Book Review: The Predictive Power of Eclipse Paths, by Bill Meridian

Let me begin by saying I am not an eclipse novice by any means.  Some years ago I did a study of the eclipse charts that fell during the French and Russian Revolutions, linking them to people and significant events. So I freely admit, I was more than a little sceptical. Question: What could this book add to the knowledge I already had access to?  Answer: stacks. There is an avalanche of material in this book, which has rejuvenated  my thinking where eclipses are concerned.

As you would expect in a book covering eclipse paths, there are lots of great ACG charts, and these are totally fascinating. The eclipse line for Carl Marx (born on the day of a solar eclipse) – is given. This eclipse line crosses through the USSR, China and through the marxist states of Africa. Then there is the eclipse line of August 1st, 566, which is the eclipse prior to the birth of Mohammed, and is therfore linked to Islam. Again its geographical path touches the lands that would later be most influenced by the Moslim faith.

However, I personally feel that the title of the book doesn’t do credit to the content. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean, by first looking at some of the ideas in the book that engaged me, and that are not directly related to eclipse paths at all.

While it is clearly not rocket science to appreciate the importance of the eclipses that fall during a period of prolonged contact between outer planets,  however it had never occured to me to locate the one eclipse that most embodies the energy. And there will be one for sure. In view of the upcoming square between Pluto and Uranus, this is a great piece of information to explore. I can use this information, and am glad to have it.

I was also intrigued by the new perception the book gave me on the birth eclipseRose Lineman’s “The Pre-natal Eclipse” did not explore the possibility of using an eclipse after birth for your eclipse chart. Which eclipse you will use, will be determined by the link up between the eclipse charts, when drawn for your birth locality and your birth chart. Which eclipse interacts best with the birth chart, and most embodies the course of the person’s life?  Of course, I immediately began to experiment with my own chart, and with the charts of friends and family. The book also covers the importance of eclipses when they fall on one’s birthday. The eclipse on Harry Truman’s birthday for example,  on May 8th 1948, took place in the year that he was elected as President. It’s path ran accross the Indian Ocean, through Thailand, accross China, Korea and Japan, and ended off the coast of Alaska. In June 1950 the Korean War started.

There is some interesting stuff on the Saros Cycle, and on eclipse chains. In fact the book is packed, fully loaded if you like. So before I stop ranting on about how great this book is, after all you want to explore it yourself, I just want to finally mention the fact that some of Charles Jayne’s original articles, the ones on the eclipses that fell during the WWII, with maps, are inclued in a separate section of the book. That’s news. In the Baigent, Campion and Harvey book on Mundane Astrology, Charles Jayne’s work on eclipses is mentioned but never fully explored. This book offered me the opportunity to make contact with Jayne’s  original ideas through the eyes of one of his own pupils, Bill Meridian.

I want to end this review with something not related to the book at all.  This is a  link to an (at least 12 year) old newspaper article that Google came up with, while I was trying to satisfy my curiosity about Bill Meridian. I knew the name, but couldn’t place him. Well, since we find ourselves in the midst of Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, I find it strangely fascinating, that this article makes mention of this cycle. It’s also great to read something in which the illustrious Charles Harvey is brought back to life. He sadly died in 2000 and is one of the astrologers who has influenced me the most. Seriously though, this book,  “The Predictive Power of Eclipse Paths”  by Bill Meridian….. is the all time best book on eclipses, you can order it directly from the author’s website!! Give it a go… you will love it.

Elizabeth Hathway, DFAStrolS, QHP

Over Liz Hathway

Liz Hathway is a British born astrologer currently based in Amsterdam. Liz studied astrology at the Kosmos in Amsterdam, at the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London and with well known horary astrology John Frawley. Liz also holds an MA (with distinction) in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, from the University of Wales, in Lampeter, and was short-listed for the 2016 Alumni Association MA CAA Dissertation Prize.
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