� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
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goodNot many people in the Americas--unless they read about it or saw it on the news--may know that there was a solar eclipse today. Those who were lucky enough to see it had to be in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Unless, of course, they saw video clips of it online like I did this morning.
That's right, I was/am one of the lucky ducks. =0D I saw my first ever solar eclipse today! And while it wasn't live, I'm still counting it and it's just as special as if it had been live, because of the fact it happens to be my first. (I even had tears in my eyes when it reached totality. It was AWESOME!!!!! Completely awesome.)
Cccoooolll...! I wish I could be there (in Side, Turkey...India(?)) to see it.
Whoa...blue! Blue? (They were using a blue filter, I think.)
Wow... I can actually see the moon moving!
Take it back to full view, I wanna see it in its entirety. -- Finally. Thank you.
I can see why the people in medieval times [and earlier] were afraid of it and thought the world was about to end.
Diamond ring? What's this about a diamond ring? WOW! Beautiful! It is a diamond ring!! A perfect diamond ring!!
The universe and cosmos are ssssoooo infinitely fascinating, I'll never tire of their mystique and majesty. No wonder people have been, through the ages, so preoccupied or fascinated with the heavens and its goings-on. The Cosmic/Natural worlds are truly awe-inspiring--even today, when we have many sciences to help us understand how some of the phenomena work or why they take place. Taking this train of thought a lil bit further down the tracks to the next station, their mystique and majesty make me wonder what it would have been like to have seen a heavenly phenomenon as an Ancient.
What would I have thought and felt? Would I have been scared and believed the superstitions surrounding the phenomenon, perpetuated by the priests and priestesses who sometimes knew better? Would I have been curious, despite these superstitions? Would I have studied them, like Galileo, and tried finding explanations for them? Would I have been the creator of a persisting myth or legend that would now have an interesting timelessness to it, like the explanation of how the Crab was honored with a place in the night sky?
What would it be like to actually see one--any celestial phenomenon, for that matter--in person?
Well, come to think of it, I can actually answer that question readily enough. (Duh, Shiloh.) For I have seen a couple of celestial phenomena in my life: the Big and Little Dippers and the meteor shower we recently had one summer. It (they) were awesome, and they truly made me aware of the universe in a whole other way. I was/am this small speck (of *stardust, if you will permit me a modicum of literary license--I much prefer being that than of Earthly dust. I know, I know, from "dust" we rise and to "dust" we'll return, but still...) existing on a medium-sized(?) planet in a gigantic galaxy that makes said planet look like the size of a cantaloupe in an even more vast universe that probably, for lack of better imagery, could be the seven seas combined with all the lakes, ponds and rivers on Earth. (Just imagine a shiny, tiny speck on the surface of a cantaloupe in a clear good-sized container bobbing along on the waves of a vast, seemingly endless sea in the moonlight.)
As for the other questions, they're not so easily--easily? *That last answer was long-winded and complercated and a badly put-together image; I apologize for putting you through that tangent--dealt with. *thinks for a bit* There is no question I would have felt the awe and majesty these phenomena inspire, and yes...I think I would have been afraid. And knowing I am a bit superstitious, I'm afraid, not knowing any better, I would have believed the superstitions. But I'm also inherently curious, so if a phenomenon, like today's solar eclipse, piqued my interest enough I'm sure I'd study it and study it till I had a possible theory that made sense to me. But as for the last question, I honestly have no idea if that theory of mine would survive the ages.
Just like with the "Eye...", and any phenomena really, that the Ancients did not understand, solar eclipses have their own gaggle of superstitions and explanations. In ages past, the sun was seen as the giver of light and life. An eclipse, or blotting out of the sun, was therefore seen by many cultures as an ill or catastrophic omen.
In India, the solar eclipse was viewed as the demon Rahu eating up the sun. Indian mythology tells of Rahu deceiving the gods and being beheaded as punishment for his transgression. Rahu's head was thought to come back every few years (even though an eclipse supposedly happens bi-annually) to devour the sun god. Believers thought the eclipse to be dangerous and said the danger from it passed only when the sun emerged from Rahu's head.
In China, the ancient ones believed solar eclipses were caused by a dragon trying to swallow the sun. They believed the dragon needed to be frightened away by beating drums, banging gongs and launching fireworks into the sky. To this day, the Chinese word for a solar eclipse is resh or "Sun-eat."
In Africa, there is a myth telling of a snake emerging from the ocean that grew so large it moved to the sky and swallowed the sun. The snake was scared away by the beating of drums.
People of Medieval Britain were also superstitious and terrified of this event. They believed it was a sign of a coming disaster or terrible epidemic and possibly the end of the world. (I wonder if there was an eclipse right before the Bubonic Plague?) =0o
However, while some cultures were afraid, others were not of the solar eclipse. Amazonian myth says the sun and moon were lovers. They loved each other so much the sun's light scorched the Earth and the moon's tears drowned it. It was decided that the sun and the moon should live apart in the sky and only be allowed to touch each other's shadow during a solar eclipse.
In Tahiti, the islanders had a similar romantic view. Solar eclipses were interpreted as the sun and the moon making love. People in Tahiti found them to be the herald of a divine blessing.
Though we now live in much more advanced times and have many sciences--as I mentioned before--to help us understand the whys and wherefores of such a phenomenon, some superstitions persist to this very day.
In India, once again, some people believe the number of germs increases. Therefore, no food is eaten or cooked during the event, and any food cooked before the eclipse is discarded. In an act of cleansing, people immerse themselves in water up to their neck. Pregnant women refrain from cutting and sewing during the eclipse, believing their unborn child could be contaminated by the eclipse and become deformed. Or if they go out during one, they believe this could cause their baby to be born blind or with a hair-lip. Some people even lock themselves in their homes to avoid the "bad rays" from the eclipse.
In Thailand, lucky objects are used to ward off evil omens during a solar eclipse. Since black is the color of Rahu (the demon of darkness), black chicken, black liquor, black beans, black eggs, black rice and black moss sticks are thought to be lucky.
In Japan, some people cover wells to avoid them being "poisoned" by the celestial "disease."
Some Eskimos turn over their utensils during a solar eclipse to prevent them from being tainted.
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