 Around 2PM Eastern today, the sun and moon will hit the heavenly dancefloor and show off in a stunning, astronomical exhibition. A swath across parts of Mexico, the Midwest, and eastern United States will be treated to a total solar eclipse, a tango in the sky, where the moon will temporarily block out the sun and thrust us into midday darkness. It's not the first time humanity has witnessed such a sublime wonder--one that evokes exhilaration, curiosity, awe, and woe--and it definitely won't be the last. Although, one should note that this is a particularly spectacular eclipse for those in the USA because it will cover numerous states. While another total eclipse is due in 2044, it's only going to cover a fraction of the states in the US--about three. The country won't see another total eclipse comparable to today until 2045, cutting a swath along the southern US, and then 2078 and 2099. So, for many of us up in years, this may very well be the last total solar eclipse we witness. If you can pull away from work for a few minutes, you might want to join the millions whom already have bought lawn chairs and specially-made glasses for viewing eclipses. Grab your lunch or some popcorn and enjoy the afternoon for the last total solar eclipse of a lifetime for many. I'm sorry, did that sound morbid or nihilistic? "Last total solar eclipse of a lifetime?" Well, unless you're a healthy Millennial, Gen Z or Gen Alpha (or a vampire planning to travel the world in search of one), this is it. And maybe, just maybe, that's a cause for pause, Boomers and Gen X (of which I'm a member of the latter). How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless. The above quote, made popular by actor Brandon Lee--son of martial artist Bruce Lee, has been a particular favorite of mine. It's so easy for many of us to assume tomorrow will come, to assume someone--or some thing--will always be in our lives. This eclipse is a reminder that for as plentiful as these encounters and experiences seem, they are--indeed--finite. In that, I hope Heaven has an end-of-life summary, like Spotify or Twitch's year-end summary, that tells you how many times you listened to a particular song. How many times did you watch your favorite film, how many ice cream cones did you eat, or how many miles did you walk in your favorite park? As someone with a rigorous--yet monotonous--routine, I think about such things all the time. Up at 6AM, check the day's schedule, read and answer emails, doom-scroll Reddit, wash dishes, eat breakfast, work on projects, annoy the angels, eat lunch, do chores, work on projects, eat dinner, bug the angels s'more, watch something on Kanopy or listen to a book on Libby, doom-scroll Reddit once again for good measure, sleep. That's it, that's the routine, but for how much longer? Thirty more years? Ten? Three months? Two days? Hold tight. I'm going to circle back around to this thought in a bit. For now, let's move on.
The Religious Side of ThingsNow, since this is the last total solar eclipse in this neck of the woods for a long while, does that mean you throw caution to the wind, call in to work and then hitchhike to the best eclipse viewing spot? Hey, you're an adult. You know there are consequences for your actions, so perhaps this last-minute venture requires some thinking through. Also, chill. It's going to be streamed live across the internet. (I got you, friend! Helpful links above.) But whatever you do today, don't panic! *Deep breath.* All right, let me just rip off this Band-Aid.... No. The Christian rapture is not happening during nor anytime (soon) after the eclipse! *Exhale* There, I said it. Of all the most troglodyte things I've read across the internet regarding this eclipse are these murmurings of biblical proportions. Literally. Apparently, there's a group of folks--big enough to get the internet's attention--who are planning to leave Earth today in the rapture. Oof. Sit down, this is a long one. The rapture is an end-times event steeped in Evangelical Christian lore where those who are "saved" or "born again," (dead or alive) while also in God's good graces, will be swept up and away into the sky to meet God, thus avoiding death but particularly the damnation that is scheduled to follow soon thereafter.
