August 1 - Solar Eclipse near perigee

August 1st there is a solar eclipse. The technical details of this are

This occurs at the New Moon when the Sun and Moon are in Conjunction in celestial Longitude . This happens every New Moon but at the Solar Eclipse, the Sun and Moon are also parallel in declination, or celestial Latitude, so there is a double reference point. The Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth.

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Because the Moon is like a lense, focusing the light of the sun and is now very close to the earth ( Perigee) the intensity of the Sun's rays are a bit like holding a magnifying glass onto a piece of paper at close range. Left long enough, it will cause a fire. This is what an eclipse and perigee together can do to the earth and the reason we don;t plant at this time. The solar power is just too intense for a couple of days. Not necessarily a fire, but a destructive energy that makes it hard for new seeds to thrive. If you want to try an experiment, plant some seeds at the time of the eclipse - from 7.20 pm to 9.20 pm Eastern standard time and treat them the same and observe what happens.

** - from Astrology Step by Step, Linda Reid