Eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn
Occurring every six months, eclipses mark pivotal times in our lives. Magnificent and terrifying at the same time, they are seen as accelerators of change. Read about why they matter and what we can expect this year. If you know which house they fall in your natal chart, click on the Through The Houses button below the details of each eclipse for a high-level personal overview. A personal reading is the most accurate option.
Eclipse Dates
- Jan 6, 2019, Partial Solar Eclipse (New Moon), Capricorn 15°31’
- Jul 2, 2019, Total Solar Eclipse (New Moon), Cancer 10°42’
- Jul 16, 2019, Partial Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon), Capricorn 24°00’
- Dec 26, 2019, Annular Solar Eclipse (New Moon), Capricorn 4°09’
- Jan 10, 2020 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon) Cancer 19°54’
- Jun 21, 2020 Annular Solar Eclipse (New Moon) Cancer 0°21’
- Jul 5, 2020 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon) Capricorn 13°30’
Cancer and Capricorn Themes
With a new series in Cancer and Capricorn, the archetypal metaphor revolves around the feminine principle and patriarchal constructs, between maternal versus paternal models, between our unconditionally nurturing instincts and our inner judgmental authority figure.
Cancerians care intensely. Their emotions are their compass, shaping every moment and every decision. Guided by a strong need for safety and security, when hurt or scared, the automatic response is to withdraw into a hard shell, and to shut the harsh world outside. Nurturing and protecting their tribe is their unspoken mission in life. Intuitive and empathetic, they care about emotional and physical wellbeing. Yet, their soft and understanding demeanour belies huge strength and determination. Like a jaguar protecting her cubs, the full force of Cancerian fury can be terrifying to witness, should their loved ones come under threat. Even personal safety comes second in this scenario. Emotional manipulation, bitter resentment, and passive aggressive attitudes can show themselves when dealing with the shadow side of this cardinal sign.
With its penchant for pragmatism, strong ethics, and relentlessness, Capricorn is redolent of Saturnian principles. Leaving no stone unturned, it follows the sure path to the summit by placing one careful step after another, unconcerned with how long it will take to reach to the top. Born to overcome hardships and master its environment, structure, hierarchy, boundaries, and authority are key expressions of this archetype. Taken to its extremes, Capricornian energy may come across as rigid, cold and calculating, sometimes even ruthless, with no spontaneity or emotions on display. Caution and an aversion to risk taking lead to a preference for tradition and following the trodden path, as they have proven successful and enduring in the long run.
Both Cancer and Capricorn are concerned with self-protection and security. The former approaches it emotionally and the latter physically, and both prefer stability over change. This showdown is about going back to our roots, defending our own, and strengthening our tribe. The harsh discipline and realities of Capricorn clash with the tender instincts of Cancer, especially with Saturn involved until end-2020. Will softer, more nurturing values take in the increasingly difficult world we are facing?
The Saturnian undertones of this year’s eclipses will shine the light on where we are going wrong in our lives. Like a reality check, they will help us to align with our deepest self, to ensure we are ultimately pursuing our deepest purpose. In this sense, they will be about psychological maturity, self-mastery, safety, and self-sufficiency. They will be about doing the right thing, at the right time, the right way. Any obstacles along the way are likely to be symptomatic of one of these three principles not being in balance. These eclipses will allow us to identify whether we need to course correct, and how. Then plan for it, but without expecting overnight success. This is not the Saturnian — nor indeed the Cancerian or Capricornian — way.
How These Eclipses Affect You
While signs give us the how and the planets the what, the houses in your chart where an eclipse lands gives you the sphere of life affected. On the premise that Lunar Eclipses are similar to (but significantly more potent than) Full Moons, while Solar eclipses are like New Moons, you’ll find what you need in my Full Moon (Lunar Eclipse) and New Moon (Solar Eclipse) posts. (Do let me know on social if they resonate!) Please remember however that a chart should always be considered in its entirety. An astrological event can trigger contrasting and bewildering experiences in your personal chart.
Learn From The Past
With the Lunar Nodes changing signs every 18 months, and returning to the same sign and house polarity every 9 and 18.6 years, eclipse themes tend to repeat at these cyclical intervals, with story arcs evolving with the same cadence. You can therefore predict the future by looking back into your past. By revisiting the same themes at these intervals, you can either bring them to conclusion or develop them further to springboard your next life chapter.
CANCER North Node
CAPRICORN South Node
- May 12, 1944 – Dec 3, 1945
- Dec 24, 1962 – Aug 25, 1964
- Sep 25, 1981 – Mar 16, 1983
- Apr 10, 2000 – Oct 13, 2001
- Nov 7, 2018 – May 5, 2020
CAPRICORN North Node
CANCER South Node
- Oct 10, 1953 – Apr 2, 1955
- Apr 28, 1972 – Oct 27, 1973
- Nov 19, 1990 – Aug 1, 1992
- Aug 22, 2009 – Mar 3, 2011
- Mar 27, 2028 – Sep 23, 2029
The Eclipses of 2019
A glance at the five eclipses lined up for 2019, set for London, UK. Dates and time vary according to location.
For meaning through the houses, click on the button at the bottom of each description.
January 6th
Partial Solar New Moon Eclipse at 15° Capricorn
With Saturn so close to the Sun and Moon, fear, self-doubt, and heavy responsibility are likely emotions at this New Moon. Mercury square Chiron and Mars points to sharp and wounding exchanges. Uranus is stationing to go direct, with all the volatility that this gear shift always brings about.
