Chapter Two of Eclipse Witness

 

By Sand Sheff

 

 

 

The Great Solar Eclipse

Alephs and Tavs

2017 to 2034

 

Total solar eclipses are rare. On average, any place on earth will only see one once every 400 years.

 

Total solar eclipses that occur over well-populated regions are even more infrequent. As an example, in the entire western hemisphere between 1994 and 2015, only the tiniest portions of the continental isthmus, slivers of the Brazilian coast and one lonely section of Patagonia saw a total eclipse. Well more than 99% of the land mass of the western hemisphere saw no total eclipse at all in 21 years.

 

Even more infrequent are eclipses that occur over important imperial centers.  For example, Western Europe sees only two total eclipses in 100 years starting in 1928 ( totals in 1961 and 1999)

 

Total eclipse crosses over populated imperial regions are particularly rare, as can be seen by study of the various historical maps in this book. Here are the best crosses of the 20^th Century.

 

1)     Cross over Europe made by Titanic and WWI eclipses of 1912 and 1914. Two of the most clearly ominous eclipses of all time.

2)     Cross over Iran (Shahrud Tav) in eclipses of 1952 and 1954, they occurredon either side of the 1953 western-backed coup which installed the Shah.

3)     Several crosses occurred over Vietnam between 1948 and 1965 as part of the unprecedented Southeast Asia Swarm which marked one of the most barbaric cycles of war in human history.

4)     Cross over USSR of 1961 and 1968, as the Soviet Union reached its zenith and began to decline. USSR’s demise was also later marked by unusual eclipses in 1981 and 1990.

5)     Cross over Africa 1973 to 1980 -apex at Dar Es Salaam ( “place of peace”) Tanzania

6)     Turkish Tav 1999 and 2006- involving the same eclipse characters in the current USA cross

 

 

We are going to look at three profound eclipse crosses in this section which we are in the process of manifesting. Two of them are crosses involving total eclipses. Both of these crosses are made up of eclipses which are part of the extraordinary Hepton Cycle, and thus are all related.

 

The first cross over the USA involves the total solar eclipses of Aug 21 2017 and April 08 2024.

They occur 2422 days apart and both happen on Monday. Apex of cross over area of southern Illinois known as Little Egypt.

 

The second cross over the Mideast involves the total solar eclipses of Aug 2 2027 and March 20 2034.

They also occur 2422 days apart and both happen on Monday. Apex of cross over southern Egypt.

 

There is a third cross created by the Apr 2024 USA eclipse and a Oct 14 2023 Ring of Fire. It has its apex in the hill country of Texas.

 

I will refer to these crosses as Alephs and Tavs, for their resemblance to letters of the ancient Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets. I do not believe any of this is accidental, but this isn’t the time for me to try and establish their meaning. The implications are profound.

 

Within each eclipse are many peculiarities to consider. It’s important to remember how peculiar the solar phenomenon itself is, as well. When mapped, they bear a resemblance to the writings of a cosmic pen on the face of earth.

 

First let’s look at a quick overview of the Tavs and The Alephs of 2017 to 2034.

                    Above, The Great Crosses of the Spring Equinox Metonic (2015 to 2034)

 

 

                 Above, the American Aleph of 2017 to 2024 ( including Oct 14 2023 Ring of Fire)

The Tav and the Aleph

                                    Paleo-Hebrew Tav          Paleo-Hebrew Aleph

 

 

Egypt and “Little Egypt, USA ” are in the cross hairs of an extraordinary alignment.

Please review the above drawing and the prior USA and Mideast maps.

                           

Paleo-Hebrew Writing is the original written word of the earliest Bible (The Torah, and most of what is called the Old Testament) and is closely related to other early Middle Eastern script. It is not to be confused with later Hebrew, which arose around 200 BC.

 

Tav is the last letter (the 22nd) of the Hebrew alphabet. In the ancient script, it is an X. This character x is essentially the same in Egyptian Hieroglyph, Phoenician, and Paleo-Hebrew. 

 

Aleph is the first letter of Paleo-Hebrew, or our A. It again is similar through all the early alphabets, and resembled a bull's head in some.  In modern times, it has interestingly become also the sign of “anarchy”.

 

The Tav X is, of course, also the Cross. It means “finished” or completed. It is also the x of a signature (as in signing “x” on a document). It is also a nearly universal sign of “wrong answer”, condemnation or refusal. As well as a “here it is” symbol, as in putting an x on a map. The X letter is also the 22^nd letter (“chi”) of the Greek (which has 24 characters), and has historically represented Christ ( i.e. xmas for Christmas). The x was a sign of early Christians, creating the tail of the Christian “fish” symbol.

 

Tav (X) in Hebrew is understood to mean completion, mark, sign, omen, or seal. Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means 'truth'. The Jewish Midrash says that emet is made up of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph, mem, and tav).

 

Is God writing on our planet with big simple letters, “I AM the Alpha and Omega” or the Alpeh and the Tav?

 

Let’s look at the individual eclipses and their peculiarities, then look again at the crosses.

 

                                       Great American Eclipse  Aug 21 2017

 

Hailed as the “Great American Eclipse”, the eclipse of 2017 Aug 21 was by far the most watched solar eclipse in American history. There was a great run-up in publicity to the eclipse, and many towns along its path held watch parties and celebrations. It has been said that the movement of people towards the narrow path of totality was the greatest single short-term migration in the nation's history, with millions positioning themselves for the sight of a lifetime, as daylight turned to darkness with the passing of the moon in front of the face of the sun.

We can use this eclipse as a test case for the idea of potentially “reading” an eclipse like a song or a poem, looking briefly at three main aspects; Time (History), Space ( Geography) and Personality (Saros).

Astronomical facts about the August 21 2017 eclipse:

 

Type of eclipse: Total

Saros Number 145

Duration of totality along center line of maximum eclipse: 2 minutes and 40 seconds

length of path: perhaps 7500 miles long or so

width of path, almost exactly 70 miles wide

Sky Location: at eclipse, Sun was in the paws of the lion of the constellation Leo. Regulus ( the “King Star”) was in conjunction and was clearly visible near the eclipsed new moon.

Maximum Eclipse (greatest totality) : Giant City State Park, Carbondale, Illinois

 

Peculiarities of the August 21 2017 Total Eclipse:

 

The USA was almost perfectly divided geographically by the eclipse. Total geographic land mass of all 50 states saw approximately 2 million square miles to the north of centerline and 1.8 million square miles below. It also divided interestingly along the contiguous 48 states. 23 states had center line of totality either pass through them or were north of the line. 25 states had center line of totality either pass through them or were south of the line. The weather was exceptionally fair for most of the nation, making for good viewing.

 

Maximum Eclipse occurred near Makanda, Illinois. Remarkably, Makanda (known as the “Star of Egypt”) is also at the apex of the Intersection of the two eclipses of 2017 and 2024. 

 

First cross-country USA total eclipse in 99 years. Prior to it, the last occurred June 8 1918 with a similar (though convex) northwest to southeast path. Like the 2017 eclipse, the 1918 eclipse was also a Hepton with a corresponding US eclipse exactly 2422 days later, on Jan. 24, 1925. (see USA eclipse section).  One of three Pacific to Atlantic USA total eclipses since nation's founding ( 2017, 1918, 1806)

 

The eclipse touched no other national boundaries besides the USA. The last solar eclipse to have that geographical distinction occurred in 1257 AD (519 years before nation's founding) and it will not happen again until 2316 (199 years after the 2017 eclipse).The 2017 eclipse touched 14 states, the most ever up to that time for an American total eclipse. The April 8 2024 American Eclipse touches 15.

