solar ecliptical fun

Today, I am fasting in honor of the solar eclipse. According to Hindu lore, it's been a religious tradition to fast for the 12 hours leading up to a solar eclipse, with absolutely nothing entering the mouth for the duration of the eclipse. (You can drink if you want, I guess, until the eclipse actually begins. That's how I'm interpreting it, anyway.) An eclipse can last up to 4 hours, according to what I've read. I figure if you've been fasting for 12 hours, 4 hours ain't gonna make you no never mind.

Besides, there is talk that digestion slows during a solar eclipse, so eating during that time isn't good for your health, regardless of religious following. That may be still more superstition, but...I tend to like superstition.

Interesting vid clip from India during a solar eclipse last September. This page gives some fascinating info about why a solar eclipse is beneficial (which kinda flies in the face of "traditional" Hindu beliefs about the inherent negative implications of one). I guess the page was specifically created with the double solar eclipse of July 2000 in mind, but the information presented is still worth reading, IMO.

I have been planning a life renewal for this particular day for the past two weeks and I awakened feeling very peaceful and emotionally full this morning. I noticed that before I even remembered that today is My Important Day.

The moon isn't New in my area until 10:43pm and the solar eclipse technically begins (as far as I can tell from this site) around 10:20pm EST. From the site:

"Greatest eclipse[1] takes place at 03:55:05 UT when the eclipse magnitude[2] will reach 0.9650. At this instant, the annular duration is 2 minutes 12 seconds, the path width is 444 kilometres and the Sun is 16° above the featureless horizon of the open ocean. The central track continues north before gradually curving to the east where it ends at local sunset at 04:31 UT. During its 1 hour 10 minute flight across our planet, the Moon's antumbra travels approximately 5,600 kilometres and covers 0.59% of Earth's surface area."

I feel like I have no idea what that means. LOL Does that mean the eclipse will last an hour and 10 minutes? I need to know when I can eat, ya know? Another site clues me in better (leave it the Aussies):

" The annular phase runs from 03:19:43 to 04:30:55 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)."

Oh, yay! The eclipse will last one hour, eleven minutes, and 12 seconds. Good to know.

So, I've begun my fast and I've taken my bath. Now, I just need to shave my head, but I've got to wait on the moon and sun to get their acts together for that part. I'm glad the eclipse is only lasting about an hour, because I don't want to be up all night waiting to make my New Moon Wishes. I, personally, follow Jan Spiller's recommendations for NMW, but I found this info on about.com. I may incorporate some of those ideas into my practice...starting on the next New Moon. LOL

Off to the library, yarn store, and supermarket. I fast weekly, but I still like to test my ability to steer around four kids while feeling noticeably lightheaded. Don't we all?