on the twelfth, for about two minutes, part of the world goes dark in the middle of the day.

Where the eclipse is actually visible

On Wednesday August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse crosses a narrow band of the earth. The path of totality runs over a remote stretch of Siberian Russia, eastern Greenland, the west coast of Iceland, and then northern Spain, clipping a small corner of Portugal at the end.

If you are in Spain, this is the one. Bilbao, Burgos, Santander, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Valencia and Palma all sit inside the path. In Spain the sun goes dark late in the evening, close to sunset, which is its own kind of strange and beautiful. In Iceland, where Reykjavík and Ísafjörður and the whole western coast fall inside the band, it happens in the late afternoon.

Totality lasts a maximum of two minutes and eighteen seconds. Much of the rest of the northern hemisphere, including most of Canada, parts of the northern United States, much of Europe and northwestern Africa, gets a partial eclipse instead.

Please protect your eyes

This part is not poetry, it is just important. Do not look at a partial eclipse without certified eclipse glasses, and not through a phone camera, sunglasses or smoked glass either. Ordinary sunglasses are not eclipse glasses. The only moment it is safe to look with bare eyes is during totality itself, and only if you are inside that narrow path. The instant the sun begins to return, the glasses go back on.

What is happening in the sky, and in the chart

Astronomically, the new moon passes exactly between us and the sun and its shadow falls on the earth. That is the whole mechanism. It is not rare because it is mystical, it is rare because the geometry has to be nearly perfect.

Astrologically, this eclipse lands in Leo, and it is the first total solar eclipse in Leo since 2019. Leo is the sign of self-expression, of being seen, of taking up room without apologising for it. Eclipses tend to end chapters rather than open them gently, so if something in how you present yourself to the world has been quietly finishing for a while, this is the fortnight it may finish out loud.

Sixteen days later, on August 28, a partial lunar eclipse arrives in Pisces to close the season. Two eclipses in one month, one asking you to be seen, the other asking you to let go.

What to do with two minutes

Do not plan anything elaborate. Eclipses are not a good moment for manifesting, and I will write about why separately, but the short version is that this is a releasing energy rather than a calling-in one.

If you are inside the path, go outside. Bring the glasses. Notice the temperature drop, because it does drop, and notice that the birds go quiet. That is the part nobody tells you about and the part everyone remembers.

If you are not inside the path, the day still counts. Finish one thing you have been circling. Say the sentence you have been avoiding. Let something end while the sky is busy ending something too.

Frequently asked questions

What time is the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026?

Greatest eclipse falls at 17:47 UTC. In Iceland the sun darkens in the late afternoon, in Spain in the late evening close to sunset. Check a local time table for your exact town, as the moment shifts across the path.

Can I see the eclipse from Spain?

Yes, if you are in the northern band. Bilbao, Burgos, Santander, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Valencia and Palma are inside the path of totality. Much of the rest of Spain sees a deep partial eclipse.

How long does totality last?

A maximum of two minutes and eighteen seconds, and less than that at most locations.

Is it safe to look at the eclipse?

Only during the brief window of full totality, and only inside the path. At every other moment you need certified eclipse glasses. Sunglasses and phone screens do not protect your eyes.

When is the next eclipse after this one?

A partial lunar eclipse in Pisces on August 28, 2026, which closes this eclipse season.

Two minutes is not very long. It is long enough to notice the birds go quiet, and long enough to remember that the light coming back is not something anyone arranged for you.

With love from Bali,
Myrah