Total Solar Eclipse at 24° Cancer in Ashlesha Nakshatra.
August 12, 2026
(9:58 a.m. – 11:34 a.m. PT). On the threshold of the emerging self.
An eclipse means we are at a turning point, and new insights are coming. The tension is between what is familiar (but not entirely healthy) and that which is emerging (but is not yet embodied or familiar).
There is potential for a major release of old patterns (Ashlesha the Snake), and stepping away from old roles (represented by Magha).
The Sun and Moon will meet at the end of sidereal Cancer, (conjunct over gandanta zone) with Ketu (South Node) in Magha Nakshatra. This event will be accompanied by exalted Jupiter and Mercury – making it a complete conjunction of 3 sattvic (happy) planets.
Hidden truths or challenges surfacing, especially for the “kings” and rulers, since the Sun rules government and Ketu (the cutter) is there. Sun also rules our vitality, heart, backbone, confidence, and energy. This will be blocked by Ketu and can diminish its functions too.
At a total solar eclipse, light energy is weakened, and darkness briefly increases. Rahu (the North Node) is gain and attraction, Ketu (the South Node) is loss and repulsion. This eclipse is aligned with Ketu – which wants to cut and liberate.
Ketu is occultism, witchcraft, magic and spirituality; compulsive and unconscious behaviors, mental illness, fears, nightmares, addiction, bad habits, poisons, parasites and theft.
New Moon in Hasta
Oct 10, 2026 (8:50 am PT)
The New Moon arrives this weekend in Virgo — known in Vedic astrology as Kanya, the sign of the Earth Goddess. She is the Virgin with her harvest basket, the pure yet fertile embodiment of the Earth Mother.
This lunation we are invited to remember Gaia: grounded, discerning, and quietly abundant.
This Amavasya (new-moon tithi) draws the Sun, Moon, and Mercury together in Virgo. Their conjunction creates a potent mental and practical reset — a time when clarity of thought meets the desire to refine, organize, and serve.
Now until New Moon the fortnight of the ancestors continues… have you been dreaming about departed love ones
A special blessing to removes blockages in love, creativity and prosperity is upon us.
Navratri,the nine nights of the Goddess, will begin on Oct. 11 with heart-centered Venus is retrograde.
Venus Retrograde brings desire, self-worth, and relationships into focus, while Navratri invokes the deeper power of Shakti—the life energy that heals and transforms. Together, they make this a potent time to reclaim what is yours, express what has been silenced, and come back to your inner truth.
The New Moon on October 10 (8:50 am PT) ignites a powerful cycle of spiritual growth.
Venus, the goddess of love and fulfillment, is retrograde, retracing her steps and returning to her source, as the sacred seeds of the goddess begin to take root.
The 9 nights of the Goddess, Navratri (Oct. 11–20), invoke the wise, fierce, and protective powers of the Divine Mother. This is a precious opportunity to transform blockages in love, money or creativity, and reclaim your life force.
Join the upcoming Venus Retrograde Horoscope class to see how this cycle is unfolding in your chart. The class includes a special focus on the goddesses of Navratri, with a specific Navadurga for each of the 12 Vedic signs. Sign up for the live class.
This New Moon falls in Hasta Nakshatra, in sidereal Virgo, or Kanya, a sign associated with the maiden, Mother Earth, and the goddess. Hasta means “hand” and is connected with healing arts, fine skills, and our ability to communicate, create, and lend a helping hand to others.
Know your Vedic Birth Star? Calculate yours and get a free guide.
Lord of Karma, Saturn casts an aspect onto this Virgo New Moon, adding a tone of seriousness and realism to situations and issues. Saturn brings awareness to what isn’t working and where boundaries have been crossed, helping us to take responsibility for patterns that keep repeating.
This is especially meaningful during Venus retrograde, when inherited ideas about self-worth, love, and femininity come into focus. The recent outcry over sexual assault allegations at Cornell University sharply highlights questions of consent, women’s safety, and institutional accountability—issues that are neither new nor isolated. Venus retrograde uncovers what is buried, hushed and suppressed in our hearts.
Approximately every eight years, Venus goes retrograde at nearly the same degree of the Zodiac. Reflect on what was happening in your life eight years ago. Is there a similar theme returning? How have your needs and boundaries changed since then?
The time of Navratri offers a sacred cauldron for this inner work. Through mantra, meditation, and ritual, the nourishing and transformative power of the Divine Mother is growing. My upcoming Live Venus Retrograde Horoscopes and Navratri class explores this intersection in depth and also previews critical astrological alignments through the end of this year.
