Eclipses 2021 Season 1 — Annular Solar Eclipse in Gemini — the Mercurial Doppelganger

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As summer approaches and the Sun intensifies its power, the dragon crawls closer and closer to it, ready to swallow its light. Its jaws prepare to inhale the evil fumes that are going to rise up with a rebel yell from the Earth.

And its coils loosen up to grab Mercury and its metal in their grip, to corrode it. What forces are going to be unleashed? And why Mercury is involved in this cosmic event?

In this article we are going to talk about the upcoming Annular Solar Eclipse, taking place at 19° 47′ Gemini on June 10th, 2021. We are going to deepen its meaning talking about the lunar nodes and the eclipse ruler.

And we are also going to tackle the shadow aspect of Mercury, and the ways it could manifest through a so called Mercurial Doppelganger. This is going to be the second and last eclipse of season 1. Let’s check it out.

The Sun in Gemini

During a Solar Eclipse it is the masculine principle of the Sun to be obscured. This type of event always happens during a New Moon, which is by definition the beginning of the monthly cycle established by Nature. This is why a Solar Eclipse highly focuses on the human will. In fact not only the will is about taking action by starting a new cycle, but it is also an expression of the masculine archetype.

So what about Gemini? How does this zodiac sign express action and will? One way of looking at signs that we find in modern astrology is to associate each one of them with a specific task. It’s by accomplishing their task that the signs contribute to the overall economy of the Universe. Hence, in order to answer to this question, we can ask ourselves: what’s Gemini’s task?

Gemini’s task is about creating connection. Or in other words, putting very different realities in communication with each other to create a network, a web. This is the way this sign is capable of expressing action and will on the Earth.

When we are in need we all know how important it is to have contacts that open the right doors for us. And the benefits we get from dealing with people with very different points of view from ours are endless. This is what Gemini is all about: creating opportunities for change and exchange of goods and ideas.

A North Node Eclipse

Now that we have a better understanding about the way the masculine principle works through Gemini we can focus on the lunar nodes. As you may know the eclipses always fall on one of the nodes. They are the points of intersection between the orbit of the Moon and the apparent path of the Sun in the sky (the ecliptic). In other words the Sun, the Moon and the Earth can be perfectly aligned only when the luminaries are sitting on one of the nodes. Otherwise we would have an eclipse every month!

This is going to be a North Node eclipse. In medieval astrology the nodes were called the Head and Tail of the Dragon, respectively. This because the imaginative content of an eclipse corresponds to a dragon devouring all the sunlight, bringing darkness and terror on the Earth. When this happens all nature freezes, waiting for this horrible and sudden event to be over. In fact we need to remember that eclipses are events associated with sudden and unexpected changes.

The North Node is the Head of the Dragon and was considered somehow similar to a “little Jupiter”. This because similarly to Jupiter, it has the tendency to increase and expand things. But we don’t have here to make the mistake of associating growth and expansion to positive things only. After all even an explosion falls under this definition, and yet it is not usually a very good thing, right?

The Eclipse Meaning

Now that we have all the pieces of information we need, let’s try to understand the meaning of this eclipse. Sudden and unexpected events are going to happen (solar eclipse, the will) expanding and growing things rapidly (North Node) compulsively and instinctively (the dragon). And all this not necessarily for the good, since an eclipse always contains a shadow aspect.

We can add that these events are going to have the nature of Gemini. They might be about getting to know new people, or expanding our network of acquaintances. Or they might have to do with your job, if you are working in typically Gemini fields such as journalism, public transport, commerce and retail. They might also concern our neighbors or siblings, especially brothers and sisters.

Mercury as the Lord of the Eclipse

This eclipse is going to involve its ruler Mercury in an extraordinary way. First of all, an eclipse is always ruled by the planet which (by definition) rules the sign of the event. The eclipse falls in Gemini, and being Gemini ruled by Mercury this planet is going to be its ruler as well.

