Without the Sun, our life on Earth would cease to exist. It is the ultimate source of all heat, light, food, and even the air that we breathe. In ancient times, many civilizations equated the Sun with the central Being in their pantheon of gods. In some modern esoteric writings, the Sun is seen as the physical plane manifestation of a divine spiritual presence of Love and Light that streams unendingly to Earth. In certain Christian esotericism, the Sun forces are understood to have actually incarnated on Earth in the birth of the Christ and, since that time, are seen to potentially permeate the Higher Self that dwells within each human being.
Astrologically, the Sun corresponds with the heart in the individual, just as our physical Sun is the heart of our solar system, without which we could not continue to live. Additionally, the Sun’s position in a birth chart speaks of a person’s deepest goals in life, the path of his or her destiny, and his or her higher purpose in being here. If we allow for the possibility of the esotericist’s views, it may be that there is some deep connection between a person’s striving to fulfill his or her life path and a celestial guidance or strength that streams in from the spiritual Sun forces.
During an eclipse of the Sun, not only is the light of day blocked from our sight, but there can be understood to be a momentary breach in the normal flow of the celestial guidance and blessing that streams in from the spiritual Sun. (It may be that personal meditation or prayer during these times is a good way to counteract this loss.) According to astrological lore, an eclipse of the Sun is like a small window through which a certain amount of chaos and discord gains entrance, sitting in wait until such a time as the ongoing planetary movement during the course of the following year or more unleashes its destructiveness. If our lives are like a multihued tapestry being woven by the hands of Time, an eclipse may be understood as causing one thread to break in this greater working. The damage created depends on where that thread is in relation to the whole and the significance of the other threads to which it is connected. Sometimes the breakage is inconsequential; at other times it can bring about a destructive unraveling of great magnitude.
The harmful power of an eclipse for a particular locality depends on where it falls when exact in a chart drawn for that location, both in terms of the relationship of the eclipse to the angles of the chart and its relationship to the planets. An eclipse falling exactly on one of the four angles, the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant, or the Nadir (IC), as well as in a close to exact hard angle to either Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto, would seem to indicate the most trouble. Having one or more of these more difficult planets exactly on an angle at the time of an eclipse has also proven to be problematic.
One example of an angular eclipse that was exponentially magnified by its relationship to several planets is the eclipse of January 26, 1944. We find this eclipse conjunct the Descendant in Berlin, the capital of wartime Germany, where it pointed to the subsequent year’s destruction of that nation by the Allied Powers, as well as to Germany’s ultimate loss of the war. This eclipse was also exactly, within 22 minutes of arc, conjunct the IC in Hiroshima, the site of one of the nuclear explosions that dramatically ended the war for Japan. What is most significant about this eclipse is the very tight grand trine it forms with a volatile Mars/Uranus conjunction and with Neptune, as well as the opposition it forms with Pluto and the Node, which were very close to the Midheaven in the eclipse chart for Hiroshima. Despite the normally harmonious implications of a trine aspect, the energy flowing to this eclipse/IC point from Neptune, Uranus, Mars, and Pluto is quite intense, as evidenced by the profound destruction of the nuclear weapon unleashed on August 6, 1945.
Sometimes a solar eclipse does not itself fall on any one of the angles in a particular location but nonetheless carries within it some sign of danger for a specific locale. The eclipse of October 13, 2004, when drawn for New Orleans, Louisiana, a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005, provides a potent example. In this chart, we find two powerful planets exactly on the angles at the time of the eclipse: Uranus, the planet of sudden and dramatic upset and transformation is sitting exactly on the Midheaven, within 2 minutes of arc; and Pluto, the planet of deep and profound transformation which brings hidden destructive influences painfully to the surface, is exactly conjunct the Descendant, within 10 minutes of arc. The confluence of two such potent aspects is extremely unusual. Interestingly, the trigger for the hurricane came through the US chart, when transiting Uranus squared natal US Uranus, but it was the structure of the planets at the moment of the eclipse that pointed the gun.
