Eclipses: Challenges & Opportunities
The Total Solar Eclipse is at 9 degrees Leo on August 1st at 10.11am GMT. It will be followed on August 16th by the Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Aquarius.
The Solar Eclipse is in a series that Bernadette Brady describes as - the breaking up of a negative situation where no hope has been seen to a more positive one with more options. Worries will suddenly clear and opportunities need to be grasped.
This Eclipse Series has occurred before:- July 22 1990; July 10 1972; 30 June 1954; 19 June 1936; 8 June 1918; 28 May 1900. During past Eclipses in this series there certainly have been endings:- World War 1 finished a few weeks after the 1918 Eclipse; in 1900 the Siege of Mafeking was lifted; in 1936 the Ethiopian War ended and the British Protectorate of Eqypt also ended. In 1954 the French were defeated in Vietnam at Dien Bien Phu and the Allied countries occupation of Germany was ended. In 1972 the Vietnam War was entering its final phase, Ugandan Asians were thrown out by Amin. In 1990 the USSR broke up. However it’s also been associated with a fair few unpleasant incidents as well. In 1900 there was the Boxer uprising in China against Europeans. In 1918 the Russian Royal family was assassinated five weeks after the Eclipse. In 1936 the Spanish Civil War started a month after the Eclipse and the UK in mourning for King George V were landed with the reluctant Edward V11 who abdicated six months later around the next Eclipse. In 1972 the first arrests were made in the Watergate affair leading to Nixon’s impeachment; Arab terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. In 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait exactly in step with the Lunar and then Solar Ecplise in this series.
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| Aries | | The Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 in Leo says you'll be focussing on your social and romantic life keen to find more entertainment and to get more affection and admiration. Whatever you lack in this area you first need to give. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says that you need to remember friends as well as loved ones and sort out a few plans for the longer term as well as having fun. |
| Taurus | |
The Solar Eclipse of August 1 2008 is at the base of your chart so home, family and domestic matters are your priority not outer ambitions for a few months. Whatever changes need to be put in place physically or emotionally this is the time to get cracking. Ask for what you need and make it happen. The Lunar Eclipse of August 16 in Aquarius says you can't hide away totally at home but need to find a better balance between your head and your heart in coming months. |
| Gemini | |
The Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 1 2008 is a time to manage your everyday schedule better, get on top of details in the comings months and double check to ensure what you say to everyday companiosns is understood. The Lunar Eclipse of August 16th says you also have to think big as well as attending to details and keep your eye ahead to see where you are going. |
| Cancer | |
The Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 in Aquarius says you need to take the initiative where your personal finances are concerned. You may be tempted to throw money around to impress in coming months but you'd be better adviced to sort out your longer term security. Don't rely on luck. Make it happen and then prosperity awaits you. The Lunar Eclipse of August 16th falls in the deepest, most confidential area of your chart so you'll need to co-operate as well as protect your own security financially and emotionally. |
| Leo | |
The Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 in Leo is important since you need to make major decisions about your path ahead. You are at a crossroads and what you decide will be with you for years ahead. It needs to be your decisions. Your life and your choices. You'll be more independent and focussed, or you should be. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse of August 16th hints that having made your decisions you need to find a balance between independence and co-operation with close partnerships, in which adjustments may be needed. |
| Virgo | |
The LeoSolar Eclipse of August1 2008 in the sign before yours is a hidden Eclipse so you'll need to look behind the scenes and below the surface for answers to the dilemmas in your life. Putting the past into perspective and understanding yourself better psychologically will help you to unpick muddles. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you can't ignore work, duty or health either. So you need to find a balance between the duty you owe to others and the duty you owe to yourself. |
| Libra | |
The Leo Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 says you'll be making the effort to widen your friendship circle in coming months and to sort out more sensible long term plans. You'll want to be out in society making a difference. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you also need to fit in time for loved ones and fun in the coming months. |
| Scorpio | |
