Even if eclipses make me a little uneasy I get their appeal and lure. Something I come back to time and time again and think about whether an eclipse is looming or not is…most ancient and indigenous cultures did not believe in observing an eclipse. It was thought to be bad luck or inauspicious. I learned leading up to the 2017 eclipse that, it was bad luck to “view the sun at its detriment.” At its detriment! Relatable. I too do not want to be viewed at my detriment either. I feel you sun girl! Don’t start me on the “path of totality”. Did astronomers or whatever scientists coined that phrase have to go so hard on this evocative turn of phrase? I too would love to walk the path of totality.
I recently learned a friend ended their life over a year ago. On Valentines Day 2023 to be exact to really up the heartbreak factor. The friend who posted about it and her memorial lamented he hadn’t realized how isolated she had become. Neither had I. This loss of life is just unthinkable. I’d love to think we could prevent this kind of deep pain as a society. Prior to learning this I had been thinking a lot about isolation. We need a certain amount to think clearly and be in our own energy but we also retreat when things are not well. Isolation can feel so good at first, be such a relief but then it turns and we become increasingly lost and unreachable. I thought about when my health was really nosediving and I was increasingly isolated. It wasn't good for my psyche. We have all been freshly reminded thanks to the Pandemmy of what happens with prolonged isolation. We have all suffered various traumas and upsets that have left us physically present but emotionally isolated. How do we signal when we’re being eclipsed? How do we see it in others?
I’m wondering how to manage isolation but not view people at their detriment or do we build up our ability to witness people at their detriment? How do we stay with ourselves or one another to not be lost to isolation? I think a lot about how perfectionism sneakily makes us so resistant to really accepting the inevitability of flaws. I have no idea how we accept our flaws and the flaws of others. I went to this Creativity Conference with my mom and one of the speakers Scott Small, is a neurologist who advocated we should allow ourselves to forget more. As someone hyper focused on remembering everything all the time I was like um what….and plz say more. I bought his book because the idea of allowing yourself to forget in order to know more feels radical. The blurb from his book Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering, “Forgetting benefits our cognitive and creative abilities, emotional well-being, and even our personal and societal health. As frustrating as a typical lapse can be, it’s precisely what opens up our minds to making better decisions, experiencing joy and relationships, and flourishing artistically.”
I’m conflicted. On the one hand as someone who would love to be able to move on more or let things go, I love the idea of forgetting. On the other we are witnessing genocide, mass shooting after mass shooting, racial violence, the list continues so I have some questions about the practicality of this. We don’t seem to remember harm and then perpetuate it. At what point are we going to learn? Or can we not learn AND move on? Surely this must be possible….
Can we remember to tend to one another, and be better about forgetting when we’re flawed or perhaps being viewed at our detriment? Tell me your eclipse thoughts, and as a lil treat I pulled a card and gave some eclipse best practices below.
Eclipse 411 (do people even still say that?):
Eclipses are volatile energy so no magic making, no spell casting
Eclipses are potent so you may need some extra care, stay hydrated, get some rest, have a snack if you need it
Anything that looks like it’s gonna leave your life, let it. Eclipses are thought to clear whatever is obscuring our path.
A great time to be in meditation or prayer
Post eclipse a good time for celebration, noise and joy to clear the energy
Eclipses come with a season so the next two weeks we are still in eclipse energy. Take note as this means everyone is affected by the energy. I warn my therapist and she’s always grateful.
Some eclipse things I found cool:
An eclipse recorded in 1900
An essay by Annie Dillard about witnessing an eclipse you can read here or listen here
Virginia Woolf’s account of being on a train during an eclipse in 1927
A Card Pull for Asking What Do We Need to Lean Into For Coping with Eclipse Season:
What energy is available to us to lean into for moving through this volatile time….The Knight of Swords. Have to say this is kind of interesting. The Knight of Swords is VERY mental energy, very intellectual, rational, but because it’s a Knight there is an element of action. Simply put, where can you take mental action? I would say this is less like go wild and ruminate ya’ll! No license to obsess coming from tarot and I. Lean more where would it serve you to deploy rationality and maybe make a list to sift through things. Where would a lack of emotion benefit you to take action? If you were able to make a to do list and spare yourself any guilting, or lamenting the list could you arrive to the tasks with more energy? Probably. Ideas abound! Can you let yourself receive them? Can you be open and remember an idea is pretty useless without action so we don’t have to be so resistant to them. Is there something that would radically shift in your life if you opened yourself up to other ideas? What preconceived ideas if you challenged them could take you in another direction? A direction perhaps closer to yourself…..
Lemme know. Hang in there everyone. Take good care of yourself and others.
xx. A
Eclipse season has me feeling unwell. I would appreciate it if the sun would avoid looking at ME in my detriment, and I shall do the same for her.
Love this! Thank you for sharing. Miss hearing your voice.