The Solar Eclipse in Gemini/ Mrigashira lands on Midsummer’s Day June 21st, with peak obscuration at 07:22am (GMT+1). The annular effect sees the Sun shining out at the edge of the Moon’s disc, creating a ‘ring of fire’ along its path of totality. The lunar emotional principle comes in front of the solar ego, and we become overly-identified with our body and mind at the expense of our spiritual Self.
Obscure, distorted feelings may intrude into your thinking: tune out self-doubt and psychic white-noise, and don’t mind if a friend or loved-one appears cranky or out-of-reach. Take it easy. Mars’s aspect on the eclipse adds extra fire and impetuosity, and you may feel you have to react or fight to head off competition. Mrigashira is a nakshatra associated with a chase and with wish-fulfilment, yet for obvious reasons it is not advised to make decisions at eclipse time, but to wait a couple of days until the waxing crescent Moon brings the return of the light.
Annular Solar Eclipse June 21st 2020, 07:22am BST
This super-charged New Moon brings the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, while the obscuration factor adds drama and a sense of something in life being ‘eclipsed’. This time is also inauspicious for doing business, travelling (remember that?) or any major initiative, as if you are going through a wifi black-spot. To reduce the effect, it is best not to go outside during the eclipse hours, still less to gaze directly at it - even assuming it is visible in your area – and also not to eat for three hours either side of the peak event. This is an outstanding time for meditation and spiritual work, however, where silent Dhyana or mantra-japa for your Ishta Devata or for Mrigashira itself has many times its usual effect. Be careful of overdoing it, however – this is an intense enough moment and long meditation drags up psychic debris in an often uncomfortable way.
The planets Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are also all currently retrograde, a pattern which means you are not sure if you are coming or going: some of your plans reach fulfilment, while others go back to the board. The eclipse may force your hand, but appreciate your outlook will be very different first by June 25th and then July 12th as Venus and Mercury move direct.
This event has put paid to the Stonehenge Midsummer Solstice festival, though ironically it will also spare the Druids and revellers from looking directly at the inauspicious moment. The eclipse degree also falls on Boris Johnson’s natal Sun-Venus conjunction. The UK Prime Minister has been sore beset since sweeping to power in 2019, with even sections of his loyal press wondering aloud if he is up to the job. This day alone may not derail him, but eclipses traditionally portend the fall of Kings, and by extension their country. Though the eclipse path does not cross the UK, it occurs within daylight hours and as such will have some impact. On the back of the world’s-worst Covid mortality figures and an almighty recession on the horizon, this moment may be seen as a watershed in modern British history.
The full Eclipse path crosses parts of Africa including the Central African Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, and China. From India, the annular phase will be visible in the mid-morning along a corridor of the northern part of the country (parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand) while it will be seen as partial solar eclipse through the rest of the country. This comes at a time of India-Chinese border tensions, and the eclipse degree at 6° Gemini falls within a degree of India’s natal Mars. Plans are in place to create a large (9,000-strong) group of advanced meditators in the geographic centre of India to create peace, and its effects may be in special demand.
Starts: 04:45 am Sunday (GMT +1) Peaks: 07:22 am Sunday. (GMT +1) Concludes: 10:24 am Sunday (GMT +1)
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