1: What’s in an Eclipse?
2: The Solar Eclipse April 20th
3: Emmanuel Macron
4: Benjamin Netanyahu
5: The May 5th Lunar Eclipse
1: What’s in an Eclipse?
It’s time to check in with the eclipses again. Back in 2020 I wrote about the Dec 14th total solar eclipse in Sagittarius which was important for me personally. That eclipse was also significant as it was the exact midpoint between the 2017 Great American eclipse which appeared to take a knife and carve a rift across North America, and the next Great American Eclipse which is due next year, in April and October of 2024. That also cuts a line across the USA and visible to all in the direct path. The massive reevaluation of identity going on in the US coincides with its Pluto return to 27° of Capricorn based on the Sibley US chart. Some kind of deconstruction-reconstruction process is going on and this reverberates around the world.
Any Pluto return for human or country is tumultuous and brings about radical change. Pluto is shifting back and forth over the early degrees of Aquarius this year into next year. It returns to the 27°vof Capricorn point in October of 2023 and perhaps that is a last-ditch attempt at weeding out the wide-ranging and systemic corruption in all the institutions, not just in America. Even though it it does not return to that 27° point in 2024, it will be close enough at the 29° by the time of the election in November of 2024. On November 20th Pluto finally goes back to 0° Aquarius and stays in that sign until 2044.
We have eclipses every year; they are nothing new. While they seem ominous, the fact is we’ve lived with them all our lives. The Moon slides between the Earth and the Sun to block it from view- that’s a solar eclipse which happens at a New Moon. Or, the Earth slides between the Moon and the Sun- that’s a lunar eclipse which happens at a Full Moon.
An eclipse often aligns exactly and this is a tremendously exciting type of celestial phenomena and the bonus is we can occasionally see it with our own eyes. Sometimes, this strikes a chord of absolute awe in the universe, its underexplained mysteries. But mostly we cannot see the eclipse as the clouds get in the way or the direct path line may lies in remote areas, across the Pacific or in the Arctic, too inaccessible to reach. Or an eclipse strikes fear as they are considered fateful, bringers of bad news. Eclipses take some getting used to and soon we forget about them, until the next one looms like a shadow. The fact that they create a shadow is a great metaphor for what they mean- that’s the shadow in Jungian terms, all the unclaimed parts of ourselves. A solar eclipse is particularly dramatic as it can plunge direct viewers into either sudden darkness and sudden cold and even trigger irrational fears and paranoia.
An eclipse can be described as a stack of events in a chain that enters one end of a revolving door but what comes out is not linked in the same way. Mostly this is achieved without a hitch, but some events or people get lost in the portal. What is true is that months after these events around the eclipse, we begin to spot the fault-lines in our lives, how much has shifted and we can connect it back to the theme of this or that eclipse. People who entered our lives, can exit just as quickly, but we barely noticed. Some things are hidden and some thing come to light in this play of light and shadow. Daily events became turning points, shifting us into a different direction. In hindsight, we see how they could be directly attributable to the eclipses.
Eclipses come in pairs: one Solar and one Lunar that happen within two weeks of each other. They are not always full on but can be partial or penumbral or even hybrid. An eclipse is inevitable whenever the nodes align with a full or new moon either at the ascending or descending point of the ecliptic.
The maximum number of eclipses in one year is seven and the last time that happened was in 1982. Look out for 2048 as we’ll have seven in that year too. In 2020 there were six eclipses shifting from Cancer-Capricorn to Gemini-Sagittarius. And that is now regarded as the landmark year- from hell. In 2000 there were three eclipses in the same month which is just as rare. But the average number of eclipses is four per year.
The first one of four in 2023 is a solar eclipse on April 20th followed by a lunar eclipse on May 5th, so it’s a question of how can we best prepare for the coming eclipse season, and whether they will be bumpy for all or just for some. It may never be possible to dodge their effects- look to your chart to see where it falls. But do consider how we can be more eclipse-friendly and allow them to come and go and leave our lives still intact. Resilience, strategy and adaptability will be needed.
The eclipse follows a full Moon in Libra on April 6th and the axis of that full moon is when the Sun is in Aries. So, the full moon and eclipse both have the sun ruled by Mars which is a bit sensitive in Cancer at the moment making emotional expression more fraught. This full Moon is the seventh in a row at 16° the middle degrees of the sign. That could mean at least it is assertive, or presents emotions with some force in a cardinal manner, ready to take new initiatives. This is direct energy so look for the signs that pop up in your life as to what you need to do next – they may confirm whether you’re on the right track.
