Leo Solar Eclipse 2026
Photo credit: Todd Miller
Before I get into the Leo new Moon/Solar Eclipse chart, here is the save the date for my upcoming collaboration with Dawn Frary of Folkloracle at Harvest Preserve:
Wednesday, September 9, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Understanding Your Natal Moon through Astrology and Tarot
Dawn and I taught this same class at Press Coffee at the Virgo Lunar Eclipse back in March, and it was a real good time. We’ll be teaching this time during the dark Moon just before the upcoming Virgo new Moon, which I think might be the perfect time for this class. As I mentioned last time, many class participants could see their experience of their mothers in their natal Moon, and many could see their own mothering style in their natal Moon - I just love hearing how the planetary symbolism shows up in people’s lives! And once we have this type of vital understanding, it’s so much easier to begin to work with our own natal Moon in our daily lives. One artist was able to deepen his understanding of the scenes that he is drawn to create through the exploration of his natal Moon. So fun and interesting - if you’re curious to learn about your natal Moon through Astrology and Tarot, I encourage you to save the date! I’ll post the link to register in my next blog post, or you can keep an eye out for registration opening on the Harvest Preserve Classes/Events page here.
The Leo new Moon/Solar Eclipse is exact at 20°01’ on Wednesday, August 12 at 12:36 pm CST. This is the second round of the Aquarius/Leo polarity eclipses, with the Aquarius Solar Eclipse occurring back in February, when the nodes were still in the Pisces/Virgo polarity, but still close enough to the Aquarius new Moon to be an eclipse. This week’s Leo Solar Eclipse is the beginning of the second part of the 2026 Eclipse Season. Remember that Eclipse Season can be thought of as not just the one day - the day that the eclipse falls on - but as the two weeks leading up to the first eclipse, through the two weeks to the next eclipse and into the two weeks following.
The Lunar Nodes have just moved back into the Leo/Aquarius polarity, and are at 29°47’ - the South Node in Leo and the North Node in Aquarius. Remember that the nodes always move retrograde, or backwards through the Zodiac.
This eclipse is a total Solar Eclipse, meaning that the light of the Sun will be temporarily blocked from our view on Earth by the Moon. Leo is ruled by the Sun, so this Leo new Moon is ruled by the Sun that the new Moon is obscuring. So meta! The Leo new Moon and Sun are conjunct the Lunar South Node. The South Node is typically thought of as a point of release, of shedding or composting. In the natal chart, the South Node can be thought of as the gifts or talents that we come into this life with - the tool in our toolkit that always seems to work for us. The difficulty that can arise with that trusty tool, is that even if the tool is still easy to use, it may no longer be the right tool for the job, and there may be a better tool to use that possibly doesn’t come so easily or naturally to us. And yet, it’s so tempting to take the easy way out, and to rely on the tool that is tried and true. Somewhere along the way, the toolkit that we’ve been using for our whole lives that has worked in most all situations becomes baggage that we’re schlepping around with us everywhere out of habit. We keep trying to use it, but the returns are diminishing, as there are newer, better tools out there that we could be using if we are brave enough to release our grasp on the security blanket of a toolkit that has become more like baggage than a useful tool.
The outer planet talent triangle of Pluto in Aquarius at 03°54’, Neptune in Aries at 04°04’ and Uranus in Gemini at 5°20’ is being catalyzed by two different personal planets in this Leo Solar Eclipse chart:
Venus at 5°53’ of Libra is opposing Neptune in Aries, and trining both Uranus in Gemini and Pluto in Aquarius.
Mercury at 05°06’ of Leo is opposing Pluto in Aquarius, trining Neptune in Aries, and sextiling Uranus in Gemini.
Both of these two personal planets are also involved in two separate T-squares in the eclipse chart:
Venus in Libra opposite Neptune in Aries, both squaring Mars in Cancer at 00°54.
Mercury in Leo opposite Pluto in Aquarius, both squaring Chiron in Taurus at 00°49’.
Mars and Chiron, who are both receiving these T-squares, are also sextile to one another.
It’s really a lot of energy, friends. Luckily, we don’t need to concern ourselves with parsing out all of this symbolism in order to formulate New Moon intentions for ourselves. Instead, we’ll be following the sage advice of the venerable Demetra George with regard to working with eclipses. Eclipses present an optimal time to still the mind and slip into the state between one consciousness and another in a way that works best for you. Anything that assists you in stilling your mind from being over active or over processing will suffice - meditation, music, bike ride, prayer, drawing, gardening, yoga, whatever works for you. Also, based on my years of working with the energy of the new Moon, I can look back in my journals and see that anytime I set intentions during an eclipse, I either totally half-assed it - essentially phoning in my go-to intentions, or I tried to get really into the symbolism of the chart, with no regard for my ACTUAL situation. Either way, it didn’t work out as I had hoped or planned. So there you go, theoretical AND experiential knowledge suggests that setting intentions during an eclipse is not the best use of our time. Or at least my time. You do you!
With Venus and Mercury both prominent in the eclipse chart, you may find that your value system, creative endeavors or connections to others can somehow help you to enter that interstitial space, or perhaps writing, journaling, talking, or listening will be the mode of transportation that works for you. With Mars and Chiron both receiving the tense energy of those T-squares and also sextiling one another, perhaps moving your body can present the opportunity to slip into that liminal space. Whatever your favorite movement is - yoga, dance, running, walking, biking, swimming, tai chi, the possibilities for movement are endless!
The Sun in our natal charts is a symbol of the organizing principle of our personality and psyche, which is probably why so many of us resonate with our Sun sign. This Solar Eclipse in Leo brings up themes associated with the Sun, such as that organizing principle, but also courage, authenticity and heart. There is a seeming paradox associated with eclipses - in blocking the light of the Sun, they seem to bring about revelations that are more easily visible to us in the absence of that direct, bright light. Just as looking for something in the dark is often a futile endeavor, it doesn’t work to go eagerly looking for what wants to be revealed during an eclipse. It’s best to figuratively allow your eyes time to adjust to the low light, and let the images coalesce from out of the shadows and form in their own time. At this Solar Eclipse in Leo, put yourself in that space between consciousnesses that allows you to become aware of those things that may be clearing out of your life or psyche. As we move through eclipse season, ask yourself how that clearing away could eventually allow for you to lead with even more authenticity through the organizing principle of your own precious personality.
Either utilize Demetra’s strategy of lighting a candle, closing the curtains and stilling the mind, or one of your own to slip into that Bardo space between one state of consciousness and another, and see what comes up for you at this eclipse. Trust yourself that whatever comes up that is being cleared away or cleansed has served its purpose and is ready to be composted back into the fertile soil of your personality and psyche so that you can move forward with even more heart, courage, and authenticity.