Tammuz: Total Eclipse of the Heart

CHODESH TAMMUZ TOV!

"Sartan" / Cancer the Crab, from the Michael Mahzor, illuminated parchment manuscript, Germany, 1258

Chodesh Tammuz 5779: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART 

Chodesh Tammuz (July 3 – August 1), associated with the mazal of Cancer (Sartan) the crab, is the only month of the Hebrew calendar whose ruling planet is the Moon. This year the Moon plays an even more important role as Chodesh Tammuz 5779 features two Eclipses! 

This month during “Eclipse Season” light, which is consciousness, is hidden and then re-revealed, and it’s never quite the same as it was before. It’s now upgraded awareness, a higher consciousness. These powerful cosmic events underscore themes of security, family, tradition and respect – all of which are associated with Tammuz’s Tribal ruler Reuven, the emotional and sensitive first-born son of Jacob and Leah. 

The Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Cancer on July 2 initiates “security” issues. Ideas like “food, home, mother, money” trigger powerful, primal gut reactions. The Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon in Capricorn on July 16 is a faceoff and smackdown between the Divine Feminine and old, outworn images of a punishing, patriarchal god. Venus and the North Node join the Sun in Cancer, eclipsed by the opposition of the Capricorn Full Moon with Saturn and Pluto. 

Cardinal Water sign Cancer is concerned with the honor and the memory of the mother as illustrated by Reuven’s relationship with Leah. Mother Earth is powerful this month and disrespecting her brings serious consequences. Honoring the natural creation and respecting her power and majesty honors our Creator and strengthens our own roots! 

What can’t you live without? What’s your absolute red line, your most basic, primal desire? We all need to love and be loved. This month we confront our most essential need during what may turn out to be a total eclipse of the heart. When the darkness lifts, a new light shines – may it illuminate our way during this Moon-month of Tammuz!

Click HERE for Tammuz Horoscopes in The Jerusalem Post

Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon of Tu b'Shevat 5779

Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon of Tu b'Shevat 5779

The upcoming Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon on Tu b'Shevat (January 20) will be visible all over North and South America. The Eclipse occurs at 9:16pm Pacific time (12:16am January 21 Eastern, 7:15am Israel time).

Lunar Eclipses happen predictably every year, only during Full Moons. Any given Jewish Year includes between six and seven Full Moon holidays: Tu b'Shevat, Purim (Purim Katan during leap years as well), Pesach, Pesach Sheni, Tu b'Av, and Sukkot.

The Talmud discusses eclipses and their effect on the nations of this earth. From the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 29a:

When the sun is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for the whole world. This may be illustrated by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a human being who made a banquet for his servants and put up for them a lamp. When he became wroth with them he said to his servant, ‘Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark’. It was taught: R’Meir said, whenever the luminaries are in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel since they are inured to blows. This may be compared to a school teacher who comes to school with a strap in his hand. Who becomes apprehensive? He who is accustomed to be daily punished.

The basic idea is that lunar eclipses are trouble for the Jewish nation, while solar eclipses mean trouble for the non-Jewish nations - yet Israel still suffers, as the non-Jewish nations take their troubles out on their convenient scapegoat, the Jews. This is the Talmud's poetic way of saying that the Jewish people experience trouble in this world in predictable, regular patterns - just as predictable and regular as the eclipse cycles themselves. The writers of the Talmud were simply managing expectations rather than making prophetic statements.

For those who are all tied up in anticipatory knots from reading predictions about the impending eclipse, keep this in mind: There was a full Lunar eclipse on Tu b'Shevat in 1999, 2000, 2009, 2018 as well as this year. There was a full Lunar eclipse on Purim in 2007 and on Purim Katan in 2008, as well as on Sukkot 2014, Pesach 2015, and Sukkot 2015.

With anywhere from six to seven Full Moon Jewish holidays per any given year, and anywhere from four to six (depending on the year) eclipses (solar and lunar) per annual eclipse cycle (there's NEVER a year without eclipses!), the statistical likelihood of an eclipse falling on a Jewish holiday is predictable and normal.

