The Internal Eclipse
By Gary Osborn, written between 1999 and 2006.
Copyright © Gary Osborn 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Figure 1: Engraving 9 from, J.D. Mylius Philosophia reformata, Frankfurt, 1622.
One weekend some seven years ago, my partner Jacqui and I visited Glastonbury and decided to take a stroll through the town. There are many new-age bookshops dotted along the high street, and it was in one of these that I picked up David Ovason’s informative and well-researched book on eclipses, The Book of the Eclipse, (Arrow Books, 1999) – the only book of its kind that covers eclipse phenomena in the way I have come to understand it.
Through reading Ovason’s book, I discovered that the adept ancient astrologer, as well as the astrologers of the Classical and Renaissance periods were well aware that the eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon, reflect and influence the lives of everyone and everything on this planet; and that in the event of an eclipse, a person’s life will be seen to change drastically – even foreshadowing the death of an individual.
I also learned that not everyone is affected by an eclipse – only those persons whose horoscopes are overshadowed by an eclipse, as by the position and degree of the eclipse falling on a significant placing in their chart.
In regard to the study of Astrology, which constitutes the background context for his own investigation into the deeper meaning of eclipses, Ovason tells us that it has always been taken for granted, and without question, that cosmic phenomena causes certain events to unfold on Earth through the lives of all individuals.
Relying on the vast knowledge that he has researched from many esoteric sources, Ovason was careful to point out that the eclipse – and for that matter all the movements and positions of the planets in relation to each other – do not cause events to happen, they merely reflect these events.
Now this supports my own theories: that the two worlds of
1,) the macrocosm, as regards the celestial activity of the planets in our solar system, and
2,) the microcosm, as regards the multi-levelled processes on Earth that conclude as experiential events – do indeed parallel each other, and they do so through the consciousness of each individual who acts as the interface between both the macrocosm and the microcosm.
Ovason tells us that the German scientist, Frau L. Kolisko actually showed that eclipses influence liquids. If true then this shows that there is much more to the eclipse than we realise.
In his book, Ovason examples the astrological horoscopes of over 60 famous individuals – mostly artists, writers and poets – so as to show how the dramatic events in their lives were overshadowed or mirrored by certain eclipses that happened around about the same time.
‘ . . . this book will make abundantly clear, eclipses do seem to work most dramatically and thoroughly through the lives of the great and famous – through the aspirations of the talented and those blessed or cursed with genius’. [1]
Ovason’s research also reveals that many artists and painters have been influenced by eclipses and that eclipses are sometimes featured in their work. He cites artists like, William Blake, Vincent Van Gogh, Max Ernst, Jacopo Guarana, and the 19th Century English artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The author informs us that these artists and more besides have all composed works which feature an eclipse, adding that most of these works remain obscure to those not familiar with the symbolism of eclipses.
One of Max Ernst’s most surrealistic and enigmatic paintings – and the only painting known to incorporate both Solar and Lunar eclipse diagrams – is appropriately named “Of This Men Shall Know Nothing” 1923.
Figure 2: Max Ernst, "Of This Men Shall Know Nothing", (1923), The Tate Gallery, London
Why is it that artists will have a compulsion to paint and draw eclipses – both Solar and Lunar, as well as so-called ‘Black Suns,’ Blackholes or Voids?
The answer must lie in the fact that like all artists of one kind or another – i.e., poets, musicians, writers and actors – they are creative people; and so when these people feel inspired, or have a compulsion to paint an eclipse, what they are doing is actually illustrating and bringing to our attention the actual source of their creativity and the source of their energy; their inspiration; their unique perceptions and their intelligence – and even in some cases their genius. We find that many of these artists used eclipses as their theme because eclipses so dramatically influenced their lives.
Before coming across Ovason’s book, I had already noted works by other artists that feature an eclipse. Of this genre, I would consider one of the most remarkable and mysterious works of art to be La Crucifixion by the famous French poet, novelist, playwright, sculptor, painter and designer, Jean Cocteau (1889–1963).
Note the “Black Sun” – the Solar Eclipse. Also, Cocteau has painted himself in the foreground looking away from the Cross.
La Crucifixion is a strange and highly symbolic mural that covers the whole wall behind the altar of a quaint little church close to London’s Leicester Square called Notre Dame de France. The mural depicts the crucifixion of Christ on the hill named Golgotha, (“place of the skull”) also known as Calvary - also meaning 'skull'.
Behind the cross we see what appears to be a blacked-out Sun – often interpreted to be the solar eclipse that was said to have accompanied Jesus’ crucifixion. The mural is chock-full of symbolism and because of this it stands as an enigmatic work of art – its secrets known only to occult initiates, so it is said.