During the final three years of George Bush’s beleaguered presidency, there are several eclipses of potential consequence. The eclipse of March 29, 2006 contains a Mars/Pluto opposition and a very tight Mercury/Uranus conjunction, both of which may be seen as further defining the characteristics of this eclipse. Thus, wherever the eclipse is active, it may bring anger, aggression, and power struggles (Mars/Pluto), as well as some tumultuous communications or suddenly broken agreements (Mercury/Uranus). When drawn for New York, the eclipse suggests some amount of agitation or power struggle due to the placement of Pluto exactly on the MC, within 2 minutes of arc, but it is likely to be more problematic for the southern islands of Hawaii where Pluto falls precisely on the Ascendant and the eclipse itself falls two degrees from the IC. It is quite possible we will see some kind of significant seismic or weather-related event in that region within the next 18 months. This eclipse also falls exactly on the Midheaven in Izmir, Turkey, and actually will be on the MC through much of central, less populated areas in Turkey as well. This suggests the possibility of either some kind of political or terrorist-related upheaval or an earthquake, to which that area is susceptible.
The actual triggering of an eclipse is very hard to predict. Traditionally, a powerful planet will aspect the degree of the eclipse to unleash its potential for destruction. But this does not always seem to be the case, and was not the case at all in the above examples of the eclipses of 1944 and 2004. One possibility for the triggering of the March 29, 2006 eclipse is the crossing of Mars to the exact opposition point of Pluto in the eclipse chart in New York, which would then also bring Mars to the IC opposite Pluto on the MC, surely a potent combination. This transit will come on April 6 through April 8, 2006. There are other aspects around this time that further suggest its vulnerability to some kind of upset. Transiting Uranus will be within a few days of its exact square to the US Ascendant (12Sagittarius59). Moreover, the US tertiary progressed Moon will be conjunct US Pluto (27Capricorn33) from April 7 through April10. This was its position from September 11 through September 13, 2001, when it triggered the transit of Pluto conjunct the US Ascendant by a semisquare (US Pluto is natally semisquare US Ascendant). It is quite possible that the tertiary Moon position will once again trigger an aspect to the US Ascendant, this time from Uranus. Thus, some kind of sudden, upsetting, unforeseen event could occur (Uranus) that is transformative of the status quo. Mars’ crossing in square to the eclipse Mars/Pluto opposition in late August and early September 2006, again concurrent with a transiting Uranus square to the US Ascendant, is another potential trigger time and is in the midst of hurricane season.
Another eclipse that is likely to be of significance is the potentially devastating eclipse of March 19, 2007 drawn for Tehran, Iran. Here we find the eclipse exactly on the Ascendant and square to Pluto, which in turn falls exactly on the Midheaven. Moreover, transiting Pluto will be crossing back and forth over the Midheaven and square to the eclipse degree, acting as a possible trigger, for much of 2007. Given several potentially disruptive and aggressive aspects in the charts relating to Iran, additionally including the transit of Uranus opposite Iran’s Mars (15Virgo40) throughout 2007 in Iran’s October 7, 1906 birth chart, this eclipse suggests some kind of significant destruction that will hit that nation during 2007. An earthquake in that region cannot be ruled out, but given the current drum roll coming out of the Bush administration, and its lust for enemies to divert our attention, a man-made calamity is also possible.
Later in 2007, another solar eclipse occurs that may have some dangerous implications for an area in the western United States. The eclipse of September 11, 2007 falls on the Ascendant in both Los Alamos, New Mexico (within 47 minutes of arc) and in Denver, Colorado (within 43 minutes of arc). This eclipse opposes the very volatile and explosive Uranus, which sits very close to the Descendant in these two locations, and is also square to Mars. Furthermore, the actual degree of the eclipse, 18Virgo25, is conjunct the Sun in the War on Terror chart, 18Virgo51, drawn for the beginning of that fateful series of events on September 11, 2001. Thus, the Uranus transit that crosses opposite the eclipse degree in February and March 2008 will also be opposite the War on Terror Sun degree. Assuming the War on Terror chart is still operative, this transit of Uranus may not only indicate some kind of chaotic or calamitous situation in or near the designated areas, but the cause may be related to terrorism.
A note of caution, however, should be included here in reading this and the previous prediction about Iran. Retrospectively, it is far easier to see the astrological connections for a specific event then predictively. Although dangerous events are more likely under these kinds of planetary configurations, they do not necessarily occur, just as a person is more likely to have an accident if he is speeding and driving recklessly, but it will not necessarily happen.
In any event, these early years of the Twenty-First Century are dangerous and uncertain times, all the moreso with our current administration haplessly at the wheel. Unfortunately, in the larger scheme of things, it is often painful experiences that foster change and growth when nothing else suffices. On a multitude of issues, the US is currently running into trouble due to policies that are inherently flawed and counter-productive. It will only be through some profound changes in direction and attitude that this once-great nation will again be able to find its way and move forward with grace and dignity in the world. But it would be nice if we could arise from our slumber without having to be slapped awake.