 

The line of totality went within 50 miles of the geographic center of the contiguous USA, which is Lebanon, Kansas at 98.4% totality. It also went within a hundred miles of the population center of the USA: Hartville, Missouri at 97.5% totality.

 

In the heart of both eclipses, 10 miles from Makanda, is the Bald Knob Cross of Peace, a 111 foot cross that was once the tallest cross in the western hemisphere .

 

The 2017 total Eclipse was the first in the contiguous USA in 38 years. The last one before that was on Feb 26 1979, where totality was visible in the northwest- including 100% at Mt. Saint Helens, about one year before her eruption in 1980. The 2017 eclipse brought 98.4 % coverage to Mt. Saint Helens.

 

Salem, Oregon ( the capital of Oregon) was the first major city in the US to see totality. Salem is shorthand for Jerusalem, means “peace” in Arabic and is related to the Hebrew “shalom”. The eclipse path passed over 7 towns named Salem in The US. They were nearly evenly spaced along the line —in Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky and South Carolina

 

The eclipse was first visible on US soil at Government Point, Oregon, The first town in totality was Lincoln City, Oregon, It also went over Lincoln Point, Wyoming and Lincoln, Nebraska. 99.6% eclipse at Lincoln, Missouri and 98.4% totality at Lincoln's Birthplace in Kentucky.

 

 First total eclipse over Nashville, Tennessee ( Music City, USA) since 1478. Culture Fact: The song “Body like a Back Road”  ( “I know every curve like the back of my hand” ) was the number one country song at the time of eclipse.

 

The eclipse exited the USA with center line perfectly at Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston was the largest slave port in North America. More than 200,000 Africans passed through the port of Charleston in chains between the founding of the Carolina colony in 1670 and the prohibition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1808.

 

 

Interesting Historical Yearly Anniversaries of 2017

People seem to have a natural inclination towards the consideration and celebration of even numbers, perhaps based on the number of fingers and toes. In the Bible, as well, round numbers are often present: The Children of Israel spent 400 years in Egypt, then 40 years in the wilderness. They were exiled 70 years in Babylon. There were Ten Commandments and so on. In that spirit, here are some round number anniversaries of 2017.

 

500th anniversary of Protestant Reformation (Began 1517 Oct 31 with Martin Luther)

500th anniversary of first defeat of Spanish Conquistadors in America at Battle of Champton in what is now Mexico (1517 Mar 25).

500th Anniversary of first official European delegation to China (1517)

100th anniversary of Balfour Declaration proclaiming Jewish homeland (1917)

100th anniversary of US entrance into World War One (1917)

100th Anniversary of Russian Bolshevik Revolution (1917)

100th anniversary of birth of John F. Kennedy (1917 May 29)

50th anniversary of Jewish control of Jerusalem (1967)

50th Anniversary of American “Summer of Love” (1967)

Sevens in the 2017 Eclipse

7 months exactly after Donald Trump's first full day in office (1-21-2017), who won the presidency by 77 electoral votes, and assumed his first full day when he was 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old. (Trump was born the day of a lunar eclipse in 1946)

The eclipse path was 70 miles wide.

Saros 145, the character eclipse, is composed of 77 events. 2017 Aug 21 is its 22^nd.

2017 was Hebrew Year 5777.

August 21^st in Eclipse History

Three great eclipses occurred on the date of August 21 in the space of 103 years.  It's a great example of how the Metonic Calendar works, allowing for repeating eclipse dates temporarily over the course of about a century. ( see Metonic Cycle Chapter). For maps and info, see world section.

1914 August 21 World War One ( Saros 124)--One of the most clearly ominous eclipses in modern history. World War One begins as total solar eclipse descends from the Northern latitudes and divides Europe from Asia. Empires include the Ottoman, Persian, British, French, German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian. Scandinavia split in half. Great cities in totality include Kiev, Karachi, and the ancient city of Nineveh, around modern-day Mosul in Iraq. The full path connected both hemispheres.

1933 August 21 Jerusalem Ring of Fire--As Nazis seized control in Germany, a ring of fire crossed Palestine (modern Israel), Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, India and Southeast Asia, total annularity in Jerusalem, Baghdad (Babylon), Amman, Gaza, Alexandria.

 

Saros 145 Recent History and Character

Saros are repeating characters (every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 145 creates the August 21 2017, Great American Eclipse. For full visual depiction, see Saros Section. For detailed descriptions and maps of these individual eclipses see World Section or USA section. Here are the last 5 eclipses for the Saros 145 personality before it divided America- You can watch the dates go backwards roughly 18 years at a time:

 

August 11 1999 Europe/ Mideast/ South Asia---Saros 145 creates the last solar eclipse of the 20th Century and last complete solar eclipse of the second millennium. One of the greatest eclipses of all time. Totality from Hitler's birthplace in Austria to France and England the Mideast and India.

 Jul 31 1981 USSR-The last decade of the Soviet Union began with a cross-country eclipse that touches no other nation.

Jul 20 1963 Japan to USA- 18 years (minus 17 days) after atomic bombs were dropped by the US on Japan and exactly 6 years before the moon landing, total eclipse begins in Japan and ends in USA. 5 weeks before March on Washington and four months before JFK assassination.

Jul 9 1945 USA to USSR Atom Bomb Eclipse-Total solar eclipse travels from the USA to USSR one week before the detonation of the first atomic bomb on planet earth.

Jun 29 1927 England to USA Beatles Premonition Eclipse -The only total solar eclipse to cross Liverpool in hundreds of years broke through heavy cloud banks to give an immortal show to thousands of Brits just after sunrise. Exactly 14 eclipse years (4851 days) before the birth of the Beatles oldest member, John Lennon, on 10-9-1940.  All the Beatles will be born in Liverpool between 1940 and 1943. The eclipse ends in the USA (Aleutian Islands)

 

What's next for Saros 145?  It is scheduled to return on September 2nd, 2035, where it will bring totality for the first time in centuries to Beijing, China, the capital of China. Totality also in Pyongyang, North Korea and north metropolitan Tokyo.

Great American Ring of Fire 2023 Oct 14

 

Astronomical facts about the eclipse:

Type of eclipse: Annular ( Ring of Fire)

Saros Number 134

Duration of totality along center line of maximum eclipse: 5 minutes 17 seconds

length of path: perhaps 7500 miles long or so

width of path, roughly 125 miles wide

Zodiac: in constellation Libra

                       

Map courtesy of eclipseophile.com

 

Great American Ring of Fire October 14, 2023

The Second of Three American eclipses in Seven Years      

The extraordinary Ring of Fire eclipse of October 14, 2023. The above illustration shows how balanced the path itself appears physically in relation to North and South America. It is the most balanced eclipse path between North and South America since Europeans arrived in 1492.

 

October 14 Facts and Peculiarities

October 14 2023 is 531 years and two days from the “discovery” of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. 48% eclipse coverage landing site in Bahamas. Oct 14 2023 is the exact 531st anniversary (October 14 1492) of Columbus's abduction of 7 native youth to serve as guides; the first colonial crime in the Americas.

This is the first complete solar eclipse on October 14th since the 1600's, prior to this were two partials on the Metonic (October 14, 2005, October 12 1996).