Lunar Eclipses ONLY happen on Full Moons. The term "Super Moon" is used when a Full Moon is at perigee (the closest it comes to Earth during the year). But not all "Super Moons" come with an Eclipse. A "Blood" Moon occurs during an eclipse when sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere. This eclipse is also being called a "Wolf Moon," which is one of the Native American names for the mid-winter Full Moon of January. Some tribes call it the Full Snow Moon. Not all "Wolf Moons" (or Full Snow Moons) or any other name for a Full Moon feature a Lunar Eclipse.

January's lunar eclipse comes two weeks after the Solar Eclipse / New Moon which inaugurated Chodesh Shevat. This year (5779) Chodesh Shevat began smack in the middle of Solar Capricorn, it was kicked off with the Solar Eclipse / New Moon conjunct transiting Saturn on January 5th and 6th. Less than a day later, Uranus stationed Direct at 29 degrees (the “ultimate” or “critical” degree of any sign) of Aries after his latest Retrograde period, which began last August. This makes Chodesh Shevat 5779 extra-powerful.

Shevat is the month associated with Aquarius. Both Uranus )the modern planetary ruler of Aquarius) and Saturn (the classical planetary ruler of Aquarius) are exerting pressure in the effort to bring about change – Saturn in his slow and steady way, Uranus in his abrupt, sudden, and surprising way. These Celestial Titans are tag-teaming in the Cardinal (initiating) signs of Capricorn and Aries (aided by Mars’ recent ingress into his home sign) to overcome the tectonic pressure generated by fear-based resistance to what we all know in our heart is inevitable change.

Comfort zones will be shaken, concepts about security upended, definitions of both “ally” and “enemy” will be reconsidered, ideals will be challenged. The universe is sending a memo: did you receive it yet? The times, they are a-changin’.

Astral Weeks for July 22-28, 2018

Astral Weeks

July 22-28

Sunday, July 22^nd sees a lot of movement as the Sun at the final degree of Cancer moves into Leo at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 12am (Monday) Israel time. The day starts out with the Moon in Scorpio, but by mid-afternoon and early evening in the US and early morning hours in Israel, the Moon has moved into Sagittarius. We start the day with Water/Water energy and end it with Fire/Fire.

Venus in Virgo sextiles Jupiter in Scorpio, expanding the capacity for deeply analytical introspection which is just about what the doctor ordered as today is the Fast of Tisha b’Av, commemorating the destruction of both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem as well as other devastating historic calamities which befell the Jewish people. 

Morning is the best time to look inward and perform an extremely thorough, if not ruthless, moral inventory. By evening it’s time to forgive yourself and others and re-calibrate your inner compass to your own True North. Those who have not yet discovered the location of either their own inner compass or their own True North are left at the mercy of the direction and opinions of others. 

By Monday, you’ll be so glad Sunday is over you’ll just be grateful to take a deep breath and exhale. The Moon enters Capricorn on Tuesday, shortly after Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune in Pisces. Neptune is sometimes called the “higher octave” of Venus, and this opposition tests Virgo’s practicality against Neptune’s idealism (read: fantasy). It may be beautiful, but is it useful? Moon in Capricorn comes down squarely on the side of material manifestation. 

Wednesday the Sun in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus. Leo/Taurus is a “power square” (the two signs are at a 90-degree angle). Queen Elizabeth II and Barbara Streisand are both Taurus Sun / Leo Moon. and Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton are both Leo Sun / Taurus Moon. Fixed Earth Taurus is indicative of wealth, stability, and status-quo, while Fixed Fire Leo is pride, royalty, and a dramatic/theatrical flavor. Uranus is the planet of instability, unpredictability, originality, and erratic behavior. In Taurus, Uranus brings disruptive change to the status quo. Squared to the Sun in Leo, this may be a challenge to existing leadership. Communicative Mercury stations Retrograde late Wednesday / early Thursday morning at 23 degrees Leo, making an uncomfortable Quincunx (150-degree angle) to power-player Pluto in Capricorn. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing – in this case, the right side of the mouth doesn’t know what the left side is saying. 

Thursday might be the best day of the year to take a temporary vow of silence, maybe just until Friday, which starts out with Sun in Leo opposite Mars in Aquarius in the wee small hours, followed by the Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon at 4 degrees Aquarius. 

The Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon is the longest (104 minutes total) of the 21^st Century. Retrograde Mars in Aquarius conjunct the eclipsed Moon fuels the moral indignation and public passions of “the people.”  Mercury Retrograde in Leo will surely roar when pride is wounded, or gravitas offended. Fresh on the heels of Wednesday’s Sun/Uranus square, likely manifestations are rebellion, revolution, and revulsion against perceived threats to personal and corporate freedoms. Soundtrack? “Blows Against the Empire” by Paul Kantner and the Jefferson Starship. Play it loud. This will NOT be a quiet day for anyone. 

Friday is also Tu b’Av (the 15^th of the Hebrew month of Av). The Mishna in Ta’anit 4 tells us: “There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur, since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying: Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife)?” The Mishna continues: “On those days, the daughters of Jerusalem would wear borrowed white dresses -- everyone would borrow someone else's dress, to not embarrass someone who didn't have one -- and dance in the vineyards.” The Talmud in Ta’anit 30:b fills in some of the backstory, telling us that “tribes of Israel were permitted to mingle with each other.” Men from every tribe were free to marry women from other tribes after the restoration of Benjamin after Israel’s civil war (Judges 21). 

The democratization of the daughters of Israel (Moon in Aquarius) who borrowed white clothing from one another so that none would be embarrassed by her poverty while dancing in the vineyards under the full moon (Leo), on display for potential husbands from various tribes is a perfect symbolic antidote to Friday’s frenetic energy.

Just in time, Shabbos Nachamu begins Friday night. We’ll read Parshat Va’etchanan on Saturday, hear the repetition of the 10 Commandments, and during the Haftarah, the magnificent verses of Isaiah: Nachamu, Nachamu Ami (Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people) will lift our souls and revive our sagging spirits if the rough-and-tumble celestial energies of this week have left us feeling forlorn or just plain worn-out. 

A Deeper Look into Friday’s Full Lunar Eclipse

Friday’s lunar eclipse occurs at a very sensitive point (4 Aquarius), within a -3-degree orb of the upcoming Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction at zero degrees Aquarius in December 2020. This is important because in classical astrology, the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction above is thought to reflect changes in religion below. The role of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in world history as understood by the great 8^th century Persian astrologer Abu Ma’shar was brought into medieval Jewish thought by 11^th century Spanish commentator Abraham Bar Hiyya, who emphasized the religious implications of this transit in historical astrology.  

 Important: This Friday’s lunar eclipse is the energetic prequel to the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction of December 20-24, 2020, which itself is preceded on December 14, 2020 by a Solar Eclipse at 23 degrees Sagittarius – the companion Solar Eclipse to the Lunar Eclipse of June 14, 1946: the day Donald J. Trump was born. 

Yes, let that sink in. Trump was born on the Lunar Eclipse of June 14, 1946. The Sun in Gemini at 23 Degrees opposite and eclipsing the Moon in Sagittarius at 23 Degrees. During the Solar Eclipse of December 14, 2020, the Moon at 23 degrees Sagittarius will eclipse the Sun at the same degree. Bookends? Portends of a parenthetical beginning and ending? The Full Lunar Eclipse this Friday, July 27, 2018, is the kick-off which climaxes in December 2020 – six weeks minus one day after the Presidential Election on November 3^rd, 2020. 

The greatest conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter, the conjunction maxima, (Hebrew: ha-dibbuq ha-gadol), was thought by medieval Jewish astrologers to be the indication of new religions ascending to prominence. Bar Hiyya links the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius and Pisces to the emergence and re-emergence of Israel, just as he associates the conjunction of the two planets in Virgo/Libra to portend the birth of Christianity and the conjunction in Scorpio to signal the birth of Islam. 

Bar Hiyya explicitly associates the dibbuq ha-gadol with messianic expectations in his Megillat ha-Megalleh. Yehudah ben Nissim ibn Malka (13^th century Morocco) and Abraham Zacuto (14^th century Portugal) both wrote about the conjunction maxima as a prophetic messianic portent. Friday’s Full Lunar Eclipse at 4 Aquarius as a kick-off to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at zero Aquarius in December 2020 escalates the global and ever-growing sense of urgency underscoring the common understanding that a profound change of some sort must happen and happen soon. 

May we only hear good news, and may the One Who created the heavens and the earth and everything else imbue us with mercy, grace, and love for one another and for ourselves.

