What an eclipse is

Solar eclipses

A solar eclipse happens at a New Moon, when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun and blocks some or all of its light. If the Moon covers the Sun completely, the eclipse is total; if the Moon is a little too far away to cover it, a bright ring of sunlight stays visible around it, and the eclipse is called annular.

Lunar eclipses

A lunar eclipse happens at a Full Moon, when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon and its shadow falls across the Moon’s face. When the Moon only brushes the pale outer edge of that shadow, the eclipse is penumbral: the Moon dims slightly, and many people watching don’t notice anything at all. When part of the Moon slips into the darker inner shadow, the eclipse is partial, and a dark bite seems to be taken out of it. When the whole Moon moves inside that inner shadow, the eclipse is total, and the Moon often glows a coppery red.

How astrology reads them

Eclipses only happen when a New or Full Moon falls near the lunar nodes, the two points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s. Astrologers see them as the sky’s turning points. A New or Full Moon sets the tone for a few weeks; an eclipse can color the months around it. They are linked with endings and beginnings, with things coming to light, and with chapters that close so new ones can open. You might notice it as a decision that suddenly feels obvious, a door that closes gently, or a new interest that turns out to matter.

Eclipses don’t decide anything for you. They tend to speed up what was already in motion. A good way to work with them is to keep an open mind, avoid forcing big outcomes on the eclipse day itself, and notice what becomes clear in the weeks after.

The eclipse axis of 2027: Aquarius and Leo

Eclipses come in families, falling in a pair of opposite signs for about a year and a half. Through most of 2027 the North Node is in Aquarius and the South Node in Leo, so the main eclipses fall on the Aquarius–Leo axis.

That axis is a conversation between the self and the group. Leo, ruled by the Sun, is the heart: creativity, joy, romance, children, and the courage to be seen as you are. Aquarius, ruled by Uranus with Saturn as its traditional ruler, is the network: friends, communities, ideals and the future you want to help build. Across 2027, the eclipses keep asking a simple question in many forms. How do you shine as yourself and still belong to something bigger?

Two eclipses fall outside that pair. The lunar eclipse on Feb 20 is in Virgo, a last echo of the Virgo–Pisces eclipses of recent years. The lunar eclipse on Jul 18 is a very slight penumbral one in Capricorn, at the far edge of the eclipse zone, and an early hint of the Cancer–Capricorn eclipses of 2028.

If you know your birth chart, look for planets or points around these degrees, and for the houses that hold Leo and Aquarius. That is where the eclipses are likely to feel most personal.

The five eclipses of 2027

There are no eclipses between November 2026 and February 2027, so the first one after this calendar begins is the annular solar eclipse of Feb 6.

February 6, 2027: annular solar eclipse in Aquarius

15:59 UTC, at 17°39′ Aquarius. This is a New Moon eclipse, so its mood is one of beginnings: a fresh start in your friendships, the groups you belong to and the hopes you hold for the years ahead. Maybe you join a circle that feels like your people, or quietly step back from one that no longer does. The ring of light that stays around the Moon in an annular eclipse is a fitting image for Aquarius: something new forming at the center, held by the community around it.

February 20, 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Virgo

23:12 UTC, at 1°58′ Virgo. Two weeks later, the Full Moon in Virgo shines a light on your daily life: routines, work habits, the way you look after yourself and the small duties that fill your days. As a closing note on the Virgo–Pisces eclipses, it may show which habits have served you well and which are ready to go. Mercury is retrograde at this time, so it is a good moment to review rather than rebuild. See the Mercury retrograde page for those dates.

July 18, 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Capricorn

16:02 UTC, at 25°57′ Capricorn. This is the faintest eclipse of the year, a soft shading on the Full Moon in Capricorn while the Sun is in Cancer. Its theme is the balance between ambition and home: the career goal you’re working toward, and the people and rest that keep you going. It’s a gentle invitation to ask whether that balance still feels right.

August 2, 2027: total solar eclipse in Leo

10:06 UTC, at 9°55′ Leo. This is the headline of the year. It is a total eclipse and a long one, with one of the longest totalities of the century. Its path of totality crosses North Africa and the Middle East. Astrologically, a total solar eclipse in Leo is a powerful new beginning for the heart. It points to creativity, play, love, the joy you take in what you make, and the courage to let yourself be seen. Think of the project you’ve kept in a drawer, or the part of yourself you’ve only shown to a few people. This eclipse tends to favor bringing it into the light, in your own time.

August 17, 2027: penumbral lunar eclipse in Aquarius

07:13 UTC, at 24°04′ Aquarius. The last eclipse of the year is a Full Moon in Aquarius with the Sun in Leo, the axis in its purest form. Where the August 2 eclipse asked what lights you up, this one asks how that light fits into your friendships, your communities and your ideals. It is a natural time to finish something that started in February, to thank the people who stood with you, or to release a role in a group that you’ve outgrown.