Oct 14 2023 is the 133rd Birthday of Dwight Eisenhower, born Oct 14 1890. There is another complete eclipse six months earlier on Adolf Hitler's 134th birthday on April 20. He was born April 20 1889. Thus, the only two solar eclipses in 2023 occur on the birthdays of enemies in World War Two.

Oct 14 2023 is exactly 555.5 eclipse years from the “Mayan Apocalypse” total eclipse of Aug 8 1496 (Saros 127) which brought terror to Aztec and Mayan tribes just as Spanish Conquistadors were sealing their doom.

 

Oct 14 2023 Ring of Fire State Maps ( courtesy of eclipse2024.org)

Oregon                                                            Nevada                                     Utah

 

 

 

Arizona                                                                            New Mexico                          Texas

 

Geographical Peculiarities of October 14, 2023 Ring of Fire

This is the first complete solar eclipse to connect the USA and South America since Oct 13 1632—391 years and one day before the Oct 14 2023 eclipse.

The path touches 9 nations, probably the most ever for an eclipse in the Western hemisphere.

Full annularity at Panama Canal.

The beginning spot of the eclipse in the Pacific Ocean is approximately 49.5 degrees latitude, which is also the same as the northernmost latitude of the northern boundary of the contiguous USA...49.543 degrees at Angle Inlet, Minnesota

The 2023 eclipse enters the North American continent 10 miles south of Lincoln City, Oregon exactly 167 eclipse years ( 57,879 days) after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14/15 1865

Oregon: Newport, Oregon and a few other small settlements occupy the only tiny strip of land to receive complete eclipses in both the 2017 total and 2023 ring of fire solar eclipses. Salem just misses annularity. Eugene is in path.

Nevada: Annularity misses Las Vegas by a hundred miles (it has 82 % coverage). Ely is in path. Great Basin National Park has annularity, home of the oldest living tree on earth, Methuselah. 

Utah: The eclipse crosses southern Utah, passing over several national parks and monuments including Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands and Bears Ears. Only small towns are in the path. Path covers entirety of Lake Powell in Utah, site of the damming of the Colorado River canyon system, perhaps the greatest aesthetic and ecological catastrophe in the history of America.

Colorado: Extreme southwest Colorado in path. Largest town in Cortez. Mesa Verde is in path.

Navajo Nation: Eclipse path crosses 3 of the four sacred Navajo Mountains (“the corners of the Navajo Universe”)- Navajo Mountain in Utah, Mount Taylor in New Mexico and Hesperus in Colorado. Passes over Window Rock Arizona—capitol of the Navajo Nation.

Four Corners: Path passes over the center of the Four Corners, the only place in the USA ( and the world?) where state political boundaries form a cross.

New Mexico.  Annularity at ruins of Chaco Canyon; ceremonial center of the lost Anasazi civilization.  Acoma Pueblo is in Annularity, the oldest continuously inhabited (since 1150 AD) village in North America. Eclipse passes over Santa Fe, New Mexico—the oldest and highest capitol city in America, as well as NM's largest city Albuquerque.

Annularity over Los Alamos NM ( birthplace of Atom Bomb) and Roswell, NM where  “flying saucer” event occurred in 1947, and real space aliens have shops on Main Street.

Texas: Path heads over West Texas over Midland, home of George HW Bush's oil business in the 1950's and boyhood home of George W. Bush. Second USA annular eclipse in a row to touch Midland. The Columbus Death Day Eclipse of May 20 2012 ended at sunset over Midland, thus making Columbus Discovery Day and Columbus Death day anniversaries enshrined in consecutive Ring of Fire eclipses both crossing Midland. The two ring of fires occur exactly 12 eclipse years apart.

San Antonio is in the middle of Annularity, the largest city in the nation to receive annularity in the eclipse. Perhaps most striking of all, precise centerline of eclipse path exits the USA directly over Corpus Christi, or “Body of Christ”, one of the only towns named that in the world.

The path intersects with upcoming 2024 April 8 eclipse path in the hill country of Texas. Apex of intersection is north of the town of Utopia, east of Leakey. Exact apex appears to be along Sabinal River south of Lost Maples State Park.  Sabinal means “Cypresses” in Spanish. Exact Apex is near Piece of Heaven RV park and the Hacienda Del Sol ( Plantation of the Sun) Cabins.

The town of Uvalde, where 19 children were massacred in 2022, is in the path of both 2023 and 2024 eclipses.

Central America: Path touches every nation in Central America except El Salvador ( “The Savior”).

Colombia Of course, being a Columbus Anniversary Eclipse, the path also bisects the nation of Colombia 46 years and two days after their unique Columbus Day eclipse of Oct 12 1977 (which happened exactly 485 years after the Columbus discovery itself.)

Brazil The Ring of Fire then crosses the northern entirety of the Brazilian state of Amazonas to exit the Americas at the Brazilian city of Natal ( Nativity ), very near the extreme northeastern tip of South America---the closest spot in the Americas to Europe.  The eclipse also covers city of Joao Pessoa, the easternmost spot in all the Americas and the 3rd oldest city in Brazil.

 

Saros 134 Recent History and Character

Saros are repeating characters (every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 134 creates the October 14 2023 Great American Ring of Fire. For visual depiction, see Saros Section. For detailed descriptions of these individual eclipses see World Section or USA section.

Here are the last 5 eclipses for Saros 134 - see them go backwards 18 years at a time:

2005 October 3 Madrid Ring of Fire ...Madrid Spain directly in Totality, along with Algiers...path cuts through Africa, including Kenya.

1987 Sep 23 USSR Fall Equinox  7 weeks before Estonia became the first state of USSR to declare its independence. Eclipse also over China.

1969 September 11 South America Eclipse scrapes the northern border of Chile, where a coup ousts and kills President Salvador Allende four years later on September 11th 1973.

1951 Sep 1 Jamestown to Africa Ring of Fire Eclipse path traces path of the first slaves brought by British colonists on Aug 20 1619 back to their homeland of Angola 331 years and 11 days later -see also Jul 11 1619 Luanda Angola Eclipse

Aug 21 1933 Jerusalem Ring of Fire ( through Babylon, Iraq, Iran and Palestine--mentioned earlier).

                                   Great North American Eclipse: April 8, 2024

Astronomical facts about the eclipse:

Type of eclipse: Total

Saros Number 139

Duration of totality along center line of maximum eclipse: 4 minutes and 27 seconds

length of path: perhaps 10,000 miles long

width of path: 124 miles wide

Maximum eclipse occurs near Nazas, Mexico

Locater: Sun and Moon eclipse in Pisces between Mercury and Venus at maximum eclipse

Geographical/ Historical Peculiarities Apr 08 2024

Occurs eight days after Easter, the closest any solar eclipse can astronomically occur to Easter.

April 8th is also traditional birthday of Buddha (Japan)

April 8th 2024 eclipse is the first Total Solar Eclipse to cross all three nations of Mexico, USA and Canada solely over their land borders in a single eclipse since their founding.  You have to go back to 664 AD for any path like the 2024 path. It will be the last total eclipse to touch all three nations until 2316. That being the case, it is of course also the only total solar eclipse in history to travel south to north border to border across the USA.

The 2017 Aug 21 USA eclipse touched 14 states, the most states of any Total Solar Eclipse in US history. The 2024 eclipse outdoes it by one, touching 15 states.