The Leo Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 is at your midheaven so you'll want to improve your status and reputation, get your tlaents out on display at work or in your community activities and really make your mark. So it's a time to take your courage in both hands and work hard to ensure it happens. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you can't forget entirely about your home and family life. So find the balance between your heart's needs and your ambitions. |
| Sagittarius | |
The Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 1 2008 says you need to lift your life out of a rut and aim higher, broaden your horizons and find more adventure and stimulation in the coming months. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you also need to stay on top of details and manage your everyday schedule better. |
| Capricorn | |
The Leo Solar Eclipse on August 1 2008 falls in the deepest, most confidential area of your chart so you need to tackle joint finances and your intimate emotional agreements. This is a time to alter the baits of a lifetime and learn to share, care, relate and co-operate in a different way. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you'll also need to protect your own security, pay some attention to personal finances and get your priorities straight. |
| Aquarius | |
The Solar Eclipse in Leo, your opposite sign, on August 1 2008 says that close one-to-one partnerships at home or at work are your key focus in the months ahead. You'll need to make adjustments to find the kind of fulfilment you seek by being less self sufficient, more adaptable and co-operative in coming months. Shaky relationships may part company and new and better ones appear. The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse on August 16th says you also need to maintain an area of independence for yourself or at least be given what you need by close partners. |
| Pisces | |
The Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 1 2008 is focussed on your chart area of work and health. You're likely to be facing more chores, additional tasks and longer working hours so you'll need to review your physical lifestyle to ensure you boost your stamina to cope with the time ahead. The Aquarius Lunar eclipse on August 16th says you also owe a duty to yourself to find quiet quality time to wind down and recharge your batteries. During more peaceful moments you'll begin to understand yourself better and how to unpick various recurring dilemmas. |
KEYS to Houses.
1: Personal identity, being independent, steering your own boat.
2: Personal finances, values & priorities
3: Everyday routines, communications, need to be efficient.
4: Home, family, roots, career slows down.
5: Romance, social life, children, fun, wanting to be adored.
6: Health and work, stamina is important.
7: Close relationships, adjustments needed, maybe new ones.
8: Joint finances, sex, and major change.
9: Travel, new interests, broadening horizons.
10: Career push, make your name.
11: New friends, taking a larger social role, planning long term
12: Hidden matters, quiet time, self understanding.
Saros Cycles
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Astrologers look at two key factors which affect the strength and meaning of an eclipse. One is the Saros cycle, an odd 223 month cycle, amazingly pin pointed by the Chaldeans of Mesopotamia nearly 5000 years ago, who noted that eclipses occur in the same sequence every 18 years 11 days ( 6585.32 days). These saros cycles are numbered and have astrological meanings.
*****The April 05 Solar eclipse certainly lived up to its reputation for creating challenging events for the USA and American Presidents, as well as overseeing death experiences in the UK (see below at Look See). The path of this total eclipse ran directly through the areas of the USA most affected by Hurricane Katrina.
ECLIPSE APRIL 05Total Solar eclipse on April 8 2005 at 19 degrees Aries in 7 North Saros Series.
According to Bernadette Brady this is a powerfully energetic eclipse bringing passion, sensuality, lust and creative enterprises. Its impact won’t be subtle and can catch people unawares, bringing to the surface deeply buried feelings and desires which have been lying dormant. It occurred before in 1915 (February 14), 1933 (February 24), 1951 (March 7), 1969 March 18), 1987 (March 29). See below for Sun sign effects of this Solar Eclipse as well as for the Lunar Eclipse of April 24th.
Mundane Events: This is an eclipse series which seems to accompany challenging events for USA, especially American Presidents. The path of this eclipse falls across the USA and South America. In 1933 there was an assassination attempt on President Elect F. D. Roosevelt. In 1951 President Truman fired General MacArthur for threatening publicly to atomic bomb China. In 1969 newly elected President Nixon secretly starts the bombing of Cambodia; James Earl Ray is convicted of murdering Martin Luther King, and in the months following Senator Edward Kennedy’s car crash at Chappaquiddick with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, and the Manson Gang murder of Sharon Tate catch the headlines. In 1987 President Reagan accepts full responsibility for the Iran-Contra scandal. It also accompanied major historical events for Germany and Chinese border disputes with Japan and Russia.
