The 20 April 2023 hybrid solar eclipse

There will be a hybrid solar eclipse on the 20^th of April 2023. This is a rare type of eclipse, with only 3.1% of all solar eclipses this century being hybrid. This will be the last hybrid eclipse prior to the total eclipses of this solar Saros series 129. We will unpack what this eclipse will mean in what follows…

To the mechanics of the eclipse, the eclipse path starts deep in the Indian Ocean directly south from India, starting at about 01:30 UT. It becomes a total eclipse at around 02:00 UT. This one occurs just 4 days after perigee, meaning the Moon will appear to be a bit larger than usual, also meaning the totality phase of the eclipse will be longer than is usual for hybrid eclipses.

As the eclipse progresses it strikes an arc northward, crossing over Exmouth, Western Australia at around 03:30 UT, reaching its maximum at 04:09 UT over East Timor. The local time for Exmouth at the time of the maximum eclipse there will be 11:27 in the morning. Afterwards it passes over the rest of Indonesia then outward into the Pacific, ending its totality phase just after 06:30 UT and passing out finally at sunset, around 07:00 UT. Thus, for the vast majority of observers in the eclipse path they will see a total eclipse. It will be visible in varying degrees of totality across the whole of Australia and most of Southeast Asia. The path can be seen below (bigger):

The astrological chart for the eclipse is below (bigger):

Solar eclipses are always at the new moon. Since this is a waxing series, just before totality, its effects will be strong. Added to that is the square to Pluto formed by the lunation (a new or full moon, including any eclipse, is a lunation). Pluto brings to an end all situations that hinder human progress and which have outlived their usefulness.

The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree is as follows:

• • • • A duck pond and its brood (29Ar50)

Dane Rudhyar made extensive commentary on the Sabian symbols. For this particular symbol he attributes the idea of boundaries and focalization. But in accepting one’s current boundaries (i.e. limitations) and focusing one’s energies there, one gains in potency. In order to give flight to the next period one must bring one’s focus to the immediate needs and physical boundaries of one’s capacity for manifesting results. The 29^th degree of every sign is also known as the anaretic degree of a sign.

The anaretic degree of every sign has sometimes been called the ‘degree of fate’, and is often given a negative spin. In horary astrology it is interpreted as a situation that will not move until conditions have been fulfilled. Those degrees represent the closing of the chapter represented by the sign, Aries in this case. One can thus see this one as ‘the end of the beginning’, Aries representing new starts. One can also see it as the end of more a more militant phase of activity, Aries being ruled by Mars. All in all, what we have in the case of this eclipse is the idea of focused potency that will manifest in powerful results as the eclipse axis is activated by transiting planets.

We also see the eclipse is opposite the dwarf planet Haumea. Haumea was a Hawaiian creation and fertility goddess and in astrology her influence is one of cyclic renewal. The eclipse axis, with the lunation on one end and Haumea opposite, forms a t-square with Pluto, bringing in the idea of beneficent destruction preceding rebirth. In world affairs this is not difficult to imagine, with the rebirth and strengthening of Chinese and Asian influence in world affairs, including Russia.

The eclipse will be activated by the Sun every six months, on the 20^th of April for the next few years as well as the 23^rd of October. The first Mars activation comes on the median date of 11 Oct 2023, with the next on the 8^th of June 2024, then on 22 Sep 2025 at the equinox.

We note also the eclipse is conjunct Jupiter, which adds to the potency of the eclipse as well as adding quite an expansive note. The median date for the Jupiter activation is the 16^th of May this year, meaning the Jupiter activation and effect is already in evidence. Jupiter will influence an eclipse point for a couple of months. Jupiter will not return to the eclipse point by retrograde motion, thus its influence is a one-off.

The only aspect Jupiter forms in the figure besides the lunation is the square with Pluto, which can point to uprisings, legal matters, the actions of plutocrats and speculators. Jupiter/Pluto combinations are associated with oligarchs, increase in wealth and speculators. Perhaps when Mars activates this eclipse for the first time we will see some sort of ‘October surprise’ in the financial sector.

The midpoints in any mundane chart (such as this one) are quite important in analysis. The Sun/Moon/Pluto combination has just been discussed. But it also forms a train of other midpoints, as follows: Sun/Moon/Pluto=Sat/Nep=Mars/Ura. Thus, we have the primary combination also with the ‘illness axis’ (Sat/Nep) and the ‘intervention axis’ (Mars/Ura). Added together, these midpoints indicate struggle, sudden manifestations or interventions, as would be shown in cases of epidemics, strong emotions and tests of will and courage.

In all, this chart and eclipse in general look to bring about significant changes in the outlook of certain world events, clearing of the air and away of obstacles, more financial instability on the horizon and crises leading to resolution of long-standing challenges. To see where those changes may come, we look to the culmination lines for the eclipse.

