Wendy Cicchetti

This total solar eclipse presents a highly charged New Moon in its home sign, Cancer, relating to home life, parenting, and nurturing — as well as loyalties to other clans or tribes we belong to. Eclipse events often coincide with something or someone being concealed or neglected. With the Moon involved, this may be an unconscious action, or relate to an unfortunate lack of focus. We may have habitually deferred to someone over others, such as giving constant attention to one family member, friend, or loved one, while failing to notice another person’s needs — maybe due to our own circumstances. If we have wrongfully neglected anyone, this could soon become more obvious. The impact of an eclipse can be immediate or may take up to six months to manifest itself.

Eclipse developments can have a greater impact than other lunar events, so there may also be issues to handle around household moves and family changes. Thinking about the eclipse in terms of signs, planets, and their respective seasons — as Kelly Surtees reminds us to do — we can see that Cancer is linked with the summer and thriving life; its natural ruler, the Moon, connects with fertility, motherhood, and the initial giving of life. Capricorn and its ruler, Saturn, at the other end of the scale, relate to winter, decline, and degeneration. These are all key points in natural, ever changing cycles. The solar eclipse, with the Moon in Cancer obscuring the Sun, is a time to think harder about what is life-giving for us. Where should we invest energy in new growth? What shall we prepare to let go of? We may not have the time, room, or other resources to maintain all the lifelines we can access.

Sometimes it is not completely obvious what is heading towards increase and what is on the wane in our lives. But we may have a keener perception of such developments around this eclipse. If, for any reason, we fail to see something coming, then the six-month window should give us time to clarify which way the wind is blowing, overall.

It is worth noting that Saturn remains strongly placed in his native sign of Capricorn. And given his close conjunction with the South Node, there is a powerful pull back to the past. We may once again need to address traditional versus modern parenting styles, as well as how we, as adults, take care of our elderly relatives. Some people will keenly feel the lack of family ties and nurturing, too, particularly where death and illness have taken their toll. This may be a time for looking to new sources of connection and emotional and physical sustenance. Others will be trying to build up defenses against an uncertain future while Saturn is sextile misty Neptune.

If we allow just over the typical 4° orb for a sextile aspect, then we can also take into account a Sun–Moon connection to Uranus. Plus, Uranus in Taurus is conjunct asteroid Vesta, fanning a warming fire! The earthy realms of Taurus remind us of the good things of life and all the comforts and pleasures that cost money. So, there may be reasons to examine more closely where our financial lifelines will remain sound for the future. If we have invested in property, a valuation may clarify its real, current worth. New or different earning opportunities could also present themselves. With Uranus, only one thing is sure: We cannot take anything for granted! The Sun and Moon are also square Chiron, showing that, although taking steps towards any healing may be hard work, it is perfectly possible to reach that joyful destination.

This article is from the Mountain Astrologer, written by Diana Collis.

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, “We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. ” If we want to be different then we must change our thoughts. “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.