The April 2024 ‘American’ Eclipse – Some Preliminary Thoughts

There’s been quite a lot of hype around 2024 eclipse season, especially the so-called ‘Great American Eclipse 2.0’ that’s due to take place on 8 April in Aries over the North American continent.

Some of this is down to sheer geography – the fact this eclipse will be visible across most of the United States, but also takes in Mexico, as well as eastern parts of Canada – always gets folks excited and tends to command more media attention. It’s also great for the travel and tourism industries – many places along the eclipse path are expecting an influx of visitors. And let’s face it, struggling small businesses need all the help they can get these days, so why not jump on the bandwagon?

Some of it is being generated by the astronomy community, including NASA, who will be broadcasting visuals of the event live from their website. One can hardly blame them for wanting to boost awareness around all things space, or wanting to get people more engaged in science, especially since most of their work is tax-payer funded.

For many astrologers, though, especially those who specialise in political or mundane predictions, the fizz factor around this April solar eclipse comes down to the fact that, just like 2023 and 2017, this eclipse coincide with a period when Donald Trump is looming large again in the news and collective psyche. From his many court cases and criminal indictments (some of which I predicted back in 2016, I might add!) to his surprise nomination as the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential race, it’s fair to say that things are seldom dull or uneventful where he is concerned. Given that his energy is as chaotic and unpredictable as the majority of eclipses, the thinking is that this will be doubly true of eclipses that somehow involve him. I plan to look at that in more detail in a seperate forecast for members, but will briefly touch on this in the post below.

The rest of the hype seems to be emanating from certain sectors (though not all, I do want to emphasise that) of the New Age community, some of whom are just on the lookout for clickbait. (For instance, have you noticed how often an eclipse is called ‘rare’ on social media? It does make me laugh…) Others have unfortunately become swept up in the right-wing conspiracy theories that have been gaining traction since COVID lockdowns. As Naomi Klein has pointed out, this trend appears to have started during 2020 as a result of the legitimate fears and concerns of many people that were never addressed by institutions and authority figures, and has just escalated from there.

The unfortunate result has been that many well-meaning wellness and alternative therapy folk have begun to lean more and more into neoliberalism, alt-right ideologies, as well as a rather destructive nihilism and inflated form of humanism that only serves to elevate the sovereignty of the individual, but at the expense of his/her connection to society, nature and the cosmos. (You can view some critiques of how Nietzsche’s work has been (mis)appropriated by various interest groups, especially his much-misunderstood concept of the Übermensch here)

Not only does this seem to be amplifying the already polarising effect of the culture wars, but is also skewing perceptions, both in terms of how cultural events and phenomena like eclipses are viewed and interpreted (especially online), but it is also creating divisions within the New Age movement itself.

After COVID, and some of the frankly irresponsible and misanthropic views promulgated by a few loud voices within that sector, I think it is becoming increasingly important for people to exercise their critical faculties and not get swept up in groupthink. Magic does exist, but should not be confused with ‘magical thinking,’ which is often rooted in a denial of reality and wishful fantasies. As Henry Corbin warned (and Tom Cheetham summarises so pithily), one of the most important tasks for any mystic, truthseeker, diviner or medium is to learn to be able to tell the difference between ‘Revealed Truth and the contaminated stuff we just “make up.”’

In a way, this task is no different to the upcoming challenges many commentators and news organisations (not to mention voters) will soon potentially face in terms of discerning truth from fake news, agit-prop and AI-generated mis- and dis-information as we edge closer towards 2024 election season…

With all of this in mind, I wanted to try and cut through all the noise and froth about this eclipse, examine some of the theories doing the rounds about it and at the same time, try and establish a few baseline facts and key criteria for judging the potential significance of this soli-lunar event…

Eclipse of the America’s, plural…

The first thing to clear up is that rather than happening in the US, the point of greatest totality for the April 2024 solar eclipse will actually take place over Piedras Negras, Mexico. It is true, however, that its path will take it across 48 US states, starting in Texas and ending in Maine, as it moves north-eastward before crossing into Canada, where it will be visible in the skies over Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

This does somewhat deflate the US-centric bubble and force everyone to widen their circle of enquiry when considering potential interpretations of this soli-lunar event. For starters, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the Eclipse of the America’s, rather than just restricting one of the three countries that it ‘touches’?

Does X really mark the Spot?

Another of the trends to emerge from all the hype around this total solar eclipse concerns the crisscross patterning of its path across the Americas as the Earth rotates and the shadow of the eclipse moves across its surface. Many are making quite a fuss about the fact that it intersects with the path of the two most recent solar eclipses that have ocurred in this region of the world.

However, although the path of the 2024 April solar eclipse will cross that of the August 2017 and October 2023 solar eclipses, this is not that unusual (as can be evidenced by the map below) and has to do with the fact that some eclipse saros series move from north to south; while others move in the opposite direction as they gradually shift from one of the earth’s poles to the other over time.

