The Great North American Eclipse on April 8 probably won’t turn the tide of any wars, but other eclipses have.

History is full of stories of celestial events shaping the course of wars and political struggles. Over the millennia, people have taken comets, supernovae, lunar eclipses, and solar eclipses as omens about everything from the birth and death of kings to the outcome of battles — many of which have changed the course of history.

Here’s a look at three great solar eclipses from ancient history: one that led an emperor astray, one that ended a war, and one that made a cameo in a familiar epic tale.

It started as a Joker fan edit.

Vera Drew, then working as a television editor for edgy comedy shows like Sacha Baron Cohen’s Who Is America? and Tim and Eric’s Beef House, wanted to transform Todd Phillips’ anti-hero blockbuster into a queer video-art collage. But somewhere along the way, that project morphed into her feature directorial debut, The People’s Joker, a collaborative, multimedia, transgender, coming-of-age story projecting her own journey onto that of the Clown Prince of Crime.

But even as her fan edit evolved into something new and original, Drew never thought The People’s Joker would reach the incredible heights it eventually did.