2: The Solar Eclipse April 20th
The striking characteristic of the eclipse on April 20th is that it happens at 29° of Aries -the difficult degree. That speaks of a culmination of Mars-like themes of independence, fighting spirit, leading the pack, being a rebel and so on. These issues could be thrown into extreme contrast and we see some parts of ourselves wither away and disappear and others emerge. It is a ‘hybrid’ eclipse which means it can be seen as full or annular depending on the position of the viewer. So it can manifest in different ways depending on your point of view, on the very the attitude you take.
It will be visible across north west Australia, East Timor and parts of Indonesia and will mark the end of Ramadan when the crescent moon first appears. It also marks the entrance of the Sun into Taurus and heralds the start of the Mercury Retrograde in Taurus.
This eclipse is square to Pluto at 0° of Aquarius locked into a T-Square at the edge of the cardinal and fixed signs. That brings tension and difficulty enough and marks it as a major eclipse of this century. Pluto acts in a collective way, intensifying and eliminating, so it will let something go and that might be painful. This solar eclipse may also have post-reverberations in May and June and it obliges us to adapt to changes, to endings or the need for a quick rearrangement of priorities. It also starts the shift of the nodal axes from Taurus-Scorpio from issues related to banking to Aries-Libra- issues about relationships. But the full shift happens in July 2023. But with Pluto, the Nodes, full moons and eclipses all positioning in the same area it is massively intensifying the energy this year.
3: Emmanuel Macron
In Mundane astrology it is the Sun that represents the leaders of the country. Just as an example of a leader in the news right now, Emmanuel Macron, President of France was born in 1977 with his Sun conjunct Mercury on the Galactic center at the tail end of Sagittarius and with an Ascendant at 28° of Capricorn close to the 0° Aquarius point where Pluto is. After some years of difficulty, Macron has raised the pension age and events are culminating around his actions with protests escalating fires and riots in the streets. This zero point is the point where Pluto has just traversed at the end of Capricorn, and like the chart of the US, it will return in October 2023.
When an eclipse squares your Ascendant, it will affect you more directly and even though Macron is a mutable sun sign Sagittarius who can usually flow with the changes better than most, this will be rocky for him. Not only is there this square to this Ascendant, the April 6th Full Moon in Libra is conjunct Macron’s Pluto/North Node in at 15° Libra.
One thing to note is that the ruler of the Full Moon is Venus which is conjunct fixed star Algol at 26° of Taurus. Fixed stars barely move, hence the name. But there’s a sense of impending damage here. Whether it is related or not, France is undergoing its own messy overhaul. The unrest appears to echo the revolutionary days of 1789 when Pluto was also in Aquarius and the Nodes were on the Scorpio-Taurus axis. France became a Republic and was no longer a Monarchy- and that was not achieved without a lot of pain and clearance of the old order. In 2023 with massive protests all across France, there has appeared grafitti which declares: ‘Macron Décapitation’. The echoes of threats of the guillotine are ominous and ridden with the unlearned lessons of past bloody revolutions, as the anger of the people is very real but so is the impasse over where the money comes from to pay the pensions.
Algol is associated with myth of the goddess Medusa in the constellation of Perseus. Anyone caught in her eye gaze was turned instantly to stone – unless they could cut her head off first. In the myth that was the young hero, Perseus, with liberal help from goddess Pallas Athena. This severed head then became a shield to help in battles which Pallas Athena used to develop her strategies. It is ironic but in myths tragic events can often emerge with a positive outcome.
Whether it is Macron or other leaders of the so-called ‘free’ world, those at the top can lose their heads at this time, more likely metaphorically than literally- with a sudden shift of power away from them. Or they can just have an outburst of anger- lose their heads momentarily. But nevertheless something fated may happen which may be disturbing to watch.
The Solar Eclipse of April 20th is conjunct Macron’s Chiron at 0° Taurus another sign of no-nonsense fixity, which squares the position of Pluto. This perhaps reveals his tender spot where he is at his most sensitive to criticism. He is locked in a fight with the people and he is unlikely to back down and that stubbornness, whether planned or not, may cost him the presidency. Both the April Full Moon on the 6th and the Solar Eclipse on the 20th emphasise the transiting earth-bound Uranus in Taurus opposition to his natal Uranus at 14° of Scorpio that sparks the cauldron of emotional resentment.