** PREVIOUS 7 NORTH SERIES ECLIPSES:
1915 (February 14): World War One is in its second year. February 2 the German start a submarine blockade of the UK to break the economy. 19th February the British and French fleet bombard the Turks at Dardenelles. The Second Battle of Ypres is waged. In January and April 1915 poison chlorine gas is used for the first time in warfare, by the Germans. D. W. Griffith’s movie “The Birth of a Nation” is released in the USA. It is slated as racist for its Klu Klux Klan sympathies.
**1933 (February 24): Hitler is appointed German Chanellor on January 30th. On February 15th there is a failed assassination attempt on the life of President Elect F.D.Roosevelt, but the Mayor of Chicago is fatally wounded. February 23 to March 12th, the Japanese Army advances into China, despite a League of Nations report proclaiming that Manchuria belongs to China. February 27th a fire destroys the Reichstag, German parliament buildings, and Hitler orders civil liberties and press freedom to be suspended. The first concentration camp at Dachau opens on March 20.
** 1951 (March 7): On March 7 the Prime Minister of Iran is assassinated. On March 6 Ivor Novello dies. On March 19 France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux States sign a treaty to create a European Coal and Steel Community which is the forerunner of the European Union. In April president Truman relieves General MacArthur of his command in Korea for publicly calling for war China using atomic bombs. In July King Abdullah of Jordan is assassinated in Jerusalem.
** 1969 (March 18): In February the maiden flight of the jumbo Boeing 747 takes place. On March 2 the prototype of the supersonic airliner Concorde makes its test flight. On March 3 to 13 the US Apollo 9 tests the lunar module in orbit in preparation for the first crewed landing on the Moon with Neil Armstrong in July. On March 10th James Earl Ray is convicted of murdering Martin Luther King in April 1968. 25th March a military government takes over in Pakistan amid violence. Arab 8 Arabthis is a joyful, optimistic eclipse with better news, falling in love or a peak experience – the good feelings should last for the months to come. It occurred before in 1985 (Nov 12); 1967 (Nov 2); 1949 (21 Oct); 1931 (Oct 11) and 1913 (30 Sept). See below for Sun sign effects.
Mundane Events: Interestingly the British Mandatte in Iraq was terminated in the year following the 1931 eclipse of this series, so history may repeat. In 1949 France handed back sovereignty to Vietnam. In 1967, the UK left Aden and the People’s Republic of South Yemen was proclaimed. In 1985 the Ango-Irish agreement was signed echoing the mood of the 1913 eclipse of this series when the Irish Home Rule Bill was first introduced. But other events seem less upbeat.
**1985: 25,000 killed in a Colombia volcanic eruption the day after the eclipse. The Ango-Irish agreement signed, two days later. Egyptian commandos storm a hijacked aircraft in Malta with 60 killed. In the months following - General Zia ends martial law in Pakistan. 2 French agents are imprisoned for sinking of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior. USA imposes sanctions on and then bombs Libya. The space shuttle Challenger explodes. Sweden’s PM Olaf Palme is assassinated. Russia’s nuclear station Chernobyl melts down.
**1967: UK leaves Aden – South Yemen comes into existence. The foot & mouth epidemic is raging in UK. There are major anti-Vietnam public demonstrations. Just before the eclipse: - Che Guevara is executed. Egypt sinks an Israeli destroyer in the aftermath of the 6 Day War (June 1967).
**1949: End of the Greek Civil War six days before. In the month following France hands back Vietnam. Israel moves its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the face of a UN Resolution for the internationalization of Jerusalem. First riots in Spotuh Africa against the government’s racial policy. Jo McCarthy is given the go ahead for his anti-communist hearings.
**1931: Concern over Japanese aggression in Mancuria. The month before there are riots in UK over economy measures. A Franco-USA loan is given to the UK.
**1913: In Northern Ireland the Unionists appoint their own provisional government to take place when the Irish Home Rule Bill takes effect. In the following month the Serbs invade Albania. Mahatma Gandhi is arrested. The Greek-Turkish Treaty is signed.Solar Eclipse
May 31 2003 at 9 degrees Gemini in Saros Series 5 North.
