Mark Your Calendars Now: These Will Be The Retrogrades & Eclipses Of 2021

Eclipses happen four to six times a year, bringing sudden changes and turning points to our lives. If you've been stuck in indecision about an issue, an eclipse forces you to act. Unexpected circumstances can arise and demand a radical change of plans.

Truths and secrets explode into the open. Things that aren't "meant to be" are swept away without notice. Shocking as their delivery can be, eclipses help open up space for the new.

The ancients used to hide from eclipses and viewed them as omens or bearers of disruptive change. And who could blame them? They planted, hunted, fished, and moved by the cycles of nature and the stars. While the modern astrological approach is not fear-based, we must still respect the eclipses' power.

There are two types of eclipses—solar and lunar.

A solar eclipse takes place when the new moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, shadowing the Sun. The effect is like a spiritual power outage—a solar eclipse either makes you feel wildly off-center, or your mind becomes crystal clear.

The effects of an eclipse can usually be felt for three to five days before and after the event (some astrologers say eclipses can announce themselves a month before or after, too). Expect the unexpected, and wait for the dust to settle before you act on any eclipse-fueled impulses.

In 2021, there will be four eclipses. We'll complete a series on the communicative Gemini/Sagittarius axis that began on June 5, 2020. Themes of travel, community, neighborhoods, schools, and socializing have been shaken and stirred since these eclipses arrived shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic caused countries to close their borders and governments to mandate lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders. In 2021, these lunar events will bring more of Gemini's "hybrid" style to the way we commune and commute, learn, and earn.

Economic reform is afoot later in the year, when November sparks up a new Taurus/Scorpio eclipse series, spanning until October 2023. Show me the...crypto? The birth of a new financial system could appear, along with new ways of balancing our material and spiritual realities.

You've heard the hype about retrogrades—but what are they, really?

When a planet passes the Earth in its journey around the Sun, it's said to be going retrograde. From our vantage point on Earth, it is almost as if the planet is moving in reverse. This is an illusion, but it's a bit like two trains passing at different speeds—one appears to be going backward.

When a planet goes retrograde (for a few weeks, or sometimes even months), everything that falls under its jurisdiction can go a bit haywire. Survival tip: Think of the prefix "re-" and review, reunite, reconnect, research. Retrogrades aren't the best times to begin something new, but they can be stellar phases for tying up loose ends or giving a stalled mission a second chance.

Want to know what the stars have in store for your relationships in 2021? Register now to join the AstroTwins for their FREE Relationship Revolution Webinar.