Solar Eclipse

The two luminaries of astrology, the Sun and Moon, will be in darkness tonight with the annular solar eclipse (10:44 pm EST). Eric Francis likens it to a blackout, one that temporarily alters the quality of light, and takes us beyond the known. The eclipse magnifies the new Moon in Aquarius, already buzzing with Aquarian live wires. Aquarius is an air sign that's on a mission to free itself to ever higher visions of truth. You might 'wake up' to some area of your life, depending on which house all this is lighting up. Being a sign linked up to networks, the eclipse zooms us forward on the epochal transition into the Aquarian Age.

Ever experienced a trancelike wave of energy that takes you by surprise? Or how about losing your sense of time, space and awareness of who the heck you are. It can be scary as all get out. That's what eclipses are like. It may be what dying is like. This new Moon 'liberates' you from your usual matrix of thoughts. In that moment of time suspension, new and startling changes can occur. The solar eclipse is considered a powerful death-rebirth turning point in the lunation cycle. Sometimes shake-ups happen beyond our control. But it's also a chance to let the old fall away, and step forward into something new.

Last week a reader brought up the dark side of Aquarius, and its Age. It's ruler Uranus rules the technology and the Internet, a global marvel that gets us sharing ideas at lightning speed. On the flip side, just this week, the FBI in America wants 1 billion to expand its domestic biometrics program. Called a step toward a "surveillance society" by privacy advocates, it would use technology like eye scans and palm prints to track citizens. Despite all this, lately I've sensed something vaguely hopeful, a collective buzz in the air. There's enough rebellion in Aquarius to live 'off the grid' and choose to network based on something higher. The eclipse, also known as the Eye of God, is a reminder that there's a higher field of knowing out there. That alone makes it a moment of unknown possibility.

• New Moon Rituals
• Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis on the Solar Eclipse
• Solar Eclipse, Stephanie Austin
  Annular Solar Eclipse/NASA