The total eclipse of 2 August 2027: the day the sun goes out over southern Spain

On Monday 2 August 2027, in mid-morning, the new moon will pass exactly in front of the sun. Across a strip of southern Spain, day will turn to night for a few minutes: stars will appear, the temperature will drop and the birds will fall silent.

A unique trio of eclipses

Spain is living through something exceptional: after more than a century without a total eclipse on the mainland, three great eclipses in three years.

• 12 August 2026: total in the north of the Iberian Peninsula (we saw it this summer).
• 2 August 2027: total in the south.
• 26 January 2028: annular, with the "ring of fire".

Where and when to see it

The path of totality enters through the Strait of Gibraltar and crosses southern Andalusia (almost all of the province of Cádiz, much of Málaga and the southern edge of Granada and Almería), Ceuta and Melilla before continuing across North Africa to Egypt, where total darkness will last more than six minutes. Outside the path, in the rest of Spain and much of Europe (Poland included), it will be partial: the sun like a biscuit with a bite taken out.

The new moon is at 12:05 (mainland Spain time, CEST), but in southern Spain the eclipse comes earlier: totality will be at around 10:45–10:50. In Ceuta it will last 4 minutes 48 seconds, the longest of any Spanish city; in Melilla, 4 minutes 34 seconds; in Cádiz, 2 minutes 54 seconds; and in Málaga, 1 minute 48 seconds. Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) lists the times for every provincial capital on its website.

How to watch it safely

• Never look directly at the sun, not with sunglasses, not through X-ray film, not through your phone.
• Use certified eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2 standard).
• Only during totality, the minutes when the sun is completely covered, can you look without glasses. As soon as the first point of light appears, put them back on.
• A lovely trick: a colander or the leaves of a tree will project hundreds of tiny crescent-shaped suns onto the ground.

What it means in tradition

Many cultures saw eclipses as a moment of pause and reset. In astrology they're associated with endings and beginnings: whatever starts around an eclipse tends to shape the months that follow. This one falls just after Lammas, the festival of the first harvest: a good moment to gather what you have sown and choose which seeds to keep.

Prepare in good time

1. Book the day now: accommodation within the path will fill up.
2. Buy your glasses early and from a trusted source.
3. Note in your journal where you want to be and with whom.

I've already written it on 2 August in my journal. I'd recommend you do the same.