Additionally, the Great Awakener is also within orb of a square to Pluto and the Nodes, a configuration reminiscent of the cardinal square of a few years back. This is a power struggle of epic proportions, with surprising change to follow fast.
This chart resonates strongly with several of Russia’s charts. especially those of the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union (8 Dec 1991, at 12:17 GMT, Minsk) and of Boris Yeltsin’s public announcement of Russia’s independence (8 Dec 1991, at 17:45 GMT, Moscow).
Do you know which house it falls into in your natal chart? If so, click below for an overview of how it is likely to affect you.
January 21st
Total Lunar Full Moon Eclipse at 0° Leo
This Full Moon eclipse comes with seemingly contrasting energies. On one hand, there is a close conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in Sagittarius, portending joy, luck, and abundance; on the other, an angry standoff between Mars and Saturn, and an applying conjunction between Saturn and Pluto, the signature of the next 18 months. There is also an applying square between Mercury and Uranus — shocking news, perhaps?
This eclipse chart resonates strongly with that of Facebook (4 February 2004, at 12:00pm, Cambridge, Massachusetts), thanks to an exact square to Facebook’s natal Mars at 0𝆩 Taurus. With his company affected by eclipse after eclipse since August 2017, including transits and solar arc activations of natal Mars, Saturn and Chiron in the same period, it looks like Mark Zuckerberg’s “War” is not quite over yet.
Do you know which house it falls into in your natal chart? If so, click below for an overview of how it is likely to affect you.
July 2nd
Total Solar New Moon Eclipse at 10° Cancer
With the Sun and Moon at 10° Cancer, this is a New Moon on steroids, a new beginning for home, country, family, ancestry, and emotions. Saturn is within orb of an opposition, likely indicating a serious situation with obstacles along the way. Mars/Mercury and Uranus are once again at loggerheads, this time from fixed signs. It’s a standoff, with neither party prepared to give way.
Both the 1066 (25 December 1066, at 12pm, London) and 1801 (1 Jan 1801, at 00.00am, London) UK charts are activated by this eclipse by opposition. Meanwhile, the UK Moon in the 1801 chart remains under threat from opposing Saturn and Pluto. Clearly a challenging time ahead for this nation. Also, the Facebook drama is likely to continue, this time with an exact Mars/Mars square, and the eclipse itself only three degrees from Facebook’s natal Saturn.
Do you know which house it falls into in your natal chart? If so, click below for an overview of how it is likely to affect you.
July 16th
Partial Lunar Full Moon Eclipse at 24° Capricorn
This is an intense eclipse, with a powerful line-up of planets across the Cancer/Capricorn axis. The Sun is in Cancer, the Moon in Capricorn, closely conjunct Pluto, and — more widely — Saturn and the South Node. Venus opposes Saturn exactly, and Neptune works with both energies to conceal the truth and soften the edges.
This eclipse is an opportunity for expanded awareness through conflict.. There is a need to let go and regenerate, foreshadowing a clash with authority, power games, and the law. The Sun, at the opposite end, is surrounded by provocative energies, stirring things up and our ego to take action. Conversations are heated, and people’s expectations high. We feel exhausted as this heavy energy flushes out what is not needed anymore. Yet, this is a great time to practise gratefulness. What positive developments have you experienced in the last six months? It's too easy to focus on the negatives and forget all the good we already have in our lives.
Unsurprisingly, there is yet another activation of Facebook’s chart, with the eclipse Sun conjuncting its natal Moon, but this time Twitter (21 Mar 2006 at 12:50pm, San Francisco, California) and Instagram (16 Jul 2010 at 2:24pm, San Francisco) are also implicated! Will this be the sweeping legislation many governments have been calling for to tame the unruly social networks?
Do you know which house it falls into in your natal chart? If so, click below for an overview of how it is likely to affect you.
December 26th
Annular Solar New Moon Eclipse at 4° Capricorn
This is a forward-looking eclipse. All the power is concentrated in Capricorn, with its ability to create a future through hard work, responsibility, and single-mindedness. With a Sun/Moon/Jupiter/Uranus alignment, the mood is positive, and the focus on long term plans and fortifying within and without. Saturn and Pluto are now just days from an exact conjunction, and the rebuilding is about to commence. Even Mars is open to the opportunity from this new enterprise. There is trust in the future because it is being actively shaped. Nothing is left to chance.
This eclipse inspires us to create a lasting legacy from our visions. It supports building enduring structures, based on existing models from history or experience. No recklessness on the horizon, just constructive action, and the pursuit of stability in proven ways.
The Treaty of Rome chart (25 March 1957 at 18:50, Rome) of the European Union will resonate with this eclipse. Its Sun at 4° Aries and the angles around 6-8° of the cardinals are likely to be shaken by this eclipse at the root (IC) of its chart. The Nodes are also across the IC/MC axis, and transiting Chiron is applying to a conjunction with the natal Sun and later the DC. There is a loss in the family of Europe, and the suffering is about to get more intense. Interestingly, in Germany’s chart (24 May 1949 at 00:00, Bonn) the Ascendant is at 5° Capricorn, and France’s IC (6 October 1958, at 18:30, Paris) is at 8° Cancer.
Do you know which house it falls into in your natal chart? If so, click below for an overview of how it is likely to affect you.