Personally, I am not sure I buy into this idea too much. We don’t usually examine the path of any eclipse in such minute geographical detail, so why should this one be different?

Despite this, and given that eclipses have six month ‘orbs’ of influence which in this case, will stretch it almost to the US elections, I thought I would do an experiment. In this post, I will briefly consider some possible astrological interpretations of these ‘crossovers’ (specifically within the context of US politics), to ascertain whether they flag up any key issues/major events associated with each are newsworthy, or are likely to become significant election talking points between now and 5 November 2024.

So, in the interests of fairness and research (and to satisfy my curiosity), let’s test this idea out and see what we think afterwards…

Crossover Points with Previous Eclipses

2017-2024: The Rust Belt

Zooming into the intersection between the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, I must say that I was initially a bit flummoxed and underwhelmed. This eclipse crossover occurs further north than 2023 (see below), over some small towns in the states of Missouri and Illinois, none of which jump out at me in terms of significance as far as newsworthy US events with links to 2017 and 2024 are concerned. But perhaps that’s because I’m not all that familiar with US local news or history?

All I can say is that this area does mark the beginning of the so-called Rust Belt, a name given to the former industrial heartland of the country that was hit hard economically and demographically by the impact of globalisation and ensuing US de-industrialisation. It is also one of the demographics to whom Trump appealed with his MAGA message during the 2016 and 2020 elections. No surprise then, that the states in and around this region, apart from Illinois (where Obama served three terms as a US senator), are all traditionally ‘red states.’

UPDATE: New Madrid Seismic Zone and the 1811 Solar Eclipse

A trusted psychic that I follow on YouTube mentioned the possible activation of earthquake activity in the Madrid Seismic Zone during this eclipse, which sits in a similar region to where the paths of totality of the 2017 and 2024 eclipses will intersect. And given today’s earthquake in New York, I thought perhaps it worth a mention.

Back in mid-September 1811, there was an annular ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse in this vicinity, with greatest magnitude over Chicago (so a little further north). However, it was in a different saros family (141/12 North) although Aries was rising in the chart. Interestingly, Mars and Saturn, the two malefics, were also in conjunction, as they will be now, but forming a T-square to the nodes (which represent the crossing point in the Sun and Moon’s path where eclipses take place). Pluto, lord of the underworld, was conjunct the south node, and the eclipse luminaries plus Venus where conjunct the north node. Quite a tense combination.

A few months later, there were also some earthquakes in this area, which is interesting. According to the US Geological Survey:

In the winter of 1811 and 1812, the New Madrid seismic zone generated a sequence of earthquakes that lasted for several months and included three very large earthquakes estimated to be between magnitude 7 and 8. The three largest 1811-1812 earthquakes destroyed several settlements along the Mississippi River, caused minor structural damage as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri, and were felt as far away as Hartford, Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

In the New Madrid region, the earthquakes dramatically affected the landscape. They caused bank failures along the Mississippi River, landslides along Chickasaw Bluffs in Kentucky and Tennessee, and uplift and subsidence of large tracts of land in the Mississippi River floodplain. One such uplift related to faulting near New Madrid, Missouri, temporarily forced the Mississippi River to flow backwards. In addition, the earthquakes liquefied subsurface sediment over a large area and at great distances resulting in ground fissuring and violent venting of water and sediment. One account of this phenomena stated that the Pemiscot Bayou “blew up for a distance of nearly fifty miles.”

USGS

It has long been speculated that there may be a connection between seismic activity and eclipses, mainly due to the additional gravitational pull associated with the Sun, Moon and earth all lining up during New Moon/Solar Eclipse events. However, to date this has not been proven.

I guess we’ll have to see if anything similar happens in this crossover zone between now and October 2024…In the meantime, be safe, folks!

2023-2024: San Antonio, Texas

Moving on to 2023, the cross-over with the 2024 eclipse occurs in the state of Texas. While I don’t really buy into the idea that thsi state is going to be important at this eclipse because it serves as the headquarters and base of operations for certain space agencies and companies (sorry NASA, but this is not Houston), I do think it may be significant for other reasons.

For starters, the path of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse and the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse cross overhead in San Antonio, a town situated close to the border between America and Mexico (it was actually part of Mexico at one point in history). It is not far from the now in-famous Eagle Pass border crossing which has attracted so much attention from news outlets and politicians in recent years due to populist ag-prop campaigns and raging controversy over US immigration policy.

Given that Trump campaigned to build a wall along this border to keep out immigrants during his tenure as president (2016-2020) a period that includes the 2017 eclipse – and that immigration continues to be a major Republican talking point for the elections – this may be significant.

I also find it interesting that San Antonio was named after St Anthony, the patron saint of lost causes, but also of recovering lost people and/or missing or stolen items. Not entirely sure what that means but a good omen for anyone whose loved ones are missing, or perhaps the recovery of a long lost archaelogical treasure, for example. Perhaps a local champion willing to stand up for marginalised and vulnerable groups, such as illegal immigrants and trafficked individuals, may also emerge from this region, who will defend them against demonisation from populists and hatemongers like Trump and his ilk? Wouldn’t that be nice?!

