Eclipse 2015

We were lucky with the eclipse yesterday. It was touch and go, though, as I woke to heavy skies, covered in a pall of grey. Nevertheless, the camera was charged and came with me. British weather being notoriously fickle, I could always live in hope.

We watched the cloud turn a sickly hue, the dim light fade to that odd, pre-storm shade and felt the temperature drop as the sun was darkened. And we couldn’t see a thing. Even so we stood outside and watched a more luminous corner of the sky with unfounded optimism.

“Can’t you do some Nerk* stuff?”

“There will be Nerks up and down the country willing those clouds to clear…” And a few moments later they did.

For the next half hour we watched the play of light and shade. The sun became the sickle that reminded me of the ‘moon’ symbol of the goddess… and I had to wonder if we were interpreting some of the ancient images correctly. It is she after all who cuts the cords that bring us into life and cuts the cords that bind us to it and it is the sun, not the moon, that gives life to the planet. Perhaps the two symbols are not so very different…

It was a half closed eye, its light silenced by shadow, as I explained once again how and why it happens. Watching I could see the lunar symbolism of many ancient cultures written in the sky, by the moon, but upon the visible face of the sun.

Conditions were perfect… the veil of cloud had not cleared, only thinned, so we were able to watch without fear or damage as the light and warmth returned. As it did so the cloud thinned further, and we looked only on the screen of the camera, capturing the cloud formations as they wove surreal images and shifted from one strange creature to another… ending with the strangest creature of them all. The small dog gets everywhere…

The term ‘Nerk’ as coined by my sons is explained here.