Author: Alison Price   –   Updated: January 2026

🧡 Advanced Natal Astrology

This article is part of my Advanced Natal Astrology series, where I explore deeper chart analysis for practicing and aspiring astrologers.

Prenatal Eclipses

Introduction

Before Birth

Astrologers are familiar with eclipses as powerful forecasting tools, but eclipses can also tell us something about the period before we were born.

Development

Your prenatal eclipse occurred while your mother was pregnant with you.

In theory, this eclipse describes underlying themes which were already developing before your birth and which later become woven into your natal chart.

Know More

Although prenatal eclipses are not used by every astrologer, they offer another fascinating layer of chart interpretation and are well worth exploring.

Podcast

Listen to the Podcast

If you’d like to explore prenatal eclipses in a more conversational way, why not listen to our Starzology Astrology Podcast episode on Prenatal Eclipses?

We discuss what prenatal eclipses are, why many astrologers consider them significant and how you can begin working with them in your own chart.

It’s the perfect companion to this lesson and will help reinforce the ideas you’ve learned here before you move on to the practical exercises.

Coming soon.

Prenatal

Definition

The word prenatal simply means “before birth.”

In astrology it refers to the approximately nine months your mother was carrying you before you were born.

Several Eclipses

During that time there would almost certainly have been at least two eclipses, one solar and one lunar.

Occasionally there may have been more, depending on the timing of the eclipse seasons and your birthday.

Closest to Birth

For natal astrology, we are interested in the final eclipse before birth because it immediately precedes your arrival into the world.

Quickening

Movement

Historically, quickening was the term used to describe the first movements of the unborn baby felt by the mother.

It usually occurs between the sixteenth and twentieth weeks of pregnancy, although the timing varies from one pregnancy to another.

Before modern medical imaging, quickening was an important milestone because it provided the first physical confirmation that the baby was alive and developing.

Alive

The word quick originally meant “alive” or “living” rather than “fast.”

This older meaning survives in the phrase “the quick and the dead,” where the quick refers to the living and the dead to those who have passed away.

The phrase appears in traditional Christian creeds and the King James Bible.

Quick Time

From an astrological perspective, I wonder whether the moment of quickening marks an important stage in the developing relationship between the unborn child and the Sun.

Although there is no established astrological technique based specifically on quickening, yet…, it remains an interesting symbolic milestone during pregnancy.

The prenatal eclipses occur during this same period of gestation and suggest that celestial cycles are unfolding long before the moment of birth.

Syzygy

Alignment

A syzygy (pronounced SIZ-ih-jee) is the astronomical term used when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned in a straight or nearly straight line.

Every lunation which is either a New Moon or a Full Moon is a syzygy.

Only when this alignment occurs close to one of the Moon’s Nodes does an eclipse take place.

New Moon Syzygy

At a New Moon syzygy, a solar eclipse is possible because the Moon lies between the Earth and the Sun.

Full Moon Syzygy

At a Full Moon syzygy, a lunar eclipse may occur because the Earth lies between the Sun and the Moon.

Syzygy is the essential astronomical condition required for all eclipses.

Eclipses

Two Types

An eclipse always occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth line up with the Moon’s Nodes.

There are two types of eclipses and each offers a slightly different perspective.

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs at a New Moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.

Many astrologers, me included, regard the prenatal solar eclipse as the more significant eclipse because it symbolizes a beginning.

It can be viewed as the seed from which the life grows and may describe purpose, direction and the potential which unfolds after birth.

Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs at a Full Moon when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon.

The prenatal lunar eclipse often reflects emotional themes, inherited patterns and experiences that have reached a point of culmination before birth.

Some astrologers interpret both the solar and lunar prenatal eclipses together for a broader understanding of the chart, but I prefer to focus on the solar one.

Why Study Prenatal Eclipses?

Deeper Study

To be clear, your birth chart always remains the foundation of chart interpretation.

It is like the mothership of your life and everything else hinges on it.

A prenatal eclipse never replaces your birth chart.

Rather, your prenatal eclipse provides another layer of information that can deepen your understanding of your chart.

Studying your prenatal eclipse may reveal:

• Underlying life themes
• Unconscious motivations
• Areas of personal development
• Karmic or evolutionary patterns
• Another chart to compare with the natal horoscope.

Like many advanced natal techniques, prenatal eclipses add insights rather than changing the basic interpretation.

How to Find Your Prenatal Eclipse

Eclipse Glyphs

A solar eclipse glyph looks like a conjunction glyph with the circle filled in.

A lunar eclipse glyph looks like an opposition with the circles blacked out.

• More on glyphs.

Ephemeris

The easiest way to locate your prenatal eclipse is by using an ephemeris.

If you are a new astrologer and you still need to get an ephemeris then I recommend The American Ephemeris.

Starting with your birth date, work backwards through the ephemeris until you reach the first eclipse listed before your birth.

This will identify your prenatal eclipse.

You may wish to note both the prenatal solar eclipse and the prenatal lunar eclipse, but I usually begin with the solar eclipse.

To be clear, if your prenatal eclipse is a solar eclipse then that is it.

However, if your prenatal eclipse is a lunar eclipse then I would go back further to find the solar prenatal eclipse.

Solar Prenatal Eclipse

Your prenatal solar eclipse is simply the last solar eclipse before your birth.

Record the date, zodiac sign and exact position including the degree and minutes where it occurred.

Note the house in your natal chart where your prenatal solar eclipse is placed.

Lunar Prenatal Eclipse

Your prenatal lunar eclipse is the last lunar eclipse before your birth.