Eclipse over New Madrid, Mo- epicenter of largest earthquakes in USA history (1811 and 1812)

The eclipse will cover far more metropolitan cities than any eclipse in USA history.  It will go over the homes of more Americans at one time than any total eclipse in the nation's history, and possibly as many as all the rest put together. Just some of the cities in the path of Totality- Del Rio, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Texarkana, Little Rock, Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Dayton, Akron, Cleveland, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Burlington, Montpelier.

The eclipse will cross also more metropolitan populations across all three nations than any other solar eclipse in the history of the western hemisphere. It will be the most experienced eclipse in the history of the nation, and one of the most heavily populated eclipse paths in the history of the world.

The path passes within 50 miles of the geographic population center of the USA (Hartville, Missouri—with 99% totality). The 2017 eclipse went within 100 miles of Hartville.

It forms a beautifully balanced curved cross or x (Hebrew Tav) when taken in conjunction with the August 21 2017 eclipse.

 

Mexico: the eclipse first enters the North American continent with centerline directly over resort city of Mazatlan, it also traverses Durango and Torreon (“tower” ), site of the 3rd tallest statue of Christ in Latin America. Maximum Eclipse (4 minutes 27 seconds) of eclipse occurs near city of Nazas, an Arabic word for evil eye and shorthand for Nazareth. The eclipse exits Mexico at Ciudad Acuna and enters USA at Del Rio.

 

Canada: the eclipse scrapes the northern Toronto Metro area, and fully covers Montreal ( founded in 1642 as Villa Marie or City of Mary). Exits the North American Continent just north ( 99.24% eclipse) of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.  St. John's is the oldest city in Canada, and one of the oldest European settlements in the New World, founded by the British in 1497. Saint John as in John the Apostle, writer of the Book of Revelation. This is the first Total Eclipse visible from Canada since February 26 1979 Mount Saint Helens Eclipse, more than 45 years.

State Maps of April 08 2024 Total Eclipse ( not pictured—Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Michigan)

Texas 2024                                                       Arkansas                             Missouri

  

Illinois                                                 Kentucky                                              Indiana                                               

 

Ohio                                                    Pennsylvania                                                                   New York

Vermont/ New Hampshire/Maine

Specific US Geographical Peculiarities of the April 8 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

Let's trace the path from Texas to Maine and look at peculiarities in each of the 15 states

Texas Historical and Geographical Peculiarities 2024 April 8

Path manages to pass over 3 of the four largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth. Together they are home to more than 12 million people. Also in the path are several other large cities, including Plano, Del Rio, Waco, and Texarkana.

The two eclipses of 2023 Oct 14 (Ring of Fire) and 2024 Apr 8 make a geographical X over south Texas. Texas is the only state in the USA with the letter x in its name. Center of the X of those two paths is near town of Utopia.

The eclipse passes over the town of Uvalde, site of the massacre of 19 schoolchildren in 2022.

Eclipse passes directly over the site of the Mount Carmel Branch Davidian Massacre in Waco, Texas, where 76 people, including 25 children, were burned to death exactly 30 solar years plus one lunar year before this eclipse (30 Years 11 months and 20 days) on 1993 April 19.

The eclipse passes directly over Dallas, their first total solar eclipse since 1878 and only their third total eclipse in nearly 500 years. Dallas is the site of the most notorious murder in modern American history, the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 1963 Nov 22. Total eclipse occurs in Dealey Plaza, site of the shooting, 60 years and 137 days later at 1:40 pm Daylight Savings Time, very near the time of the shooting, which was at 12:30 pm Standard Time.

The eclipse passes over both the birthplace/boyhood home (Stonewall, Texas) and death place (Johnson City, Texas ) of Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy's successor to the Presidency.

The eclipse of April 8, 2024  is separated by exactly 110 eclipse years ( which is 220 eclipse seasons) from the the Kennedy Death Premonition Eclipse of 11-22-1919. That amazing 1919 eclipse occurred exactly 44 years before the murder of JFK and passed over both the Texas Capital of Austin and Stonewall, Texas, home to a then ten year old Lyndon B. Johnson, who would replace Kennedy on 11-22-1963. See USA Eclipses and Kennedy section.

Eclipse passes over ranch of George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas and his family's current residence in Dallas. The preceding Ring of Fire 177 days earlier on 2023 Oct 14 passes directly over his boyhood Home of Midland/Odessa Texas.

 

The eclipse passes over site of Columbia Space Shuttle  disaster near Dallas on Feb.1, 2003, during George W. Bush's Presidency, seven weeks before the first US invaded Iraq in March of 2003. Columbia is the female national personification of the United States. It was also a historical name applied to the Americas and to the New World.

 

Arkansas: Totality over the birthplace/boyhood home of President Bill Clinton ( Hope) as well as his adult and governor's home in Little Rock. Passes over the town of Clinton, Arkansas.

 

Tennessee sees totality in only a few square miles, touching only the tiniest possible corner of the state, the port of Cates Landing, on one side of an oxbow of the Mississippi River across from:

 

New Madrid, Missouri...totality over epicenter of the most powerful earthquakes in the history of North America ( December 16, 1811 to February 7, 1812)

Little Egypt Apex: Sections of Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky will see their second total eclipse in 7 years. That area is known as “Little Egypt”. Center of the apex of the USA total eclipse cross is very near the township of Makanda, Illinois—once known as the “Star of Egypt”. The exact apex appears to be on the east side of Cedar Lake on Salem Road.

Missouri is the state crossed most dramatically by the x created by the two eclipses of 2017 and 2024. The 2024 eclipse touches no major cities in Missouri, though many smaller towns.

 

Kentucky: Paducah is eclipsed for second time in 7 years. It is the largest city in USA to receive totality in both eclipses. Farther to the northeast, Abe Lincoln's birthplace receives 98% coverage.

 

Illinois: Carbondale and Chester Illinois receive totality for the second time in seven years. Carbondale is the largest town nearest the apex of the two eclipses. Like the 2017 eclipse, the path passes over Bald Knob Cross, near Alto Pass Illinois, once the largest cross in North America and still one of the biggest at 111 feet tall. It is situated on a hill at the highest point in southern Illinois. Bald Knob Cross is situated very near the apex of both 2017 and 2024 eclipses, perhaps 10 miles from Makanda.

 

Indiana:  Most of the state sees Totality, including Columbus, birthplace of Trump's Vice-President Mike Pence. Also Indianapolis, home of ex Vice-President Dan Quayle and politician Pete Buttigieg. Totality over site of Battle of Tippecanoe (1811 Nov 7) in Battle Ground, Indiana at Prophetstown State Park. That battle was one of the turning points in the wars for domination of the American Indians. Prophetstown was founded by Tecumseh, the great Shawnee warrior and Chief.

 

Ohio: the eclipse hits or scrapes nearly all major cities (including Cleveland), though just barely the north Cincinnati Metro and bisecting the Columbus Metro area. Eclipse occurs exactly 233 eclipse years (within a couple of days) after founding of Ohio on 3-1-1803. Crosses site of Kent State killings of May 4 1970 near Akron. Ohio was the home of 8 US Presidents.

Mormon Associations: In Ohio, path goes over Kirtland, the early home of the Mormon Church and Joseph Smith from 1831 to 1837. Path goes over Hiram, Ohio where Joseph Smith was famously tarred and feathered. Eclipse Totality goes over Manchester, New York, where Smith claimed to have found the golden tablets from which the Mormon religion is founded. The path very nearly also goes over Joseph Smith’s birthplace of Sharon, Vermont (99.13% coverage). 97% coverage at Brigham Young Birthplace of Whitingham VT.

