There will be a solar, or New Moon, eclipse in the sign of Leo on the morning of August 12, 2026 at 10:38 AM. A New Moon occurs when the Moon in its orbit around Earth arrives at the exact zodiacal degree where the Sun is traveling. When both the Sun and Moon are close to the Moon’s nodes – these are invisible points where the Moon’s orbit intersects with Earth’s orbit around the Sun—that’s an eclipse. The closer the Sun and Moon are to the Moon’s nodes, the fuller the eclipse. The August 12 lunation will be a total eclipse, with the Moon in Leo passing between the Sun and Earth. The eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland and parts of Europe.
For ancient cultures, an eclipse was a fearsome event, an abrupt disruption of life when the sky turned dark and wildlife went silent. Eclipses were understood to correlate with natural disasters and political upheavals. Over time, ancient priest-mathematicians tracked the regularity of eclipse cycles, and these cycles became a cornerstone of astronomy-astrology, long a unified science.
Astrologically, the nodes of the Moon are degree points in a pair of opposite signs that shift backward through the zodiac at 18-month intervals. For millennia, astrologers of various stripes have interpreted the meanings of the nodes as symbols of collective and individual destiny, past and future.
At the August 12 lunation, the Sun and Moon at 20 degrees of Leo will meet up with the Moon’s south, or descending, node, symbolizing what is past.
This south node of the Moon represents ways of being that are familiar, like default settings. A south node eclipse may highlight something for each of us that we are now ready to release.
Usually, one thinks of a New Moon as a time to set one’s intentions and goals for the coming month. But especially during an eclipse, it is best to wait a couple of days to start something new. During an eclipse, one might feel the celestial energies to be so intense that simple relaxation and contemplation is advised.
As for the sign of the August 12 eclipse, Leo is our fixed (stable) sign of the fire element, its totem, the Lion. Leo’s “glyph,” or icon, is a little circle with an upward moving loop and a tail, looking like a lion’s pompadour and mane. A Leonine personality might be dramatic, glamorous, passionate, uniquely creative, playful, and romantic—and that might sound like Leo isn’t a serious sign, which isn’t true. To be lion-hearted is to be courageous. The Latin root word cour means heart. “Ruled,” or guided, by the Sun, the style of Leo is to be generous and fiercely loyal.
At this New Moon, there will be a stellium in Leo. That’s when three or more planets are traveling in the same sign. Jupiter (expansiveness) is in Leo for about a year. And currently, the fast-moving planet Mercury (the mind, commerce, traveling) is moving toward a conjunction with Jupiter in Leo (August 15). That makes this year’s Leo New Moon time optimal for focusing on creative (Leo) projects in mercurial realms of learning, research, writing, storytelling and the like.
With any chart for an event like a New or Full Moon, we look at what else is going on in the ever-changing relationships between the planets. These are called transits. How long a transit is in play depends on the varying speeds of the planets’ orbits around the Sun. Mercury’s conjunction with Jupiter will be a quickie because Mercury travels close to the Sun and, like the Sun, moves about one degree (of a 360-degree circle) per day. Other transits are slower and understood symbolically to be stronger in correlating with human events on Earth.
Two transits will be prominent the time of the August 12 solar eclipse, and forgive me for the technical language here.
One is a rare phenomenon called a mystic rectangle formed, at this time, by four planets (Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and Pluto) aligned in two harmonious aspects (trines and sextiles) simultaneous with two oppositions. This aspect can be described as heightened tension accompanied, paradoxically, by opportunities for talented solution-making to shine through. One might think of something in one’s own life that seems like an intractable challenge but where there’s also some obvious grace in a potential way out.
Also on August 12, the planet Mars (assertive action) will have just entered the nurturing sign of Cancer. Mars doesn’t go easy through Cancer because Mars is a force for assertive action and the style of Cancer tends toward caution. In the days following the eclipse, Mars will be moving into a tense, 90-degree square aspect with Venus (partnerships of all sorts) and Neptune (dreams and altruism). Mars as the focal planet, 90 degrees from two others, is called a t-square. One might feel pressure to act decisively (Mars) in Cancerian ways of taking care of the emotions of oneself and others.
All of this is to emphasize that there’s never just one thing happening in the Sky. To the extent that astrology is useful, it’s not because any planet is making anything happen on Earth. Astrology works by synchronicity, as correlation: as above, so below. The planets are symbolic forces, ever-moving and changing in their patterns with each other. They play together like a grand symphony, treating an audience attuned to hear them to a full display of their beauty.
Blessings for the Leo New Moon eclipse!
~ Sara
Sara R. Diamond, an astrologer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a life-long student and practitioner in several esoteric paths. Her style of astrology combines modern-psychological astrology with insights from traditional astrology. Sara is also an estate planning attorney. In addition, she has published four books on right-wing movements in the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. You are invited to contact Sara via her website at www.SaraDiamondAstrology.com.
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