The eclipse axis of 2028: Cancer and Capricorn

In 2028 the eclipses change families. The lunar nodes move slowly backward through the zodiac, and as they leave Aquarius and Leo behind and move into Capricorn and Cancer, the eclipses shift to that new pair of opposite signs. Four of the five eclipses of 2028 fall in Cancer or Capricorn. The exception is the annular solar eclipse of Jan 26, which still lands in Aquarius, a closing note for the Aquarius–Leo eclipses.

This axis is a conversation between home and the wider world. Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is the inner life: family, roots, the people you care for and the places where you feel safe. Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is the outer life: work, responsibility, reputation and the long goals you build step by step. Through 2028 the eclipses ask, in many forms, how you can grow out in the world without losing your footing at home.

Notice how the year is framed. It opens with a lunar eclipse in Cancer on Jan 12 and closes with a total lunar eclipse in Cancer on Dec 31. In between, the total solar eclipse of Jul 22 falls at 29° Cancer, the sign’s very last degree, a few hours before the Sun moves into Leo. If you know your chart, look at the houses that hold Cancer and Capricorn, and at any planets in the last degrees of Cancer.

The five eclipses of 2028

January 12, 2028: partial lunar eclipse in Cancer

04:13 UTC, at 21°33′ Cancer. The first eclipse of 2028 is a very slight partial one: only a thin edge of the Moon touches the Earth’s inner shadow. It falls on the Full Moon in Cancer, with the Sun in Capricorn, and opens the new axis with its central question: how do work and home share your time? It’s a gentle moment to notice what your family life, your living space or your own need for care has been asking of you.

January 26, 2028: annular solar eclipse in Aquarius

15:07 UTC, at 6°08′ Aquarius. Almost a year after the annular eclipse of Feb 6, 2027, this is the last solar eclipse in Aquarius for now. As a New Moon eclipse it favors beginnings around friendship, community and the future you hope for, and it can feel like the last page of a long chapter about where you belong. Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius at the time, so it suits rethinking a group or a plan before you commit to it.

July 6, 2028: partial lunar eclipse in Capricorn

18:19 UTC, at 15°15′ Capricorn. A deeper partial eclipse than January’s, it falls on the Full Moon in Capricorn while the Sun is in Cancer. The spotlight moves to the other side of the axis: your work, your ambitions and the responsibilities you carry. It may show how far a long effort has come, and whether the pace you’ve set still leaves room for the people waiting for you at home.

July 22, 2028: total solar eclipse in Cancer

02:55 UTC, at 29°46′ Cancer. This is the headline of 2028: a total solar eclipse whose path of totality crosses Australia and New Zealand. It falls on the New Moon at the very last degree of Cancer, just hours before the Sun enters Leo. Astrologically, a total solar eclipse in Cancer is a powerful new beginning for home and belonging: where you live, who you call family and how you look after yourself and others. Think of the family tradition you’d like to start, the room you want to make truly yours, or a kinder way of caring for yourself. Astrologers read the last degree of a sign as a point of completion, so this eclipse may also feel like closing one chapter as you open the next.

December 31, 2028: total lunar eclipse in Cancer

16:52 UTC, at 10°34′ Cancer. The last eclipse of 2028 is a total one, with the whole Moon inside the Earth’s shadow, on the final day of the year. Like January’s eclipse, it is a Full Moon in Cancer with the Sun in Capricorn, so the year ends where it began, this time with the Moon fully in shadow. It’s a natural time to look back on how home and work have shared your year, to thank the people who held you, and to let go of a feeling or a role you don’t need to carry any further.

Watching a solar eclipse safely

Looking directly at the Sun can permanently damage your eyes, even when most of it is covered. Before the solar eclipses of Feb 6 and Aug 2, 2027, and Jan 26 and Jul 22, 2028, plan ahead:

• Never look at the Sun without certified eclipse glasses or a certified handheld solar viewer. Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe.
• Check that your glasses meet the ISO 12312-2 standard and aren’t scratched or damaged.
• Never look through a camera, binoculars or a telescope without a proper solar filter on the front, even while wearing eclipse glasses.
• During an annular eclipse, a ring of the Sun always stays visible, so keep your glasses on the whole time.
• During a total eclipse, it is only safe to take your glasses off during the brief total phase, and only inside the path of totality. Put them back on the moment the Sun starts to reappear.
• For an easy, safe view, make a pinhole projector: a small hole in a piece of card casts a tiny image of the Sun onto paper.

Lunar eclipses are safe to watch with your eyes alone, no glasses needed.

For every other date in the sky in 2027 and 2028, from New Moons to season changes, see the full astrology calendar.

Questions about the 2027 and 2028 eclipses