Last Updated on October 1, 2020 by astrologerbydefault

A penumbral Lunar eclipse is coming up now. A very faint shadowing of the full Moon will be visible in USA, South America, Africa, western Europe, Antarctica etc.

• Penumbral Eclipse begins – 5 Jul, 03:07:23 UTC
• Maximum Eclipse – 04:29:51 UTC
• Penumbral Eclipse ends – 05:52:21 UTC

In this image, the pink colored land masses and the dark blue colored oceans will see the effect of the eclipse.

Though this is a minor eclipse, it is the last in the series of the eclipses in Jun-July 2020. We had one minor lunar eclipse on 4-5 Jun (post here) followed by a major total Solar eclipse on 21^st June (post here). This is the last eclipse in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis.

• The Moon (Poorvashadha) in Sagittarius with Ketu (Moola). The eclipse event is in Sagittarius sign. Jupiter (Uttarashadha) is also retrograde in his own sign.
• The Sun and Mercury (retrograde) are both in Aradra nakshatra with Rahu (Mruga). These three planets are all in Gemini.
• Mars (Uttarabhadrapada) is in Pisces and is aspecting Gemini with his 4^th aspect. He is behaving like an underwater volcano and steam is worse than boiling water! So this is the reason the weather has been unseasonably hot despite the monsoons. Mars, a fiery planet is adding his power to the Sun’s fire. The weather will cool down after Sun moves on to Cancer in mid-July.
• Rahu and Ketu are in the almost-stationary /forward motion as usual in an eclipse. (They will turn retrograde on 6^th July.)
• Saturn is retrograde in his own sign Capricorn. Venus is forward in his own sign Taurus. These two are not directly involved in the eclipse energies.

Moon is in the Poorvashadha nakshatra. It is connected to Venus and ruled by Apah. So expect confusion and misunderstanding in relationships. Avoid poking into others affairs and concentrate on your own work. There will be less resources available, less money to spend. Avoid major investments till Mercury gets forward again at least. There might be imbalances in legal matters, businesses or equitable relationships. You might feel provoked as tolerance limits are less, this can result in unwanted aggression and misdirected rage. Fear, worry and loss of sleep can affect physical health. You might feel a disconnect with your faith, your personal philosophy, the foundations of your life. You might feel tired and drained for about 2-3 weeks after this eclipse.

Eclipses are a burst of energy. So if you can channelise it you can actually gain something significant out of it, else you will be swept away in its flow. So its always recommended that you do some sort of mantra, jaap, puja, Dhyan etc during the eclipse. Worship of Devi Laxmi or any form of the Devi can be more beneficial as the eclipsed Moon is in Poorvashadha. Then Rahu and Ketu are astral graha and the Sun and the Moon are in charge of your highest chakras, Sahsarara and Ajnya. Spiritual practice during the eclipse periods allows the energies to settle into the highest chakras and then percolate into the lower ones easily, giving both spiritual and material benefits. So on the positive side, this lunar mansion has the capacity to bring out hidden things. It can help uncover hidden opportunities, hidden information, hidden talents etc related to you, business, family life, wealth generation etc. You will be able to get out of adversities more easily and improve your life. Some positive things linked to this nakshatra can be, repaying your debts, a creative boost, a new venture, a pilgrimage, growth in profession etc.

There is going to be ‘movement’, some change or the other will occur after this eclipse. It is in your hand to convert this change to a positive or a negative one on the personal levels. So do some spiritual activity during this eclipse and put in your intention into it.

On a personal level, if you live in areas where the eclipse is visible.

• This eclipse can cause more turmoil to you if –
  • you have a Moon+Ketu in your birth chart. This is the most sucetible combination.
  • Or your birth Moon is in Poorvashadha, Bharani or Poorva-phalguni (post here). 
  • Or if your ascendant sign or Moon sign is Sagittarius, Gemini, Cancer do take care. Taurus and Capricorn might also feel the stress to some extent. Aries will feel suffocated and agitated. If the birth Moon sign is involved you will feel the effects more on your emotional and mental levels. If its your ascendant sign, it will be felt more on the physical levels.
• If you live in areas where the eclipse is visible, the eclipse can bring opportunities if your ascendent or Birth Moon sign is Leo, Aquarius. And there will be a generally neutral effect on Libra, Virgo, Scorpio and Pisces.

Since this is a minor penumbral eclipse it will not have much impact on the world as such, but it is still an astrological phenomenon. It will add to the energy released by the two earlier eclipses, so a general reading for the next 2-3 weeks is as follows.

On the global scale, and more for the nations experiencing the eclipse,

• It is not a time for the governments to take major decisions as there will be miscommunication and over-confidence. In several nations the lock-down is being opened and this will add to the ongoing confusion.
• Economic slowdown will continue in the nations where it is visible.
• There will be an increase in environmental temperatures. Anger and arguments will increase. There might be civil unrest, terrorism or war-like situations. General public will be disgruntled with the policies of the government. And fanatic groups will try to use the situation to create unrest. Harsh measures will be implemented by the governments to quell these eruptions.
• There may be major accidents or natural calamities related to ‘heat’ and caused by risky behaviour.
• There will be an increase in diseases. COVID 19 will also remain active. Depending on the areas you live in, care must be taken in this aspect (eg if you live in a mosquito prone area, dengue, malaria etc can erupt). Public health will remain a concern.
• Major nations affected are USA, S America, Europe and Africa.

As always, Jyotish is not for getting scared. We try to know the future patterns so that we can be better prepared and use the energy releases coming up. Eclipses are rare opportunities. If you are going to experience this eclipse in your area then do some spiritual practice, it will help you in several ways from the spiritual to the material.