According to the Christians who believe in the Great Tribulation, where God allows a Biblical big-bad Antichrist to run roughshod over Earth for seven years, getting spirited away in the rapture grants a soul front-row seats to the show! Welcome to Earth's series finale, as it were, where I have on good authority--as a former born-again Christian--that those up in the rafters will be dancing and singing with zeal and glee while we lowly nonbelievers get to participate in Satan's (even more hellish) version of Squid Games. Yea! Sound nightmarish? It is. The writers of the New Testament enjoyed musing over and plotting the torment and misery of their enemies. Odd, considering Jesus' recurring messages of love, forgiveness, and peace. Speaking of my favorite character in the Bible: 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Jesus here, speaking of end-times, tells us that no one--not Michael, Gabriel or even Uriel--knows when he will return. And this is true, actually. I've written about this countless times. No archangel knows when it's their turn to incarnate, as Immanuel did with Jesus. As Sandalphon is here on Earth with us now. Only the Creator knows this. So as the Bible states, no one but God knows when Jesus [Immanuel] will make another cameo. And it is this return, this parousia, that is said to be in conjunction with the end of the world, depending on who you talk to. Or who's making the most noise at the moment. Right now, that would be a lot of confused people who, in the Year of our Lord 2024, still think that the sun going dark for a few minutes is some type of great Biblical omen. In this case, it's not. I promise. And trust when I say that I'm not so connected that I would be arrogant or presumptuous in my statement. I inquired. As soon as I saw the internet hubbub, I went to the angels about it, as I'm wont to do. Cassiel quickly answered, "Oh, something's coming, all right. But it's not the 'rapture' and it's not on April 8." Nope, not ominous at all, Cass. "What's coming is a moment requiring stillness, quietude and your undivided attention. It's a shakeup that's long overdue. Be watchful." He continued, "If the 'rapture' were to come, none of the people expecting it would be taken up. The [phenomenon] your world associates with the 'rapture' is intended for actual saints--humble and pure in word, deed and purpose--or those chosen to be taken up (e.g. Enoch, Elijah), and there aren't many of those. Not even 144,000. The world wouldn't even notice their absence." So, those of you avoiding flying today because you weren't sure if your pilot was going to suddenly disappear at 33,000 feet, you're safe. That all said, there's so many folks that are going to be disappointed about this whole hullabaloo tomorrow. This takes me back to when I used to be a church-goer. I remember that the pastor would whip the congregation up into a frenzy (always before offerings) over how glorious it would be to be whisked up in the rapture. I would always sit there, quietly wondering if something were wrong with me. Shouldn't some of us stay behind to help souls during the tribulation? I thought. How would those left behind find God if all his people are up in Heaven? None of it sat right with me. I found the entire notion gross and selfish and grossly selfish. The pompous, hypocritical, self-righteous, pearl-clutching, finger-wagging, Bible-waving crowd simply does too much, as the kids say today. I honestly wouldn't mind the rapture at all if it meant these folks were vacating the premises. But as Cassiel pointed out, it's the saints, the compassionate (actually Christ-like) souls we so desperately need among us, that get caught up--not a single one of your judgey aunts or conspiracy-theorist uncles on Facebook, or any number of their "friends." No, it's the children we fail, the meek we ignore, the innocent we kill, those are the ones that the rapture, if it's even a thing anymore, is intended for. The rest of us get to stay here and pay our bills on tomorrow. Sorry. The Mystical Side of Things So, what does the total solar eclipse hold for the rest of us that aren't getting caught up in the rapture? The rest of us that will be getting up on Tuesday? I've an inkling. But first, a little story. The Eclipse of 1999 While most astrologers may find solar eclipses fascinating, I don't particularly enjoy them. Interpreting them, anyhow. I never really viewed them as anything more as harbingers of chaos. They stir up energy and make people frantic. That's not a comment on the astrological energy of the eclipse, however, but on the mental fragility of people, in general. Somehow, we're revisiting the moon, getting high-def photos back from Mars, but an eclipse still scares the bejesus out of us? We're such silly little humans, to be sure. Children. Forever and eternally children, as the angels say. I openly admit that there's at least one time where the sun going dark set me back on my heels. It came at a time where I was in the midst of deprogramming myself from evangelical indoctrination. Mind you, I had been born and raised Lutheran, and only spent three of my college undergraduate years in an evangelical environment. Still, those three years were rough! And though I had found peace in Buddhism by 1997, evangelical whispers were still haunting me. They only got louder that August of 1999. In the late nineties, as a journeyman astrologer, I had learned that it's not the eclipse itself that wreaks havoc, but what's going on around the eclipse. Case in point, the total solar eclipse of August 1999. This eclipse cut a swath across Europe and parts of Asia. In the United States, news of it barely stirred a ripple. Oddly enough, of all the total eclipses of the last few decades, the eclipse of 1999 actually portended an apocalypse. Not the apocalypse. An apocalypse. As Archangel Uriel, Angel of Armageddon, says, "Apocalypses happen all the time. At any one time on Earth, some ones' lives are coming to an abrupt end as they know it." Not to be too cold or callous about it, as Uriel can sometimes be, but life goes on. Those of us that survive pick up the pieces and rebuild as best we can. Thing is, I hadn't yet met Uriel in 1999, so I didn't quite have a grasp on the fact that the world was always ending...somewhere for...someone. I only knew that the grand cross alignment of August 11 with Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius put me on edge. It was an alignment that popped up in the Book of Revelation. And if ever there were a time for the Bible-thumpers to be wary, it was then. But as the Romans did with John of Patmos--author of Book of Revelation--they outlawed astrology, so they missed this sign. Oops. 6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. Biblical scholars will tell you that the lion is Saint Mark, the calf is Saint Luke, the man (angel) is Saint Matthew, and the eagle is Saint John. These are symbols for the Four Evangelists of the New Testament. In astrology, however, the lion is Leo, the calf is Taurus, the man is Aquarius, and the eagle is Scorpio. 