This solar eclipse was most visible in clear weather from Greenland and the north of Scotland(UK). The eclipse path also covers the Pacific off USA’s west coast, China, Russia, Asia and north India as well as the Middle East to the west coast of Africa. According to Bernadette Brady this is an unusual eclipse series, bringing sudden intuitions, flashes of inspiration, dreams with hints of future events. Highly creative, it should bring personal fulfilment. Hunches can be acted on. Previous eclipses in this series were on May 19 1985; May 9 1967; April 28 1949; April 18 1931; and April 6 1913. Although major events have not fallen on the exact day, it would appear to have special relevance for Spain, Europe, USA and the Middle East.
1913: April: Attempted assassination of King Alfonso X111 of Spain.
1931: April: King Alfonso X111 of Spain abdicates as republicans win election. Egypt signs treaty with Iraq.
June: US President Herbert Hoover proposes moratorium on World War 1 reparations and Inter-Allied debts.
1949: April: The US Marshall Plan for European Recovery Programme is launched in the aftermath of World War 11. Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer for Death of a Salesman.
May: Council of Europe is established. Israel is admitted to the UN.
July: Israel & Syria agree an armistice.
1967: May: The Bertrand Russell International War Crimes Tribunal in Stocl chart was also triggered by this eclipse and the ones coming until late 2003, as they all aspect the major mutable T square of Jupiter, Mercury & Uranus in Sagittarius opposing Pluto & Neptune in Gemini squaring onto Mars in Virgo - provoking violent energy, anger, and great concern.June 21 20001:
The Solar Eclipse (partial) on JUNE 21 2001 at 0 degrees Cancer was in the 3 North Saros series. It brings on a slightly manic, excitably determined mood, with over expansiveness in some area of life. Jupiter's passage into Cancer in July only encouraged the tendency to take on large scale plans without an eye to practical consequences. It occurred before in 1983, 1965, 1947, 1929, 1911.
It clearly affected the USA chart which is highly Cancerian, (and George W. Bush's also Cancerian) creating a mood of national crisis and the need to take action to regain control of identity. The war on Afghanistan was launched on the over confident (might-makes-right) self justifying Mars Jupiter opposition in early October. Afghanistan itself has a Cancer Sun chart.
1983:The Ayatollah Khomeini declared Islam to be a "religion of the sword". The Soviets shoot down a South Korean Boeing 747, claiming it was on a spying mission. Violence in India leads to direct Government control of the Punjab. US Marines invade Grenada. Suicide bombers kill 300+ peacekeeping soldiers in Beirut. IRA bomb Harrods in London. Violence in Chile and Philippines against Pinochet and Marcos. Mount Etna had a four month eruption. A tsunami wave,49 foot high, in Japan and Korea, killed 100. Hurricane Alicia causes $2 billion damage in Texas. The first mouse used in a pc; the first laptop pc produced in USA.
1965: Soviet cosmonaut is first man walking in space. Start of regular US bombing of North Vietnam, and first combat troops, rising sharply to 200,000 by December. Civil rights demonstrations and violence in USA. Radical black leader Malcolm X killed. India invades West Pakistan and bombs Lahore. Rhodesia declares independence unilaterally.
1947: British rule in India ends in August; violence follows partition. India Kashmir dispute. UN plan for partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab zones provokes violence. Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip in November in London.
1929: HHighest point on bull market on US stock market precedes the crash in late October which starts the Great Depression. St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. Arabs attack Jews in Palestine over use of Wailing wall.
1911: Famine in Russia affects 30 million. Floods in China kill 100,000. Albanian revolt. Italy declares war on Ottoman Empire and annexes Libya. Revolution in China. German gunboats land in Morocco. Assassination attempt against French PM. Russian PM assassinated. 24 Japanese anarchists executed for trying to kill the Emperor. Woman suffragists riot in London. Demonstrations in Ireland against Home Rule. Mona Lisa stolen. Coronation of King George V in London.
EARTHQUAKES & AGRICULTURAL EPIDEMICS:
DELAYED EFFECTS
What is of interest astrologically is that the path of the August 1999 total solar eclipse in the 1 North Saros cycle series (see below) which rose in the Eastern seaboard of the USA, then crossed the UK, curving down across Afghanistan, Pakistan to finish in southern India. It may seem too far back to connect this eclipse to events in 2001 OR 2002. Except there were major aspects to that 1999 Leo eclipse from Saturn in Taurus, Mars in Scorpio, Uranus & Neptune in Aquarius. At the time there was little outward sign of the kind of events such a powerhouse of influences might have suggested. But in January 2001 the same aspects recurred with Mars returning for the first time since 1999 to Scorpio, and along with the Aquarian Sun picking up the tale end of the waning, disruptive Saturn Uranus square.