Michigan sees less totality than Tennessee, and only the barest few square miles experience total eclipse, in the area of Lost Peninsula.

Pennsylvania: crosses city of Erie

 

New York State: In New York, the path follows the entire northern border. Totality at Niagara Falls. Centerline of totality in Rochester, Buffalo and Watertown, home of Allen Dulles who headed the CIA from 1953 to 1961. Dulles was born April 7 1893, 131 years and one day before eclipse.

Vermont: Total eclipse in Vermont's two largest cities, Burlington and Montpelier.

New Hampshire: Crosses little populated extreme north.

Maine: Caribou, Maine is the last major town in the USA to experience totality in the 2024 eclipse.

US-Canada Border: The eclipse path straddles the USA/ Canada Border for nearly 700 miles-from Toledo, Ohio to just south of Quebec City, Canada. The path exits Maine, about 100 miles from the easternmost point of the USA, then travels across extreme eastern Canada. The eclipse will have spent only about an hour and a half crossing Mexico, the USA and Canada

 

Recent eclipses around Draco-Metonic date of April 8

Eclipse dates can repeat for about a century due to the amazing Draco-Metonic Calendar

April 8 2005 Hybrid Isthmus eclipse ( Saros 129) 19 years prior to the 2024 eclipse. Hybrid Eclipse  in the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand. No totality was seen on any land, and the Ring of Fire was only visible across a small section of Northwest South America.

April 9 1986 and April 7 1978 saw  Partial eclipses.

April 8 1959 saw a Ring of Fire across Australia( Saros 138).

April 7 1940 ( Saros 128) was a Ring of Fire from Baja Mexico across the southern coast of the USA, including New Orleans six months after Lee Harvey Oswald is born there.

April 8 1921 saw a Ring of Fire across the extreme Northern latitudes of Europe ( Saros 118)

April 8 1902 saw a Partial.

Before that, the last April 8th Metonic was in 1652. The metonic moves on to April 9th by 2043

Counting the 2024 eclipse, 3 complete eclipses land on the exact April 8th Metonic in a 103 year span. As with the 2017 eclipse, 103 years separate the first complete eclipse and the last Apr 8 eclipse. 1921 and 2024 in this case (1914 and 2017 in the case of August 21).

 

Other Date Peculiarities of April 8 2024 and 2024 in general

 

Like 2017 Aug 21 USA Eclipse, this eclipse also occurs on Monday. It is a Hepton Cycle Eclipse.

 

The 2024 Apr 8 eclipse is 8 days after Easter. It is the closest total solar eclipse to Easter in US history, besides the very peculiar Apr 28 1930 Hybrid San Francisco eclipse, which also occurred 8 days after Easter and on a Monday. Those two eclipses are separated by exactly 99 eclipse years. As mentioned before, 8 days is the closest any solar eclipse can occur to Easter.

 

The 2024 eclipse is separated by 99 solar years and 74 days from New York City's great Roaring 20's Eclipse of 1925 Jan 24—the Big Apple's only Total Solar Eclipse since 1478.  The April 8, 2024 eclipse follows northern boundary of New York State, with totality in nearly half the state.

 

April 8th will be the 99th day of the year in 2024 (a leap year).

The Titanic Hybrid Eclipse of 1912 Apr 17 ( 60 hours after the sinking) and the 2024 Apr 8 total eclipse are exactly 118 eclipse years apart—40,902 days

The New World Eclipse (1492 Oct 21), which occurred nine days after Columbus landed in the Americas and the 2024 eclipse are exactly 560 eclipse years apart (194,104 days).  2024 eclipse coverage is 31% at Columbus landing site in Bahamas.

2024 Apr 8 is nine days shy of 500 years from the sighting of Manhattan Island by the explorer Verrazano on 4-17-1524. New York City sees 90% coverage in the 2024 Eclipse.

 

2024 is 400 years since the first Dutch colonists arrive in New York (1624)

2024 is 100 years after the final US skirmish with the Apache tribe, which ended more than 400 years of the North American conquest. (1924)

 

 

Saros 139 History and Peculiarities

Saros are repeating characters (every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 139 creates the April 8 2024 Great American Eclipse. For visual depiction of 139, see Saros Section. For detailed descriptions of these individual eclipses see World Section or USA section.

 

Saros 139 is scheduled for 71 events in its “lifetime of 1262 solar years or 1331 eclipse years. It began as a partial on 5-17-1501, matured rapidly after 8 events into a Hybrid on Aug 11 1627—remaining a Hybrid for nearly 200 years. It finally became a Total on the Winter Solstice Dec 21 1843. Its April 8 2024 Great North American Eclipse will be its 30th event and its 10th as a total. Saros 139 is rapidly maturing, and is scheduled to overtake Saros 136 as the longest duration Saros in the next hundred years. On July 16 2186, Saros 139 is scheduled to last 7 minutes 29 seconds, which would make it the longest total solar eclipse in 10,000 years from 4000 BC to 6000 AD and almost as long as any solar eclipse can possibly last. Clearly Saros 139 is a peculiar and significant eclipse.

 

Here is the recent past of Saros 139, starting with the most recent (see USA and World eclipse sections for more info):

 

Turkish Cross Mar 29 2006 Total Began at sunrise over east coast city of Natal (“Nativity”), Brazil—where the 2023 Oct 14 Ring of Fire exits the Americas.  It crossed the Atlantic to Africa, bisected Turkey and Georgia, crosses Kazakhstan, including Totality at their unusual Capital of Nur-Sultan, home of the 203 ft Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a pyramid devoted to reconciliation of the world religions. Paired with 8-11-1999 End of Millennium Eclipse. The extraordinary design they create is nearly identical to the one they recreate over America between 2017 and 2024. See next page.

 

1988 Mar 18 Total eclipse crosses Indonesia, Borneo and southern Philippines.  Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines erupts 3 years and 3 months and 3 days later in the 2nd largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

 

1970 Mar 7 End of 60's USA eclipse...Total Eclipse across the southeastern seaboard of USA. 93% totality at Cape Canaveral/ Cape Kennedy 234 days after rocket fired to on the moon. Totality at Charleston South Carolina, the greatest Slave Port in North America ( they get totality again in 2017).  The end of the sixties.

 

1952 Feb 25 Iranian Sharud Eclipse ---one of the eclipses that make up the great Shahrud, Iran Cross of 1952 and 1954, two eclipses that border the US led coup that established the reign of Shah Reza Pahlavi (see historical eclipses for more info).

 Paleo-Hebrew Tav          Paleo-Hebrew Aleph

 

        Above: Hepton Crosses 2017 to 2034

 

          Above: American Aleph 2017 to 2034

 

                  

 

Egypt and and “Little Egypt” of the USA are in the cross hairs of an extraordinary alignment.

Please review the above drawing and then prior Alpha/ Omega USA and Mideast maps.

                           

Paleo-Hebrew Writing (not to be confused with modern Hebrew, which arose after Babylonian Exile) is the original written word of the earliest Bible ( Torah, the five Books of Moses) and is closely related to other early Middle eastern script.

 

Tav is the last letter ( the 22nd) of the Hebrew alphabet. It is an X. This character x is essentially the same in Egyptian Hieroglyph, Phoenician, and Paleo-Hebrew. 

