Eclipses

Every five and a half months, when the Sun is near one of the moon's nodes, eclipses can occur. New moons become dramatic solar eclipses, when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun and blots out the Sun's light. Full moons become lunar eclipses, where the Moon is obscured by the Earth's shadow. These "failures of the Light" have instilled awe over the centuries and have long been known as times of critical transformation.

Eclipses are about change, sometimes radical change. For people that have grown happy with the status quo, changes can be quite unwelcome, even uncomfortable. This is perhaps the reason eclipses have gotten such a bad reputation over the years, since they tend to disrupt situations in our lives that we'd rather keep intact. In my experience, if you concentrate on these shifts as a normal part of your growth process, leaving behind outmoded behaviors, the results are usually positive.

Also, eclipses are stronger and more long lasting in their effects than normal new or full moons. They seem to influence the following 6 to 12 months quite heavily and the eclipse degree itself remains an active "hot spot" in the zodiac for a long time. Become aware of the themes and events entering your life at these times (often described by the house position in your birthchart of the eclipse degree), since you will likely be working on these themes for quite some time. Treat these influences with respect and full awareness if you're going to make the most of them. Eclipses really aren't such bogeymen...

All of these eclipses (and more, going back to 1990), have been captured and made into HCW remedies for people who seriously want to work with these powerful energies. These remedies are available both as individual eclipses or as combinations of all the eclipses for a calendar year. The Eclipse HCW page contains more information on these unique remedies.

Eclipses for the Years of: 1995 to 1999 2000 to 2004 2005 to 2009 2010 to 2014 2015 to 2019

Background Information: The Geometry of Eclipses Eclipses and the Saros Cycle Active Saros Cycles for the 20th and 21st Centuries

See the Current Transits for interpretations of individual eclipses. For an excellent source of current eclipse information from NASA, visit Fred Espenak's Eclipse Home Page.

Information Listed on each Eclipse

The eclipse information listed below contains the following data for each eclipse:

• Eclipse Type: Broadly speaking, eclipses fall into two categories, either "solar" (where the Sun is obscured by the Moon) or "lunar" (where the Earth's shadow hides the Moon). These categories are sub-divided into "eclipse types" based on how completely the Sun or Moon is eclipsed. The solar eclipse types are:
  • Total Solar -- the Moon's dark umbra touches the Earth, so the Sun is completely darkened at small regions of the Earth's surface.
  • Annular Solar -- the Moon is too far away for the umbra to touch the Earth, leaving a thin ring of sunlight (the "annulus") visible around the Moon's dark side.
  • Partial Solar -- the Moon's dark umbra misses the earth, but the lighter penumbra part of its shadow touches the Earth near the North or South Pole. The Sun is only partially blocked.
  • Annular/Total Solar -- a "hybrid" eclipse that starts out annular, turns total, and finishes annular once more.
  The lunar eclipse types are:
  • Total Lunar -- the Full Moon passes through the Earth's umbra and turns completely dark.
  • Partial Lunar -- the Moon moves across the boundary of the Earth's umbra and penumbra, so it appears dark except for a normal looking crescent of brightness.
  • Appulse Lunar -- also known as a "penumbral lunar eclipse", the Moon moves through only the Earth's penumbra and is only slightly dimmed.
• Zodiac Position: The zodiac position (in degree-sign-minute notation) of the Sun or Moon at maximum eclipse. This becomes a "critical degree" for the coming months.
• Date: The date of the eclipse, as seen in the Central Standard Time (CST) zone. If you're working in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), this may shift over to the next date.
• Saros Number: Eclipses come in families that are designated by their "Saros Number". These "Saros Cycles" are explained on another page.

1995 to 1999:

2000 to 2004:

2005 to 2009:

2010 to 2014:

2015 to 2019:

Bibliography of Eclipse Information

Information from a number of source texts was used to create these eclipse pages. The following books were particularly helpful:

• The American Ephemeris for the 20th Century. Neil Michelsen.
• The American Ephemeris for the 21th Century. Neil Michelsen.
• Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses, 1986-2035. Fred Espenak.
• Fifty Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses, 1986-2035. Fred Espenak.
• Explanatory Supplement to The Astronomical Ephemeris and The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (1974 version).
• Interpreting the Eclipses. Robert Carl Jansky.
• Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark. Bernadette Brady.

The program "Star*Sprite" from Time Cycles Research (with its 3000 years of built-in ephemerides) has been a god-send.