A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, Earth and sun align. According to MSU's Abrams Planetarium production coordinator, the Earth blocks the moon from the sun’s rays, casting a shadow and darkening the moon.

Lunar eclipses are fairly common, as they happen multiple times a year. However, this is the first time an astronomical event like this has happened on election day. French said it won't happen again until the 2300s.

“You would think it’s fated to happen, right?" astrophysics junior Sanskriti Verma said. "That’s how important election day is.”

Depending on where you are in the United States, your view of the eclipse will be a little different and start at different times of the day. 

In Michigan, the eclipse is due to start at 4:09 a.m., but won’t reach totality, or its peak, until about 5:16 a.m. 

The moon will come completely out of the Earth’s shadow as the sun is rising and polling places are opening on Tuesday morning – around 7:49 a.m. 

But what does this all mean? To astronomers, it’s mostly just a happy accident. 

But to astrologists like Anne Ortelee from New York and Ra Rishikavi Raghudas from Los Angeles, there are greater implications at play. 

Rahgudas, who has been studying astrology since he was 16 years old, said it can be used to analyze politics. 

“When you study astrology, you're studying how the planetary cycles affect us here on Earth, both in terms of our consciousness and our physical life or our environment,” Raghudas said. "Life is composed of energy cycles, that's the simple fact. Once you're able to glean just a general view of how the cycles work, you can use that knowledge to analyze almost anything, including politics.”

Ortelee, who’s been a full-time astrologer since 2001, said because the eclipse is happening alongside Mars in retrograde, this election may not go as political experts have been predicting it. She explained eclipses as a set – a beginning and end, an action and reaction that typically fall six months apart. 

On April 30, there was a solar eclipse. Two days later on May 2, Politico leaked the Supreme Court decision that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. Now, in midterms across the country, abortion rights are on the ballot. 

“This (eclipse) has reaction to it,” Ortelee said. “I think we're going to have a lot of response from women that are pissed that they took away abortion rights.”

To Ortelee, this eclipse symbolizes abortion on multiple levels. By reading star charts, or maps of where the stars and planets are in relation to the eclipse, she can gauge major themes and influences on this election. 

The chart for this eclipse included Scorpio, which rules death; Taurus, which rules fertility; Uranus, which rules separations; and Mars, which symbolizes men and also rules action. All of this, during a total lunar eclipse, which is also referred to as a “Blood Moon.” 

“The Earth is completely blocking the moon from sunlight, and sunsets and sunrises on Earth simultaneously reflect off the surface of the moon, giving it a very coppery, blood-red sort of appearance,” Verma said.

Raghudas predicts a surprising end to the midterms once the ballots have been counted, however, different from Ortelee’s conclusions. By analyzing the birth charts of various political leaders including President Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, he is predicting great success for Republican candidates in the polls. 

“The birth chart is like a snapshot of the heavens at the time of your birth,” Raghudas said. “So you look at where the different planets are in relation to the birth chart, those are called transits, and what the possible effects of those planets are, because they each have a specific meaning.”

Raghudas noted the return of Pluto to the beginning of its 248-year orbit for the first time since the United States was founded. Pluto has a connotation of death, rebirth and transformation. He said this explains astrologically a lot of what the U.S. is experiencing.

Whether it’s pseudo or science, one thing the experts can agree on is the importance of casting your ballot. To find your polling place for Election Day, go to vote.org for more information.