 

Aleph is the first letter of Paleo-Hebrew, or our A. It again is similar through all the early alphabets, and resembled a bull's head in some.  In modern times, it has interestingly become also the sign of “anarchy”.

 

The Tav X is, of course, also the Cross. It is also the x of a signature ( as in signing “x”  on a document). It is also a nearly universal sign of “wrong answer”,  condemnation or refusal. The X letter is also the 22^nd letter (“chi”) of the Greek ( which has 24 characters), and has historically represented Christ ( i.e. xmas for Christmas). It was a sign of early Christians, creating the tail of the Christian “fish” symbol.

 

Tav (X) in Hebrew is understood to mean completion, mark, sign, omen, or seal. Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means 'truth'. The Jewish Midrash says that emet is made up of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph, mem, and tav).

 

Is God writing on our planet with big simple letters, “I AM the Alpha and Omega”?

 

 

The Aleph we see over the USA between 2017 and 2023 is very close to identical to the Aleph the three Saros (145,134 and 139) created over the eastern hemisphere between 1999 and 2006

 

Above: Turkish Aleph -Aug 11 1999 ( Total Saros 145)-Oct 3 2005 ( Ring of Fire Saros 134) -Mar 29 2006 ( Total Saros 139

 

Below: American Aleph - Aug 21 2017 ( Total Saros 145)- Oct 14 2023 ( Ring of Fire 134)-April 8 2024 ( Total Saros 139)

                                   
American Aleph 2017, 2023 and 2024

 

Aug 21 2017 Great American Eclipse Total Eclipse (Saros 145)

Oct 14 2023 Corpus Christi Ring of Fire (Saros 134)

Apr 08 2024 Great North American Eclipse ( Saros 139)

All three eclipses begin just offshore of the continental land mass. Particularly interesting is the upper left configuration. The 2023 annular begins very close to the 2017 path, this creates a distinct letter A, which would not occur if the path was any further in either direction. There are two distinct crosses and one small overlap in Oregon. Two X's make an A. We'll now look at each X, or Tav.

                                                The Texas Tav:  2023 and 2024

 

 2023 Oct 14 Ring of Fire ( Saros 134) and 2024 Apr 8 Total ( Saros 139)   

 

Two extraordinary eclipses intersect in extraordinary fashion over South Texas.

San Antonio sees two eclipses in six years. Exact apex apparently near Lost Maples State Park; near Texas town of Utopia, in the hill country west of San Antonio.

                                  

 

American Total Hepton Cross 2017 and 2024

 

Two unique total eclipses cross exactly 7 eclipse years apart over the area known as Little Egypt ( i.e “Cairo” Illinois, “Memphis” Tennessee etc... Apex at the town of Makanda (“Star of Egypt”) 8 days after Easter. These two eclipses are separated precisely at midpoint by a total eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere on December 14, 2020, which occurs simultaneously with the electoral college of the USA electing the Biden/Harris ticket on the 221st anniversary of George Washington's death.

The next Hepton Cross begins in Egypt at the Valley of the Kings 1211 days later  on August 2, 2027.

                             The Great Mideast Cross  2027 and  2034

 

The Great Mideast Cross is formed by two total eclipses of August 2 2027 and March 20 2034.  They are part of the same Hepton Cycle which creates the Total American eclipses we just studied. Like those eclipses, these happen on Mondays.

The precise apex of the two paths is just southeast of the Valley of the Kings in the Red Sea near St. John's island almost precisely on the Tropic of Cancer. This cross mimics the nearly identically shaped Hepton Cross formed by the American eclipses of 2017 and 2024.

Like the American cross, these two eclipses are 2422 days apart and both appear on a Monday. Also, like the American cross, they are separated at the 1211 day midpoint by another significant Total Eclipse in the same hemisphere..in this case the 11-25-2030 British Empire Eclipse from South Africa to Australia, which we will study later. They also have a significant Ring of Fire event in their midst.

The 2027 Valley of the Kings Eclipse is 1211 days from the 4-8-2024 Easter New Madrid North American Eclipse. They are all members of the extraordinary Hepton Cycle of 7 Monday eclipses-which seem to be the maximum expression of the eclipse in human history.

There are great peculiarities in the relations of all these eclipses, but first we will take a quick look at the individual eclipses themselves.

                       

 

2027 August 2 —The Valley of the Kings and Mecca

Introduction

The most powerful Saros Character of them all, Saros 136, which is creating the longest eclipses of the last thousand years, makes a powerful statement across the center of the world. Maximum Eclipse almost directly over Luxor, Egypt the Valley of the Kings, - perhaps the greatest symbol of ancient Imperial Power, magic arts and mystery religion in the history of the world.

Prior to reaching there, the path straddles the Straits of Gibraltar and follows the coastline of North Africa. After exiting Egypt in the Red Sea, it passes directly over the Holiest City of Islam, Mecca. Not long after, it crosses Yemen and the Gulf of Oman. It exits land at the easternmost tip of Africa at the Horn of Somalia and dies at sunset in the Indian Ocean.

Astronomical facts about the 8-2-2027 eclipse:

Type of eclipse: Total

Saros Number 136

Duration of totality: 6 minutes and 23 seconds—this will be the longest eclipse on Earth until 2114

length of path: perhaps 8500 miles long

width of path, 160 miles wide

Maximum eclipse occurs 37 miles southeast of Luxor, Egypt

 Zodiac Locater: Eclipse occurs in Cancer

 

Geographical and Historical Peculiarities of August 2 2027 Total Eclipse

 

Eclipse begins over open Atlantic ocean and first hits land at the Straits of Gibraltar, simultaneously straddling Europe and Africa at their closest point.

Spain: Extreme Southern Spain experiences a total eclipse exactly one lunar year after Spain's first Total eclipse in 128 years (which occurred 2026 Aug 12)

Passes over The Rock of Gibraltar, perhaps the most famous rock in the world. Rock of Gibraltar is one of the two traditional Pillars of Hercules. According to ancient myths of Greeks and the Romans, it marked the limit to the known world.

North Africa: The eclipse touches every nation on the North coast of the African continent, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt.

In Algeria, path cuts just south of Algiers  with totality over Constantine, Oran, Sidi Bel Abbes and others, covering virtually all the major cities of Algeria. Eclipse bisects Tunisia.

Crosses Libya at port of Tripoli then Benghazi.

Totality at or very near most major cities on the north coast of Africa except Egypt

Egypt: Cairo Egypt has 95% totality. 94% at Pyramids of Giza.

Enters Egypt and crosses the famous Siwa Oasis, the most remote settlement in Egypt, populated for 3,000 years, also known as the Oasis of Amun-Ra, home to Oracle of the Egyptian god Ammon. Visited by Alexander the Great in quest to conquer the Persian Empire.

Crosses Asyut, Egypt ( “guardian” in ancient Egypt) a 5,000 year old city founded by the banks of the Nile, now containing the largest concentration of Christians in Egypt. Mummies of wolves have been found there and apparently the god Osiris was worshiped there as a wolf.

Maximum eclipse of the path occurs just a few miles southeast of Luxor, Egypt, ( ancient name Thebes),  the “Valley of the Kings”. The Great Necropolis has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-air museum",  the ancient center of civilization and human empire.

The Egyptian temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs of the west bank Theban Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. All of it is in total eclipse.

