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The Eclipses:

Eclipse meaning as per dictionary,

a. “an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of
another between it and the observer or between it and its source of
illumination.”

b. “the obscuration of the light of the moon by the intervention of the

earth between it and the sun (lunar eclipse) or the obscuration of
the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and
a point on the earth (solar eclipse)”

c. A "lunar eclipse" and a "solar eclipse" refer to events involving

three celestial bodies: The Sun ("solar"), the moon ("lunar"), and
the Earth.

Astronomically an eclipse is the partial or total blocking of the light or

occultation of one heavenly body by another. A "lunar eclipse" and a
"solar eclipse" refer to events involving three celestial bodies: The Sun
("solar"), the moon ("lunar"), and the Earth. An eclipse of the Sun or
Moon occurs when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and the
Sun, and the Earth's shadow obscures the moon or a portion of it. A solar
eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun,
blocking all or a portion of the Sun.

A lunar eclipse occurs at night and a solar eclipse occurs during the day.
There are only certain times when either of them can occur. A lunar
eclipse can only occur when the moon is directly opposite the Sun in the
sky — a full moon. Even though there is a full moon each month,
obviously a lunar eclipse does not occur on a monthly basis because the
Sun isn't exactly in line with the Earth and the moon. The moon's orbit is
actually tilted 5 degrees more than that of the Earth; otherwise, we would
see a lunar eclipse each month.

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An eclipse can be total, partial, or annular.

◇ In a solar eclipse the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth. During
a total solar eclipse the disk of the Moon fully covers that of the Sun, and
only the Sun's corona is visible.

◇ An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is farthest in its orbit from
the Earth so that its disk does not fully cover that of the Sun, and part of
the Sun's photosphere is visible as a ring around the Moon.

◇ In a lunar eclipse all or a part of the Moon's disk enters the umbra of
the Earth's shadow and is no longer illuminated by the Sun. Lunar
eclipses occur only during a full moon, when the Moon is directly
opposite the Sun.

The Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon and 400 times farther
from Earth, causing the two to appear to be almost the same size in our
sky. This relationship is also responsible for the phenomenon of the total
solar eclipse, an eclipse of the Sun in which the disk of the Moon fully
covers that of the Sun, blocking the Sun's light and causing the Moon's
shadow to fall across the Earth

Out of two kinds of eclipses (1. Solar eclipses, 2. Lunar eclipses) Solar
Eclipses are usually more powerful than the Lunar Eclipses. A Solar
Eclipse can occur only at Amavasya (New Moon) but not every month
(Since the orbit of the moon is tilted at an angle of 5° approximately to
the ecliptic, the sun-moon-earth trio does not fall on same line on every
new moon day. Hence there is no eclipse on every new moon
day/Amavasya.) when the Sun and the Moon are conjunct and parallel in
declination. When the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun, blocking
out its view over a small region on the Earth. Viewed from earth, the
Moon appears to move in front of the Sun blocking either a part (Partial
Eclipse) or all (Total Eclipse) of the Sun’s light. The more complete an
eclipse the greater its power.

Our sages had perfect knowledge of eclipses and their exact occurrence
due to the science of astrology. Astrologically Nodes of Moon (Rahu and
Ketu) are responsible for the Eclipse. An eclipse occurs when the sun,
moon and the axis of Rahu and Ketu overlap.

 A sizable portion of the 35th chapter of the Bhagvata Purana is

devoted to narrating a fable as to why Rahu and Ketu are
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responsible for all the solar and lunar eclipses.

Solar Eclipses: A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in
front of the Sun, blocking out its view over a small region on the Earth.
Remember that the angular diameters of the Sun and the Moon as viewed
from Earth are almost identical.

A solar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the moon falls on the earth.
This means that at the time of the eclipse the moon lies between sun and
earth.

Conditions for Solar Eclipse to happen are

New moon day (Amavasya), when the sun and the moon are conjunct and
lie on the same side of the earth.

Sun and Moon comes on Rahu-Ketu Axis

There are 4 kinds of solar eclipses: total, partial, annular. A total solar
eclipse is when the moon blocks out the Sun entirely, a partial eclipse is
when it blocks out a portion of the Sun, and an annular eclipse is when
the moon is at its furthest point in orbit. It will not cover the Sun
completely that's when you can see a thin ring of light emerging from the
outside rim of the moon. There is also a rare hybrid that is a combination
of two eclipses.

Total Solar Eclipse: A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon
completely covers the Sun, as seen from Earth. In other words, when the
umbra of the Moon's shadow touches a region on the surface of the Earth.

