On average, a set of two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses occur annually.

What is their astrological significance? If you look up any kind of poetry or historical literature on eclipses, much of it tends to be fearful in tone and steeped in dark omens, mainly because it was a scary celestial event for people to go through—with the onslaught of darkness during a daylight hour and winds picking up eerily the moment before the sun blotted out into a fiery ring or else seeing a beautiful evening moon take on a startling red glow.

In contemporary times, the astrological significance of an eclipse is that it marks the part of the year where actions and events tend to speed forward. Think of the old childhood game, “Duck-Duck-Goose.” Whenever an eclipse occurs, usually within the next 30 days, it can feel as if you landed “Goose,” and are up and racing circles around a specific situation. Of course, the coloring of that situation depends on how the eclipse interacts with your birth chart, and its effects typically extend beyond 30 days into the months that follow.

Eclipses tend to generate a turning point, a major development or a crisis. They establish a theme, much like when the curtain rises at a theatre and you gain a glimpse from the scenery and stage props what the current Act will be about.

To differentiate, a Solar Eclipse leans toward growth (as the Moon increases in light) while a Lunar Eclipse indicates a situation that has reached its peak (like the Full Moon) and serves as a point of departure or ending of a matter, as the Moon diminishes in light.

Please note the timing used here is ET, not UT.  Adjust your charts by adding the Delta T to the UT if you’d like to be super-picky, and even then, your timing is not going to be stiletto due to the ‘leap second additions.  The last one was added  12.31.16, and we may see another addition of a second on 12.31.19.