The Sun and Moon take to their course like a heavenly wheel; one lights up the day while the other shines at night. Sometimes however, something appears to briefly block out the daytime Sun and blanket some areas on Earth with total darkness… This naturally occurring phenomenon is the solar eclipse and it happens around twice every 18 months.
This year’s total solar eclipse is on April 8th, 2024. The path of totality will traverse across seven cities in the United States of America. This eclipse however, is a rather special affair because it aligns with two important earthly events, one being Ramadan and the other Easter. The events on Earth are ruled by the heavens.
The holy month of Ramadan began back when the crescent moon was spotted on March 10th, 2024. NB: the crescent moon appears right after the new moon. While Easter Sunday is set to follow on March 31st, 2024. If you have been keen over the years, you might have noticed that the dates for these religious events keep shifting. This is because they follow the Sun and Moon cycles, which are different from our standard Gregorian calendar (set in effect on the year 1582 by Pope Gregory the 13th). Some cultures such as Muslims and Chinese follow the lunar calendar, while others like Christians follow the solar calendar. The solar calendar is more common.
Solar Year
One solar year is the period taken by the overhead Sun traveling to and from the Equator (an imaginary line of latitude drawn on the Earth’s surface equally dividing the North and South). A solar year is roughly 365.25 days long and our normal calendar has 365 days. In order to synchronize the two, a leap day is added into the Gregorian calendar after every four years. E.g. 2024 is a leap year of 366 days, since the month of February has a 29th day.
The overhead Sun provides heat and warmth, thus, its movement across the lines of latitude is the reason why we experience different seasons i.e. spring, summer, autumn and winter. When the Sun is overhead the equator during spring, it is called the spring/vernal equinox (a period of equal days and nights, usually around March 21st). NB: the spring equinox is not fixed, so the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21st to define it.
Lunar Year
The Moon takes 28 to 30 days (roughly a month) to go through its phases. Considering we have 12 months in a calendar year, it means that the length of a lunar year is; 29.5 days multiply by 12 months thus getting 354 days long (29.5 days x 12 months = 354 days long). Meaning that Ramadan will always begin 11 days earlier each year (365 – 354 = 11).
| Year | Ramadan (Date) |
| 2020 | April 23 |
| 2021 | April 13 |
| 2022 | April 2 |
| 2023 | March 22 |
Easter too follows the Sun and Moon cycles, since Easter Sunday is the first Sunday following the first full Moon after the spring equinox. Like in 2024, the order is as follows:
- the spring equinox is on March 21st
- the full moon appears on Friday, March 25th
- therefore, Easter is the following Sunday on March 31st
| Year | Ramadan (Date) | Easter (Date) |
| 2020 | April 23 | April 12 |
| 2021 | April 13 | April 4 |
| 2022 | April 2 | April 17 |
| 2023 | March 22 | April 9 |
NB: on the year 2022, it was the first time Ramadan began before Easter.
The Celestial Sphere
When you look up into the sky, you are the centre of the universe and all celestial bodies appear plastered on a dome surrounding you. When you look straight ahead, you see a horizon line from afar where everything seems to vanish “below” due to perspective e.g. sunset. During sunrise however, the sun then appears to rise above the horizon from another dome below your feet. Combine these two domes and we get a celestial sphere: an imaginary sphere of which the observer is the centre and on which all celestial objects lie. This path traced by the sun around the celestial sphere is the ecliptic.
The moon too traces its own path on the celestial sphere, at most 5 degrees North and South of the ecliptic. When the path of the moon and the path of the sun intersect, we have a solar eclipse. These points of intersection are the North and South Lunar nodes. Ancient Hindu called them Rahu and Ketu. During an eclipse in the North Lunar node, the Hindu said that a dragon swallowed the sun. Conversely, during an eclipse in the South Lunar node, they said that the sun came out the tail of a dragon.
Easter marks the end of winter, when the sun passes over the equator heading towards the North. Thus, thawing the northern ice and causing longer days than nights. During this season of spring, Aries (The Ram) is the constellation accompanying the rising sun. Could be why ancient priests blew the ram’s horn on holy days such as Passover… This period of April sounds similar to Abib, a month mentioned in the Bible when God delivered the Israelites from Egypt.
Our ancestors began the year on April during spring (Aries – The Ram), while we currently celebrate New Years’ in the cold of January (Capricorn – The Goat). It seems like somebody messed with our original calendar. Some blame the devil, the trickster who corrupts God’s laws. Could be why the devil is depicted wearing a goat’s horns of rebellion, while believers are referred to as the lamb of God. To add onto the trickery, our ancestral New Years’ Day of April 1st is now called Fools’ Day…
My proposal for harmonizing our earthly calendar with celestial mechanics is by adding a thirteenth month to the already existing lunar calendar. However, instead of having 29.5 days per lunar month (synodic month), we use 28 days (sidereal month). Therefore, by following the Moon as our time keeper, the length of a year will be 28 days multiply by 13 months thus getting 364 days long (28 days x 13 months = 364 days long).
| April | 1 |
| May | 2 |
| June | 3 |
| Jack (proposed new month) | 4 |
| July | 5 |
| August | 6 |
| September | 7 |
| October | 8 |
| November | 9 |
| December | 10 |
| January | 11 |
| February | 12 |
| March | 13 |
In my 13-month calendar, each month is 28 days long except for April (filler day added to the existing 364 days, thus getting 365 days). NB: The four-year leap day of February 29th retained.
In summary, this year’s Ramadan, Easter and the Total Solar Eclipse all respectively happen within a lunar month i.e. they occur after a successful change in the phases of the Moon (like an eye blink from new moon, to full moon and back to new moon again).
| Ramadan (Date) | Easter (Date) | Total Solar Eclipse (Date) |
| March 10 | March 31 (First Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox) | April 8 |
| New Moon 🌑 | Full Moon 🌕 (March 25) | New Moon 🌑 |
All in all, the solar eclipse symbolizes a time of new beginnings and rebirth. Happy New You! Cheers!
If you found this article interesting, feel free to buy me coffee through PayPal: irejackson(at)gmail(dot)com. Thank you.
Jack Karanjau 🇰🇪 