Aries Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipses demarcate periods of accelerating changes, unexpected twists, significant transitions and the unraveling of old narratives. Since the eclipse on 29 March 2025 is in fiery Aries, a cardinal sign that signifies fast moving events, and also aligned with the North Node of the Moon, a symbol of surging increase, we can expect the associated acceleration of new shifts and changes to ripple through collective and personal dynamics with swifter speed than normal. Although eclipses in cardinal signs like Aries are known for unleashing quick currents of change that disperse and dissipate, there are numerous additional astrological factors indicating that we are only at the beginning of much greater change to come. With the Saturn and Neptune cycle coming to an end in close proximity with the eclipse, with Neptune on the cusp of entering Aries on 30 March, with Saturn close to the North Node of the Moon in Pisces, with both Mercury retrograde and Venus retrograde weaving back and forth between Neptune and Saturn in the same signs as the present eclipse season, there is an unusual mixture of astrological influences intensifying the need for deep reevaluation and reorientation of the past and present, so that we can find and focus upon the optimal direction forward into the unknown.

Solar Eclipses involve the symbolism of night overcoming day with the invisible brought into visibility, including our conscious awareness having to face whatever has been residing within the darkness of our unconscious and memory. Just like in ancient creation stories we can experience a sense of chaos that brings forth creation, and in astrology this symbolism has been imagined as a great chaotic dragon representing the lunar nodes devouring or obscuring solar light. Since the Aries Solar Eclipse is in the vicinity of the North Node of the Moon, it will be the head of the dragon that obscures the solar light rather than completely devours it, for the Sun will be too far from the North Node of the Moon for the light of the Sun to be completely extinguished. The symbolism of the head is important since the head also corresponds to Aries, as well as the fact that the Sun will be eclipsed while occupying the sign where it is exalted. There is reinforcing symbolism of ascending activity, aspirations, and ambitions, while at the same time we may experience an eclipsing of things we previously exalted or idealized. The cardinal and fiery nature of Aries combined with the North Node will amplify hunger for growth and moving quickly in pursuit of the desired direction forward, yet there are also numerous factors that could make this a confusing process.

In collective events, eclipses have an immeasurably long history of correlating with major rises and falls in empires and important changes within large scale power structures and power dynamics, creating a correlation between the symbolism of the solar light being extinguished with a solar authority passing away. This symbolism of solar authorities or celebrated solar stars becoming eclipsed with dramatic rises and falls in fortune will also be intensified due to the Sun being eclipsed in its exaltation. In personal storylines, there is also a likelihood of significant turning points taking place due to the Aries Solar Eclipse being the final eclipse in a sequence of eclipses occurring in the signs of Aries and Libra since 2023. There was an especially powerful Total Solar Eclipse in Aries on 8 April 2024 as well as a Solar Eclipse in the final degree of Aries on 20 April 2023 that could correlate with important personal narratives coming to culmination now. There were solar eclipses in Libra in October 2023 and October 2024 that will also be part of the story.

T.S. Eliot in The Waste Land described April as the “cruellest month” due to the mixture of “memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain” and “breeding lilacs out of the dead land.” Due to recent current events and disruptive political dynamics we can be certain that cruel events will continue to occur on the world stage in April, making it all the more important to make space for noticing the shapes, colors, and smells of whatever flowers are beginning to bud and bloom from the dark soil within. Eclipses often bring an increase of uncertainty as old narratives come to an end while a sense of new future directions arise. However, due the eclipse’s proximity with Saturn and Neptune, we can be at risk of experiencing an overwhelm of uncertainty that can distort perception in unhelpful ways. It will be vital to find your center while you face feelings of uncertainty, rather than trying to escape or deny what is happening. Although the simultaneous transits of Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde can make everything feel extraordinarily intense and disorienting, ultimately the way Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde can bring self realization and act as agents of profound change can be extremely helpful.

