Sources:
Ebertin. Reinhold. Applied Cosmobiology.Aalen, Germany: Ebertin Verlag, 1972.
———. Combination of Stellar Influences.Aalen, Germany: Ebertin Verlag, 1972.
Ebertin, Reinhold, and Georg Hoffman. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation.Aalen, Germany:
Ebertin Verlag, 1971.
Holden, James H., and Robert A. Hughes. Astrological Pioneers of America.Tempe, AZ: Ameri-
can Federation of Astrologers, 1988.ECCENTRIC
In astronomy, eccentricity refers to an elliptical orbit, specifically to the extent to
which the ellipse described by a celestial body’s orbit departs from a perfect circle,
expressed by the ratio of the major to the minor axis.ECLIPSE
An eclipse is the full or partial obscuring of the Sun by the Moon (a solar eclipse), or
the full or partial obscuring of the Moon by the Sun (a lunar eclipse). When planets
and stars are obscured by another celestial body (particularly by the Moon), it is
called an occultation. The orbits of the Sun and Moon intersect, but are not parallel;
if they were parallel, a solar eclipse would occur during every new moon and a lunar
eclipse every full moon. Eclipses can occur only when the Sun and Moon intersect
the lunar nodes.
Traditionally, the influence of eclipses, whether full or partial, has been regard-
ed as negative, portending famine, war, and the like. Also, with respect to individual
natal charts, the traditional interpretation is that an eclipse exerts a malefic influence,
particularly if it falls on or near (within 5° of) a natal planet or an angle. Contempo-
rary astrologers tend to see eclipses as indicating emphasis or a crisis in the affairs
related to the house in which the eclipse occurs. For instance, should an eclipse occur
in a person’s second house, she or he may be compelled to attend to financial matters.
Should the eclipse occur near (within 5° of) a natal planet or be directly opposed to
(180° away from, give or take 5°) a natal planet, the crisis will be a major one and will
be colored by the nature of the planet or planets involved.Sources:
Brau, Jean-Louis, Helen Weaver, and Allan Edmands. Larousse Encyclopedia of Astrology.New
York: New American Library, 1980.
Jansky, Robert Carl. Interpreting the Eclipses.San Diego: Astro Computing, 1979.
Michelsen, Neil F. Tables of Planetary Phenomena.San Diego: Astro Computing, 1979.ECLIPTIC(VIASOLIS,THESUN’SPAT H)
The ecliptic is the orbit of Earth as viewed from the Sun. For most astrological pur-
poses, however, the ecliptic is taken to be the orbit that the Sun appears to describe
around the Earth (the via solis,or the Sun’s path). The via solisacquired the name
ecliptic because it is along its path, at the points where it intersects the celestialEccentric
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