We’re heading into eclipse season again. This time, there will be three eclipses instead of the usual set of two. In this article, I’ll attempt to explain why we have an extra eclipse from time to time, what this extra eclipse means and how we can use it as a planning tool.

Background on the eclipses

Like many, you may be clued onto the fact that eclipses are significant, yet their true meaning may be elusive to you. Most people feel a sense of intensity, strong intuition or heightened emotion during eclipse times. If you haven’t already, check out my article, Understanding Eclipses, as this background may help you navigate your intentions during these short but potent windows.

In short, eclipses are messy and chaotic times. Think of them as super charged New Moons and Full Moons that shake you up to recalibrate you closer towards your true path. As a guide, how far you’ve strayed from this path will determine how intense this shake up will be. At the other end of the messiness is a momentary opportunity to embody your potential and to discover the proverbial silver lining or pot of gold.

Eclipses as synchronistic six-monthly signposts

There’s no coincidence that my session bookings will spike a month either side of the eclipse season. The pull of eclipses on your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual strings can be quite strong, especially if the eclipse falls on significant points of your natal chart.

If you know ahead of time which eclipses will make direct hits with your natal chart points, you’re more likely to make the most out of these eclipses. Imagine being able to embrace the ‘silver linings’ rather than experiencing eclipses merely as stressful times.

And for the most magical part – every time another planet moves over this exact eclipse point in the next 24-month+ period, you’ll experience strange synchronocities related to that eclipse story. Keeping a journal of all the things happening around and within you during these activation points is truly illuminating. You’ll soon see a thread emerge.

This is one of the things we study in my Eclipse Planning Sessions – we look at any eclipses that will make direct contact with your natal chart points, then map out all of the future times that this point will be activated by other moving planets. If you’re interested in journeying through your personal eclipse story, book a session here.

Why the third eclipse this time?

You may have read my previous article about the Lunar Nodes shifting signs from Cancer/Capricorn into Gemini/Sagittarius. Lunar Nodes are linked to eclipses, and they travel back and forth continuously through a sign over approximately a two-year period.

At the sign change phase, the Lunar Nodes will not only create an eclipse at the New and Full Moons of the previous signs, they will also just be within range to create an eclipse at one of the lunations of the next signs, thus giving us an extra eclipse, albeit much weaker.

In this case, we have a:

1) Full Moon Eclipse in Sagittarius on 6 June 2020, 05:12am (AEST +10:00)

This will be the ‘weaker’ extra eclipse for this eclipse set, occurring in the new Lunar South Node sign

2) New Moon Eclipse in Cancer on 21 June 2020, 04:41pm (AEST +10:00)

This will be the last Cancer eclipse to occur since the Lunar Nodes entered Cancer/Capricorn in 2018. The next time another eclipse occurs in Cancer will be in 2028.

3) Full Moon Eclipse in Capricorn on 5 July 2020, 02:44pm (AEST +10:00)

This will be the last Capricorn eclipse to occur since the Lunar Nodes entered Cancer/Capricorn in 2018. The next time another eclipse occurs in Cancer will be in 2027.

Extra eclipses give us a preview of the next two years

The extra eclipse in Sagittarius this time round barely qualifies as an eclipse, but don’t let its technical weakness get in the way of a great opportunity. When you see an extra eclipse, it tells you that all eclipses for the next two years approximately will be in two new signs – in this case, Sagittarius and Gemini until December 2021.

This is like having front row seats to a movie premiere about your next two years! Take heed – during the Sagittarius Full Moon Eclipse ‘preview’ on the 6th June (and two weeks either side), observe what’s going on around you. Listen intently to your inner dialogue. Be mindful of your thoughts. Journal. Draw. Sit. Look. Whatever you need to do, just make sure you take it all in because this moment will be an introduction to a new story line that’s about to commence. Think of this as your movie’s trailer. And, when we get to December 2021, you’ll most likely feel like you’ve completed something that had a beginning phase around 6th June 2020.