The Solar Eclipse at 9°00’ Aries is close to the degree where Mercury stationed retrograde at 9°35’ Aries on 15 March and Venus stationed retrograde at 10°50’ Aries on 1 March. This already links three extraordinary astrological agents of change together (eclipse, Venus retrograde, Mercury retrograde), but the immense change is of much greater magnitude due to Saturn and Neptune ending their cycle near the North Node of the Moon, and Venus and Mercury moving back and forth between Saturn and Neptune as well as Aries and Pisces. There is an especially strong connection between Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde with Neptune, as the closest applying aspect at the time of the eclipse is between Mercury and Neptune, with Mercury retrograde at the very beginning of Aries and Neptune at the very end of Pisces. Incredibly, less than sixteen hours after the Moon forms the eclipse with the Sun by conjunction, Mercury will move backwards into Pisces and form a conjunction with Neptune at the very end of Pisces, just before Neptune makes a dramatic entrance into Aries on 30 March.

Due to Venus retrograde moving backwards into Pisces on 27 March and also forming a conjunction with Neptune, we can all be at risk of having to deal with increased confusion and feelings of disorientation regarding the rapid changes taking shape in the world around us. However, at the same time, the connections between Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde with Neptune at the very end of Pisces, as Neptune prepares to enter Aries for the first time since the second half of the 19th century, brings the opportunity to open awareness to the new dreams and visions of Neptune leaving a sign where it has been for the past fourteen years to enter a sign where we will be experiencing Neptune for the next fourteen years. The combination of Venus retrograde with Mercury retrograde will make it easy to notice what isn’t working and what we want to change, but just as importantly we can work with the transmutational processes of Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde to help us gain clarity for the emerging desires and visions that can illuminate the path forward. It’s likely that many memories from many past relationships and experiences will be emerging to sift through, some of which will be part of what needs to be shed and released and some of which may be part of regenerating newfound purpose.

Also keep in mind that the days surrounding the Aries Solar Eclipse are likely to be the most personally confusing, and that much greater clarity will be coming in the lunar cycle ahead. Due to the extreme influence of Neptune in the days surrounding the eclipse, we may get more of a sense of inner yearning and feeling as well as larger visions rather than clearcut details of planning. In positive ways, however, Neptune can be helpful in opening perception to ideas we had not been able to previously receive through the limits of our perceptual framework. Mercury will station direct just over a week after the eclipse on 7 April, and Venus will station direct at the same time as the upcoming Full Moon in Libra on 12 April. For now, it will be best to make space to go within and explore the mystery of memory and desire mixing and giving shape to new ideas, desires, and visions that can become vital to our purpose and work in the years ahead. It’s also likely that many relationships, ideals, goals, and plans will need to go through a final stage of reevaluation in the weeks ahead, followed by a restructuring and renegotiation as part of renewing commitment. In other cases there may be greater clarity of what needs to end or what we need to fully separate from, or instead what we want to devote ourselves toward.

When Saturn and Neptune come to the end of their cycle to merge as they are now, old reality constructs disintegrate while new forms of vision coagulate out of the dissolution. The meaning of Saturn and Neptune coming together is multivalent with an extremity of differences in corresponding experiences. On one side of it, Saturn will cast a dark shadow over the dreamscape of Neptune, correlating with disillusioning experiences that can be difficult yet also open awareness to deeper truth in the end. On another side of it, the combination of Saturn and Neptune also creates a time to become disciplined in your spiritual practices, serious about your dreams and ideals, and pragmatic in taking action to create the life you wish to live. One of the reasons the Saturn and Neptune cycle is of paramount importance is due to them being the two outermost planets – Saturn has always been significant as the most distant planet we can visibly see in the sky throughout its cycle, whereas Neptune is now considered to be the outermost proper planet now that Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet. In these threshold roles Saturn and Neptune are all about the relationship between the visible and the invisible. They are fundamental to our perception and what we personally and collectively consider to be reality – the visible concrete forms and the multiplicity of invisible influences. The Saturn and Neptune cycle reveals how our collective perception of reality changes across time, as well as how we personally and collectively confront the gap between reality and the ideal.

