Mesoamerican Eclipse Beliefs and Rituals
The Maya believed that each time the earth died, it would be reborn, and renewal rituals were necessary to restore balance after an eclipse.
Image: Ixchel, The Moon Goddess Source: The Dresden Codex
ECLIPSE ENERGY IS A HARBINGER OF CHANGE
Eclipse transits will open a gateway of energy that can be productive, active and positive, when you engage consciously with the shadow sides of self that may be revealed to you during an eclipse. Offerings, prayers, and dances were part of the mesoamerican rituals to ensure that balance was restored.
The Maya would pray to the gods and perform chants to ward off the darkness and what they believed to be the “creatures” responsible for the event.
Eclipses were considered significant cosmic events in Mesoamerican cultures and were believed to hold profound spiritual and symbolic meanings. These were considered to be sacred moments symbolizing renewal and the cycle of life.
In the Yucatec Maya culture, the Sun God is ‘K’iinich Ahau and the Goddess of the Moon is Ixchel. The Sun God, also represents the night and the day, the light and darkness - duality.
Rituals were often elaborate and involved offerings, prayers, and dances. An example of this is the ritual of the Sacred Tree, in which shamans would climb to the top of a sacred tree and offer prayers and offerings to the gods in hopes that they would bring fertility and abundance.
Lunar eclipses were associated with Ixchel, the moon goddess and protector of women and fertility, with pregnant women fearing birth defects during an eclipse. It was advised for pregnant women to stay indoors and wear a protective amulet such as a safety pin (traditionally, a woman might also have held a knife close to her belly) and red underwear to offer protection from potential birth defects. In some cases women would wrap a red ribbon around their bellies for extra protection. These traditions are still sometimes practiced in the Mexican culture. Wearing read during the eclipse is also said to bring good fortune and prosperity.
Honoring the eclipse energy
People wore amulets during an eclipse to protect their body and energy. They would also create elaborate altars to honor the sun and moon goods with offerings of their choosing.
In some cultures currently, it is tradition to shower or bathe after an eclipse. This is a symbolic way of washing away all the negative energies they must have absorbed and to allow the energy of renewal.
Then and now, people that practice rituals and follow celestial events, look forward to these transits in order to utilize an harness this energy for further spiritual advancement.
For many cultures, eclipses are for fasting, resting, taking a time out, being in your own energy field, reflecting, praying, meditating; partaking in any spiritual practice that you have been working with. The energies are said to assist in the deepening of these practices.
If these energies are utilized intentionally with awareness you can prepare to be reborn, and activated, a feeling of being propelled forward into a newer and higher version of yourself.
“May my Tonalli ( Vital Power ) surrender to the transformation and liberation of the eclipse.”
Ceremonies aimed to appease celestial deities, maintain cosmic order, and renew the community’s spiritual vitality. Eclipses and equinoxes were times of heightened spiritual awareness and introspection, during which individuals sought guidance, purification, and renewal through meditation, fasting, and communal rituals conducted at sacred sites such as pyramids.
We are being given the gift to connect with our infinite light within, while holding ourselves as our shadow reveals itself.
These energies are not meant to be feared, they are meant to be honored and utilized for our growth individually and collectively. The more present we are with these energies, the more they work FOR us.
Eclipse Honoring Rituals
Creating a sacred space for spiritual work and rituals provides a space of protection as you open the energetic portals of creation. The space becomes an offering at the altar of your heart for the divine, with support for deepening your practice and connection to divine light. If you would like more information and suggestions on how to create sacred space, you can visit my journal entry Creating Sacred Space.
Ritual Bathing is a beautiful ritual practice that can be done during cosmic alignments. Working with the element of water during full moon alignments are especially potent. Since this is an eclipse incorporating the element of fire is also suggested for optimal effect. Most ritual baths in the mesoamerican tradition are done in 3’s, for 3 6 or 9 consecutive days. I suggest starting the first of at least 3, the day BEFORE the eclipse, the day of and the day after, for the best results. I have a recipe in my journal entries for a powerful ritual bath called Baño Blanco aka white bath. You can find that recipe here. There are also bath recipes and rituals specifically for the full moon, you can find the link here, for a potent bath ritual, this is a ritual was shared by one of my teachers.
Meditation and just being in a state of awareness and stillness during this time. If you have a meditation/visualization practice now is the perfect time to sink into it.
Sacred arts are a very beautiful and potent way to honor these types of alignments. If you practice, yoga, chanting, divination, dream work, ceremony, or any other types of ritual; alchemy or magic, these energies will assist in deepening your practice. Like the Ouroboros, the very act of utilizing the energies to deep your practice as your practice helps you deepen your connection with the energies, you as the conduit the Axis Mundi, the center of this creation. The Ouroboros can also symbolize the unity of all things, both material and spiritual, that are perpetually changing yet never disappearing.
Placing a jar of water blessed by you, outside under the shadow of the eclipse. The next day as you drink the water allow the further release of outdated versions of your self to be dissolved. The water can be used in ritual bathing or added to sprays as you continue to work with the enegeries and intentions you set for this specific alignment.
Journaling or automatic writing is a powerful practice to partake in during these cosmic alignments. Allow yourself to do a mental and heart dump on your pages. Then intentionally connect with the energies and call in the energy you are ready to receive in its place.
Limpias, energy cleansing/alchemy, clearing out your energy field in preparation for this new energy coming in. The Aztecs believed the sun and moon were being reborn during an eclipse, as if a new portal of reality were being opened. “The act of devouring and being reborn represents the constant transformation and renewal of all things, where destruction is necessary for creation”. Allowing the removal, the destruction of the old ways of being to fall so the new can be reborn.
Here’s an easy fire limpia you can do for your space:
Find a small stainless steal pot with a handle preferably. Place it on a fire proof mat in a safe place. Add in a palmfull or handful of epsom salt (plain). add in 8 to 10 drops of rubbing alcohol. Add in some dry herbs that you wish to work with, for a list you can visit my journal entry with a list of herb allies and their essences. Place all the items in a pot, carefully throw in a wooden match into the pot. This white limpa will clear large spaces quickly. Say an intention of what you would like to release and make space for. Once the salt and herbs have cooled, you can offer the remains to the earth or throw in the center of a four way street.
The simple act of self care during this time is a powerful yet subtle way to work with the energies present during transits like these. If you have a self care practice or rituals, sink into them. The enemies can sometimes be big and it’s important to make sure you are grounded and in your center as much as possible.
Cleanse your space of any clutter. Clean out your closets and junk drawers. Make room for the energy that you are calling in.
If you practice placing protective energetic barriers around your spaces, reactivate them. Salt or eggshells on your entry ways. A specific protective stone in the corners of your home.
Activate your spiritual tools and allies during this time.
May we all surrender to the infinite possibilities that eclipse energies can bring about. The deeper we surrender the more profoundly beautiful the change that will occur, will be. May you be guided, protected and loved on your journey.
Con Amor,
Amanda