The Eclipses of 2022: Astrology, Geography and Geopolitics

We’re about to get the first eclipse of the year, so it’s high time that I posted about them.

Eclipses mark moments of profound change and transformation, and often strife and difficulty. The ancients viewed eclipses as malefic, negative forces. Their intensity is determined by where the eclipse lands in a given chart as well as where the eclipses are visible. Eclipses – especially solar eclipses – are thought to have the most effect on people and places where they are visible.

For some background on eclipses and Saros cycles, please read this post.

2022’s eclipses occur across the Taurus-Scorpio axis. This cycle started in 2021 and will continue through 2023, when they shift to the Aries-Libra axis.

Here are the details of the 2022 eclipses:

Eclipses in the Natal Chart

When interpreting an eclipse in your natal chart, look at the house that the eclipse falls in and also check for any planets, angles or other points that are near to the specific degree at which the eclipse occurs. Eclipses will be most powerful when they are close to your angles and/or planets.

Because I practice traditional astrology, I view eclipses as malefic influences and I hide from them – literally. This is especially true for solar eclipses, but also for lunar as well. Think about how the ancients would have viewed a solar eclipse: the nourishing, life-giving vital force of the Sun is diminished, darkened, blocked. For lunar eclipses, the silvery Moon who illuminates your path in the night darkness becomes stained an ominous, bloody red. The symbolism is very obvious, so it’s not surprising that eclipses were seen as bad.

I suggest that everyone avoid being out in the eclipse light, especially solar eclipses. Stay inside, close the windows, burn some incense and pray. Eclipses are a good time to cleanse, both physically and metaphysically. I always do a deep clean of my house a day or two before the eclipse, and then on the day of the eclipse I have a nice cleansing bath with salt and herbs. This helps wash off the sticky, yucky eclipse energy that can accumulate during this time, and it’s also a good act of remediation especially if the eclipse is hitting a key part of your chart.

As a side note, I find the prospect of eclipse tourism super disturbing, especially all the hubbub already brewing about the “Great American Eclipse” in 2024. I’m expecting that eclipse to be the portent of something really bad for North America. (However, I will acknowledge that the Great American Eclipse website is a great resource with excellent maps – I just advocate that people use this info the opposite way it’s intended, and try to get as far outside the path of totality as possible!)

Eclipses in Mundane Astrology

In mundane/national astrology, eclipses are interpreted similar to how they are considered in natal astrology: the closer they are to angles/planets in the charts of nations/cities, the more effect they will have; and the effects are likely to be stronger in places where the eclipse is visible.

Additionally, eclipses are thought to have more effect on countries ruled by the planet that rules the sign in which the eclipse falls. In 2022, the eclipses occur in Taurus and Scorpio, so the eclipses are ruled by Venus and Mars. That means countries ruled by Venus or Mars – that is, countries with Taurus, Libra, Aries or Scorpio rising – are more likely to be impacted by this year’s eclipses.

Austria is Taurus rising, the United Kingdom and Argentina are Libra rising, Canada and France are Aries rising, and Italy and Switzerland are Scorpio rising. So, it’s possible these countries will be impacted more strongly, particularly the ones in Europe as the solar eclipse in October is visible there. (This is not a definitive list.)

It’s also important to consider where the eclipse falls in the natal chart of the leader of the country, particularly in the countries where the eclipse is visible.

In Canada’s chart, the 2022 eclipses occur across the second and eighth house axis. Here’s a chart showing where the eclipses fall this year – as you can see, they are very close to Canada’s natal Pluto and Saturn:

As I wrote in my Aries ingress post, the big story for Canada this year involves our nation’s finances and legislation. The eclipse cycle emphasizes this, as Canada has natal Pluto at 15 Taurus and natal Saturn at 17 Scorpio, so the eclipses are hitting those natal planets. As well, transit Uranus is around the middle degrees of Taurus and transit Saturn is square Taurus/Scorpio in Aquarius, so the eclipses are impacted by these transits as well.

In terms of effect on Canada, the lunar eclipses will have more effect because they will be visible here.

I’d like to take a look at the chart for each eclipse so we can see the transits at play during each one, and compare it to a map of where the eclipse will be visible. Remember that eclipses are stronger in places where they can be seen.

Partial Solar Eclipse – April 30, 2022

With Uranus in the middle degrees of Taurus throughout the year, all of 2022’s eclipses are influenced by chaotic and rebellious Uranian energy – it’s just a question of how much chaos and rebellion, which is determined by how close the eclipses are to Uranus by degree.