I know. I know, how is the eagle Scorpio? If you had asked me this question back in 1999, I would have, with all certainty, expounded that back in the day (what day? dunno!), Scorpio was associated with the eagle. How did I know that? I have no clue. I can't tell you from whom I heard it or from where I read it. I, perhaps, was given this lil chunk of misinformation(?) by elder astrologers that had taken me under their wing. Without question, I simply accepted it as fact. And apparently, a lot of old psychics, astrologers and hobby Bible astrologers accept it, as well, because there are plenty who write about it across the net, but none (that I've found) say exactly where this lore began. The sign of Scorpio (or Scorpius) along with forty-seven of the constellations, was given to us by the grandfather of horoscopes and Western astrology, Ptolemy. Mid 100's AD through his writing of the Tetrabiblos or the Four Books, Ptolemy was able to soften Rome's once jaundiced view of astrology. This was the very same view, by the by, that forced John of Patmos into exile, where he wrote the Book of Revelation, only a few scant years before Ptolemy was born. In his work, Ptolemy names another constellation Aquila. What is Aquila? The Eagle. And it's nowhere near the constellation of Scorpio. So, how Scorpio got retconned into being an eagle for Biblical astrologers is probably the same way the four-headed beast in Book of Revelation got retconned to represent the four evangelists--it's just humans with agendas being human. For all I know, Scorpio becoming an eagle could have been some lowly monk's fever dream during the Dark Ages. The conflation could have started during the High Renaissance by some failing student of Da Vinci. It could have started during an ashram in some west-coast hippy compound in the 1960s. These days, I'm quite dubious about the claims of Scorpio and the eagle, but if someone can provide a reputable, historical source on how the eagle became associated with Scorpio, I will dutifully correct my rant here. (Feel free to comment below.) Until then, moving along. The grand cross alignment in astrology--where planets sit at 90 degrees of one another on an astrological chart, thus creating a perfect square--is one of the most anxiety-inducing planetary alignments. Hollywood and fiction writers always make a big deal of eclipses (planetary conjunctions) because you can easily see those, but in real life, it's the grand cross that sends astrologers running around like their hair is on fire. The grand cross indicates struggle, hardship, friction, and discord. It's an all-around bad omen. But when you get a grand cross planetary alignment involving the fixed signs of the zodiac--Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius--the most stubborn, unmovable signs in the chart, then you've got the perfect storm. This isn't a tiff or a scuffle. This is war. Add to all of that a verse from the Book of Revelation, as well as a total eclipse, and you've got pandemonium. This eclipse of 1999 scared the hell out of me! My fear wasn't completely unfounded. Two years later, in late September 2001, I would receive an email from one of my astrology teachers. The email contained only two words: "Told you." Back then, we had bulletin boards (think proto-Reddit), and there was all kinds of chatter about the 1999 eclipse sitting in the middle of a grand cross alignment with fixed signs. Naturally, there were the dooms-day astrologers, and then those who were certain, "It really won't be that bad. This is just a case of Y2K jitters." Yeah, we had that going on, too. In my teacher's eyes, this was all just too much. He was adamant that this particular eclipse was bad news. All we could do was wait and see. The year 2000 rolled in somewhat quietly, and my teacher took a lot of heat for that, but the heat was disingenuous. He always went by a "three-year rule," where if an astrological omen as big as a grand cross didn't come to pass within that time, then it was misinterpreted, and it was back to the drawing board to see where one went wrong. That was what my teacher told the dissenters, "If nothing happens by 2002, then I'll shut up about it." Yeah, it didn't take three years. The 1999 eclipse turned the world upside down. Our apocalypse came and went. Our world as we knew it ended. But as Uriel said, we picked up the pieces and moved on. So, if I watched 1999's astrology play into a disaster, why am I so (relatively) chill about today? Remember what I said, it's not the eclipse itself that's your focus, but what's going on around it. Unlike 1999, there is no significant grand cross to worry about. The planets are mostly clustered in the springtime signs of Pisces, Aries, and Taurus with a scant few on the opposite side of the chart, creating sextile alignments. Sextiles, which create angles of 60 degrees, are considered harmonic, soft, agreeable. They're considered positive. And if you look to where the eclipse is, it's like a little baby all swaddled in its sextile cradle. So