More than 65 Royal burials took place at the Valley of the Kings.

Pharaoh Ramses of the Biblical story of Exodus and his extended family were buried in the Valley of the Kings, along with many structures built by the Hebrew slave labor depicted in the Bible. Ramses II is the Pharaoh confronted by Moses and the plagues of God. Nearly all burials have since been “excavated”. Ramses tomb was apparently robbed beginning in late 1800's, and his body taken away in 1881 and now resides in a Cairo, Egypt museum.

Valley of the Kings is also Home of the Tomb of 19 year old Pharaoh Tutankhamen.  In the greatest grave robbery of the 20th century, his tomb was opened on  1922 Nov 4 , 7 months and 7 days after a Ring of Fire Eclipse bisected Egypt on 1922 Mar 28.  That eclipse was the last great complete eclipse to cross Egypt before this one.

Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia:

Path crosses Red Sea into Saudi Arabia.

Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, receives totality for the first time since 1905.

Path crosses ancient city of Sanaa, Yemen, then the Horn of Africa and exits into Indian Ocean.

The last land touched at sunset is Nelson's Island in the Indian Ocean, the most northern and easternmost island of the Great Chagos Bank, the world's largest coral atoll structure.

 

Metonic and Historical Peculiarities for 2027 August 2nd

2027 is the first accepted possible 2,000th anniversary of the Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which necessarily occurred sometime between 27 and 34 AD.

The first appearance of an August 2nd  Solar Eclipse since August 2 1674.

August 2 2027 is 37th Anniversary of invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 1990 Aug 2, the beginning of the first true USA/Mideast war. Eclipse has 60% coverage at Kuwait City. 56% at Baghdad.

August 2 2027 is the 251st anniversary of the final signing of the Declaration of Independence. Most signers signed it this day (Aug 2 1776).

August 2 2027 is the 93rd anniversary of the ascension of Adolf Hitler to the title of Fuhrer upon the death of Hindenburg. (Aug 2 1934)

August 2 2027 is the 88th anniversary of Albert Einstein's letter to Franklin Roosevelt encouraging the development of an atomic bomb (Aug 2 1939)

August 2nd 2027 is the 84th anniversary of the sinking of PT-109 in the Solomon Islands on Aug 2 1943, where the legendary heroics of future President John F. Kennedy saved the lives of his crewmates. That event is in itself shadowed in eclipses (see Kennedy Connections)

August 2 2027 is the 63rd Anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin “incident”, which was used as the pretext for massive involvement by the USA in Vietnam.

 

 

Zodiac Peculiarity

 

The Valley of the Kings eclipse of 2027 sees the sun and moon eclipse in Cancer, where Venus will be as well.

IN the sky, the constellation Cancer faces Leo the Lion in the Zodiac . The eclipse of 2017 featured sun and moon in the paws of Leo.

The constellation Cancer (the Crab) was considered the Scarab Beetle by the Egyptians. The Egyptian scarab (or dung beetle) was linked with the god Khepri, who presided over the sun, sunrise, and the renewal of life. 

Cancer is next to Leo in the Zodiac.

The constellation Leo was home to the 2017 Aug 21 Eclipse. Leo is the Lion as symbolized in Judeo/Christianity as the Lion of Judah. To Jews, this Lion is yet to come. To Christians, it is Jesus who will return again. These two great symbols, Lion and Crab, face each other with matching Total solar eclipses ten years minus 19 days apart.

 

Saros 136 Recent History and Character

Saros are repeating characters ( every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 136 creates the August 2 2027 Valley of the Kings Eclipse. For visual depiction, see Saros Section. For detailed descriptions of these individual eclipses see World Section.

Solar Saros 136 produced the six longest total solar eclipses of the 20th century, three of them over seven minutes long. It also produced the longest total eclipse of the 21st century at 6 min 38.86 sec on July 22, 2009 ( The Wuhan Eclipse). It will produce this century's three longest total eclipses. Saros 136 will ultimately produce a total of 44 total eclipses. It produced the most central total eclipses between the years 1209 and 2718 and the greatest magnitude of any eclipse since the year 540 on July 11, 1991. Clearly this is a peculiar and powerful Saros...let's look closely at its past.

here are last three Saros 136 eclipses, going backwards in time

July 22, 2009 The Wuhan Eclipse   Wuhan, China experiences the longest total eclipse of the 21st century along with Shanghai and many other great cities. Totality over many big cities in India

Jul 11 1991 Hawaii and Central America  Big Island of Hawaii - Mexico, including Mexico City over the Aztec Pyramids and most of the nations of Central America, many embroiled in civil war.

June 30 1973 Africa Total eclipse across Africa

Jun 20 1955 Southeast Asia --Saros 136 produces the longest total eclipse ( 7 minutes, 7 seconds) since the 11th Century with its center over Southeast Asia, totality bisects Vietnam and Cambodia. part of an five eclipse swarm over that region of the world-- just as it plunges into the nightmare of modern war. The day before Summer Solstice.

                                      March 20 2034 Spring Equinox Great Civilization Eclipse

 

The Great Civilization Eclipse of March 20 2034 completes the 19 year Spring Equinox Metonic we study later. It is pictured in center of map. Let's look at its facts and peculiarities.

Astronomical facts about the eclipse:

Type of eclipse: Total

Saros Number 130

Duration of totality along center line of maximum eclipse: 4 minutes and 9 seconds—

length of path: perhaps 8500 miles long

width of path, 99 miles wide

Maximum eclipse occurs over Tougouni Mountain in nation of Chad

Zodiac: eclipse occurs in Pisces

 

Date Peculiarities March 20 2034

March 20 2034 is the Spring ( Vernal) Equinox. The Spring Equinox is traditional first day of the year for many cultures, ancient and modern. March 20 2034 marks the first day of the New Year for Persian, Hindu, Zoroastrian and Bahai Calendars.

There was a Spring Equinox Total Eclipse (Saros 120) 19 years prior on 2015 Mar 20. That eclipse ended directly at the North Pole, perhaps the first eclipse in human history to do so.

2034 Mar 20 marks the 307th anniversary of the death of Sir Isaac Newton, probably the most famous scientist of all time (1727 Mar 20 Julian Calendar). Newton calculated the Crucifixion of Jesus at Apr 23 34 AD, which would make the 2034 Mar 20 eclipse 34 days prior to his calculation of the 2,000th anniversary of Crucifixion and Resurrection.

There have been only 7 complete eclipses on March 20th between 403 BC and 2014 AD (2417 years). Of those: 3 were total, 2 hybrid and two annular. Only two touched major civilizations and empires of earth.

There was one March 20 total eclipse in 1662. Prior to that, there were two total eclipses on March 20 since the birth of Jesus. One was on 1140 Mar 20 over England and Germany, near the beginning of the war called “The Anarchy”, which featured a total breakdown in law and order.

2000^th Anniversary of Crucifixion: The most obvious Solar Eclipse near Jesus's possible death date was March 19 33 AD. 2001 years and one day before the 2034 eclipse. It was a total eclipse one day prior to the Spring Equinox and 14 days prior to the traditional Crucifixion date of Friday April 3 33 AD. the date of a lunar eclipse visible from Jerusalem.

Exactly 1963 years before the 2034 eclipse, on 71 AD Mar 20,  a hybrid total crossed Greece and Turkey, 143 days after the destruction of the Jewish Temple by Rome and featured totality very near Athens—and directly over Artemida-so named for the goddess of the moon.