New Moon / Solar Eclipse Opposite Pluto: Power Games and Security Issues

The astronomical clock in Prague, pointing to the Cancer/Capricorn cusps

The New Moon at 20 degrees Cancer is opposite Pluto at 20 degrees Capricorn. Symbolically speaking, Pluto is all about power and control. The Sun will be eclipsed by the Moon in maternal, emotional, nurturing, empathetic Cancer. 

Cancer and Capricorn both have "security" issues. Cancer is concerned with emotional security, which is equated with the key words "Food, Home, Mother, Money." Capricorn is concerned with material security, the acquisition and use of power, wealth, and resources. 

The Tribal Rulers of Cancer and Capricorn give further insight into these issues. Reuven, the Tribal Ruler of Cancer, jealously guarded his family honor from a place of emotional need. Dan, the Tribal Ruler of Capricorn, fiercely guarded the borders of Israel against threats from invading "others." 

On a global level, Pluto in Capricorn opposed by the eclipsed Sun and Moon in Cancer is a power and control-grab of resources by the Haves against the Have-Nots. 

On a personal level, this describes the dynamic tension between your control issues and your emotional needs. In what realm those play out depends on which of your 12 Houses the Pluto-Sun/Moon opposition happens in. 

For a personalized natal chart analysis reading, couples/relationship charts and group dynamic analysis, be in touch with me by email: lorelaikude@yahoo.com

Eclipses, Lunar Nodes, Alexander the Great, and Israel 5778/2018

The Total Solar Eclipse of 4 July 336 BCE was part of the Soros 60 Cycle [i] which was fully visible directly over Jerusalem [ii], and coincided with the ascension of Alexander the Great to the Macedonian throne, after the death of his father Philip [iii].

4 July 336 BCE was Erev Rosh Chodesh Av of the year 3425 [iv] The Eclipse reached Totality at 13:35:01 (1:35pm local time) and the length of Totality was 5 minutes and 53 seconds [v]. The latitude and longitude of the Center of Totality was 30.6 degrees N, 37.4 degrees E. [vi], which is situated in the southeastern desert east of the Jordan river [vii]. The path of Totality was 225 km (140) miles wide.

The Saros 60 Cycle began in the year 1020 BCE and ended in the year 260 CE (the Year 4020-4021 of the Hebrew Calendar). It contained a total of 72 Eclipses, of which 14 were partial, 40 were total, 14 were annular, and 4 were hybrid [viii]

The Saros 60 Cycle ended in 260 CE, the year which is sited as the end of the First Generation of Amoraim (225—260 CE) [i], as well as the establishment of academy of Pumpeditha in Babylonia by Judah ben Ezekiel in 260 CE [ii], the capture of the Roman Emperor Valerian by the Persians (with whom the pro-Persian Jewish opposition was allied) in 260 CE [iii], among other events. Although it is impossible to speculate regarding exact dates in antiquity, the Fall of Troy is dated at 1020 BCE, while religious historians put the beginning of the reign of King Saul, the first anointed King of Israel, in 1026 BCE [iv], shortly after the beginning of the start of the Soros 60 Cycle. This “bookending” of world events marked at the beginning by the fall of Troy to the Greeks and the beginning of the Israelite Monarchy, and ending with the firm establishment of the rabbinic enterprise in Babylon (which would eventually produce the Talmud itself) and the diminution of the tattered remnants of Jewish political activism which found itself backing Persia against Rome, continues to have a ripple effect on Jewish history due to the sensitive position of the North Lunar Node during the exceedingly powerful eclipse of July 336 BCE. 

The Lunar Nodes in Jewish Astrology

Jewish Astrological tradition gives enhanced emphasis and attention to the Lunar Nodes and the annual eclipses in natal charts for both individuals and nations. The North and South Nodes of the Moon are not planets, but theoretical mathematical points in space marking the intersection between the Sun’s orbital path around the Earth’s ecliptic, and the Moon’s orbital path around the Earth. The function of the Lunar nodes in astronomy is to predict the path of the annual eclipses through the constellations. Eclipses occur only near the Lunar Nodes. Solar eclipses occur when the passage of the Moon through a node coincides with the New Moon; Lunar eclipses occur when the passage coincides with the Full Moon.