The first eclipse of the year is a solar eclipse only four degrees away from Uranus in Taurus, so that amps up the Uranian disorder a lot. The benefics, Venus and Jupiter, are conjunct in Pisces and therefore casting a supportive sextile to Taurus, which might have some mitigating effect; however, Neptune and Mars are also in Pisces so they are adding some confusing anger to the mix. And don’t forget the hard, harsh square from Saturn in Aquarius which is trying enforce order over the mayhem.

This eclipse also occurs only two degrees away from an opposition to US President Joe Biden’s Mars. Actually, the eclipse cycle in 2022 is bad news for Biden in general, as it falls across his sixth and twelfth house axis – aka the health axis. That’s not great news for anyone, but especially for older people in declining health. As well, Biden has a Scorpio stellium of Mars, Mercury, Sun and Venus, and the Moon in Taurus, so all of those planets are getting hit by the eclipses in a big way.

This isn’t eclipse-related, but Biden will also have Mars conjoin his natal Uranus, Descendant and Saturn later in 2022, and will get three hits of Mars on his natal Saturn, so overall it looks like a pretty difficult health year for Biden.

Total Lunar Eclipse – May 16, 2022

The first lunar eclipse of 2022 makes an opposition to Uranus by 10 degrees – fairly wide, but certainly still in effect. Saturn in Aquarius is in very tight square (less than 1 degree) to the eclipse, and a close Mars-Neptune conjunction is trine the eclipse. So on one hand you have Saturn really trying to clamp down the order and discipline over this eclipse, and on the other hand you have the angry confusion of Mars and Neptune casting an awkward trine to “help” the lunation.

The image I get is a surly drunk aggressively slurring nonsense in one ear, while your coldly sober father gives you commands in the other.

Also, this eclipse occurs only 2 degrees away from Trudeau’s IC, so it may impact him on a particularly personal level (possibly involving family and other private matters). It occurs only 2 degrees from Biden’s Sun and 3 degrees from his Venus – again, not great on the health front.

Partial Solar Eclipse – October 25, 2022

This solar eclipse is visible over Russia, the Middle East, and most of Europe and western Asia. The centre of totality is actually very close to the infamous Dyatlov Pass. (If you’re not familiar, the Dyatlov Pass incident is the Russian analog to the JFK assassination in terms of its cultural impact and mythos.) I find this super interesting and unnerving, given all the rumours and conspiracies surrounding that horrible incident in 1959 – not least of which includes reports of burning orbs and explosions in the sky, and higher-than-normal radiation levels in the clothing on the bodies.

So, I’m expecting some big news from those areas around this time and afterwards. This eclipse is also in very close conjunction to Venus, which ties in themes of diplomacy and peace negotiations. The Saturn-Uranus square is very close to being exact at this time, so there’s that push-pull of order-chaos that we’ve seen for the last couple years. And Mars is retrograde at this point, though that’s in Gemini which is averse the Taurus/Scorpio axis, so hopefully his influence is rendered null.

The 2022 eclipses occur in Russia’s fourth and tenth houses, so directly involving the people and their leader/government. This one occurs close to the IC, which suggests big events involving the Russian people, as well as its land, crops and cities; and very possibly also its leader. Unfortunately, the birth data we have for Russian President Vladimir Putin is conflicting and therefore unreliable (the Rodden rating is DD), so we don’t know where these eclipses hit his natal chart.

Total Lunar Eclipse – November 8, 2022

The final eclipse of 2022 is super spicy, thanks to an exact conjunction with Uranus; Mercury and Venus are also on opposite sides of the Sun. So the people are dosed with Uranian chaos, while their national leaders are caught between an onslaught of information and the pressures of diplomacy. Jupiter has retrograded back into Pisces at this point so we get a bit of that Jupiter-Neptune confusion vibe that we had back in April.

This eclipse is also less than 1 degree away from a conjunction to Canada’s natal Pluto, and less than two degrees away from an opposition to Canada’s natal Saturn. I’m expecting a transformative, outsized event to come out of this. It might not manifest right away, as eclipses often open up a new period of time and their effects can take some time to build, but I think we’ll get some big news related to Canada’s finances/banking/monetary system, and/or our foreign finances, in late 2022/early 2023.

With that, I wish you a safe and easy eclipse season.