Eclipses
If you have been a diligent follower of this series, your calendar
or appointment book for 1998 includes the dates of 12 New Moons
and 12 Full Moons. Among these dates are five eclipses: three Lunar
and two Solar. This week, we shall take a basic look at understanding
an eclipse.
Last week I described how one should study the New Moons and Full
Moons to see if a particular horoscope will be affected. In particular,
we should look first to see if the New Moon or Full Moon is conjunct
or opposite a planet or personal point in the horoscope of interest.
I personally do not use more than 1 degree of orb. Other people
use wider orbs.
Next, we should look to see what house or houses are affected in
the horoscope of interest. Up to this point, the procedures for
studying a New Moon or Full Moon and an eclipse are the same. After
all, a Solar Eclipse is a special New Moon, and a Lunar Eclipse
is a special Full Moon. They require special alignments of the Sun,
the Moon, the Earth, the Moon's Nodes, and the declinations.
The significant difference between the interpretation of an eclipse
or of a lunation is in the duration and intensity of the eclipse's
effect. While the New Moon has an effect from the day of the New
Moon until the next New Moon, and the Full Moon has an effect from
the day of the Full Moon until the next New Moon (approximately
four weeks and two weeks, respectively), the eclipse has an effect
that starts months before the eclipse and lasts months afterwards.
It is said that one can feel the effects of an eclipse up to three
months before it occurs. There are differing opinions about how
long after an eclipse one can still feel the effects. Some say years,
some say months. I personally prefer to think in terms of six to
twelve months.
What is the effect of an eclipse? As with the New Moon or the Full
Moon, if an eclipse is conjunct or opposite a planet in the horoscope
of interest, an event will occur in the nature of that planet, and
in the nature of the house it occupies, and the house the planet
rules. The effect is usually powerful.
For those of you who are watching the horoscopes of family members
and friends, I shall repeat the five eclipses in 1998. Watch for
conjunctions and oppositions to the following points:
7 Pisces 55
22 Virgo 24
15 Aquarius 21
28 Leo 48
13 Pisces 40
For thousands of years, astrologers have known with great accuracy
the timing of eclipses, including their reoccurrence in a 19?year
cycle. They have used this information to guide rulers and generals.
We can use the same information to determine whether or not a forthcoming
eclipse will have an effect on a nation or on a national leader.
For example, the forthcoming eclipse on February 26, 1998, shows
no significant effect on Washington, D.C. but it has a potential
for a problem along the longitude of Denver, Colorado (about 105
degrees West) where Uranus is on the Midheaven of the eclipse chart,
and also along the longitude of about 78 degrees 21 minutes, where
the Sun?Moon eclipse is on the Midheaven. Cities at that longitude
include Batavia, New York; Altoona, Pennsylvania; and Raleigh, North
Carolina.
The eclipse is just one more tool available to the astrologer.
Many times it will not apply to the horoscope of interest in the
time frame of interest. When the eclipse is pertinent, its effect
is powerful.
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