As you can see in the chart above, Mercury is going to be in a tight conjunction with the Sun and the Moon at the time of the eclipse. More specifically Mercury is going to be at 20° 41′ Gemini, with the Sun and the Moon at 19° 47′. It’s less than a degree! On top of that we already know from previous articles that Mercury is currently retrograde. As you can see this is a very rare and peculiar situation.

But what’s the meaning of this conjunction? First of all Mercury is literally in front of the Sun and the Moon (I’ve highlighted the position of Mercury with a red dot, in the picture below). Technically, this is called an inferior conjunction because Mercury is placed between the Sun and the Earth. Whereas in a superior conjunction, Mercury would be beyond the Sun. This is a very interesting scenario because it means that not only the Moon, but also Mercury is going filter through the energies of the Sun.

The Mercurial Doppelganger
Shadow of Mercury

Now, in astrology when the Sun is so close to a planet we say that “it burns it”. Or, to use a more appropriate terminology, that the planet is in combustion. Combustion is a debilitating condition for a planet, and it’s easy to understand why. But since the Sun is in a sign ruled by Mercury, and being Mercury in Gemini strong, this debility is counterbalanced. On top of that, both the light and power of the Sun are weaker because of the eclipse. And this is going to release Mercury even more from the combustion.

This means that as the lord of the eclipse, Mercury is going to be strong enough to influence it with its qualities. Following this rationale, we can be more specific about the kind of human will that is going to be affected by the eclipse.

We are talking here about the Shadow of Mercury—the bad sides and qualities of the planet. If we imagined these qualities as a person we would have the image of a so called Mercurial Doppelganger.

The Mercurial Doppelganger is the thief, the con artist, the liar. It is associated with the capital vice of Envy. It lives and manifests inside of us when we tease others with a grin. This Doppelganger is about cunning aimed at doing evil. And since Mercury is also making a square with Neptune in the eclipse chart, we can say that deception is definitely part of the equation.

Rudolf Steiner explained that during a Solar Eclipse the soul substance of will infused with evil is expelled out in the cosmos. We can think about this will specifically in this terms, because every eclipse is different according to the zodiac sign in which it falls.

The Eclipse in the Natal Chart

As always, in order to see if and how the eclipse is going to affect you please check 19° 47′ Gemini in your Natal Chart. The effect of the eclipse depends on the astrological house involved, especially if any planet is being hit. I use a 1° orb, so check any planet from 18° 47′ to 20° 47′ Gemini.

As we said the eclipse is going to bring sudden and unexpected events of an expansive (or explosive) nature, colored by a compulsive and instinctual behavior. These instincts have the nature of Mercury and may involve a Mercurial Doppelganger as described above.

Since the event happens during Mercury retrograde, I’d like to point out that confronting the shadow is always a good opportunity for inner work. We can become more aware of our projections, to process unresolved issues that might come back to visit us.

Most Affected Locations

In Mundane Astrology we use both Astrocartography and the eclipse path to determine where the eclipse is going to be stronger. Astrocartography can show us where in the world the event is going to take place on one of the angles: Ascendant (red line), Descendant (yellow line), Midheaven (green line) and Imum Coeli (light blue line). These spots are the most powerful in any astrological chart, and this is why we want to check them out.

We are also going to combine the information in the chart above with the actual path of the eclipse, that is where the event is going to be visible. Here’s the path as provided by TimeAndDate.com:

As you can see luckily for us the eclipse is very close to the North Pole. Nevertheless Canada is involved as well as Northern Europe, albeit in a lighter way. This is going to be the last eclipse in Gemini, we are going to have them back in nine years.

Thanks for reading, as always if you enjoyed this article please subscribe to the Astronomicon Newsletter with the bar at the top of the website to receive weekly updates about the upcoming eclipses. Eclipse season 1 is over, season 2 is going to start on November 19, 2021. Thanks again and remember to be awake and aware during the event!