*** GENERAL ECLIPSE INSIGHTS_ SEE INSTA FOR MAR 2024 Eclipse insights ***

Sol and and Luna’s allure have captivated nations and cultures since the dawn of time. And the mystical obscuring of either celestial body’s illumination continues to beguile us today. In times past, the phenomenon of eclipses must have been scary when playing out in our skies. We’ve unpacked the cosmology and folklore behind the ominous occurrences. And the upcoming Solar Eclipse on 14 Oct 2023, draws on some synchronisitic Chinese Tiangou symbolism!

Chinese mythology and lore associated with eclipses stretches back thousands of years. Like many cultures, Asian countries looked to astronomy and astrology to predict the future. The cosmic skies above were viewed as a scene from Heaven and thus reflected how a nation should be arranged on Earth - as above, and so below. Rulers in China’s Imperial Courts, only with the support of the Heavenly cosmos. Thus Emperors were regarded as conduits between Heaven and Earth, so via Chinese cosmology eclipses were perceived as bad omens for Imperial rulers, no longer supported by the ‘Mandate of Heaven’.

The ancient observation of predicting the configuration of an eclipse in the skies was therefore highly prized and a reflection of an Emperor’s prowess and wisdom which could quell any unrest among the people. The Imperial court was only privy to such celestial knowledge and keeping an accurate calendar system was under the remit of the Sovereign. An unpredictable eclipse would cast doubt on an Emperor’s rulership leading to agricultural implications for the common people- if date calculations for planting and harvests were off - then suffering could lead to starvation. Predictive forecasting skills were only utilised for war and state affairs. We now know that the astronomical tracking of the sun, moon and earth cycles and their alignment, results in the Saros cycles, which repeat approx. every 18years and 11.3 days. Thus forming a predictive tool for impending eclipses.

China’s luni solar calendar/ almanac system has always been highly significant. In fact China is believed to be the keeper of an unbroken set of astronomical observations, longer than any other civilization. Systematic, dated eclipse records began in China in 719 B.C. But before the Chinese invented Paper, they used Oracle bones to preserve their rich folklore in a written form. The Chinese character for an ‘eclipse’ is 食 shí -which depicts a dragon devouring the sun or moon. Shí means eat in Chinese.

Astronomers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) used Chinese observations of solar eclipses that occurred between 1161 B.C. -1226 B.C. to study the rate of the Earth’s axial rotation over the past 3,200 years! This eclipse information took the form of characters on oxen shoulder blades in the Chinese city of Anyang, which allowed for the deduction that eclipses were 0.047 second shorter than the present day.

CHINESE DRAGONS + FLAMING PEARLS

Chinese culture used the celestial Dragon in much of their art and folklore - sky, water, land and heavenly dragons all featured heavily in pictorial form, in feng shui, scrolls, poetry and folk stories. To western folklore all Dragons maybe viewed as equal, similar or even symbolic of evil. But to the East the celestial hybrid was symbolic of the Emperor represented by a Five clawed dragon; four clawed dragons were for lower ranking officials or princes. The magnificent Dragon throne, was the seat of Emperors and a wonderful depiction of celestial monster symbology.

SOLAR + LUNAR ECLIPSES

Asian art often depicts a Dragon chasing a pearl (moon) or the sun. The Hungry Dragon or Tiangou was the ‘Heavenly Dog’ eating the Sun — or the moon; in the case of a Lunar eclipse. To stop the consumption of the entire sun/moon, folk believed noise would frighten the dragon away. Sound was used extensively in Chinese rituals, and the iconic temple gongs of China were sounded to announce a Solar Eclipse. The Brass gong was struck with a wooden mallet to scare away the monster eating the sun. Common folk relied on pots and pans as implements to frighten the dragon away from eating the sun.

