On July 12, 2018 at 10:48 pm (EDT), there will be a Partial Solar Eclipse in the sign of Cancer. All Solar Eclipses act as intensified New Moons, symbolizing a “fresh start” pertaining to the themes associated with the sign Cancer and its opposite sign (Capricorn). This Eclipse is extra special, as it’s the 1st in the next series of Eclipses that will focus our attention on the polarity between home (Cancer) and career (Capricorn).

Cancer is the sign of The Crab, and this New Moon Solar Eclipse will bring the things Crabs are concerned most with—security (both financial and physical), home (in both the literal and abstract sense of the word) and nurturing (in terms of both self-care and in how we care for those closest to us)—to the fore. These are only a few of the themes associated Cancer of course. But a Solar Eclipse in the sign of the Crab will certainly draw our attention to at least one of these themes now and in the coming months. And because all New Moons represent new beginnings, it’s time to pay attention to our feelings of security, our home life and our relationships with family and those closest to us. Now is about taking a closer look at these areas of our lives to assess where we may be overdoing vs. those where we might invest more time and energy.

Security (Feelings of)

At the risk of hyperbolizing, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of security, or rather, feelings of security, in the Cancer’s inner world. The sign of Cancer is one of the most “psychic” of the zodiac, so don’t think for a second you can fool a Crab. Just like the crab, Cancer retreats into its shell at the slightest hint of danger. Security, in many ways, is the impetus for the Crab’s existence, and gaining financial security is the only means through which Cancer feels a sense of inner peace. This, paradoxically, is the reason they’re typically such hard workers. But it must be said that it is not money for money’s sake that motivates them to work themselves so hard; they don’t “get off” on showy status symbols or just watching their bank account grow. With Cancer, it’s the ever-present fact of life that one must earn money in order to achieve a certain safety and comfort that drives them to bring home that bacon. And bring home that bacon they do...

Home (Yearnings for)

Whether you personally have planets in Cancer or not, themes of the past, of nostalgia, become central whenever there’s an Eclipse in this sign. Some may be filled with the desire to revisit the past or reconnect with their biological roots, while others might realize that the place they call home is not really home but a house with four walls and decide it’s time to fly to the coop. Buying and selling of property, renovations, or even small home improvement projects are ideas flying through the ether now. Some may realize they want to build a new nest, create a “room of one’s own,” or relinquish the control of traditional family ties and start a family of their own. The possibilities are endless, but you get the idea...

Nurturing (Self and Others)

This is where the potential for the typical Crab-like neurosis (read: rumination) could set in. We may become overwhelmed thinking about the ways we care for (or neglect) ourselves, or with how we’ve been looking after (or not looking after) the needs of our loved ones that we let guilt dominate our actions, smothering the ones we love and neglecting ourselves in the process. So while a central theme of this Solar Eclipse is about making changes in how we nurture and care for ourselves and those around us, it’s essential that we stay grounded and establish a healthy balance before we worry ourselves into an early coma. The bottom line is simple: if we spend all our time focusing on the needs of loved ones, we ultimately end up neglecting our own needs and, in turn, smothering (or resenting) our closest family and friends. But if we spend too little time nurturing our relationships, focusing excessively on work and the demands of the outside world, we end up feeling alone and disconnected from our support system and our deepest roots. The best way to channel this energy is to take a good hard look at the ways we nurture ourselves vs. the ways we nurture others or our work projects. The goal here is to gain awareness regarding which end of the spectrum may be in need of increased attention and correct any imbalances.

Eclipse Aspects: Sun-Moon in Cancer Opposite Pluto in Capricorn

As you can see in the Solar Eclipse Chart above, tomorrow’s New Moon pits the Sun and Moon @ 20°41’ of Cancer at an exact opposition, or 180° angle, to Pluto @ 20° of Capricorn. In predictive work, the more exact the angle by degree, the more powerful its effect in coloring the overall tone or feeling of the aspect’s energy.

With Pluto opposing this Eclipse at such a tight, tense angle, the fresh starts we make and intentions we set regarding the Cancerian themes outlined above will involve power struggles in a relationship, whether in your work or personal life. You may feel like your personal plans are blocked or thwarted by work commitments, or that someone in authority is causing you to delay taking action or draining valuable energy that you need to be putting into your most personal relationships.

Cancer is a sensitive sign focused predominantly on healing, taking care of our innermost needs and those of our homes and families. Capricorn, on the other hand, is all about our ability to compartmentalize—to put aside our innermost needs and personal relationships in order to fulfill our responsibility and commitments in the external world, particularly in terms of work and career. This tension between work and family, self and other, can elicit feelings of frustration, resentment, or possibly inadequacy. For instance, we may feel so bogged down by domestic or family responsibilities that we just don’t have energy left for anything else. Some of us might feel like we’re drowning in work, as if we’re a slave our job/boss/desk with no time to tend to important personal projects or activities.

Alternatively, depending on your personal birth chart, you could end up playing the “Plutonian” figure, clinging to your domestic environment or those close to you by obsessing or worrying about trying to control your relationships and/or your domestic environment. Unconscious fears or even latent anger about losing control when it comes to your home, money, and family relationships is likely to surface now. This in turn may lead you to exhibit demanding, manipulative or even explosive behavior as a means of getting the attention of whoever you see as an obstacle to achieving that feeling of security, comfort, or at least temporary respite from work or other personal responsibilities. Or you might be the one on the receiving end of such behavior, depending on your circumstances.

What we must keep in mind during this period is that, with the Eclipse opposite Pluto in addition to the fact that Mars is currently moving retrograde, any fears or anger that come up now will not last forever. In fact, the main point of this eclipse is not necessarily to “do” anything just yet, but to draw our attention back to our personal lives and to push us to strike a balance between our home and work lives. All Eclipses have a 6 month effect in terms of bringing about the changes we recognize we need to make during this time. In other words, it’s not a race. Real change takes time, and work/life balance is something that most of us spend a large portion of our lives working to achieve let alone maintain.

So even with the fears, worries or power struggles that emerge, this Solar Eclipse in Cancer could not be more of a blessing, as it’s meant to awaken us to our inner “psychic”: our deepest sensitivities, fears and needs for security, even those that may be uncomfortable to confront at first. It may be uncomfortable to realize that work is taking over our lives, that we’ve let a close relationship lapse, or that we cannot control the people we depend on for survival. The keynote of this Eclipse is to recognize that despite the pressures of our jobs or other (perceived) responsibilities, it’s our relationships with family, friends and, most importantly, the relationship we have with ourselves that deserves our attention now more than ever.