Eclipses 2027: five dates and how astrologers read them

There are five eclipses in 2027: two solar eclipses, on February 6 and August 2, and three lunar eclipses, on February 20, July 18 and August 17. Three of the five fall in Aquarius and Leo, and the total solar eclipse of August 2 is one of the longest of the century. Astrologers read an eclipse as a New Moon or Full Moon with extra weight: a time to begin something or to see something clearly, not an omen.

Eclipse dates 2027: all five at a glance

The dates are given in Universal Time and can shift by one day depending on where you live.

Annular means that a bright ring of the Sun stays visible around the Moon. Total means that the Moon covers the Sun completely for a few minutes. Penumbral means that the Moon only crosses the faint outer part of the Earth's shadow and dims a little.

In 2027 the eclipses come as a pair in February and as a group of three in July and August. The whole sky of 2027 at a glance

What an eclipse is, astronomically

A solar eclipse happens only at New Moon, when the Moon stands between the Earth and the Sun. A lunar eclipse happens only at Full Moon, when the Earth's shadow falls on the Moon.

There is a New Moon and a Full Moon every month, but not an eclipse. The Moon's orbit is slightly tilted against the path of the Sun, so in most months the Moon passes a little above or below it.

The two paths cross at two points, the lunar nodes. Only a New Moon or Full Moon close to a node lines up well enough for an eclipse. That happens about every six months, in pairs or threes. A calendar year has between four and seven eclipses, and 2027 has five.

The nodes move slowly backward through the zodiac, about one and a half years per sign. From August 19, 2026 to March 8, 2028 the North Node is in Aquarius and the South Node, always exactly opposite, in Leo. That is why three of the five eclipses fall in these two signs. What the North Node means in a birth chart

The total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027

At its maximum, the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 lasts more than six minutes, which makes it one of the longest of the century. Its path crosses southern Spain, North Africa and Egypt. From the United States, Germany, Austria and Switzerland it is not visible as a total eclipse.

In the zodiac it is a New Moon at 10° Leo. Leo is a fire sign ruled by the Sun, and astrologers link it with warmth, creativity and the wish to be seen. The South Node is in Leo at that time, and many astrologers read the South Node as what is familiar and well practiced. A New Moon there is read as a fresh start that begins with letting go of a role that no longer fits.

How astrologers read eclipses

Astrologers read an eclipse like the New Moon or Full Moon it is, only with more weight.

• Solar eclipse: a strong New Moon, read as a time for a fresh start, when something is set in motion.
• Lunar eclipse: a strong Full Moon, read as a time when something becomes visible or comes to a close.

The signs add the theme. Leo stands for what comes from you alone: your voice, your joy, your own project. Aquarius, the sign opposite, stands for what you share: friends, groups, common ideas. With three eclipses on this axis, astrologers read 2027 as a year for the balance between the two.

Eclipses have an old reputation as omens. But an eclipse is geometry that can be calculated long in advance, and astrology gives you no reason to avoid travel, decisions or signatures on that day.

An eclipse is a New Moon or a Full Moon that lines up exactly. Astrologers read it as emphasis, not as an omen.

Which house the 2027 eclipses fall in for you

The dates are the same for everyone. The area of life is not. In your birth chart, the map of the sky for the minute and place you were born, each eclipse falls in one of twelve houses, the sections of a chart that stand for areas of life. They begin at your Rising sign, the sign on the eastern horizon at your birth, also called the Ascendant. The twelve houses and what they stand for

The table uses Whole Sign houses, where each house is one whole sign, starting with the Rising sign. In other house systems an eclipse can land one house earlier or later.

The Virgo eclipse of February 20 falls in the house after your Leo house, the Capricorn eclipse of July 18 in the house before your Aquarius house.

The eclipse at 10° Leo is read as more personal for someone whose Sun, Moon or Rising point stands within a few degrees of it.

What to do with the eclipse dates

1. Look up your Rising sign and find your two houses in the table. You need your birth time for this step.
2. Compare the degrees of your Sun, Moon and Rising point with the five positions.
3. Around each date, ask one question. At a solar eclipse: what do I want to begin in this area of life? At a lunar eclipse: what has become clear, and what is finished?

The 2027 Year Ahead Reading compares the moving sky of 2027 with your birth chart, month by month.