Again, record the date, zodiac sign and exact degrees and minutes.

Also note the house in your natal chart where your prenatal lunar eclipse is placed.

Prenatal Eclipse Point

Eyeball Method

Your prenatal solar eclipse point will be clockwise from your Sun in your birth chart.

It will be a maximum of six months away or in other words half the chart from the Sun.

Eclipse House

Area of Life

Once you have identified the eclipse degree, place it into your natal chart.

I write the code PNE, for prenatal eclipse, on the chart to signify the position.

The natal house containing the eclipse indicates the area of life where its influence is most noticeable.

For example:

• A 4th house prenatal eclipse may emphasize home, family and roots.
• A 7th house prenatal eclipse may highlight partnerships.
• A 10th house prenatal eclipse may point toward career, reputation and public life.

Think of the house as the stage upon which the eclipse themes are most likely to play out.

Natal Aspects to the Prenatal Eclipse

Connections

The next step is to compare the eclipse degree with the planets in your natal chart.

As with all eclipse work, I am only concerned with the aspects of eclipses themselves which are conjunctions and oppositions.

Of course, you can go to the other aspects but I never do because of the nature of eclipses themselves.

Begin by looking for conjunctions and oppositions.

Conjunctions

A conjunction blends the eclipse energy directly with the natal planet.

This often makes the eclipse influence highly personal and easier to recognize throughout your life.

Oppositions

An opposition creates a polarity.

It may indicate an ongoing need to balance two areas of experience or integrate contrasting qualities.

Solar or Lunar?

Sun Focus or Moon Focus?

You need to know whether your prenatal eclipse was solar or lunar because each has a different emphasis.

• A prenatal solar eclipse often points toward beginnings, purpose and future development.
• A prenatal lunar eclipse frequently highlights emotional responses, relationships and themes of completion or release.

Neither is better than the other, but rather they simply describe different dimensions of experience.

The Moon’s Nodes

Nodal Orbs

The Moon has two nodes a North Node and a South Node.

Every eclipse occurs when the Sun is close to, and by that, I mean within 18° of, one of the Moon’s Nodes.

This is why there are two eclipse seasons as the Sun moves through the zodiac signs towards each node at six-month intervals.

Eclipses will occur in the sign of, or a sign adjacent to, the lunar nodes.

Notice whether your prenatal eclipse occurred on the North Node or the South Node.

North Node Eclipses

An eclipse near the North Node may suggest qualities that encourage growth and future development.

North node eclipses tend to symbolize the tide coming in and brings goodies to you to be deposited on the beach.

The theme is to gather in and the future.

South Node Eclipses

An eclipse near the South Node may indicate established patterns, familiar talents or experiences which are ready to be released or refined.

South node eclipses tend to remove things from your life as the outgoing tide clears the beach and takes things with it.

The theme is release out and the past.

Moon’s Node

Eclipses happen where the Moon is.

The Sun will be near a node and the Moon will be near a node when an eclipse happens.

Always pay attention to the node of the eclipse (the node near the Moon) as it gives you another valuable clue for your interpretation.

Cast the Prenatal Eclipse Chart

Place of Birth

Once you know the date and time of your prenatal eclipse, cast the chart for your place of birth using the exact eclipse time.

You can treat your prenatal eclipse chart as a chart in its own right.

Later you will compare the prenatal eclipse chart with your natal chart, looking for repeated themes, planetary contacts and significant house placements.

When you look at prenatal eclipses you build another interpretive tool which can complement your natal chart readings throughout your astrological studies.

Looking Ahead

Interpretation

Finding your prenatal eclipse is only the beginning.

Once you have gathered the information, you can begin interpreting the eclipse itself, its relationship to your natal chart and the Saros Series from which it originated.

These additional techniques can provide another perspective on your chart and often reveal themes that might otherwise be overlooked.

Forecasting

Your prenatal eclipse position is a sensitive point in your chart.

Other points in your chart are the Ascendant, Midheaven, Vertex, Part of Fortune and the Lunar Nodes.

As planets transit this point you can be influenced on the themes of the eclipse itself.

Prenatal Eclipse Tracker

Monitor

Prenatal eclipse influences from transits and secondary progressions or solar arc directions may be subtle.

I suggest getting a prenatal eclipse tracker for all the transits for the upcoming year, so you can tune into what the type of energy is being expressed for each conjunction.

Free Download

To get started download my handy dandy Prenatal Eclipse Tracker to help you along.

Extend Yourself

Prenatal Eclipses

In your astrology journal and referencing your natal chart and an ephemeris, please do the following:

• Find your prenatal eclipse.
• Decide which house in your natal chart your prenatal eclipse is found.
• List any conjunctions or oppositions to your prenatal eclipse point.
• Determine if it was a solar or a lunar eclipse.
• Note the Moon’s Node (North or South) where the eclipse took place.
• Cast the prenatal eclipse chart for your place of birth.

Extend Yourself Further

Interpretations

In your astrology journal and referencing your natal chart, your prenatal eclipse chart and an ephemeris, please do the following:

• Interpret any conjunctions to planets in your natal chart (50 words).
• Interpret any oppositions to planets in your natal chart (50 words).
• Interpret the prenatal eclipse chart itself.
• Find the Saros Series for the prenatal solar eclipse.
• Interpret the Saros birth chart for your prenatal eclipse.

Author Bio

Alison Price: Professional Astrologer

Alison helps you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor. She offers Consultations for everyone and Coaching for Aspiring Astrologers.

If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.

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