The Astrologers' Diary

Gill Dorren and other Lodge astrologers share their experiences of astrology in life, astronomy and astrology.

March 2006

A spontaneous Eclipse in Aries.

The recent total solar eclipse took place at 8 degrees Aries, close to my natal third-house Moon and exactly opposite the ruler of that house in the 9th. I was rather curious as to how this would work out in real life. As I couldn't go to Turkey, like many of our colleagues did, but stayed in grubby old London, I had to find something else to do to mark the occasion. That morning, I spontaneously decided to go out and sit in a nearby park by the river Thames, equipped with my eclipse specs, to watch the partially obscured Sun from there. Already on my way, I suddenly realised 'Ah, third house, a walk in the neighbourhood - how fitting!'. When I sat in the park a schoolclass of little girls appeared in the company of two teachers, who were giving them a lesson about the history of the Docklands. While listening to the stories about the old warehouses, now converted into expensive flats, I thought that it was a shame the kids were unaware of the celestial phenomenon going on at the time.

As the children left the park they passed me by at the exact moment the conjunction of Sun and Moon was exact, 11:11 BST. On the spur of the moment I asked, whether any of them were interested in watching the eclipse. Within seconds, I found myself surrounded by twenty-odd little girls all taking turns with my eclipse glasses and oohing and aahing at the missing chunk of the Sun. We talked about what an eclipse is and how people used to think a dragon had swallowed the Sun (which is, of course a reference to the Node). Even the teacher seemed to enjoy this little interlude and only after they had left I suddenly realised that primary schools come under the third house as well!

Smiling to myself, I decided to make a detour past a local animal farm on my way home. Usually, I only walk past it on the outside, but that day, I decided to go in and visit their horse stables. Standing by one of the boxes, I got into a conversation with a woman who worked there and, what do you think: she turned out to be my neighbour! Now, some astrologers say that solar eclipses are good to place a wish or an intent out there. Well, on my way out of the farm, I suddenly found myself in front of an old well with a sign on it, saying 'Wishing Well'! Of course I donated a coin towards the animals' food and placed a wish.

Currently struggling with the deadline of a writing assignment, I wished that I should keep the job nonetheless and that my writing and teaching activities should expand over the coming three years (the alleged duration of this eclipse's effectiveness). Of course, my wish had to do with the third house! When I got home I found that someone had called me three times while I was away and had left a message on my answering service (3rd house again) Hold on to your hats! The message came from the agent of a famous astrologer, who wanted to commission an astrological writing job.

Listen and learn!