Total eclipse 8 April 2024, shared on NASA Administration Facebook page. Spectrographic photography composition.
A high definition HDR image of the eclipse.
Who remembers the last time that a total solar eclipse was witnessed in mainly North America? It was 21 August 2017. The one witness made world headlines by shunning the special protective eyewear in favour of looking directly at the sun.
In ancient Sumerian mythology, the mythical king Etana* was said to have been carried into heaven by an eagle. This awe-inspiring event symbolised a celestial journey, transcending earthly boundaries. The eagle, with its powerful wings, lifted Etana to the skies, granting him access to realms beyond mortal comprehension. This has become a symbol of spiritual insight. Classical writers such as Lucan and Pliny the Elder claimed that the eagle was able to look directly at the sun and that they forced their fledglings to do the same. If they failed this test, they were expelled from the nest. Like a fighter pilot, the eagle comes at its prey with the sun at its back. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, captured the majestic eagle as he hunts:
The Eagle
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Extracts from the article by the Smithsonian Magazine
According to the Chiqutoan Manasi people of eastern Bolivia, ‘The sun was a resplendent man and the moon was his sister. Eclipses were caused by celestial serpents which attacked these luminaries, threatening mankind with darkness. This catastrophe was to be followed by the transformation of men into hairy animals and by their mutual extermination.’
Among the Apapocúva-Guaraní people of eastern Paraguay and northern Brazil, ‘Eclipses are caused by the Eternal Bat, or in some cases the Celestial Jaguar, which gnaws the Sun or the Moon. The Apapocúva have a very pessimistic outlook on the future of the world; they are firmly convinced that its end is near. Very soon Our Great Father will set the earth on fire, unleashing the Eternal Bat and the Blue Jaguar which will destroy the stars and mankind.’
Similar feelings of foreboding are expressed in Armenian folklore, ‘As among many other peoples, the eclipse of the sun and moon was thought to be caused by dragons which endeavor to swallow these luminaries. … When the moon was at an eclipse, the sorcerers said that it resembled a demon. It was, moreover, a popular belief that a sorcerer could bind the sun and moon in their course, or deprive them of their light. … Needless to add that the eclipses and the appearance of comets foreboded evil. Their chronologies are full of notices of such astronomical phenomena that presaged great national and universal disasters.’
The end of quote.
***
Whether this event inspires you to pen a poem to commemorate the occasion, or merely be a spectator, don’t forget that we are not eagles. Therefore, don’t neglect to wear protective eyewear if you decide to go outside …
Feel free to reference your poem regarding a solar eclipse (old or new) under the comments here.
Have a nice and safe week
Suzette
*See my metrical tale (the draft was dated May 2022): The Heir (poetrysoup.com)
References
- Google: The poem: 'The Eagle '
2. What Indigenous Cultures From Around the World Believe About Eclipses | At the Smithsonian| Smithsonian Magazine