Eclipses – The Spiritual Significance by Anoo

This is a guest post by a dear friend and an intuitive healer Anoo at Breakthrough Holistic Therapy Center. Anoo is a Hypnotherapist and a Reiki Healer with additional specializations in NLP, EFT, Shadow Work, Matrix Reimprinting, Gestalt Therapy and Chakra Healing. You can get in touch with her at anujapathak24@gmail.com

After listening to her perspective on eclipses and learning how to effectively shield myself from any ill-effects of eclipses, I requested her to put her learning and advice in writing so everybody else could benefit from it. Her article is below:

Everyone waited with bated breath after they collectively prayed. Will He agree to destroy the three invincible and constantly mobile cities?

The demons Kamalaksha, Vidyunmali, and Tarakaksha, sons of the asura (demon) king Tarakasura, had created these architectural wonders, these three cities made of gold, silver, and copper, which would constantly keep flying throughout the universe. Proud of their architectural feat and their invincibility, together they terrorized and wreaked havoc across the different worlds in the universe.

Defeated, the Gods approached Shiva, the Destroyer, and Regenerator, “Please save us Lord!” they pleaded. “The demons have made the three cities called Tripura totally impregnable. And the only way to destroy the cities along with demons is by shooting a single arrow when for a brief moment in time the three cities align in a straight line.  Also, the arrow is to be shot by the one who is the most powerful in the universe and yet who has no desire to harm enemies, and out of a sense of duty decides to destroy the three cities and kill the demons. The chariot on which he mounts should be of a kind never seen before in the universe. And the bow should be so unique that such a kind does not exist in the world right now. You are the only One Oh Lord who can save all the worlds from them!”

Much to their relief, Shiva agreed. Shiva made the earth His chariot with the sun and moon as its wheels. Mount Mandara became the bow with Adi Sesha, the serpent of time as its bowstring. Vishnu Himself became the arrow. Together they followed the three cities throughout the universe waiting for that moment in a thousand years when all the three cities of Tripura would line up in a single file.

Line up, they did. In a flash, Shiva let loose His powerful arrow and Tripura was reduced to ashes.

Smearing the ashes of the burnt cities on His body Shiva then danced in ecstasy.

The three cities represent the individual world, the social world and the entire world as is.

When the conditions are conducive all it takes is the unleashing of a single arrow of consciousness (Shiva the essence of every soul) to:

1. destroy an individual’s personal world, the beliefs about what makes up his/her identity.
2. destroy his/her societal world or all the beliefs about how to fit into and follow the society and its dictates.
3. destroy the entire world as perceived by the individual.

This is what an eclipse points towards within you.

Destruction, transformation, and regeneration.

Eclipses are spiritually known to be the harbingers of change.
They are pointers nudging you to look within and acknowledge parts of you that are eclipsed deep down in your own unconscious mind, waiting to be released into the light of your awareness.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun and the moon are aligned in a straight line exactly on the opposite sides of the earth, and the moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. Lunar eclipses occur during full moon.

A solar eclipse on the other hand occurs at the opposite phase of the moon – new moon. It occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth and it fully or partially blocks the sunlight. In either case the source of light gets eclipsed.

Time and again what is noticeable is how people actually notice changes happening during eclipses, full moons, or new moons. Call it a psychological effect of natural cycles, yet these cycles seem to remind one of the inevitability of the end of things and new beginnings. It is as if an eclipse only highlights the new waves of awareness and the death of old modes of thinking in the collective psyche of people.

During an eclipse, or in other words when the source of light is cut off for sometime all that lies in the shadows within a person’s unconscious mind, things that a person would not like to accept about himself/herself or about a given situation, or things that a person has developed a blind spot towards, steps to the fore to be seen, understood, acknowledged, and let go of.

It is said that spiritually in lunar cycles, every full moon offers us a chance to purge out what is not working in our lives, maybe old stagnant patterns of thinking and functioning which act as barriers to success and abundance, dysfunctional relationships, dissatisfactory modes of earning a living, in other words, whatever is no longer serving our highest good.

When there is an eclipse in the offing, however, we are not given a chance, or to be more apt, a choice. It forces the purging and cleanses and detoxifies.

Without a warning, unexpected changes may occur hastening in transitions into life, that could make you feel a little disoriented.

This is a period of facing your inner demons consciously.

And Shiva is the ultimate consciousness driving the destruction of your identity, the mask that you wear to hide what you think is your imperfect self, uncaging you from all social constructs and demands, tearing to pieces what you consider and perceive to be the world and freeing you to emerge as the source of light and darkness that you truly are.

An eclipse sets the giant wheels of the universe in motion for you to see the truth in any situation, no matter however unpleasant or distressing and finally realize that this too shall pass.

For what is true today may not be your truth tomorrow, as truth too constantly changes form.

There is, however, one constant absolute truth on this earth and that is change.

Sometimes the changes or transitions are joyous, though you might feel a tad uncertain about the future, at other times the transition transforms and rearranges your entire perception of reality. The result is always positive in the long run, even though it may not be apparent in the now, much like when you drive you will be able to see only about 140 metres ahead but not see the entire road leading to the destination.

Also it has been observed the aggravation of symptoms of dormant or even active health conditions occurs during eclipses bringing to the fore the psychosomatic causes of all illnesses, which are almost always disregarded by us. It maybe due to the age-old collective psychological conditioning of people, deeply rooted in spiritual beliefs and archetypes and the natural cycles. The aggravation of symptoms, be they emotional or physical, simply serve as pointers to look within and consciously resolve what lies unresolved, deep in the unconscious.

