About the Solar Eclipse on August 1st, 2008
Its effects can be felt up to six months after the actual date of the eclipse. In the sign of Leo, confidence, creativity, romance and dating, games, sports, recreation, speculation, hobbies, or children will be a strong focus on a personal level. This eclipse is about new beginnings regarding all of these matters.
This eclipse conjuncts Mercury and forms a hard aspect to Uranus. This is a time when we should solve problems that require thinking "outside of the box"; build our self-confidence by discovering our paths as distinct individuals, and express ourselves confidently; uncover our unique creative powers; make a conscious effort to deal with others in a more personal, involved, and loving manner, rather than falling back on reason and intellect which detaches us from our feelings; begin a new romance--whether that's with a person or a creative hobby--or re-commit to our enjoyment of an existing romance; With this potent Leo energy, we have the chance to make progressive changes in our lives.
Flaws in an important system in our lives are revealed around the time of the eclipse, prompting us to redo or to start fresh. Something ends in order for something else to start anew.
Major developments in the personal areas ruled by Leo are likely to occur over the course of the next 3-6 months. However, not everyone will feel the effect of the eclipse with the same intensity. Those whose personal planets are activated by the degree of the eclipse will feel its effects on a highly personal level.
This phase of the Moon occurs at 9 degrees and 32 minutes of Leo, affecting people born with personal planets and points at 7 to 13 degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) most significantly.
The chart above shows the other planets' positions at the time of the eclipse.
The recent times when a solar eclipse occurred at approximately the same degree as this August 2008 eclipse were July 31, 1981, and July 31, 2000. It might help to think back to these periods and consider the themes that surrounded your life then, in order to get a better understanding of what the current eclipse series might mean for you.
If this eclipse stimulates your 1st-7th house axis, you are called upon to strike a balance between relationship and self. Issues of personal courage, confidence, and independence come to the fore over the next year. You may, for example, receive a cosmic push towards expressing yourself more creatively (especially if Leo is in the first house), and experience an increased drive to take charge of your life. Issues surrounding personal appearance, the body, and one's image become especially important and, in some cases, critical. Basically, you will be learning to stand on your own two feet! This sequence of eclipses will alert you to the need to interact with others--either the public, or through a close partnership (especially if Leo is in the seventh house). For some, marriage or divorce will be an issue. For most, carving out a personal identity that includes a significant other who furthers their own personal growth will come into focus. The August eclipse should give you a push towards a stronger identity or sense of purposefulness through close partnership.
If this eclipse stimulates your 2nd-8th house axis, you will be called upon to strike a balance between your own needs for security and comfort and the same needs of other people, likely those of a significant other. If Aquarius is in the second house, personal finances will come into strong focus. How well have you taken care of your finances? More importantly, have you taken charge of your personal sense of security? If Leo is in the eighth house, issues of sexuality and spirituality may be a stronger focus. In either case, issues of shared resources, sexuality, and possessions are featured. With this eclipse, it's time to start fresh with regards to how you go about satisfying your needs for security and comfort. If Leo is in the second house, take charge of your life by taking the necessary steps to make yourself feel good and secure. You are called upon to make a stand and to tend to your comfort levels. If you do so, the positive effects will ricochet back into your intimate life. If you continue to tend to your partner's comfort levels while ignoring your own, feelings of resentment and neglect can infect your relationships. Get in touch with what feels most comfortable for you, and the intimacy level in your relationship will step up a notch. If Aquarius is in the eighth house, you are learning about the comfort levels of others. Essentially, you are learning to share and to surrender yourself (in a balanced manner!) to intimacy.
If the 3rd-9th house axis is stimulated by this eclipse, issues surrounding learning and sharing knowledge will come to the fore. For some, issues surrounding attention to one's immediate environment, and branching out and beyond it, are stimulated. If Leo is in the third house, you are receiving a cosmic push to become more active in your immediate environment (neighborhood, with siblings/relatives, etc.), and/or to learn and communicate facts that fuel your opinions. If Leo is in the ninth house, you will be learning to expand your horizons, either through contact with people from an entirely different background than yours, travel, or higher learning. Your personal philosophy will be changing, and this eclipse gives you a push towards adopting beliefs that truly work for you in the real world. Other possible issues stimulated include transportation and mobility (for example, some may be learning to depend on others for getting from point A to point B, and others may be learning to take charge of their own mobility), running errands and tending to one's daily life effectively, and learning about one's need for self-expression through adventure.
If the 4th-10th house axis is stimulated by this eclipse, issues surrounding public and private lives, as well as attention to career and to family, are stimulated. The fourth house rules our instinctual needs, the domestic scene, our needs for security, and our focus on family and home life as well as relationships with family. The tenth house rules our needs for status, our career and reputation, our worldly ambitions, and our drive for success. Striking a balance between these issues is the focus of this sequence of eclipses. If Leo is in the fourth house, it's time to take steps to improve your family and home life. This eclipse is the first cosmic push for you to take charge of your private life. If Leo is in the tenth house, you are called upon to pay more attention to your career and public life, and to take charge of this important part of your life. Either way, this can play out in a number of ways. Some may have to make some critical decisions due to situations in the life that force them to make choices between career and family goals. Some people are promoted or their career takes a new direction (especially if an eclipse occurs close to the Midheaven). The challenge is to find a healthy balance--to improve home life, while at the same time tending to one's career needs.
If this eclipse stimulates your 5th-11th house axis, social activity is the focus. The need to be appreciated by others, and the need for togetherness with others, comes into play. A love affair may begin or end under this influence. New contacts with others may also occur. If Leo is in the fifth, you will learn to let go of a fear of taking risks, and to develop the courage to strike out on your own individual and creative path without fear. You are called upon to deal with others in a more personal, involved, and loving manner, rather than falling back on reason and intellect, which detaches you from your feelings. This series of eclipses is about learning to take personal risks, which requires a certain amount of self-confidence. If Leo is in the eleventh, you will be learning about letting go of your attachment to the drama of romance and personal relationships, as well as your willfulness. You are called upon to learn about the value of the team. You may need to give freedom to your romantic partner instead of expecting him or her to follow a script of your own making. You learn the value of brotherly love and the benefits of a sense of belonging to a community. Events are such that you move towards a more objective approach to your life and you cultivate true friendships.
If this eclipse stimulates your 6th-12th house axis, issues of work and service, as well as health (both mental/spiritual, and physical), come into focus. If Leo is in the sixth house, you are called upon to deal with the the details and practicalities of everyday life, to become more organized, and to take charge of your routines. It's time to formulate some clear goals and plans. Circumstances are such that you need to develop some healthy habits, routines, and schedules. Believing in a grand plan is fine, but practical concerns need to be dealt with as well. Recognizing your personal limitations in terms of just how much you can give to others and just how much compassion and understanding you can show is essential now. It's time to structure your life. If Leo is in the twelfth house, over the next year you are called upon to rid yourself of guilt about under-performing, and to develop faith and trust in a larger more spiritual plan. It's time to let go of some of your fears that you are not doing enough, to develop more compassion and understanding of others, and to be humble, feeling safe in the knowledge that you (and others) are not perfect. It's time to let go of some of your obsessions with rules, details, and fears of not doing things perfectly. When this axis is stimulated, issues of guilt, worry, and anxiety become paramount.