I mark eclipse season in my calendar in a different color than everything else. Not because it’s always dramatic — sometimes it’s quiet in a way that only makes sense in hindsight — but because eclipses have a habit of moving things that have been stuck, and you want to be paying attention when that happens.
August 2026 has two of them. Sixteen days apart. And they’re in opposite signs, which means they’re pulling in opposite directions at the same time.
Here’s what’s happening and when.
August 12 — Total Solar Eclipse in Leo at 20°
This one is exact at 17:47 UTC. A total solar eclipse means the Moon passes completely in front of the Sun, blocking it out entirely — the sky goes dark in the middle of the day for people in the path of totality, which this time runs across the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain.
Astronomically that’s interesting. Astrologically, what matters is where it falls in the zodiac: 20 degrees of Leo.
Leo is the sign of the sun itself. It rules self-expression, visibility, how you lead, how you show up, whether you let yourself be seen. A solar eclipse in Leo is a new moon — a reset — but louder and with longer reach than a regular new moon. What starts in the two weeks around August 12 tends to take six months to fully land. Sometimes longer.
There’s also something unusual about this eclipse: Mercury and Jupiter are both in Leo at the same time. Three planets in one sign during a solar eclipse is not typical. Mercury in Leo makes communication bold, direct, difficult to ignore. Jupiter in Leo expands whatever Leo touches — ambition, self-belief, the willingness to take up space. The combination of all three, plus the eclipse, makes mid-August a window for something bigger than usual to either open or get forced open.
What that looks like practically depends on which house Leo falls in for you. But across the board, questions around visibility and courage come up. What have you been holding back? What were you waiting for permission to start?
A solar eclipse is a new beginning. This one in Leo is asking you to begin something that actually feels like yours.
August 28 — Partial Lunar Eclipse in Pisces at 4°
This one is exact at 04:14 UTC. It’s partial — the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow but not completely — so it’s less visually dramatic than the solar eclipse earlier in the month. The umbral magnitude is 0.93, which means it’s close to total. Almost, but not quite.
In Pisces. The sign opposite Leo.
Where Leo is bold and outward, Pisces is inward, absorbing, emotional, sometimes avoidant. Pisces rules the things we feel but don’t always say — grief, intuition, the situations we stay in past the point of sense because we believe in what they could be rather than what they are.
A lunar eclipse is a full moon — it’s about completion, release, things coming to a head. The Pisces placement means what surfaces is probably emotional rather than practical. Something you’ve been carrying, maybe for a while, comes up at the end of August and asks to be dealt with.
The Leo-Pisces axis that runs through this whole month is essentially: what do you want to step into (Leo, August 12) and what do you need to let go of to do that (Pisces, August 28)?
They’re not separate questions.
What to Do With This
Eclipse season advice is pretty consistent regardless of your sign: don’t force things in the two weeks around an eclipse, but do pay attention to what shows up without you forcing it. Eclipses move things on their own schedule. Your job is mostly to notice and respond rather than to engineer.
A few more specific things:
Don’t make irreversible decisions on the day of an eclipse itself if you can avoid it. The energy is too compressed and the picture isn’t fully clear yet.
Write things down. Eclipse insights often arrive as feelings before they arrive as clear thoughts. If something shifts for you in August — a conversation, a realization, a moment of unexpected clarity — note it. You’ll understand it better by September.
Check your Leo and Pisces houses if you know your birth chart. The solar eclipse on August 12 activates your Leo house, the lunar eclipse on August 28 activates your Pisces house. Those are the areas of life getting the most direct pressure this month.
If you don’t know your houses, your sun sign gives a rough read. Below is where each sign tends to feel these two eclipses.
By Sign
Aries: The Leo eclipse hits your fifth house — romance, creativity, what you do for joy. The Pisces eclipse closes your twelfth house — rest, release, things you’ve been holding in private.
Taurus: Leo lands in your fourth house — home, family, roots. Pisces closes your eleventh — friendships and long-term visions.
Gemini: Leo activates your third house — communication, siblings, local connections. Pisces hits your tenth — career and public life.
Cancer: Leo opens your second house — money, self-worth, what you value. Pisces closes your ninth — beliefs, travel, the bigger picture.
Leo: This solar eclipse is in your first house. Your sign. Your identity. The most personal eclipse placement possible. Pisces closes your eighth — shared resources, intimacy, transformation.
Virgo: Leo hits your twelfth house — what you’re releasing, what’s been hidden. Pisces closes your seventh — relationships and partnerships.
Libra: Leo activates your eleventh house — your community and future goals. Pisces closes your sixth — health and daily routines.
Scorpio: Leo opens your tenth house — career and visibility. Pisces hits your fifth — romance and creative work.
Sagittarius: Leo activates your ninth house — philosophy, travel, expanding your world. Pisces closes your fourth — home and family.
Capricorn: Leo hits your eighth house — money shared with others, transformation, what you’re releasing at depth. Pisces closes your third — communication and the way you think.
Aquarius: Leo activates your seventh house — partnerships and close relationships. Pisces closes your second — money and self-worth.
Pisces: Leo hits your sixth house — health, work, and daily habits. The lunar eclipse on August 28 is in your own sign, your first house. Identity-level release and reset.
August is a month worth paying attention to. Two eclipses in sixteen days doesn't happen every year. Mark the 12th and the 28th. See what moves.
-Gina
GinaStars.com
