Eclipse ‘unrest and beginnings’

HAPPY WEEKEND
Gina Dizon

Asia watched in awe as the longest solar eclipse crossed the moon last July 22 first in eastern India then paced on to Bangladesh, Nepal, China and southern Japan.

A total solar eclipse usually occurs every 18 months or so, but July 22’s spectacle
was special for its maximum period when the sun was wholly covered by the moon
-- of six minutes and 39 seconds.

Experts and enthusiasts boarded on expensive seats on planes chartered by specialist travel agencies that afforded extended views of the eclipse as they chased the shadow eastwards.

Sanjoy Majumder on BBC Newswho was on the flights says, “The shadow of the moon traveled slowly across the face of the sun until was completely obscure - a darkened orb with the sun's white crown visible in a perfect circle. Around us the sky was pitch dark and the galaxy glittered in all its glory. It was, as one passenger put it later, an emotional and breathtaking moment.”

The eclipse which was shrouded in mystery, superstition and spirituality was also an occasion for people to dip their feet at the Ganges River for renewed spiritual energy.
“The extreme pull exerted by the combined energies of the sun, moon and the planets during solar eclipse makes it a good time for devotees to make use of the energy, “spiritual guru Jaggy Valued, head of the spiritual organization, Isha Foundation says.
Other astrologers see the eclipse as doom.

Reports say, superstition has always haunted the moment when Earth, moon and sun are perfectly aligned. The daytime extinction of the sun, the source of all life, is associated with war, famine, flood and the death or birth of rulers.

“The ancient Chinese blamed a sun-eating dragon. In Hindu mythology, the two demons Rahu and Ketu are said to "swallow" the sun during eclipses, snuffing out its light and causing food to become inedible and water undrinkable.”

The foreboding doom that the eclipse brings made many expectant mothers scheduled for July 22 caesarian deliveries at New Delhi Hospital to have their schedules changed. The famous Sri Kanakdurga temple at Indrakeeladri hill in Vijaywada, and almost all almost all temples in Kerala were closed.

Temple idols and sanctums were “covered by organic material like 'grass, leaves of the neem or vila trees or raw silk shroud to prevent the natural aura from being destroyed” a Hindu seer said over online reports. It is believed that “deities which have been consecrated by mantras and rituals have an external energy field around the form which when combined by the pull of the sun and moon during an eclipse can weaken.”

In the next few months preceding the eclipse, Mumbai astrologer Raj Kumar Sharma predicted “some sort of attack by (Kashmiri separatists) Jaish-e-Mohammad or Al-Qaeda on Indian soil and a devastating natural disaster in Southeast Asia,” Phil Hazlewood of AFP reports.

Southeast Asia has always been under intense political unrest within its internal affairs and neighbor-countries like the years-long conflict between Pakistan and India over Kashmir. Issues of terrorism and insurgency are almost found in almost every country of South Pacific and South East Asia to include the Philippines, Indonesia, and Burma.

Also in ancient China, eclipses were often associated with disasters, the death of an emperor or other dark events, and similar superstitions persist. “The probability for unrest or war to take place in years when a solar eclipse happens is 95 percent,” announced an article that attracted a lot of hits on a popular Chinese website.
Siva Prasad Tata, who runs the Astro Jyoti website says, “During the period of the eclipse, the opposite attracting forces are very, very powerful. From a spiritual point of view, this is a wonderful time to do any type of worship.”

Yet, the eclipse is also a sign of going back ‘home’ and a start of new beginnings.
In astrology as Domestic Cancer leaves and ushers in fiery Leon, the eclipse gets one reminded on the domestic Cancer sign.

Café Astrology.com says, “Occurring in the symbolic last degree of Cancer, we are called upon to feed our foundation–all of that which we call ‘home’, including the foundation we have built inside of ourselves, needs to be tended to and honored. We need to pay attention to our instincts, our deepest needs, and our feelings.

We need to recognize the importance of our family and our personal circle of friends and the security, sense of belonging, and safety we derive from them. Although we might stay in situations that are making us miserable for longer than we should, deep down inside we know that change is necessary for growth”. (Sources from BBC News, Yahoo News, AFP News, and astrology blogs.)