4: Benjamin Netanyahu
Another leader in the news is Benjamin Netanyahu born October 21st 1949 in Tel Aviv. He also is in political hot water now too. His nickname is ‘Bibi’. The current mass protests in Israel aim at getting rid of him once and for all. Public forces are united against him in a way that’s not been so coordinated before. But he’s a wily player, and arch political survivor having cleverly dodged several accusations of fraud before, and having been leader of Israel more than three times. He has Sun conjunct Pallas Athena after all so he’s an experienced strategist and cannily plays his hand in the diplomatic game for good or ill. He may have weathered many storms before, but his astrology now looks likely to be rocked by the eclipses.
The April 6th full Moon in Libra falls right on his Moon/Neptune in Libra and that’s the story – he’s being accused of fraud and being called a liar- and he wants to take over the powers of the judiciary- the law- so very Libran. While Neptune here is sensitive it is also downright confusing. So the smokescreen has been kicked up to cover his tracks. Apparently, even French president Sarkozy once called him a ‘liar.’ The full Moon opposes the Sun in Aries at 16 °which is now conjunct Netanyahu’s North Node at 15°.
What’s more- transiting Mars is conjunct his natal Uranus in Cancer which could bring sudden violent disruptions to the narratives that are coming out and some struggle to express personal emotions regarding what support he has or has not.
There’s a whole other strand to this going on with his personal Eros story- as Netanyahu was born with an Eros-Psyche conjunction in early Aquarius, and Pluto is reaching that point. He was known to start affairs while still married, or go for women he only recently met like an air stewardess. He’s recently had an Eros to natal Eros/Psyche conjunction-as Eros was at 4° on April 3rd– but this is a whole other more personal story.
Incidentally, this placement of Eros has an echo with Macron’s chart. His Eros is also in Aquarius but square to that funky Uranus in Scorpio. So, on the one hand it explains why they both are strong supporters of gay rights – Eros in Aquarius fights for social causes- but on the other hand, I wonder if Eros sometimes has its primal ‘chaos’ effect more than the beautiful falling in love side of it and it may be love scandals that sabotage their careers as well as all the political shenanigans. Pluto arrived in Aquarius accompanied by Eros, so that might be a taster of sex scandals ahead- secrets being discovered.
Re the April 20th eclipse it is even more intense for Netanyahu. The Moon eclipsing the Sun at 29° of Aries directly opposes his own Sun at 27° of Libra. This could be a powerful trigger for events so we can expect this to be a turning point, a closure, an ending, even if it does not exactly on that day -there’ll be a reverb effect and a feeling of no going back.
So, all this energy is volatile -pure rock and roll in the heavens-and the Pluto square the nodes unearths deeper layers of fated shifts during April to mid July with a fixed grand cross forming mid-May, and even into 2024 as well. Check where you have planets, where your Pluto is, where the nodes as these are creating a stand off. So 27° of the Cardinal signs- Capricorn, Aries, Cancer, Libra- are most affected and up to 4° of the Fixed signs-Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius.
5:The May 5th Lunar Eclipse
Nothing major happening around this time -No, just a little old coronation of Charles as the new King on May 6th. And bear in mind that this is also the coronation of Camilla as Queen, so I wonder whether the UK ready for that considering how perceptions of her have shifted over the decades and how it was originally meant to be Princess Diana in that role as Queen. I do not normally pay much attention to Royals and Royal charts as they play with the dates so much, the chart dates are doubtful. Plus the attention members of the Royal family receive from astrologers is disproportionate to their actual importance in the world. This is perhaps a throwback to the days when astrologers were the lackeys of Kings and Queens and if they didn’t get the forecast right, they stood to lose their own lives. So they do a lot of dancing around and pleasing their betters in the hierarchy. Dr. John Dee famously elected the date of Queen Elisabeth I’s coronation at noon January 15th 1559 to establish her long rule.
But I cannot not see that to hold a coronation a day after an eclipse could be an omen of some kind. Do they know something we don’t know and is this why they chose this date? Charles’ visit to France scheduled at the end of March was cancelled due to potential threats to his life. Again, there are echoes of the end of the 18th Century when the Kings of England were terrified the revolution spreading to England.
Lunar eclipses which happen on full moons are more to do with revealing the ‘shadow self’ in Jung’s understanding of that term, all the ugly stuff we do not otherwise like to recognise or validate. Things come into full and glaring view. This one is also visible in north west Australia but also across the sub continent of India and the Indian ocean.