The culmination lines for the eclipse are of interest, below (bigger):

A brief rundown on the more significant culminations lines are as follows:

• A cluster of the Sun/Moon, Node and Jupiter across the Far East, specifically in China, Siberia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Western Australia. All of these nations and regions have been in the news of late, with the tensions over Taiwan, US beefing up military bases and presence in the Philippines, ostensibly to counter China and so forth. In Australia we have the ongoing tensions over the AUKUS deal.
• The Pluto line runs through far western Russia, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, East Africa and South Africa. There is a particular point of interest regarding this line:

On 20 May 2023 transiting Mars completes a t-square opposite Pluto with the lunation as the apex ‘planet’. Pluto, we note, has its culmination line running through Ukraine. Pluto is currently on Ukraine’s natal Saturn. The first Mars transit over the eclipse axis comes on 11 Oct 2023, opposite the lunation. Pluto makes its direct station in Capricorn for the last time this cycle on the same day. For those readers who have followed the war in Ukraine, there has been talk for months of a spring/summer counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces. The Mars completion of the t-square just mentioned in May would be a likely trigger for that counter-offensive. Consensus among independent military analysts suggests the Ukrainian forces would be routed. If so, it would mark the beginning of the end of the war. There would not be a second shot at one, as funding by NATO for Ukraine depends upon Ukrainian success in that counter-offensive. That brings us to the next culmination line:

• The Ceres line runs through Canada, the US and Mexico. The recent ‘leak’ of top-secret documents and the arrest of Jack Teixeira for doing so is preparing the US public for the coming crash of US foreign policy. Jack is the ‘lone gunman’ of the leaks, meaning this foolish 21-y/o has been set up as the fall guy for what was obviously a controlled (staged) leak from higher-ups in the intelligence services. The public mood in the US is facing a turning point, likely against Biden and US adventurism in the next few months, also likely to coincide with the eclipse activations.
• The Saturn line cuts through Central Asia and exits through Pakistan. Saturn is otherwise well-aspected in the chart, which points to the growing economic and security consolidation of Central Asia, such as the SCO, the BRI, BRICS, the EAEU and so forth.
• Lastly, the Neptune line runs directly through the Himalayan region – Eastern Russia, Nepal, India and China. For those regions confronting illusions, like the border dispute between China and India, are front and center. The amorphous, ever-changing border (Neptune) has been a crisis region for years, and it is a region China needs for it regional Belt and Road projects. The US exploits the tensions for its own designs, too, in countering China’s growth.

A few of the nations directly affected by this eclipse by virtue of planets in their national charts being activated are as follows:

• Mexico: Jupiter and Saturn. Mexico has increasing tensions with the US regarding the drug cartels and the Mexican government’s increasingly left-leaning policies
• Brazil: Mars. Lula has painted a target on himself regarding the US with his recent statements about bypassing the US dollar. Let the media smears begin.
• Saudi Arabia: Ceres. The Saudis have turned away from the US and are looking East. They have reached a milestone in their national trajectory, away from being a clearing house for the dollar toward their own internal change and development.
• Syria: Venus. Normalization to continue with its neighbors and tensions will continue to rise with the US and Israel
• France: Neptune. This is a hard call. Will the protests continue? If so, will Macron go? Will there be a 6^th Republic? Will relations sour with the US because of Macron’s calls for distance from the US? France is all very Neptunian at the moment.
• Israel: the Horizon axis. Israel is facing a very shaky future. The Axis of Resistance has hardened around it and is united now due to recent actions in the West Bank and the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israel’s deterrence against attacks has dissolved.
• NATO: Horizon axis. NATO is facing defeat in Ukraine once Bakhmut falls and the funding for Ukraine stops.
• Egypt: Horizon axis. Normalization with Assad, possible intervention in Sudan on the side of the government and that whole dam business with Ethiopia.
• Hungary: Sun. Orban is on the outs with the EU and with Ukraine. Hungary recently banned grain imports from Ukraine and has refused to ban Russian gas to Hungary.
• The EU: Meridian axis. The EU faces fracturing as a result of sanctions blowback from the Ukraine conflict, deeply entrenched attitudes toward Russia and other EU states and recent actions by the United States. This eclipse highlights EU governance and the growing dissatisfaction with the general EU populace on the course of the war and policy in general.

All told this will be a powerful eclipse in its effects. Most of those effects will come at the subsequent activations. So, if you have planets or angles at the last degrees of Aries or Libra, or the first few degrees of Taurus or Scorpio, there is something in this eclipse for you. And if you live in Western Australia, enjoy the eclipse. Perhaps a few stubbies and a barbie is in order.

Featured pic from Australia Coral Coast