EVERYTHING BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE MOON,,, MAY DAY!!! MAY DAY!!!

   

May 9, 2013: Annular eclipse of the Sun. This eclipse on May 9–10 will not be visible from North America. Hawaiians will be able to view a partial eclipse on May 9 between 2:25 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. HAST. The eclipse will be visible from the central Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, and Indonesia.

May 24, 2013: Penumbral eclipse of the Moon. This lunar eclipse on May 24–25 will be fully visible from North America (except for Alaska) but not visible from Hawaii. The eclipse starts on May 24 at 11:43 P.M. EDT and ends on May 25 at 12:37 A.M. EDT. Note that the penumbral magnitude of this eclipse is only 0.041! The Moon is just barely grazing Earth’s shadow, making this a rather pathetic “eclipse.”  BUT WE KNOW THAT THE PLANETS INFLUENCE SEISMIC ACTIVITY ON EARTH. THERE HAS BEEN 2 VOLCANOES ERUPT IN THE LAST 48 HRS. ONE IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS OFF THE COAST OF ANCHORAGE. THE OTHER IN CHILI. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN AND KEEP REACHING FOR THE STARS..

Unpredictability is at the heart of eclipse lore. For the ancients, a lunar eclipse was a haunting event. Some believed a dragon of the sky was eating the moon, flooding it with blood before consuming it entirely. Of course it always came back, and that fueled  more speculation.                                                                                                                                              The Ge' are among the Amazonian tribes of Brazil. They also believe that eclipses are a result of a fight between Sun and Moon. They say the eye of the Sun or Moon is pierced by a small boy who shoots them with an arrow. The wound bleeds symbolized by the Moon turning reddish and dimming. A shaman removes the arrow and the wound heals. Hupa Indians of northern California believes that..

The Moon is a man who has twenty wives and a house full of pets consisting of mountain lions, bears and snakes. To feed his pets, the man goes out to hunt. After the hunt he carries all the game back to his house for his pets, but they are not satisfied with what he has brought them. In anger, the pets attack the man, who begins to bleed. This is represented by the Moon turning a reddish colour during a lunar eclipse. One of the Moon's wives is Frog and when she sees the predicament her husband is in, she rushes to help him. Frog beats away the pets. Then she and the other wives collect up the Moon's blood and he can then recover.  

Vikings

Skoll the wolf who shall scare the Moon
Till he flies to the Wood-of-Woe:
Hati the wolf, Hridvitnir's kin,
Who shall pursue the Sun.
              Grimnismal, The Elder Edda

The Vikings tell a tale about two wolves who wish to eat the Sun and Moon. Skoll (repulsion) goes after the Sun and Hati, running ahead of the Sun, goes after the Moon. When either are caught, there is an eclipse. When this happens, the people on Earth rush to rescue the Sun or Moon by making as much noise as they can in hopes of scaring off the wolves.

Serrano Indians

The Serrano Indians of California believe an eclipse is the spirits of the dead trying to eat the Sun or Moon. So during an eclipse, the shamans and ceremonial assistants sing and dance to appease the dead spirits while everyone else shouts to try and scare the spirits away. Meanwhile, everyone avoids eating food with the idea that it would starve the spirits out.

  The Babylonians believed that the Moon being hidden was a harbinger of doom for some place in the world. They studied what quadrant of the Moon seemed to be eclipsed the most. They believed that they would see the most damage from the Gods and people in that part of the world should be careful. Soothsayers would offer predictions based on the readings of the Moon, and use them to determine what course of action should be taken.

The Bible says that when the Moon turns red, that the Apocalypse will come. A lot of cultures identify the eclipse with some sort of world ending calamity or impending doom. Just like a comet, or any other misunderstood astronomical occurrence, it was common to assume that the world was coming to an end. Eclipses as a force of God also influenced the Greeks, and they also helped Columbus convince the natives of Jamaica to help him before he starved.

Every culture had its own superstitions, and stories regarding the eclipses. As we gain more knowledge of eclipses, some of the old traditions stick around just for fun. People in Japan and India still will bang pots, and shoot guns, but just out of tradition, not out of the hopes of ending the eclipse. Eclipses are more fun when they are festive, and as long as traditions stick around, lunar eclipses will always be a party for sure.    BUT LET'S BE SAFE OUT THERE ... NOWADAYS SHOOTINGS OF WEAPONS IN THE AIR KILL PEOPLE !!  AND WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN  !!