cute! Overall, this is not an eclipse of bad omens, it's more like lemon juice on a papercut. The sextiles here are reminding us that this could be so much worse, so let us all be grateful that it's just a papercut, but it's gonna sting like a sonovabitch. The House of Aries Gets Shaken The eclipse today is occurring right smack dab in the middle of the sign Aries. Aries is a cardinal fire sign. The fire gives us passion and vivaciousness. The cardinal modality of the sign gives us a bit of room to breathe. A cardinal sign is amicable, it's friendly, it tries to get along with others. This is the opposite of Leo, which is a fixed fire sign, and whose energy is stubborn, domineering and even bullying sometimes. (The other fire sign is Sagittarius, for comparison, which is mutable--a mix of the cardinal and fixed qualities.) Alongside the eclipse, which in astrological terms, is a conjunction of the sun and moon, there are also the planets Mercury and Venus nestled close by. Venus is actually in conjunction with this eclipse, so that's three heavenly bodies in alignment. Poor Aries. Love and relationships are going to be a bit rocky until Venus can clear out of this mess within a month. With Mercury also sitting right there, that means communication is going to go sideways. Nothing Aries says for the next few days will be the right thing, so for now, perhaps a quiet timeout is best. Think of this as a personal Mercury Retrograde, Aries, custom-made for you! Despite all this, Aries ain't going down without a fight! The beauty of Aries is its undying dedication to the philosophy of YOLO--you only live once. Aries will look at opportunities, shrug, ignore most if not all the risks, and jump in feet first. Aries is impulsive--which takes a toll on the bank account--and it tends to live in the moment. Finally, I can now circle back to the beginning of the blog about my boring daily routine. In comparison, Aries will shun monotony at every turn. The sign embraces the surprises that life brings, and it seeks to make each day as different as possible from the one before. Aries loves color and variety, but finds itself getting bored often, which is why it rarely finishes anything it starts. Still, it's apt to shake up the rest of the zodiac--especially homebody Cancer--and exclaim, "Seize the day!" I must admit that my life got turned upside down by an Aries (in a good way), who forced me out of my routine and reminded me, "How many more times do you think this opportunity is going to come around?" It was through an Aries that I enjoyed one of my best decades ever. It's like having a real-life Tigger in your bubble! That being said, the rest of the zodiac needs to step up and help Aries through this tough time. Call your Aries friends and family. Check in on them. A quiet Aries is never a good thing...for anyone. Help where you can until your precious Aries feels itself again--sometime around its next birthday. This is going to be a year-long stint with some tough lessons. That's one little annoyance I find with eclipses, they tend to drag out the drama well past the expiration date. Still, I'm going to repeat: It could be worse. The "House" of the USA As for the United States, which is under the sun sign of Cancer, this eclipse occurs in the fourth house, meaning that this upheaval, in terms of relationships and communication, is going to wreak havoc right here on the North American continent. The focus is going to be all about what's going on within the country's borders and less about what's happening on the international stage. We're already seeing that with "country first" rhetoric, and those voices--right for all the wrong reasons--are only going to get louder as more and more folks feel that home and the collective family living therein can no longer be ignored. If politicians want to win this year, they had best focus on what they can directly do for their constituents--show, don't tell! People will want to hear and see actual plans--real, life-affecting agendas. The old, staid rhetoric of "us" versus "them" won't play as popularly as it has in the past. People will want to know their homes and families are safe and secure, and so far, few politicians are talking about this. Infrastructure, education, health are what's on everyone's mind. Rabblerousers and their ilk are going to find their speeches falling flat because they promise nothing but chaos and uncertainty. As I said at the very beginning of this blog, this eclipse is going to be a cause for pause, and those who pay attention will rediscover that life is finite, that connections are important, that sharing life is just as important as living it. In that, community and a sense of security and safety will float to the top of what folks deem as important. And this sentiment will absolutely include financial security. A word about war (or calamity). That's what people are usually the most interested in when there's an eclipse. Mars, the planet of war, is sitting in Pisces, in USA's third house. The third house