Lunar Eclipse

Definition

An astronomical event in which the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon close to one of the lunar nodes, casting Earth's shadow onto the lunar disc. Lunar eclipses occur only at Full Moon (when Sun and Moon are 180° apart in ecliptic longitude) and only when the Full Moon falls within roughly 12° of either lunar node. Total lunar eclipses produce the characteristic reddish-copper coloration ("blood moon") as long-wavelength light refracts through Earth's atmosphere onto the lunar surface.

In Tradition

Across Babylonian, Hellenistic, and modern Western traditions, a lunar eclipse is read as intensifying and qualitatively shifting the culmination-character of the Full Moon under which it occurs. Practitioners broadly agree that the eclipse activates an axis of opposite signs and that emotional, relational, and bodily themes — domains traditionally associated with the Moon — surface more visibly than under an ordinary Full Moon. Modern Western practice tends to read lunar-eclipse effects as more immediate than the longer-unfolding themes of solar eclipses.

In Practice

The astrologer notes the lunar-eclipse degree on both signs of the axis (Sun-degree and Moon-degree, 180° apart) and the houses each falls in. Natal planets or angles within roughly 1°-3° of either eclipse degree are flagged as primary eclipse-points. Modern Western practice typically watches a window of weeks-to-months after the eclipse for activation events, with subsequent transits to either eclipse-degree treated as triggers. The Saros series the eclipse belongs to (Brady-thematic family) provides additional context. Mundane applications use the eclipse chart cast for the location of interest.

Historical Origin

Lunar-eclipse omen interpretation is among the most heavily documented practices in the Babylonian celestial-omen literature, with the Akkadian terms *attalû* and *bakû* used for eclipse phenomena (Rochberg, *The Heavenly Writing*, CUP 2004). The Mār-Ištar substitute-king ritual sequence for lunar eclipses is preserved in the Neo-Assyrian astrological reports edited by Hermann Hunger. Hellenistic eclipse doctrine appears in Ptolemy's *Tetrabiblos* II. Modern coverage includes Bernadette Brady's *Predictive Astrology*.

Etymology

Origin: Greek. Meaning: From ekleipsis (failure to appear) — the Moon's light eclipsed by Earth's shadow.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading