark, and is intuitively, not necessarily consciously, known or outwardly seen. The emphasis on the Sun represents life impact, lessons of importance, objective reality.
The Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon phase implies something coming to fruition, in its fully visible stage, illumination and / or resolution. The emphasis on the Moon represents the unconscious forces, emotional basis, subjective reality.
Strength: Total Eclipses are stronger than partials. Visible Eclipses are stronger than those not visible. The closer the aspect between the Eclipse point and the chart point, the more powerful the effect. I read Solar Eclipses as life changing and Lunar Eclipses as more emotional in impact. Both my father and sister died under Solar Eclipse activations. Having said that, my daughter was awakened at 4:00 AM with a message to “tell your Mother to look at the Lunar Eclipse” (in my daughter’s chart), which did trigger her first encounter with cancer. I learned not to underestimate the power of a Lunar Eclipse.
Duration: Much disagreement between references. I use three to six months for a Solar and one to three months for a Lunar primary influence, with residual fluence until the next Eclipse commands the stage.
Trigger points: transiting planets by conjunction, opposition or square, particularly Mars and the Sun. Note the Sun will square its own Eclipse position ninety days after the Eclipse itself.
Matching Eclipses: Two successive eclipses which trigger similar aspects because they occur near similar natal degrees. This is particularly true if the Eclipses set off a T- or grand square in the natal.
Fixed Stars: If you work with Fixed Stars in your charting, use a very tight orb (1˚). The Eclipse can trigger the nature of the Fixed Star with potential influence on the natal chart.

Research:

Saros Cycles: The first Eclipse occurs at the Earth’s North or South Pole. Each successive Eclipse (every 18 years, 9-11 days, or 6585 days) in the series progressively moves away from that Pole towards the Equator, usually 120˚ west of the previous Eclipse. The eclipses become more total as the series progresses. The series moves towards the opposing Pole, becoming more partial until the series is complete. This 70 to 71 Eclipse cycle takes 1,280 years to complete. Robert Jansky in his Interpreting the Eclipses implies that this series, keyed by the nature of the initial Eclipse, can have an impact on your current chart. (My own metaphor for his concept would be the impact of a past life on your current life.) The initiating degree of our current (2000) Eclipses are found in his book.

Eclipses by Sign and House: The easiest way to define the mannerism of an Eclipse is by sign. The easiest way to define impact of the Eclipse is by house. While houses and signs are not synonymous, they can be paired for ease of learning.

I see a sign as a lens coloring the expression (how) of an energy (what).
I see the house as the arena of experience (where).

An Eclipse in either a sign or a house is one part of an axis. If you write with the point of a pencil, the eraser end also gyrates. Since Eclipses must occur close to the Nodes of the Moon, the North / South Nodes are in opposition (axis) by sign and therefore by house position simultaneously. If the Eclipse is Lunar, the Sun and Moon are in opposition (axis) visible by both sign and house. If the Eclipse is Solar, the Sun and Moon are together at one of the nodal axis. The axis still exists (wiggle your pencil), it’s just invisible. So, what do the axes represent?

Sign/House Aspect Sign/House Axis

Aries/1^st opposed Libra/2^nd relating

Taurus/2^ndopposed Scorpio/8^th resource

Gemini/3^rd opposed Sagittarius/9^th thought

Cancer/4^th opposed Capricorn/10^th security

Leo/5^th opposed Aquarius/11^th creativity

Virgo/6^th opposed Pisces/12^th service

Signs: A sign colors the expression of the Eclipse by the nature of that sign.

Use usual keywords for the sign and include qualities, elements and gender.
Note the slanting towards a quality and a gender.
Masculine is the talker, Feminine is the listener. Both are communication.
One half of each pair relates to the self. The other half of each pair relates to others as individuals, as well as individuals (you / me) to the collective (we).
Cardinal initiates, Fixed establishes, Mutable distributes.
Fire is electric / dynamic Earth / practical, pragmatic

Air / communicates, ideas Water / feels, flows

Combining the characteristics:

Aries: Cardinal, Fire, Masculine Taurus: Fixed, Earth, Feminine

Libra: Cardinal, Air, Masculine Scorpio: Fixed, Water, Feminine

(2 Cardinal, 2 Masculine) (2 Fixed, 2 Feminine)

(I am, you / we are) (I have, you / we have)

Gemini: Mutable, Air, Masculine Cancer: Cardinal, Water, Feminine

Sagittarius: Mutable, Fire, Masculine Capricorn: Cardinal, Earth, Feminine

(2 Mutable, 2 Masculine) (2 Cardinal, 2 Feminine)

(I think / you / we think) I need / you / we need

Leo: Fixed, Fire, Masculine Virgo: Mutable, Earth, Feminine

Aquarius: Fixed, Air, Masculine Pisces: Mutable, Water, Feminine

(2 Fixed, 2 Masculine) (2 Mutable, 2 Feminine)

(I create / you / we create (I serve / you / we serve)

Can you see the axis working through each pairing? The pencil has two ends.

