In a previous blog, I wrote about both Lunar and Solar eclipses but in this blog, I am going to focus on the special nature of a solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon stands between the Sun and the earth, which makes the sun appear to go dark – however, you have to be in a particular part of the world to be able to see this with the human eye.

Solar eclipses can only occur on a New Moon so they tend to herald new beginnings and opportunities and are often positive with great news seemingly out of the blue.

Solar eclipses happen twice a year and the eclipse can be felt for up to 36 days (known as the eclipse season).

Whether a solar eclipse is a partial or total eclipse depends on how many degrees the moon and sun are within the lunar nodes.

solar eclipse

The total eclipses of the sun are very special and have been associated with wars, famines, floods, unprecedented climate changes and the death or birth of dictators, rulers, presidents and kings, especially near the area where the total eclipse occurs.

Walter Mercado

However, the actual impact or effect of Solar eclipses is very inconsistent and it is hard to know which will shake our world and which will pass by almost unnoticed. They can be described as wild cards that may cause stress or coincide with chaotic events or they can bring exciting opportunities.

Solar eclipses tend to relate to external events and impact us as something that is happening to us rather than something we have consciously chosen.

In the book, Spiritual Astrology Spiller and McCoy describe Solar Eclipses as representing “our collective egos, our collective emotions, and our collective karma”  and they explain that the house the solar eclipse falls in shows the arena that will be most active for the 6-month period until the next solar eclipse. It is the area where you will be asked to set an example for the collective, and be a good role model and you may be exposed or held accountable in this area.

Solar eclipses come in pairs that will activate a polarity in our chart, for example, the previous solar eclipse in 2022 was in Aries on April 20th and the next one is on October 14th in Libra. The first activated my 7th house and the second will activate my first house. 

These solar eclipses have been so obvious in my life this year, the first activating my 7th house of partnerships happened a day or so after I first connected with an editor at Hay House which then resulted in a publishing deal and the second activated my 1st house and natal Pluto comes at a time where we are in the thick of redesigning the deck and I am relaunching myself in a sense. I really feel like this year has seen major transformations in my life and business and this is reflected in these solar eclipses.

As I discussed in a previous blog on eclipses, they belong to a family of eclipses called a “saros series”. The Saros Series (or patterns) were discovered by the Babylonians in the 4th Century and each series has certain characteristics and runs for over 1,000 years. Each series has a solar eclipse approximately every 18 years.

The Saros series that the 2023 eclipses belong to is known as 7 South and interestingly it first occurred in 1248 and will end in 2492! This saros series according to Bernadette Brady is a time when huge obstacles suddenly and easily clear or on the other side a personal crisis will manifest and move through your life rapidly – either way, things will move at great speed. I’m a little concerned as at the solar eclipse in 2022 my dad had a cancer diagnosis, he had cancer (skin cancer from the sun!) removed and there were no signs of cancer and then this year literally days before the eclipse his lymph nodes are swollen and then may mean cancer has spread.

April Elliot Kent in her book Astrological Transits states that solar eclipses are typically felt in the week leading up to the event and tend to have a physical impact – making us feel drained, stressed, or overexcited.

April also states that eclipses bring moments of crisis – and the thing is that a crisis has the impact of waking you up – making you look at the world in a different way – for me, it has made me value my health even more as well as wanting to spend more quality time with my dad.

So what does this mean for the October Libra Annular Solar Eclipse?

Libra Solar Eclipses will ask us to confront relationships and partnerships in our lives and in particular in the arena or house that the eclipse activates.

To discover this find 21 degrees Libra in your chart and see which house it falls in.

This eclipse will likely be more challenging if:

  • You have any planets or angles close by (within 4 degrees) – If the eclipse is tightly conjunct with a planet or angle then it will likely impact you in a stronger way and the personality of that planet or domain of that angle will be involved.
  • The same goes if you have planets that are square (19-23 degrees Capricorn or Cancer) or opposite (19-23 degrees Aries) then this eclipse will likely bring more stress, anxiety, or crisis for you.

This eclipse activates my 1st house cusp and is conjunct with my natal pluto so it is likely that themes around my use of personal power as well as empowerment within relationships will come up to be dealt with.


You can also reflect on what was occurring around 18 years ago, the time of the last eclipse in this saros series (this was 2005).


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If you have enjoyed working with this eclipse energy you’ll love my Lunar Planning Toolkit which helps you to work with each new and full moon on a personal level.

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