Page 24 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

24 Eclipse Superstitions Past and Present

Eclipse Superstitions Are

a Thing of the Past, and

the Present

Continued from Page 23

A demon's revenge

Out of the many folktales Krupp has heard from
around the world that provide an explanation for
the eclipses, one stands out as his favorite, he
said. "There's nothing quite so elaborate and
colorful and entertaining," he said, as the eclipse
myth from the Hindu text known as the
Mahabharata.
The very simplified version of the story
goes like this: A group of gods wish to create an
elixir of immortality, so they enlist a few
demons to help them churn the cosmic ocean
(using a mountain for a churning stick). The
ambrosia eventually emerges like curds in milk. the motions of heavenly bodies, Krupp said. directly at an eclipse. And it is especially
This process also leads to the creation of the The demon Rahu was associated with the two dangerous when it is a total eclipse."
moon and the sun, among other enchanted nodes, and eventually one node became Linus' statement is entirely untrue. One
things. The gods promise to share the elixir with associated with Rahu while the other became can look directly at an eclipse with the help of
the demons, but when the task is done, the god associated with the demon Katu, which is solar viewing glasses, and when the moon fully
Vishnu disguises himself as a woman, enchants actually Rahu's tail, Krupp said. The nodes are covers the solar disk (a total eclipse),
the demons and steals their portion of the elixir. invisible, and so are the demons; the nodes skywatchers should absolutely remove their eye
The demon Rahu then sneaks into the change position in the sky, as the demons are protection and view the event with their naked
camp of the gods and manages to steal a swig of pictured to do. By tracking the movement of the eyes. Space.com columnist and night sky expert
the elixir, but the sun and the moon spot him and nodes, astronomers could eventually predict Joe Rao said he deeply laments that this eclipse
blow the whistle on him. Vishnu cuts off Rahu's when and where eclipses would occur. myth was spread by Schultz — so much so that
head, but because the demon is immortal, this The story of Rahu's vengeful pursuit of Rao wrote a children's book to help dispel it.
doesn't kill him. He's angry at the sun and the the sun and the moon is also depicted on a wall The false belief persists; many people
moon for ratting him out, so he chases the two of the main temple on the predominantly Hindu have a general fear that looking at a total solar
objects through the sky. Every once in a while, island of Bali, Krupp said. In 1983, when a total eclipse can be worse than looking at the
he catches up with one of his betrayers and solar eclipse passed over Indonesia, unobscured sun. And Krupp said that in
swallows it, but because he's just a severed representations of this traditional story were modern-day society, many people have
head, the sun or the moon slips back out through used extensively in advertising, he said. Two reservations about looking at the eclipsed sun
his disconnected neck. Nonetheless, the demon competing beer manufacturers on the without eye protection, because so much
continues his pursuit indefinitely. neighboring island of Java (which is emphasis is placed on not looking directly at the
The complete story is beautiful and predominantly Muslim) both used images of the sun at any other time. Doing that can in fact
entertaining — not to mention one of the less demon Rahu on their eclipse-themed brews. cause blindness or other permanent eye damage.
ominous eclipse myths — and it did not "It shows you that [the story] is part of (Having never seen a total solar eclipse myself,
disappear as people who practiced Hinduism the living tradition in Bali," Krupp said. "And I confess I was skeptical when an expert told me
learned about the science of the planetary then if you were to ask the devout Balinese that observers should look at the totally eclipsed
bodies, according to Krupp. As Eastern people, 'Do you believe these Hindu stories?' … sun with the naked eye.) Krupp said this
astronomers deciphered the orbital geometry of The answer is yes. And probably if you asked concern or a fear of a liability issue could
these three bodies, the story was adapted, not many of them 'Do you understand how the solar persuade parents or teachers to keep children
abolished. In particular, the demon Rahu system works?' they'd say yes. And that is a from viewing the eclipse.
became associated with what are known as confirmation of the extraordinary human ability Fear of eclipses has not been completely
eclipse nodes, Krupp said. to talk out of both sides of the mouth at the same snuffed out in the modern age. Krupp wrote an
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth lies time." article for "Sky and & Telescope" magazine
directly between the sun and the moon, casting The people of Bali aren't the only ones about a persistent belief that eclipses can cause
a shadow on the lunar surface. During a solar carrying these historic interpretations of birth defects in unborn fetuses or miscarriages
eclipse, the moon is between the Earth and the eclipses into the present day. In many in pregnant women. He said there is clear
sun, casting its shadow on the Earth's surface. languages, Krupp said, the words used to evidence that this belief arose in central Mexico
The moon's orbit is tilted with respect to Earth's describe eclipses are the same words that mean around the time that European settlers arrived
orbit, so the three bodies don't line up every "to eat" or "to bite." In the English language, there (people also thought that during an eclipse
time the moon loops around the planet. The "eclipse" is derived from the Greek term children would turn into mice), but the idea is
points where the moon's path crosses the path of "ekleipsis," which means "an omission" or "an not unique to that country. Over the decades, the
the sun are called nodes, and both the sun and abandonment." observatory has received multiple calls from
the moon must be located at those nodes for an people wanting to know if this belief is true, so
eclipse to occur (this can include partial or total Modern myths that they might protect themselves or a pregnant
eclipses, as well as annular solar eclipses). The loved one, Krupp said.
sun and the moon both come close to these two In 1963, a total solar eclipse was visible in To be clear, there is no evidence that
nodes about every six months, when Earth Alaska and parts of Maine, while a partial eclipses harm pregnant women or their fetuses.
experiences an "eclipse season." eclipse was visible from much of North
As Western astronomy from Greece and America. That year, Charles Schultz produced “The best preparation for tomorrow is
the Mediterranean made its way east to regions an eclipse-themed edition of his famous
like modern-day India, Hindu astronomy "Peanuts" comic strip. In it, the character Linus doing your best today.”
adopted geometric and mathematical models of states, "There is no safe method for looking - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.