The increasing fears of the unknown and crises of faith circulating globally resonate with the meaning of Saturn and Neptune coming together into a conjunction that will give birth to a new cycle between them. Though Saturn and Neptune time periods typically shepherd us through a dark night of the soul collectively, extraordinary spiritual insight, soulful resilience, and redemptive movements focused on creating a better world can also be forged out of their fusion. Thus while we can experience epiphanies of divine revelation during periods of Saturn and Neptune, they have also consistently across time coincided with periods of inquisitions and witch hunts. In the face of the dissolution brought by Neptune, Saturn can go to extremes of becoming overly controlling and fixating upon limited conceptions of reality, while judging and persecuting the perceived illusions of others. As a result, it is important to focus more on working with Saturn positively through patiently building and constructing your ideal plans and visions, rather than trying to control others through enforcing your ideals upon them. Liz Greene has connected the work of Arnold Toynbee with the influence of Neptune, through pointing out that the yearning of Neptune for a lost golden age or utopian ideal in times of spiritual uncertainty and moral defeat in a nation may propel citizens to pursue utopian illusions as a substitute for an intolerable present. Fortunately, the combination of Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde with Neptune can be helpful for shedding the ideals and illusions of the past in order to connect more fully with emerging purpose and direction that is rooted in the here and now with all of its complexity.

Since the Aries Solar Eclipse is near the Head of the Dragon, it means it is part of a serpentine North Node eclipse family. Eclipses come in families known as the saros cycle. The origin of their ancestry begins at either the south or north pole and then traces a serpentine path around our world every eighteen or so years, moving ahead eleven degrees of celestial longitude each time. The Aries Solar Eclipse is part of the saros cycle 149, and so you may notice relevant themes occurring that connect with experiences from the last eclipse in this family on 19 March 2007. However, there is something even more extraordinary about this particular eclipse family and the Saturn and Neptune cycle that suggests much larger collective ramifications, as there has been an eclipse in this family during the same years as the past three conjunctions of Saturn and Neptune in 1989, 1953, and 1917 (Saros cycle 149 eclipses occurred on 7 March 1989, 14 February 1953, and 23 January 1917). In addition, the next Solar Eclipse in Virgo on 21 September 2025 is part of a south node eclipse family that also involved eclipses occurring in the same years as the past three Saturn Neptune conjunctions in 1989, 1953, and 1917.

Mars is the lord of the eclipse, adding to the extremity of rises and falls in fortune due to Mars occupying its fall in Cancer. With Mars brought down low into descent in its fall of Cancer, and the Sun being eclipsed in its exaltation of Aries, we could very well witness a surge in activity and movements from people marginalized or lacking access to resources and privileges exalted by the dominant culture. This is all the more likely due to the fact that periods of Saturn and Neptune forming conjunctions often coincide with popular uprisings, revolutions, and insurrections by people who are suffering from limited access to material resources and finally have enough, with the unifying influence of Neptune mobilizing a flood of activity that authorities are unable to resist or control. On a personal level, now that Mars in Cancer is finally generating forward momentum after it’s long retrograde process that began on 6 December 2024, whatever personal transformation and inner shifting coincided with the Mars retrograde period will be part of eclipsing old ideals and letting go of old illusions, especially in terms of things you had previously exalted or put on a pedestal.

Mars in Cancer is separating from a square aspect with Chiron in Aries and applying to a trine aspect with Saturn in Pisces and a sextile aspect with Uranus. The separating square between Mars and Chiron may bring up painful memories or old wounds that need to be released within the vortex of the eclipse, but in helpful ways the influence of Chiron may be guiding you to face inner issues and external dynamics more fully so you can come to greater clarity about what needs to be changed. In this way Chiron may have presented a test that needed to be encountered as part of forging greater courage, determination, and resiliency to embrace the unknown and commit to the path ahead. Less than a week after the eclipse on April 4, Mars in Cancer will form a potent configuration with Saturn in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus that can be helpful for problem solving and generating forward momentum. On April 4, Mars will move through an exact trine with Saturn and an exact sextile with Uranus, with Saturn and Uranus also forming an exact sextile on the same day. The liberating presence of Uranus within the dynamic may bring sudden realizations of how to enact significant solutions to resolve difficulties.