The Nodes are the “head” (North) and “tail” (South) of the cosmic Dragon (“T’li” in the Sefer Yetzirah). Medieval commentators Saadia Gaon, Shabbtai Donnolo, and Ibn Ezra, among others, identify the “Head” and “Tail” of the Dragon in the Sefer Yetzirah with the Lunar Nodes.

The Sefer Yetzirah, which is the foundational text of Jewish astrology, states:

The Dragon (“T’li”) in the Universe is like a King upon his throne

The (Celestial) Wheel in the World is like a King in his province (country, land).

The Heart within the human being is like a King at war.

The Talmud and ancient Jewish mystical texts such as the Sefer Yetzirah (as well as other “magical” texts of the pre-kabbalistic literature belonging to the school of “Merkevah Mysticism”) are the foundation of Jewish Astrology’s close attention to the significance of the lunar nodes and eclipses. 

The Lunar Nodes during the time of the 336 BCE Eclipse were at 7 Capricorn (North Node) and 7 Cancer (South Node) [xiii]. The Zodiac Sign of Capricorn is ruled by the Planet Saturn (“Shabtai” in Hebrew), classical astrology’s Planetary Ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius, strongly associated with the Nation of Israel and the Jewish People [xiv]. At the time of this Eclipse, Saturn was at 12 Capricorn, within a 5-degree orb of the North Node and therefore a powerful influence on the Eclipse.

There is no need to cite references to state unequivocally that Alexander’s reign, which ushered in the Hellenistic Era in Jewish History, had the most significant long-term impact on every aspect of Jewish culture, religion, and world-view than any other era in pre-modern history. Indeed, whether one believes the rabbinic enterprise which began at Yavneh was an adaption to or a rebellion against Hellenism, it was the Greek world-view, imported to post-exilic Judea through Alexander and those who came after him, which most profoundly influenced the development of Judaism until the Enlightenment. Taking the Solar Eclipse of July 336 BCE as the celestial portend of the ascension of Hellenistic culture and its subsequent impact on the Jewish people, the following is a brief examination of the latest phase of the historical trajectory of that event.

The 20^th Century

In the 20^th Century, the North Node at 7 Capricorn coincided with the outbreak of World War I in August 1917, the beginning of the Arab Revolt in Palestine and the deadly Arab-Jewish riots of April 1936, the ascension of Gamal Abdel Nasser to the presidency of Egypt in November 1954 as well as the birth of future Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on November 19^th, 1954.

The North Node was also at 7 Capricorn in June and July of 1973 during the time US President Richard Nixon’s secret Watergate tapes were discovered, as well as during the Lillehammer Affair and the formation of the US Drug Enforcement Agency.  Interestingly, the Total Solar Eclipse of June 30, 1973 (part of the Saros 136 Series), which was the last and longest eclipse of that Saros series (7 minutes and 4 seconds), took place when the North Node was at 7 degrees Capricorn.

February and March of 1992, during which the North Node was again at 7 Capricorn and Saturn was in Saturn-ruled Aquarius, saw the Bush-Yeltsin meeting at Camp David during which the Cold War was officially declared “over”, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty which formed the European Union (EU), the outbreak of the Bosnian War, and South Africa votes to end the Apartheid government. 

The 21^st Century

During September 2010, the last time the North Node was at 7 Capricorn, President Barak Obama met with Israel’s PM Netanyahu, PA Authority President Abbas, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Mubarak in a major push towards crafting a 2-State Solution in the Middle East. During the same month, Israel bombed Gaza’s smuggling tunnels and blocks the Flotilla headed towards Gaza, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the Palestinian Authority, and PA President Abbas addresses the United Nations. Additionally, during this time North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un takes power during the transition from his father, Kim Jong-Il.

Future Aspects

• The North Node will return to 7 Capricorn next in May 2029. 
• Saturn, which traveled through 7 Capricorn in January 1901, late October/early November 1930, December 1959, August-September 1989, will be at 7 Capricorn again during March, May, and November-December 2018.  
• Saturn and the North Node in Capricorn do not conjunct again until December 2047, during which they will be at the same astronomical positions they were during the Total Solar Eclipse of 4 July 336 BCE.

