Certainly not eight, as the map featured above shows quite clearly. There have been several “youtube prophets” and a surprising number of reputable Christian teachers making the claim that there have been only eight total solar eclipses over this nation since 1776, but eight eclipses is not a “sign of new beginnings”. It’s a sign of shoddy psuedo-scientific research. There are far more total solar eclipses that crossed this nation since its founding.

The error seems to have originated with an article (archived) in the Farmer’s Almanac that originally claimed:

“Only eight total solar eclipses have hit American soil since the signing of the Declaration of Independence!”

The Farmer’s Almanac article has since been updated to correct numerous errors and now reads:

“Here are eight of the most notable total solar eclipses that have hit American soil since the signing of the Declaration of Independence!”

Just another reason not to trust a publication that signs dead author’s names to current articles. So how many total solar eclipses have occurred over American soil since 1778?

Well, that’s a tricky question. A quick Google search lists fifteen total solar eclipses in the last 150 years (The same search on DuckDuckGo lists the Farmer’s Almanac as the first result), but we need to go all the way back to 1776. And do we ignore partial eclipses? What about the fact that the territorial boundaries of the United States changed considerably during the 19th century? If we assume the definition of the United States includes all of its current boundaries there have been twenty-four total solar eclipses that originated, crossed or ended over this nation.

All of this should be a warning to the body of Christ: be a good Berean. Or as Ronald Reagan often said: “Trust but verify”.