This week’s question comes from Janet in New Jersey:

I’m afraid of what is going to happen at the next eclipse on July 7, 2009. I’m afraid I’m going to lose someone or that something bad might happen to me. My sister’s birth info is [info deleted for privacy] and she has some heavy aspects at the same time – something is definitely going to happen.

Pat’s response:

Janet, you aren’t alone in thinking of eclipses as ominous events. Although it is true that major developments often happen around eclipses, they are not always negative, and their impact depends on where they fall in your natal chart.

Before we get into the specifics, let me just say for those who don’t know that we are about to enter a new series of eclipses on July 7, when there will be a lunar eclipse in Capricorn. This will be followed by a solar eclipse in Cancer on July 21, and then another lunar eclipse on August 6, the last in the Aquarius-Leo series. Usually there are four eclipses in a year, but 2009 is an extremely rare six-eclipse year. This alone tells me that many of us are going to experience sweeping changes this year.

Because the first eclipse in the new Capricorn-Cancer series is a lunar eclipse, and because the following eclipse takes place at the 29th degree of Cancer, I think we may see some doors closing before new ones start to open. This can be uncomfortable, but it is not necessarily bad. And for some people, it simply may be leaving a job or geographical location to go somewhere else.

I do not see anything alarming in your chart, Janet, although this eclipse takes place exactly on your Vertex, which is one of the “destiny” points in a chart. So I think it’s fair to say that something major will happen. If you were single and looking, I might think that you were going to end one relationship and start a new one. If you want to know what all the possibilities are, I recommend getting a full reading with a professional astrologer (sorry to sound like a broken record here, but there’s only so much room in this column).

The new eclipse series falls in your sister’s sixth and twelfth houses. It does sometimes happen that when eclipses fall in these two sectors of the birth chart, a serious health problem comes to light. This is only one manifestation of a sixth-house eclipse, however. A thorough study of your sister’s chart (with her permission, of course) would help give you a better idea of the range of possibilities.

It would be nice if astrology could tell us exactly when bad things were going to happen to us and those we love, but unfortunately, it is just not that precise. So the best we can do is to go forward in confidence, as living in fear is not a positive or productive.

Neith’s response:

Janet, I agree with Pat on not seeing the eclipse on July 7 as aspecting your chart in a profound way. Generally speaking, a transiting planet has the greatest impact if it conjuncts an angle (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven or Nadir) or one of our personal planets.

Transits to the Vertex often indicate an important shift in our lives but since the Vertex is a calculated point, its value depends on the accuracy of the birth data especially birth time. If you do experience some type of breakthrough in fifth house matters (creativity, love affairs, children), that would be a good reason to believe your Vertex is accurate.

It looks to me like the source of confusion for both you and your sister is Neptune & Co. This stellium in Aquarius is squaring your Mars in Taurus from the cusp of your seventh house, and her Mars-Jupiter conjunction in Taurus from her eighth house. Neptune transits to Mars are often experienced as draining our energy, and when we feel tired all the time it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Having just gone through this transit myself, I am very well acquainted with this phenomenon.

Please remember to give yourself credit for the good choices you’ve made in your life, too. If you have a favorite method of relaxation such as yoga, getting a soothing massage, or walking in a beautiful area, do so. There is a good reason I frequently suggest forgiving ourselves first and foremost too.

Best of luck to both of you.

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