Mars will continue to be an important player within the astrology of the forthcoming lunar cycle, especially given the fact that Mars will finally return to Leo, the sign where Mars previously stationed retrograde, on 17 April and then will finally complete the third and final opposition with Pluto in Aquarius on 26 April. Mars is not only important due to being the lord of the eclipse, but also due to the fact that one day after the eclipse, Neptune will transition from occupying the watery home of Jupiter into the fiery home of Mars.

Neptune in Aries

Neptune enters Aries a day after the eclipse. It’s hard to imagine a more dramatic astrological setting for the entrance of Neptune into Aries, which makes sense since the ingress of Neptune into Aries is an instrumental part of the astrology of the second half of the 2020s that will define a new era of accelerated change and technological innovations. There is a dramatic contrast between Neptune in the fiery sign of Aries and the meaning of Neptune in the watery sign of Pisces, where Neptune has been since February 2012, after having spent four months in Pisces in 2011. While Pisces has an inwardly directed focus on synthesizing meaning and moves with a more leisurely and unrushed pace, the fire of Aries activates quick leaps of forward momentum. Neptune in Aries will stimulate action sourced from inner dreams, encouraging bold movement that turns imaginal ideals into reality. Neptune will enter Aries on 30 March 2025, spending over half of the year in the sign of the Ram before returning for a final sojourn in Pisces from 22 October 2025 until 27 January 2026. After re-entering Aries at the end of January 2026, Neptune will remain in Aries into 2039.

Neptune’s connections with the boundless depths of the imaginal and spiritual dimensions have a potent affinity with the oceanic sign of Pisces. Neptune corresponds with the intangible, the unitive, the numinous, and the mystical, with both the visionary insight as well as confusing fantasies that emerge from the dream realm. Neptune generates dreams, yet the churning of the sea-blue planet’s waves bring dissolution and the disillusionment of the dream’s death just as much as they lift us into the bliss of dream fulfillment. In Pisces, Neptune has been able to dramatically express its archetypal force for both good and ill. There has been a powerful renaissance in occult fields such as astrology and the magical arts since Neptune has been in Pisces, yet the bedazzling illusions of Neptune have also amplified the power of social media and the Internet to distort reality. The boundlessness of Pisces has accentuated the transcendent impact of Neptune, and in positive ways there have been opportunities to dissolve old identities and form new visions of future growth that align with one’s essential creativity. In order to understand what the shift from Neptune in Pisces to Aries will mean for you, it will be helpful to reflect upon your experiences while Neptune has been in Pisces since 2011, noticing how the images you hold of a more fulfilling life have been reshaped in correlation.

Neptune’s impact in astrology can seem subtle as well as confusing, yet it ultimately plays an important role in shaping storylines. The unifying influence of Neptune can fuse our awareness with the inner dream that makes life worth living, as well as erode our sense of separation from others as we become swept up in group identities and collective movements. The watery nature of Pisces has intensified the way Neptune dissolves old sources of security and draws us into inner soul searching from which visionary images of future possibility may emerge. As Neptune shifts from Pisces to Aries, spirited sparks of inspiration will galvanize action and focus the imaginal fire of the mind on targets like a spear thrust by Athena. The blazing heat of Aries combined with its cardinal nature will embolden the imaginal force of Neptune, motivating quick movement toward idealized dreams of progress and potential. Neptune in Aries will light inner fire, making us more likely to initiate change with impulsive speed. Rather than cautiously refraining from making a full commitment to the changes required in turning a dream into reality, there will be more of a tendency to instinctually take action to make something happen.

Although Neptune in the fiery home of Mars will provide greater impetus to take action in pursuit of idealized dreams, we will need to be more mindful than ever of the illusory side of Neptune. The wish fulfillment of Neptune will catch fire in Aries and so the visions of change we set into motion can spread quickly like wildfire. Neptune’s time in Pisces has already been teaching us lessons in being careful of what you wish for, but the more you can become clear about what you truly desire to achieve and the associated long-term consequences, the better you will be able to navigate the dramatic threshold of Neptune moving back and forth in between Pisces and Aries in 2025 and 2026. There will be a noticeable difference in the speed of Neptune’s process in Aries that may feel exciting, but we will need to be mindful of the repercussions of what we wish for and set our minds to accomplishing.

