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What an eclipse is
A solar eclipse happens at a new moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth and covers part or all of the Sun’s disc. A lunar eclipse happens at a full moon, when Earth sits between the two and its shadow falls across the Moon. Every eclipse, in other words, is a lunation with a special alignment.
There is a new moon and a full moon every month, though, and most of them pass without an eclipse. The reason is a small tilt. The Moon’s orbit is inclined about five degrees to the ecliptic, the Sun’s apparent path through the zodiac. At most new and full moons the Moon slips just above or just below the line between the Sun and Earth, and the shadows miss.
The two paths cross at two points called the lunar nodes. The North Node is where the Moon crosses the ecliptic heading north, the South Node where it heads south. An eclipse needs a new or full moon close to one of these crossings, so that the Sun, Earth and Moon line up in depth as well as on the flat map of the zodiac. You can see every lunation of the year in the calendars of new moons in 2027 and full moons in 2027.
Why eclipses come in seasons
The two nodes sit opposite each other on the zodiac, and astrologers call the line between them the nodal axis. Over the year the Sun travels the whole zodiac, so it passes one end of that axis and, about six months later, the other. Only while the Sun is close to the axis can a new or full moon fall near enough to a node to make an eclipse. That window is eclipse season.
Astronomers give the window as roughly eighteen degrees on either side of a node. The Sun needs a little over a month to cross that span, and the Moon goes from new to full in about two weeks, so every season holds at least two eclipses: usually a solar and a lunar one a fortnight apart, and sometimes three.
In 2027 the Sun is within about eighteen degrees of the axis from 24 January 2027 to 26 February 2027, a season of 34 days, and again from 18 July 2027 to 21 August 2027, a season of 35 days. Outside those two windows the new and full moons are ordinary ones.
An eclipse is a new or full moon that happens to fall near a node.
The eclipses of 2027 at a glance
The year has 5 eclipses: 2 solar and 3 lunar. Two belong to the winter season and three to the summer one.
- 6 February 2027: annular solar eclipse in Aquarius
- 20 February 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Virgo
- 18 July 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Capricorn
- 2 August 2027: total solar eclipse in Leo
- 17 August 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Aquarius
The solar eclipses are the headline events of the year, one in each season. The lunar eclipses of 2027 are all of the subtle kind: the Moon passes only through Earth’s faint outer shadow, so the dimming can be hard to notice by eye. Symbolically they still count as eclipses.
The full list with times, degrees and where each eclipse is visible lives in the eclipse calendar for 2027. If you want to compare, the 2026 eclipses and the 2028 eclipses are there too.
The nodal axis moves backwards
The nodes are not fixed points. They slide backwards through the zodiac, against the order of the signs, by about 19.3 degrees a year. The axis spends roughly a year and a half in each pair of opposite signs and comes back to the same place after about eighteen and a half years.
In 2027 the North Node moves from 22° Aquarius to 3° Aquarius, with the South Node opposite in Leo. That is why most of the year’s eclipses gather on the Aquarius–Leo axis: the solar eclipses in Aquarius and Leo, and the lunar eclipse of 17 August in Aquarius.
The other two lunar eclipses fall just over a sign line, in Virgo and Capricorn. An eclipse only needs the Sun and Moon near a node, so a full moon a few degrees away can land in the neighbouring sign. The one in Virgo is also a late echo of the previous axis: in 2025 and early 2026 several eclipses fell in Virgo and Pisces.
Eclipses are only part of the year’s rhythm. To see them next to every full moon, new moon and retrograde, with the exact time of each, open the sky calendar.
What eclipses mean in astrology
In astrology an eclipse reads as a lunation turned up in volume. A new moon is a beginning and a full moon a culmination, as our guide to moon phases explains; an eclipse adds the sense that something larger is moving, often beyond your direct control.
- A solar eclipse is a new moon in the dark. It tends to be read as a beginning that starts quietly: a door that opens before you see where it leads, a plan that only makes sense later.
- A lunar eclipse is a full moon with a shadow across it. It tends to be read as an ending or a release, the moment when something that was building comes to light and can be let go.
Many astrologers read eclipses over months rather than on the day itself. The themes of a season often show up in the weeks around it, and the eclipses that fall in the same pair of signs over a year and a half read like chapters of one story.
The North and South Node: growth and habit
The nodes carry their own meaning. The South Node points to what is familiar: habits, talents that come easily, the comfortable groove. The North Node points to a direction of growth, the less practised side that asks for effort. An eclipse near the North Node is often read as an invitation toward something new, and one near the South Node as a chance to release what you have outgrown.
With the North Node in Aquarius and the South Node in Leo, the collective theme of 2027 is a balance between the group and the self: shared ideas, friendship and community on one side, personal expression and the spotlight on the other. The point is never to abandon one side, only to notice which one you lean on out of habit.
Where an eclipse falls in your chart
The personal reading starts with the houses. Each eclipse falls in one of your twelve houses, and that house names the area of life the season speaks to. If Aquarius occupies your 7th house, for example, the eclipses there point to close partnerships; in the 10th house, to work and public life.
An eclipse that lands within a few degrees of one of your planets, your Ascendant or your Midheaven reads as more personal still. To find out, open your chart in the birth chart calculator and compare the eclipse degrees with your placements, or follow the day-to-day sky against your chart with a personal horoscope.
An eclipse points to an area of your chart; what you do there is yours to decide.
How to spend eclipse season calmly
There is no need to fear eclipses. They are regular, predictable alignments, and every person alive has lived through dozens of them. A gentle approach works well:
- Notice what surfaces. Conversations, endings or ideas that appear in these weeks are worth writing down; their meaning often becomes clear later.
- Review rather than force. Eclipse season suits looking back at plans and letting go of what no longer fits.
- Choose your own pace on the day. Some people prefer not to sign or launch something big on the eclipse itself. That is a personal choice, not a rule.
- Look at the longer cycle. An eclipse can sit inside a slower theme, such as a Saturn return, and reads best in that context.
If you already follow Mercury retrograde, the attitude is similar: a season for attention and review, read as reflection rather than prediction.
Questions people ask
What is eclipse season?
Eclipse season is the stretch of a little over a month when the Sun is close to the Moon’s nodes, so that new and full moons can become eclipses. It comes around roughly every six months and usually holds two or three eclipses.
How many eclipses are there in 2027?
There are 5 eclipses in 2027: 2 solar and 3 lunar. The first season runs from 24 January to 26 February and the second from 18 July to 21 August.
Are eclipses bad luck in astrology?
No. Older traditions treated eclipses as omens, but modern astrology reads them as markers of change and attention. They describe themes to reflect on, never events that must happen.
What is the difference between a solar and a lunar eclipse in astrology?
A solar eclipse falls at a new moon and is read as a beginning, often one that unfolds slowly. A lunar eclipse falls at a full moon and is read as a culmination or release, when something comes into view.