Updated: Sep 27
Eclipses are loud.
We are approaching eclipse season, which lasts for about 34 days, during which a solar and a lunar eclipse occur. They have a way of entering our lives and shaking things up, whether we like it or not. Eclipses happen in pairs, roughly two weeks apart. The time before, between, and after can carry a disruptive energy, or perhaps an opportunity to break away from old patterns and try something different.
The first pair of eclipses this year occurred in March 2025: a lunar eclipse in Virgo and a solar eclipse in Aries. This was the last eclipse in Aries for at least eight years, as the lunar nodes have now shifted into Pisces and Virgo.
A little bit of history of eclipses...
The word eclipse comes from Old French and Latin, and eventually from the Greek word ékleipsis, meaning “abandonment” or “failure to appear.” Omens and signs within divinatory systems have a long history of being connected with appearance, or in the broader context of astrology, the ancient concept of light, sight, and visibility.
In ancient astrology, the Sun and Moon were known as the luminaries: archetypes of the King and Queen, the royal couple in the sky. In a natal chart they are key markers of the plot-line and circumstance. The Sun represents father, king, purpose, and authority; the Moon represents mother, queen, body, and circumstance. The Moon is material, the Sun the mind. They are tied to the philosophical concepts of Spirit and Fortune in ancient astrology.
In Babylonian times, eclipses, especially solar eclipses, were considered agents of fate, signalling important events around leaders, often their downfall. Protective rituals, such as substitution rites for the king, were performed to avert harm at the moment of the eclipse. Babylonian astronomers recorded eclipses over centuries and could predict them mathematically, while also creating symbolically rich interpretations.
Within astrology, the luminaries are sources of light, considered the life force. When that light disappears, it indicates an interruption in the natural order: daylight darkens, and the Moon loses its luminous glow.
The Astronomy bit.
An eclipse occurs when one celestial body, Earth, Moon, or Sun, moves into the shadow of another. It is about light, or the absence of it. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon blocks the Sun, turning day into night. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon, making it appear dark or red.
A solar eclipse can only happen during the new moon phase, when the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun. A lunar eclipse can only occur at the full moon, when the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon. In natal charts, the symbols resembling headphones (☊ ☋) represent the lunar nodes.
The lunar nodes are two points, not physical bodies, where the Moon’s orbit crosses the Sun’s path, the ecliptic. The Sun’s apparent path moves roughly 1° a day, compared with the Moon’s 13° daily. If the Sun is within 18° of either the north node (☊) or south node (☋) in a natal chart, the native was born either just before, on, between, or shortly after eclipses.
Astrologically, the nodes spend 18–19 months in each zodiacal sign or axis. This year, they are in the Virgo/Pisces axis. The last time they were in this axis was around 2007. Consider what was happening in your life then. Themes of a similar nature may now repeat, not identically, but with familiar patterns.
“History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes,” as the old saying goes.
In eastern traditions, the north node was seen as the dragon’s head and the south node as the dragon’s tail, symbolising the dragon swallowing the luminaries and tied to the concept of fate. The north node is associated with increase or amplification, and the south node with decrease or diminution.
We already had an eclipse in Virgo in March 2025, but not in Pisces, so something new will occur in that part of your chart this September and in the subsequent months. The lunar eclipse will be visible in much of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe, with the solar eclipse visible in New Zealand, Antarctica, and the South Pacific.
Lunar vs Solar Eclipses.
The Moon generally represents the collective. In ancient astrology, it symbolised the people, the body, circumstance, mother, flux, and travel (as the Moon wanders). A full moon marks a culmination, something coming to completion. Cassandra Tyndall recently described the difference between a full moon and a lunar eclipse: with Selene’s light being eclipsed, there is a “backlight” effect, rather than the illumination of a full moon. There is a sense of revelation or completion, but with some obscurity.