Cocteau, considered to be a leading member of the Surrealist movement, and also the mysterious Angelic Society, was commissioned to paint the mural in 1960. It has been said that Cocteau was a Grand master of the Prieure De Sion (Priory of Sion) – considered a key “secret society” that is now no longer a secret due to the success of books like The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Shaman/writer Mark Dunn and I actually spent a whole evening meticulously going through all the symbolism that we found in this mural and at the end of it we came up with some interesting interpretations.
Based on what I now understand, it seems that Jean Cocteau understood the same processes in consciousness which allows insight into the two “gateway” points in every cycle as signified by the solar and lunar eclipses.
Take a peaking and dipping sine wave for example (see here, Cycle Diagrams Figure 1): these two ‘gateway’ points would be where the positive half of the cycle crosses into the negative half and vice versa – briefly cancelling each other out at zero . . . ‘neutral’.
Waves are really ‘oscillating cycles’ drawn out linearly in space and time, and so we find that all cycles express the same three phases – the positive half, the negative half and the neutral point where the change from positive to negative and vice-versa takes place. These three phases correspond with the Triad or Sacred Trinity of various religions.
In the 365¼-day annual cycle – being the time it takes for the earth to orbit the sun – these two “gateway” points would be the Spring Equinox and the Autumn Equinox – known in the Wicca-pagan religion as the In-between Times, and here I will have to explain something about the orbital dynamics of the ‘sun-earth-moon’ system associated with the two planes known as the ecliptic plane and the celestial equator and which give rise to the phenomenon of eclipses.
The Ecliptic, the Equinoxes and the Eclipse
As seen from Earth, the apparent path of the Sun’s motion on the celestial sphere is called the ‘ecliptic’.
If we didn’t know any better we would be under the impression that the sun as it moves across the sky, is orbiting the earth.
In truth the earth is rotating anticlockwise and is orbiting the sun, moving anticlockwise along the ecliptic.
However, the Earth’s axis of rotation is 23.5 degrees from the vertical (23.43° to be exact) and so with respect to its orbit around the sun, to us, the ecliptic plane on which the constellations of the Zodiac are aligned, also appears tilted at 23.5° with respect to the plane of the earth’s celestial equator.
Diagram by Gary Osborn
resulting from the Earth’s tilted Axis. Note that the Zodiac Constellation Belt is aligned with the
As mentioned in our book The Serpent Grail:
As we know, Jesus was crucified at Easter – his three-day ‘death and rebirth’ (conception-resurrection) taking place on and around the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox.
This is significant as the moon takes a full month (moonth) to orbit the earth, beginning with a New Moon and ending with a Full Moon.
It has been said that the new moon and full moon are tied in with the average 28-30 day female menstrual and ovulation cycle. This explains the theme of the ‘egg’ of Easter, and provides the reason why Easter (also the Spring Equinox) was the time of the death and ‘new-life’ conception of Jesus and other ‘resurrection gods’ – rebirth.
The Moon’s orbital plane is tilted 5 degrees from the ecliptic. This means that as the moon orbits the earth, half the time it will be moving 5 degrees above the ecliptic plane and half the time 5º below it – cutting a path like a circular, ‘peaking’ and ‘dipping’ sine wave.
This also means that the Solar and Lunar Eclipses can only take place when the Sun, Earth and Moon are on the same plane (in line) and this phenomenon only happens when the moon crosses the ecliptic – so-called, because it’s only on the plane of the ecliptic that the solar and lunar eclipses can take place.
The moon is then between us and the Sun and so it blocks out the sun as it moves across the ecliptic plane. On the other hand, if the moon occupies the spot exactly opposite, the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon and we have a Lunar Eclipse.
However – and this is important – if the earth’s axis was upright and the orbital plane of the moon was also on the ecliptic plane instead of peaking and dipping 5º either side of it, then each and every month would be exactly 30 days and would begin with a Solar Eclipse and end with a Lunar Eclipse. Also the year would be 360 days compared to our year of 365¼ days.
Because everything is out of sync and ‘out of balance’ due the earth being tilted, and the moon on another inclined plane of orbit, we have ‘New Moons’ and ‘Full Moons’ without the associated Solar and Lunar Eclipses.
Now all the above is important in understanding the Messiah mythos, which goes right back to pagan times and before that, the ancient shaman.
We have to ask ourselves, was there once a time when the earth was upright, and the earth orbited the sun and the moon orbited the earth and all on the same plane?
If not, then why is it that the symbolic information we find encoded in the myths and stories – the Bible and the Gospels, and other sources throughout history – are telling us that a vertical earth is the ideal situation as if it was once a reality? Did something happen which caused the earth to become inclined resulting in the ‘Fall of Man’? If so, then looking at the nature of the encoded information we find in many different sources, it would appear that this tilt was seen as the cause of the imbalance and division in man’s consciousness, which has since entrapped man within the cycles of duality.
