Eclipse myths and superstitions

Mid-Missouri is three months and a week away from the total solar eclipse than will treat those of us in its path to a couple minutes of darkness in the middle of the afternoon.

Thanks to science, we know a total solar eclipse is caused by the moon blocking the path of the sun, thus casting a shadow on Earth.

But before we understood the way the planets interacted with one another, people had some understandably strange beliefs.

For example, according to National Geographic, the Vikings considered a pair of sky wolves chasing the sun. The eclipse would be the result of when one of the wolves caught a shining orb.

In Vietnam, a frog or a toad “eats” the sun, and some indigenous people on the western coast of Canada believe that the mouth of heaven eats the sun during an eclipse.

Read more about these beliefs here.

There are still modern beliefs that an eclipse could be damaging to an expecting mother or unborn baby, although there is no science to back up that belief.

University of Missouri professor of astrophysics, Dr. Angela Speck says there are many beliefs and thoughts considered taboo. “For the Navajo, it’s essentially intimate relations between gods. So, you don’t watch. You stay indoors because it’s taboo to watch gods having sex” said Speck.

You may watch the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 if the weather gods give us clear skies just after 1 p.m. that Monday.

Learn more about the eclipse and how to get eclipse glasses by visiting MU’s eclipse website.