Annular Solar Eclipse: An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and
Moon are exactly in line with the Earth, but the apparent size of the Moon

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is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright
ring, or annulus, surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. In other words,
Annular Solar Eclipses occur when a region on the Earth's surface is in
line with the umbra, but the distances are such that the tip of the umbra
does not reach the Earth's surface.

Hybrid Solar Eclipse: A hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse)

shifts between a total and annular eclipse. At certain points on the surface
of Earth, it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at other points it appears as
annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare.

Partial Solar Eclipse: A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon
are not exactly in line with the Earth and the Moon only partially
obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part
of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse. Partial
Solar Eclipses occur when the penumbra of the Moon's shadow passes
over a region on the Earth's surface.

However, some eclipses can only be seen as a partial eclipse, because the
umbra passes above the Earth's polar regions and never intersects the
Earth's surface. Partial eclipses are virtually unnoticeable in terms of the
sun's brightness, as it takes well over 90% coverage to notice any
darkening at all. Even at 99%, it would be no darker than civil twilight.

A given solar eclipse may be all three of the above for different
observers. For example, in the path of totality (the track of the umbra on
the Earth's surface) the eclipse will be total, in a band on either side of the
path of totality the shadow cast by the penumbra leads to a partial eclipse,
and in some eclipses the path of totality extends into a path associated
with an annular eclipse because for that part of the path the umbra does
not reach the Earth's surface.

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Dark black area will observe total eclipse and light grey area will observe
partial eclipse

Lunar Eclipses: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves through
the Earth's shadow, thereby blocking sunlight from falling on the Moon.
The shadow of the earth falls on the moon. This happens on the full moon
day when the sun-moon-earth trio falls on the same line. Again, because
of the obliquity of the moon's path to the ecliptic, this situation does not
arise every full moon day. Instead, there are two eclipse seasons every
year, about 6 months apart.

There will be a total eclipse, when the Moon go through the umbra of the
Earth's shadow. If the Moon partly goes through the umbra, there will be
a partial eclipse. If the Moon only goes through the penumbra, then the
Moon's light is only slightly dimmed, and the eclipse is hardly noticeable
here on Earth. The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two
distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no
direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Sun's large angular size,
solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the
Earth's shadow, which is given the name penumbra.
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Total Lunar Eclipses: A total lunar eclipse occurs when the

Earth's umbra – the central, dark part of its shadow – obscures
all the Moon's visible surface.

Partial Lunar Eclipses: A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a

portion of the moon enters the umbra. When the moon travels completely
into the Earth's umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse. When the moon
is near its apogee, the farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, its orbital
speed is the slowest. The diameter of the umbra does not decrease
appreciably within the changes in the orbital distance of the moon. Thus,
eclipsed moon occurring near apogee will lengthen the duration of
totality.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipses: A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when

the Moon travels through the faint penumbral portion of the Earth’s
shadow. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral eclipse,
during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth's penumbra.
Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, that portion of
the moon which is closest to the umbra can appear somewhat darker than
the rest of the moon.

Central Lunar Eclipse: A central lunar eclipse is a total lunar eclipse

during which the moon passes through the center of the Earth's shadow.
These are relatively rare.

A solar eclipse has always had a more profound effect on humans than a
lunar eclipse. This is probably because of the importance of the Sun to all

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life on Earth. In ancient China, a solar eclipse was thought to be the
dragon coming to eat the Sun.
Sun represents the soul and the Vrihad Agni (digestive fire) and Moon
represents the mind (चन्द्रमा मनसो: जातः) and the body fluids like the lymph
and blood. Vedic wisdom suggests that we should spend this time in
doing prayers and meditation as this time is very conducive for spiritual
uplift. There is also a strict regimen which should be followed regarding
diet. So our ancient wisdom suggests that we fast to exert minimum load
on our digestive system and do spiritual sadhana to energize our mind
with positive vibrations. It is also said food items get contaminated, when
the rays emanating during the time of eclipse pervade the atmosphere. It
is said that a single Doorva grass kept in food items, protects the food
from harmful effects of eclipse. It has even been proved scientifically that
even X-ray radiation can be absorbed by Doorva grass.
Every eclipse falls in a particular nakshatra of the zodiac. Individuals
born in that nakshatra and those born in the corresponding triads of that
nakshatra should avoid getting exposed to the rays of a particular eclipse.

The triads are:

Ashwini Magha Moola
Bharani Purva Phalguni Purva Ashada
Krittika Uttara Phalguni Uttara Ashada
Rohini Hasta Shravana,
Mrigshira Chitra Dhanishtha
Ardra Swati Shatbhisha
Punar vasu Vishakha Purva Bhadrapada
Pushya Anuradha Uttara Bhadrapada
Ashlesha Jyeshta Revati.

