This solar eclipse will be exact at 19 degrees and 46 minutes of Gemini on 06.10.2021 at 3:52 a.m. PT/ 6:52 a.m. ET/ 11:52 a.m UK

A solar eclipse is similar to a new moon in that the sun and moon are at the same degree of the Zodiac at the same time. During an ordinary new moon, the brilliance of the sun's rays obscures our view of the moon. Symbolically, that marks the beginning of a cycle. The vitality of spirit represented by the sun overtakes the physicality and emotionality of the body represented by the moon. We tend to have less energy for a few days during a new moon, then pick up steam with renewed vigor when the moon becomes visible once again. Astrologers commonly use the new moon phase for intention-setting, because the connection with spirit and vision is stronger at the same time that the physical and emotional capacity to act is relatively dormant or hidden.

However, during a solar eclipse, the already darkened moon obscures the light of the sun. Symbolically, a low-energy physical and emotional state temporarily cuts off our ability to see that energizing source of life, beginning a considerably more challenging cycle than usual. So eclipses, unlike new moons, are not great times for intention-setting. They are times to hunker down, to take care and to see what happens.

This solar eclipse in Gemini is conjunct the North Node of the moon. The North Node is also known as the mythical Rahu in the Vedic tradition: a dragon's head severed from it's body, he is ravenous and insatiable, always wanting more. This feeling of need due to persistent emptiness colors our experience of this eclipse.

With the light obscured, we can't exactly see (nor predict) what this fabled beast will compel us to take in-- though knowing which house in your natal chart contains Gemini can provide some clues.

Add to this the fact that the planetary ruler of this Gemini lunation is Mercury-- who  is currently retrograde, hidden beneath the beams of the sun, and squared to Neptune-- and we amplify the confusion by a factor of at least three.

This eclipse occurs in the second decan of Gemini, a portion wherein opposing polarities exist side by side, neither favored above the other. Pulled in every direction at once, a walking contradiction, or the embodiment of duality.

There is likely to be some element of misrepresentation of the truth in this lunation, whether intentional or unintentional. With so many factors at play in this lunation chart working to obscure what is really going on, perhaps the wisest approach here is to accept that one must wait patiently to truly understand the events that are born from this eclipse. However, since Rahu represents the opposite of patient waiting, the compulsion to react impulsively will be strong.

This high degree of mental activity, of endlessly comparing options, combined with the inability to know, multiplied by the insatiable hunger of never-enough, is great for creating anxiety. Neptune is associated with anxiety because Neptune represents the imagination, and anxiety is a negative version of imagination. Use this knowledge to your advantage at this time by choosing to implement your imagination for things that help ease your fears, such as comforting music, art, and stories. If you have concocted a narrative that provokes self-hatred or a fear of the future, try balancing that out by writing another narrative that treats the same topics with as much positivity as the scary ones were negative. You've often heard that you are not your thoughts. This is a great time to experience that truth by showing yourself you can think anything.

As the deeply inspiring astrologer Caroline Casey writes, "imagination lays the tracks for the reality train to follow." Use your imagination intentionally to create realities you want, rather than allowing your worst fears to become self-fulfilling prophecies.

That said, I would advise avoiding beginning anything important on this day if you can. Even better, wait until the next normal lunation on 6/24/2021, after Mercury has stationed direct.

The last lunation, the lunar eclipse in Sagittarius, had us letting go of some old beliefs or world-views. This solar eclipse has us contemplating all of the possibilities for discovery now that we've let that go. Sit with what comes up, write about it, contemplate it. You've got plenty of time to take action in the next several months, once the fog has lifted and we can see the terrain ahead more clearly.