What makes a solar eclipse special is that the Moon intersects the ecliptic, being at the same celestial longitude as the Sun, temporarily eclipsing Helios’ light. Associated with leadership and authority, a solar eclipse can sometimes signal the fall of a leader. Personally, solar eclipses can mark the start of something new, a rapid shift in the area of your natal chart where the eclipse occurs.
Some Musings and Meaning-Making.
Total Lunar Eclipse – 15 degrees Pisces – 7 September 2025, 19:08 BST
This total lunar eclipse is near the north node, so Earth’s shadow will stain the Moon crimson. In Pisces, a feminine, double-bodied sign, the Moon signals flux and change. Pisces marks the turn from winter to spring, carrying hope that the light will return with the solar ingress into Aries. Saturn recently retrograded into Pisces, so wherever Pisces falls in your chart, expect a reality check in the area of faith, hope, and compassion. Saturn is perhaps asking us to concretise those hopes and make sure our faith can endure, even when things might come to an end.
Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, currently exalted in Cancer. This forms a supportive trine with the Moon, indicating a line of assistance in the matters eclipsed. While eclipses can bring instability, Jupiter’s presence brings hope and support. Being conjunct the north node, there could be themes of increase, or even overindulgence, but overall this eclipse carries deep emotional and intuitive potential.
Partial Solar Eclipse – 28 degrees Virgo – 21 September 2025, 20:54 BST
Solar eclipses indicate a new cycle: out with the old, in with the new. Partial though it is, the eclipse carries the weight of change. Virgo, a feminine, double-bodied earth sign, signals practical and tangible matters. Mercury, ruler of Virgo, is in Libra, encouraging relational, thoughtful approaches in breaking down and improving systems in the Virgo part of your chart.
This eclipse may require subtle navigation with its ruler Mercury not being able to witness its sign of Virgo. A supportive sextile from Jupiter and the co-presence of Venus, both benefics, offer assistance and add a little padding. Saturn casts an opposition ray from Pisces, injecting realism and asking, “What’s the long-term plan here?” It reminds us that the axis in our natal charts where this falls is interconnected. Being conjunct the south node, this eclipse asks us not to cling to old patterns but to let new ones emerge. Try something different.
Eclipses are great beginnings and endings. They are one in the same. The wheel turns, look below to see where it lands for you.
Rising sign and house focus during these eclipses.
Aries Rising: 6th and 12th houses, work, health, routines, rest, and retreat.
Taurus Rising: 5th and 11th houses, creativity, children, romance, friends, and community.
Gemini Rising: 4th and 10th houses, home, family, career, and public reputation.
Cancer Rising: 3rd and 9th houses, day-to-day, learning, communication, travel, and spiritual beliefs.
Leo Rising: 2nd and 8th houses, money, resources, debts, and shared commitments.
Virgo Rising: 1st and 7th houses, body, identity, self-expression, and significant relationships or partnerships.
Libra Rising: 6th and 12th houses, routines, health, and balancing work with rest.
Scorpio Rising: 5th and 11th houses, creativity, children, romance, community shifts, and friends.
Sagittarius Rising: 4th and 10th houses, family, home, career, and public life.
Capricorn Rising: 3rd and 9th houses, day-to-day, study, travel, and faith.
Aquarius Rising: 2nd and 8th houses, finances, possessions, intimacy, and shared resources.
Pisces Rising: 1st and 7th houses, identity, appearance, body, and partnerships.
Check the degree of the eclipse. If it is conjunct, square, or opposite the Sun, Moon, or Ascendant ruler in your chart, the eclipse season will have extra significance. Also note if it is conjunct one of the natal angles (Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant, or IC), as this indicates major shifts. Eclipses occurring in the 1st, 4th, 7th, or 10th houses will be particularly impactful.
If all of this is fascinating but complex, do not worry. Book a reading with me to explore your chart and see how eclipse season is showing up in your life.
Use promo code ECLIPSE at checkout for 15% off any session.
Offer ends 01/10/25.
P.S. Also never look at a solar eclipse directly, have some handy glasses at the ready :)