The Sagittarius / Gemini Eclipse story line

I touched on some collective significations of the Sagittarius / Gemini eclipse series in my article, Shifting of the Lunar Nodes. Here’s a grab:

“Lunar Nodes will now bring to focus a collective search for truth and information and how this connects us to renewed beliefs and a vital re-education phase to bring us into a new paradigm of life.”

The common thread of this story is that we’re all about to enter a steep learning phase. Sagittarius and Gemini are two signs connected strongly to education and the act of learning. However, being polar opposite to each other, there are differences between these two motives of learning. The Gemini side is trying to dissect, categorise and divide information in a way that’s more ‘black and white’. The Saggitarian side is trying to pull together, unify and integrate fragments of information into a bigger vision or higher Truth, pushing us to assess our current philosophical framework or belief systems.

Will these ecliptical shakeups test our personal truths, our spiritual or religious beliefs, the receiving of information, our critical thinking, the way we interact with data and technology, the way we learn, the content of our education system, our trust with media, our personal privacy or the way we communicate and connect with each other and with whom? All will be revealed over time, starting with the first eclipse in Sagittarius on the 6th June.

Looking at where the signs of Sagittarius and Gemini fall in your natal chart will also reveal which areas of life you’ll most likely feel these chaotic ecliptical vortexes spinning. Is it in the area of:

• Relationships, partner, personal health and mindset (1st/7th house polarity)?
• Finances, values, shared resources and other people’s money (2nd/8th house polarity)?
• Education, communication, travel, spirituality, beliefs and the law (3rd/9th house polarity)?
• Home, real estate, parents, career and reputation (4th/10th house polarity)?
• Sex, children, creativity, friends, networks, future hopes (5th/11th house polarity)?
• Work, service, small animals, health, sorrows, loss (6th/12th house polarity)?

Looking ahead

Here are the dates for the Sagittarius/Gemini eclipses, which you may like to put into your diaries. Knowing these dates, along with the houses that they fall into your chart and your personal reflections of the first ‘preview’ eclipse on 6th June 2020 may help you to plan and prepare for the times ahead within the context of your lives.

• Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, 6 June 2020
• Cancer Solar Eclipse, 21 June 2020 (final Cancer eclipse)
• Capricorn Lunar Eclipse, 5 July 2020 (final Capricorn eclipse)
• Gemini Lunar Eclipse, 30 November 2020
• Sagittarius Solar Eclipse, 15 December 2020
• Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, 26 May 2021
• Gemini Solar Eclipse, 10 June 2021
• Sagittarius Solar Eclipse, 4 December 2021

What should we do on eclipse times?

Personally, I would never start anything during an eclipse that would consecrate the eclipse energy into that activity. Eclipses are chaotic, intense and generally malefic in nature. I don’t view them as omens for good fortune or beneficial effects.

However, I do like to use eclipses for purification activities. Cleansings, spring cleaning, salt baths, detoxes are all good eclipse activities, where we can allow ourselves to purge the ‘dross’ in our lives (projects, people, ideas, things, etc.) and become more aligned with our higher intentions and larger visions. They are times for restful contemplation, deep honouring of self and isolation – so give yourself a break if you can.

I have found that eclipse times, plus/minus two weeks will naturally attract significant events, emotions, people, conversations, etc, so there’s no need to plan specific activities under an eclipse other than a purification ritual.

This year, I’ll again be doing Benebell Wen’s ritual for expelling malefic attachments. It’s a bit of a commitment, but well worth the effort. 

You may also find Kaitlin Coppock’s North Node and South Node eclipse remediation advice useful, especially if you’re magically inclined.

And, of course, if you’d like to explore what this new Sagittarius/Gemini eclipse story lines may mean for you personally, I’d be honoured to guide you on this journey. Simply book a session here.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with my thoughts on the final Cancer/Capricorn eclipses on the 21st June and 5th July.

As above and so below

Shu