Other words can be substituted, just stay with the overall combined intention.

Houses: Notice how easy it is to see many of the house matters reflected in the description of the signs. I find it particularly useful to remember the 4^th/ 10^th axis, and by extrapolation Cancer / Capricorn, represents the need for security on the internal (family) and external (worldly) levels. Houses represent the arena of your life being activated.

Practice: Use an equal-house natural (Aries rising) chart form and practice reading the Solar Eclipses naturally through each sign and each house. The sign / house of the Sun is pro-active, visible, externalizes. This should give you a basic grasp of each Solar Eclipse. Next, practice the same exercise on a Solar chart. Put the Sun on the Ascendant, and equal house the balance of the signs. This will particularize the Eclipse energy for anyone born at that degree for as many years a people are still alive (better than nothing, but not as specific as a natal chart.) The nature of the Eclipse by sign remains; the arena is changed. Using your natal chart, do the same exercise. By sign, nothing much has changed. By house, the arena changed. Somewhere in the 1980’s I had a chart reading by Astrologer Jayj Jacobs in which he read a combination of Solar / Natal houses and absolutely blew my mind with insights. It requires work but generates tons of material.

Now do the same exercise with Lunar Eclipses (all three sets of charts – Aries rising / Solar/ Natal). Again the sign / house of the Sun is pro-active, visible, externalizes. The sign /house of the Moon is reactive, emotional. But this is a Lunar Eclipse, so the Moon dominates. This exercise can provide you with a basic understanding of each Eclipse.

Eclipse Node:

The South Node represents our past, which has led to the present. It is those qualities and habitual behaviors we have developed sufficiently and which we tend to fall back into when triggered. (This is not necessarily the best behavior, just the most familiar, or easiest).
The North Node represents the present leading to the future – those qualities we must develop in ourselves.
Is the Solar Eclipse on the North or South Node of the Moon? If North Nodal, it is considered the more positive, leading towards developing new skills. If South Nodal, we react out of old (maybe not best) programs.
Remember, if a Solar Eclipse, the opposition point is, but still exists, implied by that Node,
In a Lunar Eclipse, the Sun is on one node, the Moon on the other. Look at the Moon to determine if it is a North or South Nodal Eclipse.
Moon on the South Node can be emotionally reactive without a lot of conscious choice.
Moon on the North Node is still emotionally reactive, but should have a more positive, forward-thinking expression.
Add the Nodal influence to your collected interpretations. On overload yet?

Eclipse Aspects: The Sun / Moon aspect does not occur in isolation. Make note of any planet close to the Eclipse degree because it can have an influence on the nature of the Eclipse itself. Venus and Mercury are frequently close enough to the Sun to be conjunct (5˚ orb or less). There may be other aspect influences – just don’t make yourself crazy.

Example: The August 11, 1999 Solar Eclipse was Total (strongest), and in a Grand Fixed Cross: Sun / Moon opposite Uranus, with all three square Saturn opposite Mars – a nasty looking Eclipse. Its trajectory was over Turkey and the Middle East (visible = stronger). Many Earth changes and much trouble were set in motion by that Eclipse.

What is the Eclipse doing in your chart? Does it conjunct, oppose or square a planet or significant point? Note that I see little happening with trines and sextiles. Psychologically, we notice that when times are difficult, but we slide through the understanding when trouble-free. Trines and sextiles imply positivity to the experience.

Conjunctions can act positively or negatively, depending on what planet the Eclipse conjuncts.
Oppositions imply separation.
Squares imply challenge / problem / obstacle, not always separation.
Cardinal tends toward crisis.
Fixed tends towards chronic.
Mutable tends toward adaptation.

I see Solar Eclipses as life-changing. I see Lunar Eclipses as important at the moment, but not necessarily life-changing. I did get taught a lesson about this, which I will explain later. Lunar Eclipses tend to act like an extremely powerful Full Moon. However, it is never good to underestimate them!

Pre-Natal Eclipses: While I have not done much work with the concept at this point, there is a wonderful book by Karen McCoy and Jan Spiller, Spiritual Astrology, Your Personal Path to Self-Fulfillment. I had the great good fortune to proof-read it before it was published. It is full of good information and a thorough expose of the concept of Pre-Natal Eclipses.If you are interested, this is the place to start. Karen is a very good astrologer from the Fort Lauderdale area (2000) where I practiced as well. If interested in pursuing this concept, start with her book.