The Talmud [xv] tells us that while Solar Eclipses are a negative omen for the non-Jewish nations, the total eclipse of the Moon is a negative omen for the nation of Israel. The next Total Lunar Eclipse visible from Jerusalem will take place on July 27/28, 2018, which is both Tu b’Av and Shabbos Nachamu, 5778. Saturn will be at 4 Capricorn during that Eclipse, considered “conjunct” (with a -3-degree orb) of the sensitive 7 Capricorn degree, and the Full Moon in Aquarius (co-ruled by Saturn) opposite the Sun in Leo and the North Node in Leo is a significant omen for the Jewish Nation.

Immediately prior to the Lunar Eclipse on Shabbos Nachamu 5778, the Planet Mercury, the “cosmic messenger”, stations Retrograde at 23 Leo, closely conjunct the Natal Mars position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and halfway between the Natal Mars and Natal Saturn positions of the chart of the Modern State of Israel. Occurring in the “public” 10^th House of “career and vocation”, this Mercury Retrograde will not happen in a secluded corner or under cover of darkness; but front-and-center for all the world to see. 

Mercury’s Retrograde “message” for the Israeli government and the Netanyahu coalition, delivered via communication channels such as the Mercury-ruled media might go something like this:

Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin

As the Jewish Encyclopedia [xvi] explains:

Once when King Belshazzar was banqueting with his lords and drinking wine from the golden vessels of the Temple of Yhwh, a man's hand was seen writing on the wall certain mysterious words. Frightened by the apparition, the king ordered his astrologers to explain the inscription; but they were unable to read it. Daniel was then summoned to the royal palace; and the king promised him costly presents if he would decipher the inscription. Daniel read it "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin" and explained it to mean that God had "numbered" the kingdom of Belshazzar and brought it to an end; that the king had been weighed and found wanting; and that his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians (Dan. v. 1-28).

How exactly this might play out on the political stage is anybody’s guess, but aspects to the Luminaries suggest a change in government, leadership, or political structure is indicated. A radical and sudden change in leadership may indeed be “in the stars” for the Modern State of Israel in 2018. Time alone will tell.

End Notes:

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[i] NASA Eclipse Web Site, Saros Series Catalogue of Solar Eclipses, Saros Series 60 https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros060.html

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Wikipedia, 336 BCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/336_BC

[iv] Moon and the Molad of the Hebrew Calendar, Dr. Irv Bromberg, University of Toronto, Canada  http://www.sym454.org/hebrew/molad.htm

[v] NASA Eclipse Web Site, Saros Series 60 https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros060.html

[vi] https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/-0399--0300/-335-07-04.gif

[vii] GeoHack – List of solar eclipses in the 4^th Century BCE https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?language=en&pagename=List_of_solar_eclipses_in_the_4th_century_BC&params=30.6_N_37.4_E__globe:export&title=List%20of%20solar%20eclipses%20in%20the%204th%20century%20BC

[viii] SolarEclipseInfo.com, Saros 60 Cycle http://www.solar-eclipse.info/en/saros/detail/60/

[ix] Yohanan Aharoni, The Jewish People: An Illustrated History, p. 113

[x] Norbert Samuelson, Jewish Philosophy: An Historical Introduction, p. 95

[xi] Sylvie Anne Goldberg, Clepsydra: Essay on the Plurality of Time in Judaism, p. 86

[xii] 1020’s BC, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1020s_BC .

[xiii] Astro.com 5000 year ephemeris, 350 BCE – 300 BCE  http://www.astro.com/swisseph/ae50/ae__50_m0349.pdf

[xiv] M. Glazerson, “Above the Zodiac”, pp. 98-109, specifically the discussion of Planetary Rulership of the two Saturn-ruled Zodiac signs of Capricorn and Aquarius, and how they relate to the Jewish people. Also see Sefer Yetzirah.

[xv] Sukkah 29a

[xvi] MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN, by Isidore Singer, M. Seligsohn, Jewish Encyclopedia online, http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10678-mene-mene-tekel-upharsin

·        All references to astronomical for the 20^th and 21^st Centuries are from the Astrolabe World Ephemeris series.

·        All references, unless otherwise noted, to historical world events of the past by year and month are from Wikipedia.