Triple eclipse 2020

The Triple Eclipse Pathway

Kevin Baird / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Kevin Baird / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

With the next three lunations occurring close to the lunar nodes, we are swiftly moving into the first eclipse season of 2020. Eclipses happen every year. There are typically two pairs of eclipses annually, but this encroaching eclipse season consists of three (something that occurs variably every few years). As always, how much we "feel" an eclipse depends mainly on how it connects to our chart and how close we are to the eclipse path (whether or not we can see it).

Eclipses are subtle, and the events that coincide with them take time to emerge. One useful way of looking at eclipses is that they operate like extra significant New or Full Moons that open a sensitized area of the zodiac that can be active for several months. Solar eclipses can symbolize a significant beginning or starting point, while lunar eclipses can signify a more substantial culmination or completion. And the eclipse season itself can subjectively feel like an accelerated period of personal growth and awareness expansion.

Inner and outer constructs can rapidly reshuffle themselves, leaving us mysteriously changed and impacted. Acceleration is one consistent theme that eclipses bring about as if change happens more readily and is more accessible than otherwise. The need to remain open to that dimension is helpful to anticipate. Occurring alongside both Venus and Mercury changing direction, this eclipse season unfolds to create a confluence of shifting events. And the triple eclipses extend the eclipse season portal, giving us a longer brewing time for dynamic changes to occur.

This eclipse season consists of two penumbral lunar eclipses (where the earth's outer shadow, or penumbra, partially crosses the lunar surface) and an annular solar eclipse in between (basically a total solar eclipse but with a ring of sunlight around the Moon's shadow). The first penumbral lunar eclipse occurs on June 5/6 in Sagittarius, visible from Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and most of Europe and Asia. The annular solar eclipse occurs on June 21 in Cancer, visible from southern Europe, the Middle East, and most of Africa and Asia. The last penumbral lunar eclipse occurs on July 4/5 in Capricorn, visible from North and South America (excluding Alaska and northwest Canada), Africa, and western Europe.

With the addition of Venus and Mercury's stations, anticipate the month of June to be a period of rapidly changing directions, narratives, and inner processes. Trusting your insight and heightened perception is a significant key to pushing through this triple eclipse portal. Amid the pandemic and all that it's brought to the surface, consider this an extra detour (or scenic route). The combination of eclipses and inner planetary retrogrades relates to the amplification of perceptual changes and extensive revisioning to several dimensions of our lives.

Mercury and Venus both station (appear to cease movement) within one week of each other in June. Mercury stations retrograde June 17/18 and Venus stations direct June 24/25. This apparent retrograde shift can correlate with a transition from heart to mind. While Venus' retrograde increases the volume on our heart perception, Mercury increases the data flow via a higher volume of information and communication.

Yet, with Venus in Gemini, and Mercury in Cancer, there is an ongoing theme relating the heart to our perceptions--making emotionally charged adjustments to our worldview (including beliefs, ideas, and opinions about how reality works). As with eclipses and Mercury retrograde cycles, practice humility--keep both heart and mind receptive and flexible to incoming data streams. We are each making significant changes to how we see and understand our lives. The next month might appear as a rapid change in navigation, so consider taking your time in re-routing and adjusting.