For the purposes of this study, look up the Eclipses (Solar and Lunar) immediately prior to your birth. If an Eclipse occurs the day after birth, it does not count… only those prior to birth count. If there are multiple Eclipses, choose the Solar and Lunar closest to your actual birth. (It does not hurt to research the others.) Each Eclipse presents a sign / degree / minute of sensitivity which can be read and / or activated, similar to a natal planet. Remember that Solar energy takes the long view, and has ambitions and goals to accomplish. The Lunar energy takes the shorter view favoring immediate emotional gratification.

Since these occurred prior to birth, the implication is that of arriving at the birth moment colored or influenced by those prior eclipse degrees, similar to a natal planet. This is not an experience you encounter at some future date, but it can be activated by transits or other activating aspects. Natal (and pre-natal) emphasizes a quality you already possess and must accommodate as a part of your internal makeup.

Sabian or other Symbolic Degrees Sabian Symbols are the work of Mark Edmund Jones, with an excellent book by that title. There are many varieties of symbolic degrees – I personally own about ten books about them. Note that some out of print books can be found in the astrological archives. I personally preferred Charubel’s (a pseudonym of Alan Leo) The Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolized. The concept is that each degree has a story to tell, complete with symbolism. Much of this symbolism was found through meditation and collaboration. Much of it is quite old and at times difficult to apply to our current lifestyle; some judicious re-interpretation may be necessary. Stay tuned to my website for more on this subject.

For example, the fixed degree 25 Taurus was symbolized as “death by decapitation”. Pretty gruesome, but unfortunately normal when charts were read only for heads of state or country rulers. Once charts became common to the general public, reinterpretation became a necessity. “Losing one’s head” or “catastrophe” makes better sense in today’s world. If you reinterpret, be sure to stay true to the original intention.

I can remember my shock when I applied Charubel’s symbolism to the explosion of space shuttle Challenger and read “monster rocket exploding in mid-air above a crowd “. Or even more shock when the Libya deadly jet crash symbolism gave “two men fighting, one not fulfilling responsibilities”, now known to be true (pilot and co-pilot fighting).

Degree: Use the degree and minute of the Eclipse itself (Solar or Lunar), with any fraction of a degree causing it to be rounded up to the next whole degree. For example, the degree for 25 Taurus 00 is just that: 25 Taurus. For 25 Taurus 01 through 59, round up to 26 Taurus. I read both degree interpretations – I’d rather have too much information than too little, and don’t want to skip something significant. I can always discard what doesn’t apply. Use standard aspect orbs.

The Solar Eclipse of December 25, 2000 was in effect as I originally wrote this. 4 Capricorn 14 is rounded up to the next degree, 5 Cap. The symbolism: “A very small unpretentious window in the wall of a massive tower.” The copy reads: “Denotes one whose native powers and mental resources are so great and abundant that the native will be independent of external aids and will feel very happy amid the offspring of his own genius”. Further, “such persons will never seek display; these are creators, not imitators.” Vague, until you specifically apply those concepts to a specific chart (in this case a space launch).

If the Eclipse were to take place in the 4^th or 10^th houses, you could be speaking about a parent. Also in the 10^th, your boss or your career / reputation. If in the 7^th, your business or marital partner; the 5^th, your child. Since there are so many types of charts (not just natal), adapting interpretations becomes necessary. Capricorn is a business sign. Think about its effect on the business community, duty, responsibility obligation, conservative, tradition, down to earth – sound familiar?

Just for the heck of it, 4 Capricorn reads” The planet Venus” and I find it an amazing coincidence (which I don’t believe in) in that Venus has been the evening star at its furthest elongation in many years for the last few months (of 2000), appearing high in the sky and remaining visible far longer than usual. Venus was conjunct Uranus during the Eclipse. Do you think economic (Venus) cycles have been off the wall (Uranus) lately (2000)? Remember the other end of the pencil in this Solar Eclipse implied by the invisible 5 Cancer. “A person holding up a scale in his hand with even beam. A just person, one whose mind will spontaneously detect a falsehood, or an injustice, or any wrong.” Sound like the issues of election fraud and miscounting (2000)?

I hope this basic primer class opens the door to new applications. You can find more basic in my Predictive Astrology workbook, Chapter 4 (available on my website, marilynmuir.net).

Sourcing: Much of the material used to research and develop this material is no longer easily available, so I assembled a more current list.

Current sources (2025):

Scientific Visualization Studio

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5510 for Mar 29, 2025, partial Solar Eclipse

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2025-march-29

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Eclipse web site

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEdecade/SEdecade2021.html

Old (1981) Solar Eclipse example from U.S. Government Printing Office/1978

https://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2025.html

Wiki / Eclipse (Solar and Lunar) Lots of material

*To hand draw the pattern can help you understand why it works.

Navyansh Art How to draw a lunar eclipse

Art for Kids Hub How to draw a solar eclipse

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