It’s significant that in some strands of ancient thought, fire is the base substance of the cosmos and the element that initiates and sustains creation. Out of all four of the elements in astrology, fire is the element that rises to the summit of celestial heights and is most strongly associated with spirit and divine inspiration. Just like flames ascend to the heavens above, so can the element of fire inspire yearning to merge with the divine. As a result, the celestial luminosity kindled by Neptune in Aries will elevate some to heights of religious ecstasy, spiritual insight, and imaginal revelation. Yet many will also risk becoming inflated by the heat of inner fire, dogmatic in their beliefs, and unwilling to consider other perspectives. Fire requires fuel to consume or risks burning out, so it will be important to be mindful of what you are using to feed the cosmic fire of Neptune in Aries in order to stay grounded.

However, the biggest factor making Neptune’s entrance into Aries unusually important will be the presence of Saturn after Saturn enters Aries on 24 May 2025. Saturn and Neptune will then remain together in Aries during 2025 from 25 May until 1 September, with Saturn getting as close as thirteen arc minutes away from Neptune on 13 July. Saturn and Neptune will ultimately complete their thirty-six year cycle by coming into an exact conjunction at 00°45’ Aries on 21 February 2026, but their close proximity during 2025 will effectively feel like a conjunction. During June, July, and August of 2025, we will collectively experience a strange fusion of the disparate natures of Saturn and Neptune mixed together in Aries. Because the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune is taking place at zero degrees of Aries, we can expect to experience an amplified increase of their combined meaning in 2025 and 2026.

However, during the period of Neptune entering Aries on 30 March until Saturn eventually enters Aries on 24 May, we will have an initial experience of adjusting to Neptune alone in Aries without the presence of Saturn. It’s well known in the USA that the last time Neptune entered Aries in 1861 coincided with the beginning of the Civil War. Although the transit of Neptune in Pisces correlated with the rising tensions and escalating events that led to the beginning of the American Civil War, Neptune entered Aries the day after the first shots of the war were fired and the vast majority of the rest of the war was fought with Neptune in Aries. Fitting the freedom-oriented symbolism of Neptune in Aries, the violent upheaval of the Civil War ultimately led to the abolishment of slavery in the United States. The Civil War was also significant due to exposing the horrors of industrial warfare, as well as the fact that the gruesome, massive deaths of the war were documented by photography for the first time. As Neptune relates archetypally to the power and symbolic depth of the image, it is significant that images increased public awareness of the bloody, horrific, and soul-wrenching consequences of industrial warfare for the first time with Neptune in the fiery domicile of Mars.

The US Civil War is not the only example of divisive wars erupting during previous transits of Neptune in Aries, as there are far too many examples throughout documented history to cite. For example, the Second Peloponnesian War between ancient Sparta and Athens took place during a Neptune in Aries transit. Yet focusing on war is far too simplistic symbolism for the immense creative potency of Neptune in Aries. The multivalence of Neptune in Aries throughout history has corresponded with civil unrest, divisions, and great schisms, but it has also consistently correlated with a shattering of status quo beliefs and breakthrough innovations and reforms that overturn previous orthodoxy. Previous examples such as the heliocentric revolution of Copernicus and Newton’s groundbreaking optical theories also reveal how Neptune in Aries has consistently correlated with revelations of central organizing principles overturning previous ruling principles of reality. It’s also important to keep in mind that Neptune will not only be occupying the domicile of Mars, but also the exaltation of the Sun, and that the immense creativity of Aries can lead to numerous creative breakthroughs and innovations in our personal work.

