A Bruja’s Guide to Navigation Eclipse Season

The eclipse season is a time of year when major changes take place internally and externally. The indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Caribbean and Latin America respected the earth, the sun and the moon during this rebirth and this transformation. The traditions practiced for thousands of years are honored, creating a powerful link between the physical and spiritual world.

The interdependence of all things is a strong belief in many indigenous groups as a way of life. The eclipse season is a time when this connection can be reinforced and confirmed in mind. The energy is powerful, whether a solar or lunar eclipse, partial or complete. Modern times have disconnected many of us from the interconnection of all things that are fundamental beliefs of indigenous peoples. We can find it by honoring the spiritual traditions transmitted by our generations by our ancestors.

A total lunar eclipse on March 14 will follow the full moon in the Pic de Virgo and will be visible in the United States and South America, as well as in parts of Europe and Africa. On March 29, we congratulate ourselves on a partial solar eclipse, which coincides with the new Moon in Aries. It creates an excellent time to demonstrate and come together in the community with others to increase the vibration here on earth.

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse is a dance between the sun, the moon and the earth. The earth takes the lead, moving between the sun and the moon and throwing a shadow on the moon. Lunar eclipses, whether partial or full, only occur during a full moon, which creates an energy increased by itself. Spiritually, lunar eclipses are respected as a transformer time. It brings the dark sides of ourselves to the surface to be healed.

What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse is another kind of astrological dance when the moon leads, passing between the sun and the earth. Partial solar eclipses occur when the moon only blocks part of the sun. Whether the moon blocks the sun completely or partially, it throws a shadow on parts of the earth. Energy can be felt on our planet. Like a lunar eclipse, solar eclipses have a spiritual meaning like powerfully transformative times. While the moon momentarily blocks the sun, we can honor the work of the shadow which is so essential to spiritual growth and healing.

What indigenous spiritual rituals are carried out during a lunar eclipse?

Indigenous peoples often practiced deep introspection during lunar eclipses. Many traditions include fasting, lack of sexual activity, respect inside, prayer and meditation. Their immobility was a way to show respect for the mother earth and the great spirit for the important cosmic changes and the renewals which take place during the lunar eclipse.

Palo Santo and Copal are excellent during this period. You can even mop your floors with a mixture of lukewarm water, Florida water and street water. Street, or Ruda, has been used for centuries to eliminate the evil energy from spaces and people. It cannot be consumed but is powerful enough as a cleaner or in Baños or spiritual limpias.

Once your space has been cleaned with negativity, stagnant energy and blockages with joy and inner peace, it is time to fill your home with gratitude and love. Remember to bring together everyone who lives together at home to meditate and pray. Hand your hand in a circle and listen to the energy created. Deep breathing together and even long hugs can improve energy flow in your home, community and world in general. It starts in us and will naturally flow outwards.

What indigenous spiritual rituals are carried out during a solar eclipse?

Solar eclipses are honored and respected similarly to lunar eclipses. Some indigenous groups believe that staying inside shows respect for symbolic death and the rebirth of the sun during the eclipse. The other traditions include being outside during the eclipse and dance under the sun to celebrate its invigorating energy or participate in names of name to honor a new life. When the moon throws its shadow on the light, engulfing the planet in momentary darkness, silence, prayer and meditation occur until the sun’s rays return.

In Western civilization, we often wear protective glasses to amaze solar eclipses. But indigenous traditions believe the opposite. As a sign of respect for this display of the cycles of life between light and dark groups, the indigenous groups did not look at it, but rather turned inward to connect with it at a spiritual level and allow the energy of the eclipse to cross them.

The next partial solar eclipse of March 29 would be the ideal moment to celebrate as the sun shines, then would be back in immobility while the moon throws its shadow. Consider yourself a plant that has survived winter. You may need to cut the parts of yourself who are dead or die. This could be old ways of thinking, models or even people and places that you may have exceeded. Dig profoundly to find the parts of you that are no longer necessary and remove them so that the other parts can become strong and healthy. You can write a list celebrating your trip, which you become, and what you need to abandon or delete to be fully reborn during the solar eclipse, which follows the spring equinox of March 20.

Herbs with whom to work during the eclipse season

Herbs act as allies during the eclipse season. Whether you use them as an ingredient in a Baño or a spiritual Limpia, or sip it in a tea, plants are intelligent beings. They can maximize the robust energy exchange that occurs between us and astrological transits. Here are some herbs to consider integrating into your spiritual rituals:

Mugwort: to deepen meditation and improve dreams.

Ginkgo Biloba: to strengthen spiritual communication with the divine.

Skullcap: to relieve a common mind and deepen meditation.

Chamomile: to calm the nervous system and heal the wounds by mother.

Sage: to clean your space and yourself blockages, stagnation and negative energy.

Crystals with whom to work during the eclipse season

Solar eclipses are the perfect time to load your crystals. After praying and establishing intentions for your crystals, you can place them on a window sill or a place outside. Holding them in your hands during meditations and Eclipse prayers is also super powerful. Here are some go-to for the eclipse season:

Black Tourmaline: for protection and to protect negativity inside or from another.

Flower agate: for a deeper link with the mind and to embrace new beginnings.

Sunstone: to amplify the energy of the sun in your soul and strengthen confidence.

Red jasper: to die and connect deep with the mother earth.

Selenite: for the protection, the clarity and the honor of your higher self.

Essential oils for the eclipse season

Our sense of smell can deepen meditation and help hiking the soul thanks to aroma therapy. You can amplify your eclipse ritual by rubbing a little oil on your wrists, behind your ears, your third eye or the heart chakra. You can also use incense or a diffuser if you prefer not to have it on your physical body. Here are five essential oils that act as a powerful support for the spiritual rituals of the eclipse season:

Incense: to deepen spiritual connection and support throughout the course of your life.

Vetting: for earthing and connection to the mother earth.

Peppermint: to calm the nervous system.

Patchouli: to improve psychic capacities and honor your intuition.

Ylang Ylang: Fighting anxiety, stress and sadness and improve feelings of joy.

Tarot cards to work during the eclipse season

If you are in tarot cards, you can display a card that coincides well with the energy of the eclipse season. The card you choose to display acts as a symbol of your intentions for your Eclipse spiritual ritual. Here are some examples:

The hermit: symbolize the need for an intentional break and go deeply inwards for spiritual guidance.

Card de la mort: a representation of a symbolic death which takes place by you, giving way to a new way of being and living.

The moon: reveal hidden emotions and illusions and dive deep into the subconscious mind.

The hanged man: to really let go and go.

Prayer for the eclipse season

Great spirit, I pray for a deep transformation and clarity during this eclipse season. I honor the mother earth by soaring my mind and connecting to its frequency while the moon and the sun dance in the sky. I am aware of the meaning of this season and honors ancestral medicine as a way to find a balance in my life and to continue the traditions transmitted by my line. I am one with the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars. By honoring the elements, I honor, you, great and the constant changes and changes that this life brings. As above, therefore below. Thank you, thank you, thank you. So, whether it is.

Zayda Rivera is a PS contributor. She has been a professional writer for over 20 years. Z is a certified master-teacher, a yoga and zumba teacher, a full-consciousness and meditation guide, a tarot reader and a spiritual mentor.