First for Macron, the Lunar eclipse on May 5th coming soon after the Solar eclipse has something to add to the solar eclipse. It lines up the Sun at 14° and Uranus at 18° of Taurus with his natal Moon at 14° Taurus. It also opposes the Moon at 14° and Uranus in Scorpio. So that’s pretty definitive -with all these aligned at 14°- that it will affect him. The Moon and Uranus makes for volatile bedfellows, some turbulence of emotions, changes in sudden directions. There could be some nervous outbursts and exchanges that reveal what was previously hidden. But again not necessarily exactly on this day but this is a clear sign Macron’s chart will be activated on this eclipse.
Then for Netanyahu the Sun and Moon have by this time May 5th moved away from his natal Sun and moon but still this eclipse makes a statement for him as it is square to his natal Pluto. He may find a way to escape the crisis as he has delayed his take over of the judiciary. But Pluto there will poke out anything that is hidden.
For Charles III as he will be known, a look at the connection of his chart to the April 20th eclipse reveals that the Sun-Moon at 29° of Aries is directly on his North Node at 3° of Taurus. So that is a clear indication that this is a significant moment in the run up to the coronation and about his direction in life.
Where his chart connects with the May 5th Lunar eclipse is that the Sun has moved on to mid Taurus, but the North Node arrives at the early degrees of Taurus ready to shift into the spot where the Solar Eclipse point was on April 20th. This then means that the Nodes align, and he’s having a Nodal return as that is directly on his own personal North Node at 3° of Taurus which happens to be conjunct his natal Moon at 0° of Taurus.
Jupiter also will be at 27° of Aries getting closer to this very point in early Taurus, providing some of the fanfare and opulence in the celebrations- the big noise and pageantry. Additionally, the transiting Moon in Scorpio at 24° is aligned with his natal Sun at 22°. It is almost like a designer moment that these factors slot into place, and so quite interesting from that standpoint. It still could be turbulent however as the North node conjunction still squares to Pluto who may have the last say.
For Camilla Parker-Bowles (17th July, 1947) on the May 5th lunar eclipse the sun in mid-Taurus and the Moon in mid-Scorpio T-squares her Pluto in mid-Leo, so that is striking. The synastry of her chart with the Solar Eclipse of April 20th has symmetrical alignment of note; transiting Venus is conjunct her natal Mars in Gemini matched to transiting Mars conjunct her natal Venus-Moon in Cancer. A powerful balance of energies there. The Sun-Moon eclipse is also square to her natal Sun in Cancer, though it’s 6° apart- still close enough to have a powerful cardinal effect.
So we have to ask is this chart for Charles carefully planned ahead of time for this kind of astrology to resonate? Or is it just synchronicity by happenchance? We may never know the real details or who exactly is advising Charles- it is known that he consults Vedic astrologers. And, the date of the Coronation was changed from June to May. But it does seem a rather solid looking connection for such an event with high visibility across the world. It is a curiously benevolent alignment – apart from the Pluto -for a long reign. By the day of the Coronation, May 6th, the synastry is much the same- aligned closely with the eclipse- adding power to its power to replace people and events with new ones . The exact time for the Coronation has not been given yet, but it is likely to be in the morning.
But there are critics of Charles and his ideas on keeping certain friends close, keeping irregular ‘creative’ accounts, and being somewhat aloof, even at times being secretive and cranky where he does not show himself at ease among ordinary people. His popularity has wavered enormously over the years so he might struggle to win hearts and minds back again. There are the pro and anti camps.
It also remains to be seen whether this ceremony at Westminster Abbey will validate the real constitution of England to establish a true democracy of the people. The real system of the constitution is designed to provide a balance the power of the King as a lever on behalf of the people against any overreach by the government. And that has not proven a very popular understanding of the role of the King so far. This coronation could be a moment of destiny and even of theatrical grandiosity – which is the shadow side of the Kingly archetype -or just a damp squib and business as usual for .
Whatever the case for all leaders, it brings new perspectives into view. Eclipses can provide a kaleidoscope of shifting images- what’s in, what’s out- that is fascinating to watch, so I will be keeping a keen on it all and the irony could be that it all happens so fast, we barely notice with all the tumult around the world.
© Kieron Devlin, April 6th, 2023, All Rights Reserved
Kieron is a London-based and trained astrologer at Proteus Astrology on Facebook and his home page:
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