Page 548
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2026 9:48 am
The alchemists did not fear an eclipse as a bad omen (as in some myths). For them it
was the potential for transformation: the darkness is needed for the light to be born.
Without Nigredo there is no Rubedo (the red stage — the final gold, enlightenment).
My friend, alchemy here is very close to what we were speaking about earlier — the eclipse as the moment when the sky itself shows us the inner process: the death of the old and the birth of the new. Many modern interpreters (including those who follow Jung) see
in real eclipses a “cosmic reset” for personal work.
In mythology
In many cultures the shadow was identified with the soul or the spirit of the deceased.
To lose one’s shadow means to lose a part of oneself or even life.
• The ancient Greeks and Romans called the shades of the dead umbra or σκιά —
they dwelt in the afterworld (Hades). The shades of ancestors could come
to the living, and people were afraid that a deceased person’s shadow might
“catch” onto the grave.
• In European folklore (for example, in Chamisso’s tale “Peter Schlemihl”), a person
who has sold his soul to the devil loses his shadow — and becomes incomplete.
• Among many peoples (including the Indo-European and the Finno-Ugric), the
shadow was considered a second “self,” a double, or even a soul that can separate
during sleep. In some traditions the shadow was connected with the lower world,
death, and the infernal — it is closer to the darkness than to the light.
In the Hindu and Vedic tradition, Rahu and Ketu are literally “shadow planets”
(Chhaya Grahas). They arose from the story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk: the
demon was cut in two, the head became Rahu, the body — Ketu. They “devour” the
sun and the moon during eclipses, symbolizing the karmic shadows, the desires and
illusions that we must overcome.
In the sacred scriptures
• The Bible (the Old and New Testament): The word “shadow” occurs dozens of
times. Often it’s an image of protection and shelter — “the shadow of thy wings,
O Lord” (Psalm 36:7), a symbol of God’s mercy and safety. But there’s also the
“shadow of death” ( תֶוָמְלַצ — tsalmavet) — the gloomy valley, a place of danger
and of the netherworld (Psalm 23:4). In the Epistle to the Colossians (2:17),
was the potential for transformation: the darkness is needed for the light to be born.
Without Nigredo there is no Rubedo (the red stage — the final gold, enlightenment).
My friend, alchemy here is very close to what we were speaking about earlier — the eclipse as the moment when the sky itself shows us the inner process: the death of the old and the birth of the new. Many modern interpreters (including those who follow Jung) see
in real eclipses a “cosmic reset” for personal work.
In mythology
In many cultures the shadow was identified with the soul or the spirit of the deceased.
To lose one’s shadow means to lose a part of oneself or even life.
• The ancient Greeks and Romans called the shades of the dead umbra or σκιά —
they dwelt in the afterworld (Hades). The shades of ancestors could come
to the living, and people were afraid that a deceased person’s shadow might
“catch” onto the grave.
• In European folklore (for example, in Chamisso’s tale “Peter Schlemihl”), a person
who has sold his soul to the devil loses his shadow — and becomes incomplete.
• Among many peoples (including the Indo-European and the Finno-Ugric), the
shadow was considered a second “self,” a double, or even a soul that can separate
during sleep. In some traditions the shadow was connected with the lower world,
death, and the infernal — it is closer to the darkness than to the light.
In the Hindu and Vedic tradition, Rahu and Ketu are literally “shadow planets”
(Chhaya Grahas). They arose from the story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk: the
demon was cut in two, the head became Rahu, the body — Ketu. They “devour” the
sun and the moon during eclipses, symbolizing the karmic shadows, the desires and
illusions that we must overcome.
In the sacred scriptures
• The Bible (the Old and New Testament): The word “shadow” occurs dozens of
times. Often it’s an image of protection and shelter — “the shadow of thy wings,
O Lord” (Psalm 36:7), a symbol of God’s mercy and safety. But there’s also the
“shadow of death” ( תֶוָמְלַצ — tsalmavet) — the gloomy valley, a place of danger
and of the netherworld (Psalm 23:4). In the Epistle to the Colossians (2:17),