When Tiangou (Heavenly dog/dragon) is depicted as Black dog (see first picture above) it eats the Moon as in a Lunar eclipse. Hou Yi (Lord or Divine Archer) is associated with the Sun and is the husband of Goddess of the Moon (Chang’E) who stole the potion of immortality from her husband the Divine Archer. The black dog was assigned as Guardian of the Gates of the Heavens - ie. Tiangou. The solar eclipse on 14 Oct., occurs in Water Dog Month (Black Dog) and Goddess of the Moon (Chang’E) has strong links to the Rabbit/Hare in the moon, especially in Rabbit this rabbit Year.

The Tiangou when depicted as a Good spirit was depicted as a White headed Fox, perhaps more aligned to Rahu (see below). Although a Fox in Chinese metaphysics isn’t viewed as favourably as it is in the West. The Solar eclipse story follows the lore that when the ‘yang’ sun - symbolic of the Emperor, was dominated and obscured by the ‘Yin’ moon, symbolic of the Empress - then the Emperor's light (i.e his reign) was extinguished.

FENG SHUI + ECLIPSES

The lineage of Chinese Emperors are said to all be descendants of the ‘Yellow Emperor’ which has origins in the story of Feng Shui. Most Emperors were Shaman Kings and astute masters of land-forms and weather lore, especially cloud formations. In modern times, Feng Shui Grand Master Raymond Lo, notes in the world of feng shui and astrology, the eclipses represent more energetic fluctuations but it's more about the stock market and people's moods. In the Chinese lunar calendar it has a tendency to trigger water disasters, which could be reinforced by the eclipse.

‘Rāhu in Vedic astrology is known as the ascending Lunar node or Dragons head (North Node) and the Chinese have borrowed the term and refer to as ‘Ch. Luohou 羅睺. In Chinese discipline of Feng Shui practitioners were ill advised to open their cosmic tool of Heaven and Earth on certain days - namely their Chinese compass, known as a Lo Pan. These days were called Luohou Days (Lo-Hou) or as they were classically called 'Master Killing Days' 杀师日. The pair of lunar nodes aren’t planets but a point on the ecliptic plane and Vedic Astrology treats them as virtual planets and in Chinese metaphysics a planet is akin to a ‘star’.

‘Ketu’, the Vedic term for descending Lunar Node, or South Node is also familiar to Chinese metaphysics and goes by the name of ‘Ch. Jidu 計都’. The Louhou days are also significant on the Lopan, identified as the position of the Grand Duke (Jupiter) the previous year. So in 2023, the Grand Duke was in E2; therefore NE3 (Tiger) was the Louhou position from the previous year’s Grand Duke position. The entire NE sector is the known as Hell’s Gate,

OCT ECLIPSE + YANG WATER DOG MONTH

On 14 Oct @6.55pm (AEST) a Solar Ring of Fire Eclipse occurs in Yang Water Dog Month — hello Black Dog Tiangou! This lunation is being flagged in the media, as the day Israel may w1ll launch a ground invasion on the Gaza Strip. Since this is a South Node eclipse, the aforementioned ‘Ketu’, point is assigned to last year’s Grand Duke (Tai Sui) position of NE3 -over all the NE direction is known in Chinese metaphysics as Hell’s Gate. Israel’s Major General, Ghasan Alyan is quoted as saying Hamas has ‘opened the gates of Hell’! ‘The Devil's Pass’ axis.

It’s said locations where the eclipse is visible is said to have a more intense effect. North America, Central America and most of South America will have visibility. The Ring of fire eclipse lasts 5 minutes, 17 seconds — and occurs off the coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. For more specific new moon insights and Yang Dog month forecast see our previous posts here & here. The New Moon Times;

NEW YORK 14 Oct. 10:55am | DUBLIN 14 Oct. 6:55pm | Israel 14 Oct 8:55 pm | CHINA 15 Oct 1.55am | SYDNEY 15 Oct. 4:55am

My parting thoughts - lay low⧇

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ⓒ FENG SHUi iSM written in 2018; updated 2023