The map of your life known as your natal chart presents a fascinating diagram of the path you are taking to invent your future. Your birth chart comes packed with potential—your career choices, dreams, education, family, partnerships, socializing preferences, soul purposes, and any number of goals that capture your attention during life's journey. All you have to do is go with the flow and let the people, circumstances, and lessons you have chosen unfold. Of course, this process takes years to materialize with a bit of help from the steady influence of transiting planets that travel the skies, making aspects and creating relationships with your natal planets. Along with planetary movement, each year four to six eclipses of the Sun and Moon occur in pairs, creating new conditions in your life if the degree of the eclipse comes in close contact with one of your natal planets, points, or house cusps. While some years won't be exceptionally eventful, you will experience a number of changes when a year's eclipses highlight your chart.

How Eclipses Work
Solar eclipses occur at the time of the New Moon, while lunar eclipses fall during the Full Moon. The solar eclipse New Moon occurs in the same astrological sign that is currently transiting Earth, while the lunar eclipse Full Moon falls in the opposite sign. The house in which the solar eclipse occurs defines the department of life that needs attention and is likely to undergo change. Variables are significant, and it takes professional interpretation to understand the scope of the upcoming changes. The most profound effect takes place when the solar eclipse creates a conjunction, meaning it is right on top of the planet, within 1–5 degrees of that planet's degree. Another intense condition occurs when a lunar eclipse opposes one of your planets and highlights situations that need your attention. If the eclipse is both conjunct to a planet in your chart and opposite another, you might have your work cut out for you! The kind of work depends upon the house and the nature of the planets affected. In this article we focus on examples of how eclipses trigger major career activity.

The 2013 Eclipses and Your Job
A challenging component of chart analysis is taking a look at the level of impact the current eclipses are generating and interpreting the possible outcomes for clients. In 2013, five eclipses occur. Four different astrological signs (two in Scorpio) cover the 2013 eclipse dates as indicated below. Consult with your astrologer to see if your chart has planets or house cusps at these degrees.

April 25, 05° Scorpio 51', Partial Lunar Eclipse
May 9, 19° Taurus 33', Annular Solar Eclipse
May 25, 03° Sagittarius 58', Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
October 18, 25° Aries 51', Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
November 3, 11° Scorpio 16', Total Solar Eclipse

Career information appears in every house in your chart. In varying levels of importance, planets and their aspects describe what fulfills you in your career and work life. In the natural zodiac, solar houses start with Aries on the first house cusp and end with Pisces on the cusp of the twelfth house. In this scheme, the two Scorpio eclipses occur in the natural eighth house, while the Taurus eclipse occurs in the second house, the Sagittarius in the ninth, and the Aries in the first house. Normally houses that relate to your career or job include the second house of income; the fifth house of entrepreneurial undertakings or self-employment; the sixth house of daily work environment; the seventh house of partners and cooperative ventures; the eighth house of new income streams and partnership assets; the ninth house of moving out of the area for a new job or studying advanced subjects to qualify for a new position; the tenth house of ambition, career, and authorities that influence your status; and the eleventh house of employer compensation, which includes salary and benefits package as well as awards. Your individual chart drives the location of eclipses. If you have planets in any of these houses and the eclipses make a strong connection to them, your work life is likely to change.

When Eclipses Come Calling: Case Studies
Recent eclipse activity affected my clients in diverse ways. Be on the lookout for similarities in your own career path.

For nearly two years, Client A had major eclipse hits bouncing back and forth between his sixth house, where Mercury and Uranus were in residence, and his twelfth house. The climate in the workplace was edgy. Disruption became the norm, while erratic activity replaced the steady stream of work, hinting that a shakeup was in the works. The company relied on funded contracts to guarantee employment for the workforce. Client A had been instrumental in securing contracts in the past, but the state of the national economy led to reduced funding. Select employees experienced layoffs, and a dismal outlook prevailed. When an eclipse hit sixth house Mercury, a major contract came through for my client and the race was on to re-hire more staff, including some of those who had lost their jobs. Within two weeks, another eclipse exactly opposed Uranus from the twelfth house, and my client broke his arm (the sixth house also relates to health). He adjusted to one-handed pecking on his computer in the midst of a high demand cycle. A few days later—Uranus also being the bearer of surprising windfalls—the company CEO rewarded him a new position.