Also noteworthy in relation to the October 2023 eclipse was Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US in late September 2023, a week or so before the Hamas terrorist attacks on October the 7th that set off the current Israel-Gaza war in mid-October 2023. These events occurred within close proximity to the solar eclipse which took place on 14 October and did implicate the US because of it’s military and political backing of Israel. The Oct 2023 eclipse luminaries were also conjunct Netanyahu’s natal Moon, synastry that has direct correlations with the astrology chart for the April 2024 eclipse. Something I will get into in more detail in a separate forecast for newsletter subscribers.

I am just not sure I grasp why San Antonio would be significant in all of this, though? I mean, sure Netanyahu did tour a Tesla factory and have a discussion about anti-semitism with Elon Musk, a resident of nearby Austin, Texas, but the visit took place in California, so I fail to really see any connection to San Antonio per se…I know some people have tried to impy that the eclipse crossing was over Austin, but to me that’s grasping at straws. It just wasn’t, as we can see by the NASA maps.

Mexico: Point of Greatest Totality

Another point worth emphasising is that the point of greatest totality for the Aries April 2024 eclipse will occur in the skies over Piedras Negras, the town that sits on the Mexican side of the border across from Eagle Pass, Texas which does seem significant.

Echoing the liminality of any border region, this eclipse – much like Hermes, the psychopomp, or any traveller, migrant or asylum seeker – will pass over Piedras Negras in Mexico before crossing the US border and moving over the skies of San Antonio on its northward trajectory up towards Canada. Given this transgressive move, it seems reasonable to assume that this area of the US-Mexico border (along with the emotive and contentious issue of immigration) will continue to make news headlines and remain the subject of heated debate and outrage/’angertainment’ on social media.

I say this because the eclipse takes place in Aries, a sign known for its temper and hotheadedness, and is ruled by Mars, the planet of war, violence and conflict, so it wouldn’t surprise me if populists like Trump and agitators like Steve Bannon continue to use this issue to stoke division and scapegoat minorities as part of their election strategy between now and November 2024.

Hopefully, though, it will not be the site of another armed confrontation between federal and state law enforcement (and some armed vigilantes) as it was in March 2021, and more of a soure of celebration of the richness and diversity that mixing cultures can bring about. According to Slate magazine:

Eagle Pass is set to be in the path of totality for the April 8 total solar eclipse, and the city plans to host a Latin and country music festival to mark the occasion.

Sunspot Activity: 2017 vs 2024

There is also another stark difference between conditions at the 2024 solar eclipse, and that of 2017, which seem worth remarking on.

• In August 2021, we were at solar minimum, which means far less sunspot activity and solar radiation being blasted Earth’s way by the solar wind.
• However, during the 2024 eclipse, the Sun will be close to solar maximum – the point in its 11 year cycle when the magnetic field surrounding it is stronger, making flares streaming from its corona more visible during totality.

The financial astrologer, Christine Skinner, believes that stronger sunspot activity, typical during solar maximum, tends to coincide with periods of decreased stock market indices, economic pessimism and an uptick in defensive, warlike behaviour, sometimes encouraged by bellicose world leaders (especially if they were born during solar maximum).

This may be significant, seeing as there are already two wars raging in Ukraine and now the Middle East. Key stock market indices and the world economy also appear to be at a tipping point between either recovering from COVID-related supply chain issues and inflation, or descending into another downward spiral driven by fear and chaos. Hence all the contradictory projections and statements by various market analysts and economic forecasters…

While an uptick in solar flares and sunspots could almost certainly increase the likelihood of power outages, sattelite failures and more spectacular aurora displays, from an astrological perspective, it is worth rembering that eclipses are usually a bit of a wildcard.

Based on the nature of the April 2024 eclipse’s saros cycle though (see below), I’d say expect uncertainty but also the potential for unexpected breakthroughs and discoveries by brave, go-getting individuals.

Saros series

The April 2024 eclipse forms part of the Van den Berg 139 and Brady’s 8 North saros family, which she equates with bursts of innovation, scientific breakthroughs and unexpected solutions to problems, as well as flashes of creative inspiration. Individuals may feel a stronger than usual desire to be free from social and familial obligations in order to pursue career or personal interests, as well as focus on pet projects such as an invention or a book.

By contrast the 2017 eclipse is from the 1 North group of the Brady eclipses (VDB 145), which is synonymous with social pressure or tensions between friends, groups, fraternities, organisations or social media that affect significant partners, leading to relationship problems (Trump’s Twitter addiction?); as well as issues concerning unreliable data and fake news that can affect decision-making (Steve Bannon, anyone?); as well as potential health problems, low energy levels and tiredness.

You can read about the overall feel of the 2023 eclipse on my astrology website, but here is a brief graphic to give you a flavour of its main chracteristics:

I am going to save my personal astrology predictions about the April 2024 eclipse for a post on my regular astrology site.

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