The Eclipses are Coming: How to Navigate Eclipse Season Like a Pro

Eclipse season happens twice a year, ushering in big changes with a few surprises along the way. With so much mystery and chaos surrounding this cosmic phenomenon you might be wondering, “how can I learn to navigate the eclipses like a pro?”

It’s pretty easy once you learn the basics of what an eclipse is and how it affects you specifically based on your unique birth chart.

What is an eclipse?

Eclipses happen when the sun, moon and earth align in such a way that one covers the other. A solar eclipse happens when the sun and moon are in the same sign, so the moon will move in front of the sun and either cover it fully or partially from our view. The result can be quite startling during a full solar eclipse since the sun will seemingly disappear for moments or sometimes minutes at a time.

Lunar eclipses happen when the sun and moon are in opposite signs, which happens during the full moon. During a lunar eclipse the earth will block the sun from the moon, so the moon will appear completely dark without the sun’s rays to reflect off its surface, however there is a white ghostly glow that will surround the dark moon.

• Bring in Positive Energy with Solar Eclipses

What do eclipses signify?

Eclipses have long since been a thing of wonder on earth (can you imagine how shocking the sight would have been to see the luminaries completely disappear every so often?), even now after humans have discovered exactly why these phenomena happen we are drawn to this awe inspiring spectacle. The sun is the ultimate giver of life on Earth, so to see its light retreat for even a few minutes feels important in a way that is often hard to describe logically with words, but it is certainly felt deep in our souls.

Eclipses signify the beginning and sometimes the ending of a significant story in our lives. With the solar eclipse we often experience great changes to our outerworld. This can look like starting a new job in a new town, changing careers, the beginning of a new relationship or the ending of a relationship, going back to school, moving to a new country or having to move back home.

The lunar eclipses relate to internal shifts such as deciding to have a more positive attitude, recognizing past abuse, realizing a new boundary you need to set, or even realizing the next steps you need to take for your far off goals.

Should I be manifesting?

The short answer is no, do not manifest!

Why? Because eclipses are chaos and it’s best to release control and try to go with the flow. I like to imagine that me and the Universe are in a car together, I’m in the passenger’s seat and the Universe (you can replace this with God, Spirit, etc) is driving the car during eclipse season. I can see the sights and even try to help navigate, but I’m not the one behind the wheel.

So this is not a great time to manifest since you don’t know which exit to take, which back road to go on, and where the journey is even leading you! Your only job is to enjoy the ride and trust in the process.

• The Science behind Solar Eclipse

Are eclipses a bad thing?

Eclipses aren’t inherently bad because, like anything chaotic, they are simply neutral events. Some eclipse seasons can be really challenging, bringing on things like divorce or even death. Other eclipses can be deeply fulfilling with new relationships forming and opportunities flowing, but other eclipse seasons can actually feel, well, like nothing really special is happening at all.

Why is that? How an eclipse affects you boils down to many things but the best place to start is to find out what signs the eclipses will be in. A Virgo solar eclipse might affect you much differently than an Aquarius lunar eclipse and that has to do with where that sign falls in your chart.

The first thing you’ll want to know is your rising sign since this is the sign that dictates the start of the 12 houses in your chart, the rising sign being the start of your 1st house. Next you’ll want to note what the modality of that sign is.

Modalities: cardinal, fixed, or mutable

Every sign falls into one of these three modalities: cardinal, fixed or mutable. Cardinal signs are at the beginning of a season. So that’s Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Notice how there’s one of each element with Aries being a fire sign, Cancer being water, Libra is air and Capricorn is earth. This rule applies to all of the modalities.

Fixed signs fall in the middle of a season, so that’s Taurus (earth), Leo (fire), Scorpio (water), and Aquarius (air). Mutables are the signs that fall at the end of a season, which are Gemini (air), Virgo (earth), Sagittarius (fire), and Pisces (water).

When the eclipses happen in the modality of your rising sign then you are likely to be more deeply affected by the events that transpire. For instance, if you have a Libra rising then any eclipse taking place in Libra, Capricorn, Aries or Cancer will affect you in a more impactful way.

• How Does Solar and Lunar Eclipse affect Your Life?

How to stay safe during an eclipse

You now know that eclipses are chaotic and each one affects us all differently based on our unique astrology charts, but what do you do when your favorite online astrologer is telling you to buckle up and prepare for a particularly nasty eclipse season?

Nothing.

Yup, the best thing you can do when an astrologer (or astrology enthusiast) is proselytizing about the dangers of an upcoming transit is to simply live your life. It’s become very popular in the past few years for online astrologers in particular to fearmonger during challenging transits such as eclipse season.

It’s important to keep in mind this old adage, “as above, so below” which is the esoteric belief that the macro and the micro are reflections of one another. According to this theory, astrology works because we are made of stars, so what happens to the planets happens to us as well. Never forget that you are a part of nature and thus constantly in flux. Do not fear the eclipses, but instead allow yourself to flow with them as you are naturally inclined to do.

Want to know more? Read this article written by the NASA.