For now, however, in a time of fast moving events set off by the Aries Solar Eclipse, it will important to find your center as Neptune enters Aries since there will be increasing impetus to act and take direct action within the rising tides of massive change. The divine image of Hephaistos or any other artisan blacksmith or goldsmith will be helpful to use as a daimonic guide while Neptune is in Aries. A cunning smith uses the spirit of fire to forge metal, manipulating and shaping alloys into new forms through creativity and inspired imagination. As Neptune and Saturn enter Aries together in 2025 and unite in 2026, we will have the opportunity to participate in the molding of important new structures that can help bring a sense of stability to the tumultuous collective times we will be living through. Take the time and space needed to clarify your dreams and ideals so that you may direct the celestial luminosity of Neptune in Aries into the work and purpose that will bring you true fulfillment and satisfaction.

Aries 1 Decan

The Sun in its exaltation of Aries will be eclipsed by the Moon in the first decan of Aries associated with the Two of Wands arcanum illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. The eclipse is taking place in the final degree of the decan, near the border of the Sun and Moon transitioning from the first decan of Aries into the second. The image of a conquering figure holding a globe, piercing the expanse of the horizon with his gaze is fitting for a decan steeped in will power, as he seems intent on enacting his vision upon reality and expanding his influence. The ambitious confidence of the image is fitting for the meaning of the first decan of Aries because it is the face of Mars. While the figure in the image appears self assured and full of conviction, the exalted Sun becoming eclipsed speaks to the necessity of embracing uncertainty and questioning the underlying motivation behind longterm goals. Acting with self-determination within the fast moving events unleashed by the eclipse will be important, yet it will be even more important to avoid hubris and self-righteously forcing one’s way obstinately. It will be helpful to make space for coming to terms with the way inner processes of change and the eclipsing of old ideals can bring guidance for navigating the immense external changes reshaping the greater world.

Indeed, although T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets described that a typical takeaway from drawing the Two of Wands is to “seize your courage” and enact “a bold plan of action,” she also raised two pertinent questions that resonate with the relationship between the Two of Wands and the eclipse: “Are you becoming who you mean to be? Are you acting based on who you are, or on who you would like to be?” Since Neptune will also enter the first decan of Aries on 30 March, it’s further important to keep in mind that we are only at the beginning of a long transit of Neptune in the first decan of Aries that will last until March of 2030.

Austin Coppock in 36 Faces ascribed the symbol of “The Axe” to the first decan of Aries, as it has a long association with fierce figures such as in the Liber Hermetis where the face reveals a man “standing on feet like claws” and “holding above his head a double-sided axe with both hands.” Similarly, Henrich Cornelius Agrippa in Three Books of Occult Philosophy wrote that within the first face of Aries “rises the likeness of a black man, standing dressed in white and girded. [He has] a large body, red eyes, and great strength, and [appears] as if angry; this images signifies and is made for boldness, strength, loftiness, and immodesty.” Coppock rooted the fierce symbolism of “The Axe” in it being “the primordial splitter” that creates the division necessary for growth, as “cosmologies begin with the sundering of the One.”

While Coppock described “The Axe” as a magical tool essential for the use of the first face of Aries in “breaking bonds which no longer serve” and bringing “subjective order to the world” through “taming the environment,” he also noted it is a face of raw, unfiltered, and untamed willpower that can evoke the “tyrannical spirit of the infant.” As it is a decan focused upon “the will pressing reality to conform with its pattern,” its strength lies in the personal power of an “unrestrained will” and “the individual yang struggling out of the collective yin.” Yet Coppock also warned of “a tendency in this decan to try to do too much with force alone,” quickly accumulating karmic debts and destructive opponents.

Due to the disorienting confusion that can come from eclipses, and the fact that Neptune will enter the first decan of Aries a day after the eclipse, we need to consider how and why we intend to wield its penetrative potency externally and internally. While the martial ambition found in this face can be linked with empire builders who wish to amass immense power and control, its primordial fire is also what brings the inspiration and foresight required to throw off the shackles of empire and insist on liberation. Rather than blindly chasing ambitious ideals and focusing on dominating others with your willpower, consider how to empower yourself to pursue your core purpose with martial force that also helps you cultivate greater skill while inspiring others to do the same.

Looking for guidance in relation to the present astrology and your life? Book an astrology consultation with me here.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron!

References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Greene, Liz. (2000). The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption. Weiser.