Partial Solar Eclipse
Solar Partial Eclipse
29th March 10:47 UT/GMT (Greatest Eclipse)
Moon-Sun conjunction 10:57 UT
This partial eclipse will be visible over northwest Africa, most of Europe and northern Russia, and some of northeastern Canada and USA.
A few minutes after maximum eclipse, the Moon and Sun are exactly conjunct at 9° Aries. The Sabian symbol for this degree is “a scholar creates new forms for ancient symbols”; Dane Rudhyar described this as “a revision of attitude at the beginning of a new cycle of experience.” This will require profound changes in the ways that we have viewed the world in the past, particularly in the relationships between those countries being affected by the Eclipse.
As this is a partial Eclipse, the shadow will not fully touch the Earth; it is offering an overview or insights, which can prepare us for the changes that are to come with Pluto having entered Aquarius (on 19th November) and Neptune about to enter Aries on 30th March at midday UT/GMT, just 24 hours after the Eclipse. The old order is changing rapidly, and we are in a turbulent phase of transition to a new order.
With Pluto having left Capricorn for good, and now in Aquarius, it is bringing a major shake-up and wake-up from the old, often corrupt power structures of Pluto in Capricorn to which we have become accustomed. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, so we can expect the unexpected and unpredictable, particularly in the ways that political and social power is being played out in the world. Uranus remains in Taurus (until 26th April 2026), so continues to break down the old structures that may have provided us with a sense of security and stability, but are no longer serving our best interests anymore. This combination of Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in the first degrees of Aquarius is a bit like a sledgehammer being applied to demolish those old structures. What is required is the application of intelligence and discernment to not just “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.
Neptune remains in Aries for the next 14 years, until March 2039. The last time Neptune was in Aries, from 1861 – 1875, it gave us the American Civil War. The key quality of Neptune in Aries is that it is about standing up and fighting for compassion and empathy for our fellow beings, human and non-human.
Neptune is concerned with mass movements, with exploring the differences between illusion, delusion, escapism and reality, with focussing our attention on our Oneness with all beings and learning how to express compassion and unconditional love to all parts of Creation. During its last 14 years in Pisces, Neptune has been dissolving, clearing and cleansing the remnants and residues from the last 2,000 years of the Piscean Age, particularly those beliefs and prejudices, which have been used to distort, or manipulate the various spiritual teachings of the passing Age. During that time, Neptune has also been distilling the experiences of the last 2,000 years that are concerned with manifesting unconditional love, devotion, surrender to a higher power, and the transcendence of the human ego.
Now, in Aries, the challenge will be to not get caught up in personality cults, or with those who would seek to lead us aggressively to follow their personal beliefs and dogmas, by spinning a web of illusion and confusion around us. For our part, we need to remain focussed in our hearts and in our inner knowing of right and wrong, between reality and illusion, so that the illusions that others (human and artificial) may seek to weave around us will simply collapse into a meaningless pile of dust. One of the key qualities of Neptune is empathy, so we will know whether the positive qualities of Neptune are being expressed, depending upon how much empathy is evident towards the suffering of others.
At the Eclipse, Neptune, in the last few minutes of Pisces, is conjunct retrograde Mercury in Aries, along with retrograde Venus, the Moon’s North Node and Saturn, all still in Pisces. They are all part of a Kite pattern with Mars and Vesta, and with Uranus at the head of the Kite.
Saturn, North Node, retro Venus and Neptune in the last degrees of Pisces together are dissolving our attachments (retro Venus) to the structures (Saturn), beliefs and delusions (Neptune) of the last 2,000 years. The presence of the Moon’s North Node here means that this is a good and positive thing, which promises our ultimate spiritual growth.
The 120° trines to Mars in Cancer indicate the need to act with care, nurture and compassion for all others, as if they were our own family. The trines to retrograde Vesta in Scorpio indicate the importance of listening to our heart to know what is right action, in any given circumstance; with Vesta in Scorpio, we may need to plunge in deep to get beyond our preconceptions or prejudices, in order to know what is right action. Uranus in Taurus, at the head of the Kite brings the potential to create order out of chaos, if we can act in the ways indicated above.
A Small Talent figure has North Node, Venus, Neptune and Mercury trine (120°) to retrograde Juno in Sagittarius, with sextiles (60°) to Pluto in Aquarius.
This pattern is about understanding how attachments to old ways of thinking and feeling may be causing us to be out of right relationship with others. Persisting in those attachments may lead us or others to express power in shocking or disruptive ways, simply due to complacency or resistance to change. If, on the other hand, we can let go of our attachments, then this frees up the possibilities for expressing power in new, innovative and exponentially creative ways.
he eclipsing Moon and Sun in Aries are sextile (60°) Pallas Athene in Aquarius, which is trine (120°) to Jupiter in Gemini, which is part of a Large Learning Triangle with Ceres in Pisces and retro Vesta in Scorpio. There is another Small Learning Triangle with Pallas, Jupiter and Ceres.
This Eclipse can enable us to see the truth of situations as they unfold. To see things clearly, we need the right balance between self-nurturing and standing up for our truth; we need to listen to our hearts to know which of these actions is appropriate in any given situation – to quietly look after ourself by keeping a low profile, or to be out there standing up or speaking up for what we believe in.
A ‘Megaphone’ figure has an opposition from Vesta in Scorpio to Uranus in Taurus, which is semi-sextile (30°) to Chiron in Aries, which also has a quincunx (150°) from Vesta, which is also trine (120°) to Saturn, which is semi-sextile back to Chiron.
If we draw upon the stillness and stability of Saturn so we can hold and maintain the quiet truth of our hearts, this can actually challenge and temper the more disruptive qualities of Uranus; the power of just holding stillness in our hearts can bring about healing in ways that may appear to be all but impossible to achieve.