Ancient traditions world over suggest a few preparatory practices, to keep troubling symptoms at bay and to make the most of the immensely transformative, collective psychological energies, of a full moon lunar eclipse.

These practices help to harness the transformative psychological energies and facilitate a ‘soft landing’ during the transition as opposed to a ‘hard landing’ that a tornado can cause (which somehow reminds me of Dorothy and Toto of Wizard of Oz totally unprepared and caught up in a cyclone, later experiencing a hard landing in the country of the Munchkins.) when we are totally unprepared.

After all, spirituality as much as science is a process that requires active participation from your end.

It always takes two to tango!

• Fast or Eat your Last Meal Two Hours Prior to the Eclipse: During eclipses solar as well as lunar, fasting is advised by different spiritual preceptors across many traditions in the world.
  A study performed in 2011 showed that enhanced radiation of ultraviolet and other rays occur during an eclipse. This may also make the atmosphere conducive for some bacteria to thrive. If fasting is not possible at least make sure you eat your food two hours before the eclipse starts. The food needs to be digested before the eclipse begins. Leftover cooked foods from the eclipse should be disposed off.

• Protect your boundaries: According to many traditions eclipses can also increase the emotional sensitivity to foreign energies, which can include simply being more sensitive towards that nasty bullying co-worker, or a gossiping neighbor, or even getting a sense of near and dear ones who have passed away which has a deeply psychological side to it.

An easy thumb-rule to follow is to stay away from anyone who pushes your buttons, starting from at least three days preceding a full moon lunar eclipse and continuing to stay away till three days after the eclipse. But yes, that is not possible in most cases unless you are a complete homebody. Then too nasty relatives could be the trigger points!

So you can follow this simple visualization exercise which is highly effective for protecting your personal boundaries. Whenever you are anywhere near people who trigger your emotions negatively, simply imagine a golden circle around you and another circle around them.

Mentally say to yourself, “you shall not be able to cross my personal boundary and I shall not cross yours.”

You can also do the spiritual exercise of cord cutting with people who disturb you at this time as a full moon lunar eclipse in any way is also about letting go of what you don’t need in your life.

But before you cut the cords, make sure you understand why you have such people around you in the first place. For as the saying goes, teachers will continue to appear untill you have learnt your lesson!

There is something you have not learnt about yourself and therefore you have that nasty co-worker bullying you, or that spouse abusing you, or you even repeatedly get stuck in traffic jams! When you see what actually lies behind your blind spot, or what lurks deep in the shadows within you, and acknowledge it all with compassion, forgive yourself and anyone else concerned, and let go, age-old dysfunctional patterns (maybe even inherited from your parents) fall away and get reduced to dust.

(Remember, the story of Tripura crumbling to dust narrated above?)

To deal with other subtler forms of energies, more precisely, non-physical, i.e. spirits and entities you believe you can sense, you can perform a house cleanse by smudging the entire house and placing some crystal salt in areas where you sense the presence is strong.

You can create a circle with the salt in the area or put some salt in a bowl and place it in the area.  This sends strong signals to your unconscious mind that you are taking steps to take care of yourself. That itself will provide a boost to your inner strength.

Also, make sure you take saltwater baths and then perform a shielding exercise to protect your aura or your personal boundary. To do the shielding exercise simply close your eyes and visualize a bright white light cocooning you from head to toe. Repeat to yourself, “I am surrounded by a cocoon of light which allows only positive energies inside and reflects all the negative energies back to the source and transmutes them.”

• Meditate: Eclipses are times when you suddenly see the truth in situations whether you like it or not. Make use of that energy by meditating consciously and letting whatever arises to come up. Meditating is not focusing or concentrating hard. It is about creating a safe space for yourself so that all the suppressed feelings and emotions can finally come up and be released once and for all. Do some guided meditation much before the scheduled eclipse date. This will keep your emotions and energies in balance. Most importantly this will still your mind and bring you to that peaceful silent space. And “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” – Mother Teresa

• Pray: This is a perfect time to attune yourself to higher vibrations. Prayer is what will give birth to the possibilities for the real invincible you to emerge. You may be called to give up something to enter a new phase in your life. That is the process of unpeeling and emptying out. Yes, it may seem frightening. For, nothing scares a human being more than the uncertainty of an unknown zone. But that is the beauty of it. Uncertainty is the space where miracles occur. Do not be hijacked by your fears for then you will be only shadow boxing. The eclipse needs to end and your soul in all its power needs to shine through.

Prayers can be the vehicle inciting surrender and putting you in touch with the Higher Power. It can be in any form. It can be a plain conversation with God, or any chants that you like that resonate with your being.

You never know which chant can awaken the God within you.

Eclipses in general show you the value of darkness, for, it is in the darkness of a womb that a new life is born, for under the ground in the dark a seed has to split and die for a sapling to be born, a caterpillar has to die in the darkness of the cocoon to emerge as a butterfly.

Eclipses thus stand for metamorphosis, heralding in your freedom.

Anoo is a Hypnotherapist and a Reiki Healer with additional specializations in NLP, EFT, Shadow Work, Matrix Reimprinting, Gestalt Therapy and Chakra Healing. You can get in touch with her at anujapathak24@gmail.com