Hello beautiful people!
It’s May 2021 and another eclipse season is upon us. Notably, this year we only have four eclipses. That’s worth pointing out because some years can have as many as seven eclipses.
Eclipse Season Timeline and Feel
Eclipse seasons start in the week or two leading up to the first eclipse, and stretch to the week or two following the eclipse.
Eclipse seasons can be a time of revelations, of shifting and changes, of life on an accelerated fast track — or they might pass by without much notice at all. It depends on the person — what that person has going on in their lives that lets them be attuned to these cycles, where the eclipse falls in their chart, and the notice that’s taken to what’s going on in the world at large.
Albert Einstein’s Solar Eclipse Story
Eclipses can point to a time when something that has been obscured is revealed. One very notable example of this happened for Albert Einstein during the time of WWI.
During the Gemini solar eclipse of May 1919, The Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society organized expeditions to Brazil and the island of Principe (off the west coast of Africa) to conduct an experiment that would ultimately proving Einstein’s theory of space-time. The theory could only be proven by measuring the stars positions behind the Sun, which could only happen during a total solar eclipse. The global environment at the time also kept Einstein’s findings isolated to the German language. On top of that, the scientific community was vocally skeptical of little-known-Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Interestingly, the eclipse that followed the Gemini eclipse during which the above experiment took place was a Sagittarius lunar eclipse that activated the Moon (natal chart ascendant ruler) and the Sun in Einstein’s chart.
The spring eclipse seasons of 1919 took place across the same nodal axis as our eclipse season today — Gemini/Sagittarius. As this larger than life example illustrates, this axis can be about making connections that lead to far-reaching discoveries, or that have out-sized impacts. These are all the connections that had to be made for Einstein’s theory of space-time to be tested during the May 1919 eclipse:
- In 1915, Einstein published four papers that introduced his theory of general relativity. This included his view that space is combined with the dimension of time, which creates a universe-wide fabric called space-time
- In 1917, Astronomer Sir Frank Watson Dyson conceived of the experiment to plot positions of background stars close to the Sun during an eclipse
- British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington and Dutch physicist Willem De Sitter had met at some point and kept in touch
- World War I kept Einstein from being able to test the theories he published in 1915
- However, Willem De Sitter alerted astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington to Einstein’s ideas
- Eddington led two think tanks of the day to test Einstein’s theory
- THERE WAS A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (caps for dramatic effect emphasizing the force of nature outside of humanity’s control and the feeble (yet magnificent!) attempts of humanity to attempt to know and control nature)
- The experiment took place overseas; equipment worked, the stars literally aligned (again, total solar eclipse, and the astronomers measured the relative locations of stars in the Hyades cluster near the Sun)
Gemini: The Connecting Sign
I’m belaboring the point about all the different things that had to be in place before Einstein’s theory about spacetime could be verified because the May 1919 eclipse happened in Gemini, just as the May 2021 eclipse does.
Gemini is about the conscious exploration of various assorted facts of the matter. Often this exploration is verbal, written, or involves an exchange with another individual. It’s a cerebral process that can be more grounded in concepts and theories than in the limitations or restrictions of matter. And the Einstein example as an encapsulation of the symbolism of that Gemini eclipse, illustrates the idea of entertaining a concept, if even as a thought experiment, nevermind to overthrow the status quo of an entrenched and deeply protected worldview.
Then Sagittarius is about taking that concept beyond the known boundaries. The concepts Sagittarius receives might even be inspirations from another time, another place, an other way being in the Universe. It’s that quality of opening up to what lies beyond typical human ways of knowing and discovery, though those might be the foundational heli-pad from which conceptual flight takes off.
Qualities of This Eclipse Season
- Eclipse season start (approximate): May 12, 2021
- Eclipse season end (approximate): June 24, 2021
- Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse – May 26, 2021 at 4:13 am PT, 7:13 am ET at 5 degrees Sagittarius
- New Moon Annular Solar Eclipse – June 10, 2021 at 3:52 am PT, 6:52 am ET at 19 degrees Gemini
- Effects associated with eclipse season can be observed within 3-6 months
- Effects associated with the eclipse may be more noticeable if it activates the natal chart (conjunctions, oppositions, squares within 3-5 degrees of classical planets, to start — meaning maybe there will be an effect with other aspects and maybe with outer planets and maybe with wider orbs. Check and see!)
- These eclipses are mutable, which suggests a transition from one thing to another that doesn’t quiet take hold immediately, but rather takes time to set in. It can also signify a situation that comes, disappears for a while, then comes back again. Flexibility, conversation, adaptation, and seeing things from multiple points of view can all be particularly useful at this time.
- The May 26 Sagittarius eclipse is a south node eclipse, signifying an inward turning or a diminishing influence. Sagittarius Suns, Moons, and Risings may be feeling more introspective or even less social then usual. Geminis and the Gemini parts of the natal chart may follow suit in contemplation and revision — this is emphasized by Mercury going retrograde in this sign on the 29th. There may also be an inward, hidden, contemplative, or emphasized revisionary quality to concepts, published writings, thoughts, and theories.
- Something that is beyond the current boundaries of understanding or knowledge could be revealed.
I see this and all astrological phenomena as opportunities to take a break, take a breath, and step out of linear thinking. They are opportunities for artistic and creative contemplation. Astrological events invite us to attune ourselves with greater forces that hold us and that we are part of. We attune through meditation, acts of creation, and symbolic acknowledgement and resonance through our actions.
Blessings of a luminous, inwardly revelatory, bright and balanced eclipse season to you!