The Nakshatra in which an eclipse falls will also give a clue to its effect
on both nations and individuals.

Remedial measures to counteract the effect of an eclipse in each Nakshtra

the recommended activity during an eclipse is meditation, or possibly the
chanting of an appropriate mantra for the Nakshatra in which the eclipse
is occurring.

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The period of 3 days on either side of the eclipse should be avoided for
beginning new endeavors in general, but especially for things related to
the symbolism given above. This is not a great time to start creative
projects, for example, or any type of project that requires design. The
same is true for things related to homes or houses.

ECLIPSES IN THE ELEMENTS:

The astrological element in which the eclipse occurs shows how the
effects of the eclipse are likely to be shown.

FIRE (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) – Ambition may increase. Personal desires

may be more important than they were in the past. You may become
more daring or assertive or drawn to sports, romance, gambling,
entertaining, the arts/creative work, hobbies, or risky activities.

EARTH (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) – Security consciousness and

conservative thinking is emphasized. Possessions or real estate can draw
attention. Physical appetites become stronger. Changes in attitude
towards work, spending, the environment, responsibility and career can
be expected.

AIR (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) – Renewed interest in reading, education,

travel, social activities or information gathering is highlighted. Personal
communication style may change as well as stance on issues, situations,
or people. There can also be possible involvement or interest in science,
vehicles, publishing, teaching or the travel industry. Relationships may
change.

WATER (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) – Attraction to romance, religion,

mysticism, creative work or occult studies. Possible involvement with
other people’s money or belongings. More or less dependence on other
people. Research, homemaking, shopping, cooking or collecting may be
appealing. There can also be a preference to meditate or take time out
from activities. A tendency to worry about others might also be
prominent.

ECLIPSES IN THE HOUSES:

Regardless of the sign in which an eclipse occurs, its house position can
bring various possible developments. It is important to remember that
whichever house an eclipse affects, its polarity is also sensitized.

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First House: There may be changes in your self image or your approach
to people and life. Events are taken personally. During the period
between eclipses you focus mainly on issues that affect you as an
individual. You may change your clothing style, hair or appearance.
Relationships may be affected by the personal changes you make.

Second House: Changes occur in your income, financial conditioning,

values, sense of security or self worth. You may gain or lose emotional
support. Your attitude toward money, or possessions might change. You
discover what is REALLY important to your happiness.

Third House: Changes may occur in the way you communicate, gather
and process information or deal with other people including siblings and
neighbors. Your mundane pace of life may change.

Fourth House: Changes may occur at home, in the family or in the way
you feel about these things. You might deal with real estate, property,
antiques, or food. You might also redecorate or move to a different house.

Fifth House: The sexual appetite may increase or diminish. You may
produce impressive creative work or be drawn to art. Love affairs may
begin, end or change direction. You may be involved with pregnancy.

Sixth House: You may experience changes in your employment, duties,

or diet. The way you use your time is important. Health needs or habits
may receive attention. Protect your health.

Seventh House: Alliances or relationships are emphasized. Your marital

status may change. There may be changes in the way you feel about
commitments or loved ones. The balance of power may shift in
relationships. You might deal with legal affairs or advisors.

Eighth House: Changes of a serious nature may be on the horizon.

Stabilize your finances now. Other people’s money, debts or loans may
have your attention. Security issues might also arise.

Ninth House: Intellectual growth and exploration are emphasized. You

might travel, take classes or find other ways to expand your mind.

Tenth House; Achievement is emphasized. There may be a change ion

status or authority. You might find yourself in a high profile position.

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Eleventh House: Generally, a time of increased optimism. You might be
able to achieve a cherished goal or set new ones. You may gain or lose
friends or be drawn to people you would not have previously have found
appealing. Your position in groups, clubs, or corporations may change.

Twelfth House: You might have less contact with people but be busy
behind the scenes. You may experience restrictions due to work, health,
obligations or lack of opportunity. This can be a beneficial period if used
for introspection.

During a Total Eclipse, darkness descends upon the Earth that can last up
to seven minutes. In some cases, the Sun looks like a bright ring around
the black disc of the Moon, this is known as an Annular Eclipse. A Total
Solar Eclipse is the most potent. A Solar Eclipse draws attention to
concerns and brings external conditions into focus. They trigger effects
that are more obvious than those associated with Lunar Eclipses. On a
personal level a Solar Eclipse deal with expression of the ego and the ego
needs.

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