Solar eclipses only occur a few times a year, on new moons.  A new moon occurs when the moon returns to the place between the sun and earth in its orbit around the earth.
The moon’s glow is a reflection of the sun; when the moon returns to the place between earth and sun every month, there is no reflection of the sun’s light from earth’s point of view. This is a new moon.

A solar eclipse occurs when, from earth’s point of view, the new moon orbits exactly between earth and sun in a way that blocks the Sun’s rays on a portion of earth, and creates a shadow that moves across earth for the duration of the eclipse. (See diagram)

 

Not every new moon lands precisely where it creates a shadow on earth. There are only two to four times a year that this could potentially happen.

Solar eclipses cannot be seen from all locations on the earth, at the time of eclipse. Even though the eclipses occur every six months, individuals are less likely to see the solar or lunar eclipse every six months, since where the earth is shadowed moves every six months.  So, unless you are an eclipse chaser, viewing a solar eclipse is not common; and that is not including local weather conditions, which can obscure seeing eclipses.  In the astrology section, I will mention how this fact affects the results of what the solar eclipse triggers.

The area of the moon’s complete shadow is called the area of greatest eclipse.
DO NOT look at a solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

Most solar eclipses are one to three hours in duration, with some preliminary and post shadowing of the outer layers of the sun before and after the eclipse time. Read below to learn how Vedic astrology interprets what this means for you and how long your consciousness is directly and indirectly affected by these events.

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