Leo Solar Eclipse — Time to return to your inner light
Dear Reader,
We’re in eclipse season. August brings us two eclipses: a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Leo on the 12th and a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Pisces on the 28th. Twice a year, six months apart, we get a set of two, sometimes three, eclipses, closing and opening storylines and moving us along the river of our lives.
The eclipse in Leo is the first Leo eclipse in a series of eclipses in Leo and Aquarius between February 2026 and January 2028. We had the first Aquarius eclipse in February, and now we get the first eclipse in Leo, the opposite sign of Aquarius, fully activating the Leo-Aquarius axis. We’re all beginning a new journey related to our inner radiance and creative expression.
Guided by the Solar Eclipse in Leo
On August 12th at 7:37 pm CEST, the Sun, Moon, and Earth line up for a New Moon and Total Solar Eclipse at 20 degrees of Leo, near the South Node of the Moon, seeding major new beginnings for how we shine and express our essence, and how we embrace and encourage others — beginnings that require a letting go or emptying out.
Every Solar Eclipse happens during a New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun. But not every New Moon creates an eclipse. Only when the Moon is near a Lunar Node — where its orbit around the Earth crosses the Earth’s orbit around the Sun — do the three bodies line up closely enough for the Moon’s shadow to reach the Earth. When that alignment is nearly perfect, as it will be on August 12th, the Moon fully eclipses the Sun, creating an eerie daytime darkness along the path of totality. You can find out if the eclipse is visible in your location here.
Near the South Node, this eclipse brings into view what’s unconscious and unexamined in us. It guides us toward healing our relationship with the parts of us that obscure the light of our inner being: The parts of us that perform for others and pretend to be someone we’re not. The parts of us that want to outshine others. The parts of us that are afraid to be seen for who we truly are. The eclipse asks: what would life be like if we were to fully enjoy being ourselves and expressing our talents, fully able to open up in the warm presence of others, sharing in their genuine joy?
The Solar Eclipse in Leo & you
To work with the eclipse in your own chart and life, find the house where you have Leo, the sign of the eclipse. It shows where you’re ready for a major new beginning — and where you’re invited to let old ways of being that no longer feel authentic fall away, tend to old heartbreak, express your creativity for its own sake, and engage with whatever is coming up through your heart.
How are you living into the topics and themes of your Leo house?
What are you ready to let go of, so you can feel more at home with yourself in this area of your life?
If you have any planets or angles at or near 20 degrees of Leo — as well as Taurus, Scorpio, or Aquarius — or if you’re in a Leo profection year, this eclipse may carry more meaning for you.
The last eclipse at 20 degrees of Leo came in February 2009. You could look back at that time in your life (February – August 2009) to explore what’s rhyming between now and then.
You can use the time of the New Moon and Solar Eclipse, and its surrounding days, to look within and meditate on what's being stirred up in you and your life. Rather than writing down intentions, let yourself be changed by what you pass through, and see who you are on the other side.
✎ What’s on your heart?
✎ What’s sitting in the shadows?
✎ When do you genuinely enjoy yourself?
✎ What do you center your life around?
✎ What wants to emanate from the core of your being?
Until next time...
I’m looking forward to writing again as we draw closer to the Full Moon in Pisces on August 28th at 6:19 am CEST. It marks the halfway point of this lunar cycle and brings the second eclipse of the season.
In the meantime, you can take the questions from this letter with you on your walk, into your journal, or wherever else feels right. I hope they tickle you and help you weave yourself into the mystery of this Leo Solar Eclipse.
*All dates are in Central European Summer Time, so depending on where you are in the world, it could be a day earlier or later for you. The links will help you find your local time.