Client B spent several months dealing with temporary bosses after her much-revered employer retired. A new authority pattern opened up after her tenth house cusp had a direct hit from a solar eclipse. During the next round of eclipses, Jupiter (expansion, prosperity) in her tenth house had an eclipse conjunction followed by an opposition eclipse two weeks later from Saturn in her fourth house (home, family). Finally, after adapting to the management styles of three other executives, a new candidate emerged to fill the position. "The boss from Hell" became my client's "permanent" reward. She soon realized that her polished skills and open communication style were not attractive to her new boss, who coveted every bit of information and hoarded it, gave no direction regarding his expectations, and kept his office door tightly closed. Within a month, my client lost her job and was unable to find a new one for nearly a year. Lack of income forced her to move in with her parents while she continued to search for employment. A third eclipse brought new options and a desirable position within two months. Although her salary fell below the level she desired, her reputation for being a top producer brought her new recognition and a hefty bonus within six months.

An example of how an eclipse may influence the decision to retire from the work world took place when Client C experienced an eclipse on Venus and Saturn in her eighth house of investments and assets. A study team examined her company’s benefits package to cut operating costs. As a result, management decided to phase out certain benefits within three years, advising employees who were nearing 65 that they could retire early with a buyout package or stay until 65. However, the company stated that they would no longer pay into the pension fund of employees who stayed beyond age 65.

When my client came to me for a consultation, we looked at the big picture—she really wanted to stay in the work world until she was 70 and had no desire to draw Social Security benefits until then, preferring to stay employed. A look at her chart told me the company was not going to stop at the announced benefit cuts and that what they suggested would be a three-year phase-out was likely to occur much sooner. The eclipse pairs operating in her chart occupied the second house of income as well as the eighth house of insurance, funds, and deferred assets. I could see that the Venus/Saturn conjunction in her eighth house was going to get a blast from the opposition of an eclipse six months down the road that would change the dynamics of anything she had been promised. Since she had a ninety-day decision window, my advice was to revamp her resume, start looking for employment in a similar field, and apply for a new position before agreeing to take the early retirement option.

She quickly found a job, which she accepted knowing that she would have a nearly six-month wait before she could actually start work. At the end of the ninety days, Client C gave her company notice that she would be leaving her job in sixty days and was accepting the early retirement package. Within a month after she left, Client C was happily engaged in a new job, one that would make her eligible for a new retirement package in five years.

Career-related geographical moves show up in your chart when eclipses trigger activity in the third and ninth houses. Long-distance moves come about when planets in these houses make close contact with eclipses via conjunctions or oppositions. During a recent eclipse cycle, Client D contacted me from her high-level military post in Europe for advice on applying for a less demanding military position on the West Coast of the United States. She had also been house hunting during trips back to the states. Her current job as a top aide to a high-ranking person on this strategically located foreign base was two years from completion. A family emergency arose involving the health of a terminally ill adult child with a baby. These complicated circumstances would lead to hardship if the situation were unattended. While the client was taking leave periodically to resolve emerging matters, the declining health of her daughter called for immediate assistance and could not be delayed while she completed her two-year tour of duty. Eclipses on the nodes in each house and on Mercury (contracts, agreements) in the ninth house conjunct the North Node (direction in life) brought the matter to the attention of military officials, who ruled expeditiously on the favored outcome. Within a few months, my client successfully relocated back to the States with a new job and a new home much closer to her family.

Boredom is another reason why career and job change occurs. Over time the lack of passion for work creeps in until a catalyst stimulates a move. Eclipses can play that role, as they did in the case of Client E, who was grateful to have income after a corporate acquisition shifted his responsibilities. Still, he felt that his most productive years were behind him. He went to work every day but slid into a downward spiral without realizing his condition or that he had options. Paper pushing became a way of life. He missed the people-to-people contact he formerly had as a leader of a complex project. When he consulted with me, it was clear that eclipses through his eleventh house of goals on his natal Sun and Saturn conjunction opposed to Mars in his fifth house of personal and creative enterprise were manifesting awareness. I asked about his short- and long-term career goals and the questions triggered a big "ah ha" reaction. He had lost sight of these goals. He admitted that nothing he did at work gave him much of a sense of accomplishment, nor did he feel in tune with the organization’s philosophy and mission. The eclipses were just getting started making aspects not only in the fifth and eleventh houses, but also to his money houses in challenging aspect to natal planets in residence. Key eclipses affected his chart for nearly two years. During that time, he worked with a proficient headhunter and landed a coveted position as division director with a mid-size electronics company.

From this article you have seen how eclipses in key houses are instrumental in patterns of career change. Consult your own natal chart to see see how the 2013 eclipses will influence your work life.

Editor's Note: All reference material in this article comes from the author's personal consulting/client files; a few facts about clients' circumstances were changed to protect identity.

Article from Llewellyn's 2013 Moon Sign Book. For current-year calendars, almanacs, and datebooks, click here.