In other words, The Crucifixion of Jesus Eclipse ( 33 AD )and the destruction of the Temple Eclipse (70 AD) are framed by March 19/20 Spring Equinox eclipses occurring 38 years apart. In the Gospels, Jesus heals a paralytic who had been crippled for 38 years. Some believe Jesus could have been up to 38 years old when he was crucified, though this is certainly not traditional.

 

The Bering Strait Eclipse March 30 2033 : Exactly one lunar year prior to the 3-20-2034 eclipse is a Total Eclipse on 3-30-2033 which straddles the Bering Strait between the USA and Russia, linking both hemispheres simultaneously. That eclipse will be four days from the 2,000th anniversary of the Crucifixion and 7 days from the Resurrection. Very close to the exact 2000^th anniversary of Palm Sunday, or Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the last week of his life.

Geographic Path of the March 20, 2034 Solar Eclipse.

Begins just offshore of Brazil near Fortaleza-”Fortress” ( 90% coverage)

Africa: Crosses Atlantic and enters Africa, crossing 3 national capitals along the notorious slave coast. First is Porto Novo, Benin, the infamous Portuguese slave port. The second is Lome, capital of Togo. The third African capital is Lagos, Nigeria, the largest metropolitan area in Africa (nearly 25 million people), and also once a slave port. Its native name is “Eko” which means “war camp”.

Path crosses Chad, with maximum eclipse in Chad at Tougouni Mountain—then continues through war-torn Darfur and Sudan, before entering southern Egypt.

The eclipse crosses the Red Sea ( 85% eclipse at both possible Mt. Sinai locations in Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia) and enters Saudi at Yanbu, an important site in Islamic history just north of Medina.

 

Saudi Arabia: Totality scrapes northern metro area of Medina, Saudi Arabia death site of Prophet Mohammed and second most holy city in Islam. He died on June 8 632 AD- almost exactly 1477 eclipse years or 1445 lunar years prior to the eclipse.

 Kuwait: Path crosses southern Kuwait City, 44 years after Iraq invasion of 8-2-1990.

Iran: Path bisects Iran, entering at Bandar Ganauch and crossing Shiraz, one of Iran's oldest cities.

Afghanistan: Path bisects southern Afghanistan, including city of Farah, founded by Alexander the Great.

Pakistan: Path crosses northern Pakistan, including Peshawar, one of the oldest cities in south Asia. Path continues over the planned city of Islamabad (means “City of Islam”), the capital of Pakistan.

Path continues over Kashmir, the disputed mountain region of Pakistan and India, including its largest city, Srinagar.

Tibet: The path ends in Tibet at sunset, in an area now controlled by China.

 

Peculiarities of the Cross August 2nd, 2027 and March 20, 2034 Eclipse

 

The March 20, 2034 path crosses the August 2nd,2027 eclipse path just south of the Valley of the Kings (91% coverage ) and enters perfect Apex in the Red Sea just east of Egypt.

Only two towns of any decent size are in both eclipse paths, Ras Banas and Al Shalateen, both are in Egypt though Shalateen is a disputed territory with Sudan.

 

Ras Banas is on a peninsula north of an inlet called “Foul Bay”, by the ancient port of Berenice, founded by Ptolemy in the 3rd century B.C. and home of the famous troglodytes.

Berenice was a critical trading port for several empires. Its most famous ruin is that of an Egyptian style Temple featuring the name of Tiberius. Tiberius was Caesar during the last days of Jesus of Nazareth. Both eclipses of 2027 and 2034 cover this same temple in totality.

Little has been written about Al-Shalateen, but apparently they have several markets there, and it is known as a place of camel trading.

 

Saint John at Apex of the Cross: The true apex of the two eclipses occurs in the Red Sea apparently almost directly upon the Tropic of Cancer at St. John's Island ( Zabargad), a small yet somewhat famous island known for its now submerged topaz mines. Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation. St. John's, Canada was the last town touched by the 2024 USA eclipse.

Directly on Tropic of Cancer: The apex of the two eclipses of Aug 2 2027 and 3-20-2034 is directly on the line of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North).  The Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the Summer Solstice. It was named in the last centuries before Christ, when the sun was in constellation Cancer at that time. It has since shifted to Gemini.

 

Peculiarities of the Zodiac during 2027 and 2034 Solar Eclipses

The Aug 2 2027 eclipse sees the sun and moon eclipse in Cancer, near the planet Venus. Cancer faces Leo in the Zodiac . The eclipse of  Aug 21 2017 in USA featured sun and moon in the paws of Leo.

The two eclipses, ten years apart, feature solar eclipses in opposing constellations.

The constellation Cancer  ( the Crab) was considered to be the Scarab Beetle by the Egyptians. The Egyptian scarab ( or dung beetle) was linked with the god Khepri, who presided over the sun, sunrise, and the renewal of life. Ancient Egyptians believed that scarabs were the reincarnations of Khepri himself, and depictions of the god often show him with the head of a scarab. The scarab beetle was also associated with the gods Atum and Re, who represented primordial creation and the sun, respectively. Together, the gods formed Atum-Re, which illustrated the joint power of the sun and creation.

In the March 20, 2034, the sun and moon eclipse just below Pisces near the planet Jupiter. Pisces is considered the sign of the fish. The age of Pisces began in 1 AD, and thus close to the birth of Christ. One of many reasons Christians are often associated with fish.

 

 

Saros 130 Recent History and Character

 

Saros are repeating characters ( every 18 years 11 days and 8 hours- or 19 eclipse years). Saros 130 creates the March 20, 2034 Great Civilizations Eclipse. For visual depiction of 130, see Saros Section. For detailed descriptions of these individual eclipses see World Section.

 

Saros 130 contains 73 events, beginning its life with a partial eclipse on Aug 20 1096, five days after the First Crusade began on August 15, 1096. The stated goal of the European-based Crusades  was to retake the Holy Land (particularly Jerusalem) from the Muslims, though the history of the Crusades is complex, sordid and bloody. Saros 130 brought the first Total eclipse on Earth after the discovery of the New World—Apr 16 1493. Exactly 570 eclipse years separate that eclipse and the March 20 2034 eclipse.

 

Saros 130 brought the longest total eclipse of the 17th Century, on Jul 11 1619, at 6 minutes and 41 seconds in duration. That path connected the Americas and Africa. It crossed the port of Luanda, Angola very close to the exact day (which remains unknown) that 20 African Ndongo slaves were loaded there on the Spanish Slave Ship San Juan Bautista bound for South America. Those slaves were taken aboard the English ship White Lion bound for the area around Jamestown in North America and became the first African slaves in the English colonies. They arrived on August 20, 1619. Their arrival  was 398 years and one day before the August 21 2017 USA eclipse, which featured totality in Charleston, SC, North America's largest slave port.

This was likely Saros 130's most extraordinary moment until 2034.

 

Saros 130 Recent history:

 

March 8/9, 2016 Nyepi Eclipse was seen almost exclusively in Indonesia though it traveled for thousands of miles of open ocean. The eclipse coincided with Nyepi, a public holiday in Indonesia and the end of the Balinese Saka calendar. Nyepi is a day of silence, intended for self-reflection

 

February 26 1998 Panama Isthmus Eclipse occurs over a tiny portion of the land mass of the Americas 19 years to the date after the Mt. Saint Helens/Microsoft USA Eclipse of February 26, 1979.