Amid what seems like constant chaos in the White House, it appears as though the next source of trouble for the Trump administration may come from celestial bodies–namely the upcoming solar eclipse–according to astrologers.

On August 21, a solar eclipse will occur that is expected to cast a 70-mile-wide shadow diagonally across the entire United States. Solar eclipses occur approximately once every 18 months, but this will be the first time since 1918 that the shadow will stretch across what is known as “the path of totality.”

While Americans are making plans to see this particularly rare event, astrologers have been analyzing the cosmic events surrounding it to discover what it means for the future. Even in present day, eclipses still hold a lot of power in astrology, according to Wade Caves, an astrological consultant who earlier in July published a 29-page analysis of the coming eclipse.

“What we’re talking about is the ability of the sun to be able to give light and life-generating heat, and all these things being momentarily taken away,” Caves told Newsweek. “So there’s this symbolism that’s built in with eclipses about…things coming to a close, and in often a very dramatic fashion.”

Astrologers are not so much intrigued by how rare this eclipse is, but rather how well the astrological activity surrounding it lines up with Trump’s chart.

Bad Omen for Trump

The eclipse falls just before the end of the Leo sun sign, which is in a “rising” stage on Trump’s astrological chart–meaning that the president is exuding personality traits very similar to that of a typical Leo. The personality of the  average Leo tends to fall somewhere between egotistical and confident, so Trump’s zodiac sign shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Leo is also symbolized as a lion, which is commonly used to represent rulers and kings.

As a result, Caves believes that the timing of the eclipse is a bad omen for Trump.

“It seems to me very possible that by this time next year, we’re looking at the reality of Trump not being in office,” he said.

Caves is not the only astrologer with this belief. Debra DeLeo-Moolenaar, a British astrology blogger, interprets eclipses to be “a big burst of energy” that spreads across the sign chart of a nation or person, “giving energy and power into something that’s already in play.”

She believes that growing frustrations throughout the nation may be “set off” by the solar eclipse, and that the moon symbolizes “the common people” blocking their leader–the sun.

In February, DeLeo-Moolenaar wrote that astrological charts showed Uranus, which is apparently known for being disruptive, approaching Trump’s astrological “birth planet,” Mars, during the eclipse. This, she said, indicates a potential “crisis of some sort” for the president.

Is War Written in the Stars?

Eugene Johnson, another astrologer, wrote an analysis in April of the eclipse that expanded to Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune, and suggested that the United States should be prepared for some significant event just short of war.

“[The eclipse will] mark important developments on the world stage because of the high preponderance of outer planets involved,” Johnson added.

Astrologer Marjorie Orr noted last November that the eclipse is a part of what is known as the Saros series–which has included eclipses in 1909, 1927, 1945, 1963, 1981 and 1999. Coincidentally, significant political events occurred during each of those years, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“Certainly this eclipse presages violence in one form or another,” Orr wrote.

Pseudoscience or Nah?

While it may be easy to dismiss these astrologers’ conclusions as pseudoscience nonsense, it’s worth noting that there has been speculation over the use of astrology in the White House before.

Not only did Ronald Reagan experience an assassination attempt in 1981–one of the Saros series years–but he had a deep interest in astrology himself. He is said to have scheduled important meetings, presidential debates, cancer surgery, State of the Union addresses, and his 1967 inauguration as governor of California based on astrological information.

First Lady Nancy Reagan was even said to be in constant contact with an astrologer named Joan Quigley, who died in 2014 and wrote a book about her time in the White House. Considering how highly Trump regards Reagan, and some of the similarities between their presidencies, it’s possible that the eclipse is on the president’s radar.

But even so, there are those in the scientific community who come out against such predictions. Duncan Steel, an American scientist and author of “Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon that Changed the Course of History,” called them foolish.

“Way back, when people had little ability to predict when eclipses would occur apart from recognizing that there are distinct cycles, perhaps it is understandable that doom-mongering based on eclipses occurred,” he said in an email to Newsweek. “But for people nowadays to imagine that they are portents of doom is just daft…. If people believe that the forthcoming solar eclipse ‘means’ anything for the U.S., for Trump, for the world, then they are deluded.”

Gabe Fernandez

Gabe is an editorial intern at Law Street. He is a Peruvian-American Senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double degree in Multiplatform Journalism and Marketing. In his free time, he can be found photographing concerts, running around the city, and supporting Manchester United. Contact Gabe at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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China just launched the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, which will search for gravitational waves, radio emissions from stars, and extraterrestrial life. The telescope, located in Guizhou province, started operations on Sunday. It took five years to construct and is a demonstration of China’s intention to show off its scientific power and gain international prestige.

The telescope cost $180 million to complete and has a diameter of 1,640 feet, or 500 meters. It surpasses the second biggest telescope in the world, Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is 1,000 feet in diameter. It’s also twice as sensitive and five to ten times faster. It’s called The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope,or FAST, and might even find some intelligent alien life.

“The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe,” said researcher Qian Lei of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to state broadcaster CCTV. “In theory, if there is civilization in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a pulsar (spinning neutron star) is approaching us.”

Worlds largest radio telescope starts operating in China https://t.co/5j7Iv9tgsU pic.twitter.com/xZgiT7KKPl

— Zesty China News (@zesty_china) September 26, 2016

But the search for aliens has required the relocation of more than 9,000 villagers in the area, in one of the poorest provinces in China. The area is ideal for a telescope, being surrounded by huge hills that protect it from noise and wind. The telescope needs a three-mile radius of complete radio silence to work properly. The state has said that the displaced people will be compensated with money or new houses, but the decision was not welcomed by some villagers, many of whom have lived in the area for several generations.

“I’ve lived here all my life. My ancestors arrived here in the Qing dynasty over 200 years ago,” said local carpenter Huang Zhangrong to the New York Times. He said he didn’t want to leave and that he heard others saying the housing they were relocated to was poorly built. “We don’t want to leave, but the government says it’s for the good of the country.”

Jokes about China and aliens popped up fast on Twitter.

guess China doesn’t know aliens from outer space always speak English and land in US corn fields #wastedinvestment https://t.co/Ct4J0ZLNN9

— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) September 26, 2016

It is clear that China has its focus set on international fame and Nobel Prizes. Even though scientific investments rarely pay off fast, any accomplishments can bring international prestige.

“Astronomy is an ultimate expression of ‘pure’ science that has little immediate practical benefits. It is a luxury that only the most advanced economies enjoy,” said Luis C. Ho, the director of Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University to the Times.

While historically competing with the West, China has in recent years become an economic super power. Now they are aiming to be a scientific and astronomical power as well. And considering their history of prominent astrology and astronomy, that might very well happen. As part of this attempt, China’s space program wants to send an astronaut to the moon by 2025 and to land an unmanned vehicle on Mars by 2020. They want to build the biggest particle accelerator in the world, and opened their second space station in September.

The Chinese state broadcaster recently reported that the telescope had picked up radio signals during a test from a pulsar that was 1,351 light years away from earth. But so far, no intelligent life form has made contact.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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