DISASTERSto bomb Hiroshhima & Nagasaki (1945) and setting up the CIA (1947).
1928 - November 12: Herbert Hoover, republican candidate has just won the US Presidential election. Republican majorities in US Senate & Congress. Because of anti-Catholic bigotry against the Democrat candidate, civil rights activists set up Nat. Conf. of Christians annd Jews. Bubble gum and peanut butter first introduced on mass market.
1910 - November 2: First black American entertainer to receive equal rights billing on Broadway with whites in Ziegfeld Follies. Women's suffrage given amendment in Washington, DC, USA. Household names establish commercial enterprises: - Elizabeth Arden beauty, Burberry coats; Hallmark Cards; Hitachi. The first enclosed car bodies produced - for Cadillacs. Republican William Howard Taft is US president.
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Eclipsed Countries: Britain
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Certain countries appear to resonate more strongly to specific Saros cycle eclipses. The 18 North solar eclipse fell only a day after the death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997. Rolling back 18 years 11 days to the previous 18 North solar eclipse, Earl Mounbatten, the Queen's uncle, was killed along with three others by an IRA bomb, only five days after the total solar eclipse. The Fastnet Yacht Race disaster also occurred in the same month, with 17 yachstmen drowned. Back one to 1961, this eclipse was fell five weeks after Princess Diana's birth, and within two days of the Brandeburg Gate being closed and the building of the Berlin Wall began. In 1944, close to the 1 North lunar eclipse, the heaviest German bombing raids on London since 1941 were taking place, with the Royal Family still in residence. Back to 1926, the 18 North cycle oversaw the births of the two most powerful women in 20th Century British history. In 1926 the lunar eclipse was closest to the present Queen's own birth; and in the previous year the 18 North solar eclipse was the cycle in place within weeks of Margaret Thatcher's birth. Back again to 1908 and the King and Crown Prince of Portugal were assassinated within two weeks of the 18 North lunar eclipse.
Other powerful British figures died or saw their effective careers end under the influence of 11 North eclipses. Queen Victoria died in 1901, and two cycles later, her grandson Edward V11 abdicated the throne in 1937 for love of Wallis Simpson. One cycle later in 1955, the great British statesman and war Prime Minister Winston Churchill resigned through ill health. Two 18 year 11 day cycles later in 1991, Mrs Thatcher, Britain's first woman, and longest serving Prime Minister of the century, was forced to resign. These events did not occur on the day itself but within the weeks surrounding the eclipses, but it is still astonishing that they happened in these specific sequence years.
America
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The surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941, which destroyed 8 battleships and 300 aircraft, and brought the US into World War 11, followed ten weeks after the 16 North solar eclipse. This eclipse had peaked in its trajectory across the heavens exactly above Pearl Harbour. On the following 16 North eclipse phase in 1959, the Cuban Government expropriated US owned sugar mills and plantations. One 18+ year cycle later, the 'King' Elvis Presley died 8 weeks away from the 16 North solar eclipse. Roll on another 18+ years to the autumn of 1995, and America still a country in shock from the Oaklahoma bombing earlier that year, was obsessed by the O.J. Simpson trial which brought in a 'not guilty' verdict three weeks before the 16 North Solar eclipse.
The Gulf War
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The best example of eclipse-coinciding events, where the eclipses are heavily aspected by outer planets is the Gulf War. Saddam Hussein gathered his troops on the Kuwait border in July 1990 three days before the solar eclipse in Cancer on July 22nd 1990, opposed by the awesome triple conjunction of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn. The lunar eclipse two weeks later on August 6th, in Leo, aspected by a threatening Mars Pluto opposition saw the UN impose sanctions, and US troops moving in.
The next solar eclipse on January 15th 1991 in Capricorn was aspected again by the massively powerful triple conjunction, and one day later Operation Desert Storm launched against the Iraquis.