04/08/2024
SOLAR ECLIPSE IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON
The forthcoming New Moon total Solar Eclipse falls on April 8th which is a Tiger day in a Dragon month in a Dragon year—powerful energies!
I’m rather “old school” and follow the wisdom of the Chinese ancients and stay indoors and never directly look at the eclipse (also because of my own direct experience of feeling very dizzy and exhausted during eclipses).
The idea is to avoid absorbing the excessive yin energy which in this case is sha chi or inauspicious energy believed by the ancient Feng Shui masters to bring bad luck. Through the prism of Feng Shui, here’s why…
The Sun is an extraordinary source of profound solar energies which contribute to auspicious, uplifting and beneficial sheng qi that has an incredible positive effect on our life. But during an eclipse, there is excessive yin qi, believed to bring sha or inauspicious energy.
In Chinese, the word for eclipse is chih meaning “to eat”. The ancients believed the celestial dragon was devouring the sun (solar eclipse) or attacking the moon (lunar eclipse). So they’d light firecrackers, sound gongs and beat drums to frighten away the “evil qi”.
This belief gave rise to the Chinese name for a solar eclipse, 日食 (rìshí, lit. “sun devoured”). The “celestial dog” (天狗) was blamed for lunar eclipse, or 月食 (yuèshí, lit. “moon devoured”). I also recently learned that the classical Chinese word for eclipse is also the same for the word “regret”.
So the ancient Feng Shui wisdom is…
• Stay indoors and don’t look at the eclipse
• Rest, meditate or nap during the actual eclipse
• Wear red (such as a bracelet or scarf) for protection
• Do good deeds
• Ring bells or chimes
• Donate to charities
• After the eclipse, to create auspicious sheng energy, turn on the lights and light candles; burn incense; display fresh colorful, fragrant flowers; dance, be happy and laugh!
NO need to worry or be afraid, just meet “like with like”, as the Taoists say, and be yin during the eclipse. 10,000 Blessings!
✍️ Gwynne Warner
Artist: Unknown