is the mind, the intellect. It's rational and logical. But Pisces is anything but (sorry, Pisces). Pisces is dramatic and unhinged and the sky is always falling. It's also lofty, and intuitive--which actually makes the USA the bastion of innovation that it is. Still, that Piscean inability to self-regulate emotion has created the divide we've seen in America since its inception. Irrationality, hyperbole, and histrionics have always been at war with intellect, composure and propriety. That's what you get, a divided heart and mind, when Pisces rules the third house. Mars in Pisces means heightened emotion, a frenzy. But instead, the USA is in for a huge bout of war fatigue as the eclipse put a damper on American war hawks. The country has met its limit with wars, rumors of wars and constant saber rattling. People are going to start tuning out the news, ignoring rogue leaders and their threats. This could be a good thing, or a very bad thing. It all depends on where you sit politically. Emotionally and mentally, however, the United States is drained. It just has no more bandwidth to allot for the news cycle of constant doom and gloom. In that, the search for quick and easy escapism will reach new heights. This includes the use of substances, which this eclipse will push into overdrive, thus utilizing Mars' hunger for a whole new war on the home front. War on drugs, redux. It may not be the war everyone was expecting an eclipse to bring, but it's a war nonetheless. What Mars in Pisces brings is the lashing out at everyone around us. What the eclipse brings to the mix is turning that lashing inward. Self flagellation. America is going to be too busy with its own internal battles to even think about stirring up fires internationally. Other People's Houses (More Astrology) The sun signs of Pisces and Taurus are going to get splashed with a little of Aries' chaos, as well. Taurus is going to be more indecisive than normal with both Uranus and Jupiter tugging at it. Uranus loves change and revolution. Jupiter is all about expansion and growth. Sounds good, right? But Taurus is not always welcoming of big change or surprises. Oh well, Taurus, that eclipse happening next door is going to force you out of your shell and into some uncomfortable situations. It's okay. Breathe through them and remember: You just need to outlast everyone else around you. Your patience and longsuffering will carry you far in that respect. Pisces, poor baby. Neptune, Saturn and Mars are just bullying you right now! All that noise going on next door in Aries' house has just turned you into a big ball of nerves, and it's hard to find solace anywhere. Neptune, who's usually your best friend, is sitting you down and asking you to reevaluate everything you believe in--your dreams, your spirituality. You're being tested in your comfort zone of lofty ideas right now, finding it hard to believe in yourself. Saturn is also sitting on your couch, telling you that you need to be more disciplined, that you need to get your head out of the clouds, that your crazy schemes haven't paid off so far, why would they now? Saturn can be cruel, but it makes us pay attention to the truths and lessons in life that we've been avoiding. And then there's Mars, standing out on your front porch, smack-talking everyone over at Aries' house, just itching for a fight. Mars is hotheaded, trying to pull you into scuffles and skirmishes. Stay strong, Pisces. You're a coolheaded, deep-feeling water sign. You're intuitive and empathetic. Use those natural skills to navigate this mess. It won't be easy, especially with the eclipse, but you've been through worse, and you lived through that. You'll live through this, and you'll be better and wiser for it. If there's one thing you truly cherish, is that sweet sweet wisdom. The other signs. I didn't talk about you? Consider that a blessing. No news is good news where an eclipse is concerned. Go help out your Aries, Taurus, and Pisces friends. They're gonna need it. The Human Side of ThingsOkay, there's no rapture. Jesus isn't coming back today. You still have to go to work tomorrow and pay your bills. The United States is going to turn its focus on home matters in a way we've not experienced in decades or perhaps longer. Aries, Taurus, and Pisces are about to learn some hard lessons this year.
What's left? Carpe diem. Enjoy the eclipse. Be safe, watch out for the little ones in your life. Show them the safe and proper way to view the event. This is just one total eclipse out of hundreds. Hundreds! The world is still turning. And as long as Archangel Uriel doesn't get his way with us any time soon, there will be hundreds more, and the world will continue to turn. Life goes on. Brightest blessings.
1 Comment
Barbara Rose
4/9/2024 07:06:59 pm
Hey Chantel. First off, I love your books! I love the way your write about angels. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorChantel Lysette, International Author and Psychic Medium Archives
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