An interesting question came up in an astrological forum this morning.

A person asked if there was a difference in the meaning when a lunar eclipse comes before the solar eclipse, and does it mark “a culmination or climax of something prior to a new portal opening?” Today we take a brief look at two crucial factors when considering eclipses.

I answered that yes, I do discuss this in the eclipse articles as well as other lunation articles. There are two different considerations here; the question involves the planetary pattern, while the second primary consideration in eclipses involves sign patterns.

Specific to the question, if the Lunar eclipse comes first, it is the fulfillment phase of the previous New Moon which was not an eclipse. So the initial seed forms of the previous New Moon come forth uninfluenced by eclipse effects. These seed forms come to fulfillment via the following Full Moon Lunar eclipse, which leads to several months of something "shutting down" wherever it falls in the chart.

If a Lunar eclipse comes first, it is always followed by a Solar eclipse, which re-sets the seed forms coming to fruition via the following Full Moon. In this case, the Solar eclipse begins a several year period (usually) of something “shutting down” related to the sign and house it occupies. Those seed forms come to specific fruition at the next Full Moon, but that energy is unrelated to “Lunar eclipse” effects, which were already set into motion at the previous Full Moon.

On the other hand, if a Solar eclipse happens before the Lunar eclipse, the Solar eclipse begins the "recycling" process related to its seed forms, which are brought to a specific focus and fulfillment in the subsequent Lunar eclipse. As you can see, there is a difference between two eclipses spanning two New Moons, and two eclipses “self-contained” in one New Moon cycle.

Here’s where we have to examine another major factor in analyzing eclipses, as well as any lunation. The other very important consideration involves 2 possible situations: when the Sun sign of first lunation is the same as the Sun sign in the second lunation and when the Sun of the second lunation is in the next sign.

This is important, because when the New Moon and Full Moon Sun are the same, it provides a continuity of illumination on one specific sign. However, when the New Moon and Full Moon Suns are in different signs, it combines two different sign energies. The second pattern “bridges signs” rather than operates in a self-contained single sign.

In eclipses this provides some interesting possibilities, especially since the Solar eclipse effects last for years while the Lunar eclipse effects last for a few months. You can find out how long all the eclipses last by going to my archives. I’ll also be posting an entire list of Solar eclipses for the past 10 years and which ones are still active in about 3 weeks when I begin the series on the coming Lunar eclipse on March 25 at 6 Libra/Aries.

I’ll leave you with a couple of examples about how these combinations have influenced the recent past. In 2021 we had a Lunar eclipse at 6 Sag/Gemini on May 26, and a Solar eclipse at 20 Gemini on June 10. Here’s where the Lunar eclipse was the fulfillment of the previous non-eclipse New Moon, and lead into a Solar eclipse where the Sun was in the same sign as the Lunar eclipse.

Then 6 months later we had a Lunar eclipse at 28 Scorpio/Taurus, while the Solar eclipse was at 13 Sag on Dec 4. That also means the Lunar eclipse fulfilled the previous New Moon Sun at 13 Scorpio, while the following Solar eclipse at 13 Sagittarius provided the seed forms for the Full Moon which followed with the Sun at 28 Sagittarius.

However, in 2023 we confronted another pattern, when the Sun of the New Moon is different than the Sun at the Full Moon. That year we had a Solar eclipse at 30 Aries followed by a Lunar eclipse at 15 Taurus/Scorpio, and a Solar eclipse at 22 Libra and a Lunar eclipse at 6 Scorpio/Taurus. In each of these, a non-eclipse Full Moon preceded a Solar eclipse New Moon in the same sign, which was followed by a Lunar eclipse Full Moon with the Sun in a different sign than the New Moon.

Since it would be impossible for me to discuss all the potential meanings to be derived from all of these examples, I’ll leave them for your contemplation. This is an area which is rich for finding how various parts of our lives come forth and are left behind.

There are two possible planet patterns and two possible sign patterns for New and Full Moons. As lunations put the focus on specific signs and houses in our charts, it’s a useful study to see how each month specific areas of our charts are stimulated to either realization or action, and helps us know the unfolding larger patterns as they apply to us specifically.

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson

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