Solar Eclipse 3rd Nov 2013 – An eclipse of radical changes.

Eclipses, especially Solar eclipses have always caused wonderment and also a certain amount of fear in people who observed them as the light was blacked out by the Moon passing between the the Earth and the Sun. The Sun is the life force that we absolutely need for all of us to survive and when it was extinguished, it was seen as a very bad omen to be followed by unfortunate events. Those of us who have looked at and studied eclipses astrologically understand that that the eclipse seem to be a trigger point for the 6 months to a year to come and maybe further into the future too. The solar eclipse on 3rd November seems to be a very intriguing one indeed.

This is the Solar Eclipse chart set for London my home city on the 3rd November. We have the eclipse at 11:15 degrees Scorpio conjunct to Saturn and to Mercury retrograde. Scorpio in which the eclipse occurs as a sign is a sign of life and death, of beginnings and endings and is very appropriate for a total eclipse as this one will be. Parts of the earth under this eclipse including central Africa will be plunged into darkness for a brief moment, and I can imagine that the intensity of this occurrence will be very Scorpionic in nature.

Back to the Astrology and what do we have here? The eclipse conjunct to Saturn in Scorpio stirs up deep ambition and fear, loss and lessons to learn. Saturn is the sign of administration and government and the eclipse within 2 degrees of Saturn suggests to me transformation of those in charge, rulers facing up to difficult circumstances, buildings being raised to the ground before construction can be started. There is more evidence of this as the eclipse lands on the fixed star Acrux. I chose the picture on this post very carefully as Acrux is the main star in the constellation of the Southern Cross. This star is a star of materialism, of the building blocks of life, of money and finances and of the substance of the commercial world itself. Earlier in the year, a pass of Saturn over this star saw changes in the papacy and the Anglican church within quick succession so there does also seem to be a religious element to this star too. Does the eclipse foretell financial problems to come? Will it bring big changes in the religious structures and belief systems of the world too? I am a great believer in symbolism with the fixed stars and the Southern Cross represents several nations of the world in the Southern Hemisphere depicted on their flags, especially Australia and Brazil. More of these countries later…

The conjunction of Saturn, Eclipse and Mercury brings a wide focus point connected to a wider mini grand trine composed of a trine between Mars and Pluto with the eclipse point sitting at the midpoint of these two planets. The midpoint of Mars and Pluto according to Reinhold Ebertin is one of “great force and determination”, but also one where there is a likelihood of “proceeding in a brutal manner, one of misfortune, violence and injuries”. There is more. At the time of the eclipse, Mars is on a point of suffering in the heavens sitting closely conjunct the star Zosma. Zosma is a star in the constellation of Leo which very much highlights the victimisation of people and it brings the idea of working and acting in very difficult and trying circumstances. The trine from Pluto still conjunct to the star Facies, another very focused and brutal star indicates to me a theme of harshness and violence, of suffering, destruction and rebirth. Trines make any energy flow that much more easily, be it good or bad energy and this one worries me a lot, especially as it focuses in on the midpoint of the eclipse degree. There is much good here to create positive and active change, but it goes hand in hand with the more destructive tendencies of these two planets too. Any military or terrorist based action in the next six months carried out in the world I think will be swift, decisive and done with control, power (Pluto) and precision (Mars in Virgo).

This eclipse comes two days after the latest in the line of Uranus Pluto exact square aspects, so these two planets, Uranus the planet of unpredictability, revolution, shocks and independence and Pluto the planet of power, control transformation and total change provide another sub-plot and signature to this fascinating eclipse. Uranus is particularly important on this chart as it sits at the point of a yod, connected to the eclipse, Mercury and to Mars. Watch out for the exact degree point that Uranus at the point of this yod sits at (9:22 degrees Aries) and note down the date 30th January when Uranus return to this spot. I have a distinct feeling that something major and shocking will occur around this date. Often when the outer planets return to a degree point after an eclipse it triggers an unfortunate event and of course the yod set in the natal chart of this eclipse will at that point be activated. Uranus in Aries stirs up revolt, rebellion and the unexpected and it is possible to try and predict where these could occur if you look at the angles and the planets placed on them.

I have noticed in the past that Uranus and Pluto on the angles (Ascendant, IC, Descendant and Midheaven) of the eclipse chart can indicate where “incidents” and changes may occur in the weeks and months after it hits and this time around a few places on earth do stand out. Uranus is on the Ascendant at the time of the eclipse in Moscow, and that path of Uranus takes it also through eastern Turkey, through Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Somalia. Uranus on the Midheaven sees it affecting Eastern Russia, Western Japan and through the middle of Australia and Pluto on the Midheaven follows a very similar path as Uranus does going through Russia, onwards through Jordan, to Saudi Arabia and Eastern Africa. I would not mind betting that these areas of the world will see big changes in 2014. Pluto on the descendant interestingly goes close to Beijing, Taipei and Eastern Australia including a direct hit on Sydney – could the wildfires here be pre-empting this eclipse? Pluto on the Ascendant hits Scotland, then onwards to Brazil and Argentina. I wonder if this is a pre-cursor to Scottish independence and of course Brazil has the World Cup in 2014 which will transform the nation before the Olympics come in 2016.

Neptune in Pisces makes a sextile to flirtatious Venus in Sagittarius and a trine to Mercury, so this may well be a creative time in the world to come and art, music and inventive media may thrive and do well. These influences also tell me that the world will still not have a handle on the handling of money, although a trine from Saturn in Scorpio to Jupiter in Cancer may well curb a lot of speculation in the markets and hold back any recovery in the world for a few months yet, expansion of the world economies will still be on hold.

On a personal level, this will be an eclipse of positive if unexpected change for many of us. New energies will be thrust into our lives, especially in the houses that transiting Pluto and Uranus find themselves in (and rule) and the Scorpio house on your chart where the eclipse lands could be one where you have to learn some difficult and possibly harsh lessons. Slow progress and change will also come from this part of your chart. If you want some extra information on just how this Solar eclipse (and the recent Lunar Eclipse from the 18th Oct 2013) will affect you yourself in the coming months, then click on the link below or on the one above this article.

Click here to order my Eclipse Report (both Lunar and Solar Eclipses for Autumn/Fall 2013)