The ‘cross bar’ represents the horizontal plane of the Ecliptic and the ‘spine’ of the cross represents the vertical plane known as the 'Ecliptic Pole' – which the earth’s axis would be aligned with if upright.
However, on another level the spine of the Cross represents the Prime Meridian, which one could say is a projection of the earth’s axis onto the surface of the earth. The crossbeam just above the head of Jesus, or aligned with the head, represents the Ecliptic Plane. This interpretation is based on the ancient significance of the star Al-Nitak, one of three stars in "Orion's Belt". Al-Nitak is positioned in the right-side of the constellation of Orion. Orion represented the soul of the 'resurrection god' of many cultures and in ancient Egypt, Orion represented Osiris and Horus - who shared the same soul.
Figure 7: Crucifixion (Città di Castello Altarpiece) by Raphael. 1502-03. National Gallery,
Note the sun and moon above and on either side of the head of Jesus whose arms are angled at 23.5 degrees
As Orion rises and falls due to the ‘cycle of precession’ which takes 25,758 years, during the ‘halfway point’ in the cycle, which is roughly now, Al-Nitak comes close to the celestial equator while the ecliptic plane is just above Orion’s head.
Just before his Crucifixion we are told that Jesus carries the tilted cross on his back to the Hill of Golgotha where the wooden cross is then raised up and erected vertically so that he can then ascend to heaven – his Father’s Kingdom. The tilted cross is symbolic of the tilted earth’s axis, which also doubles as his spinal column. The cross is the ‘Tree of Life’ – the shamanic Axis Mundi “axis of the world”.
This part of the story corresponds with the Djed Column of Osiris (his backbone) which was ceremoniously erected – raised-up by the Pharoah on the Spring Equinox.
In his mural, (see figure 3 above) Jean Cocteau has painted himself in the foreground looking away from the Jesus on the cross. To the extreme left of the mural, a Roman soldier is seen to be leaning on his shield next to Cocteau. Upon the shield is depicted a hawk or falcon and it appears as though it is perched on Cocteau’s right shoulder. It is obvious that Cocteau is telling us that the Christian messiah is really based on the pagan god Horus.
We are told that the ‘Two Eyes of Horus’ represent the sun and the moon. The right eye was called the ‘Eye of Ra’, symbolising the sun, and the left was called the ‘Eye of Thoth’, symbolising the moon.
Figure 8: The Two Eyes of Horus
On the left is the Eye of Ra, associated with the male-related sun (conscious self) and connected to the left brain.
On the right is the Eye of Thoth, associated with the female-related moon (subconscious) and connected to the right brain.
Note the sun disk in the centre enclosed within the Shen Ring.
This symbolises the central thalamus – the ‘Inner Sun’ and the real ‘third eye’ – and in terms of the Triad
this central part of the brain represents the Neutral Point or Third Force. (See figure 8)
It is now established, that amongst other things, the brain’s left hemisphere is involved with speech, the written word, logic, analysis, discrimination and almost anything that is linear and sequenced – like ‘thought’ for instance – and which like our speech and our writing, is also linear and sequenced. We also use the left-hemisphere to reason deductively and to calculate and measure things in space and time. For us today, the left hemisphere would be the home of the “conscious-self” – said to be related to the ‘masculine principle.’
Like the male, the left-brain, would encompass our ‘active mode’ of thinking, our assertiveness and our competitiveness – providing the impetus or ‘positive charge’ to make things happen. So then, the “conscious-self” which is related to the left hemisphere, is the part of our consciousness that communicates with, reacts to, and thinks about the things it is perceiving and experiencing in the surface world of external reality.
Alternatively, the right hemisphere is involved with intuition, patterns, images, pictures, music and also ‘feelings,’ as in emotion. For us, the right hemisphere is the home of the “subconscious” – said to be related to the ‘feminine principle’.
If the left-brain is associated with the ‘active mode’ of thinking, then the right-brain is associated with one’s passive and receptive modes of thought – i.e., it absorbs information from the environment and will just let things happen.
It seems then, that the left-brain, which is male-orientated, is associated with consensus reality – i.e., one’s objective, ‘outer’ or external experiences of reality – the collective, consensus side of reality which every individual participates in and more-so via the left brain. Alternatively, the right-brain, which is female-orientated, is associated with one’s subjective, ‘inner’ or internal experiences, which of course is one’s personal picture of reality which one picks up from the surrounding environment through “senses” other than the five we know of, and which is also being created from the stored or memorized information cycling around in his or her ‘internal dialogue’. These internal-patterns of the subconscious mind are symbolic in form – i.e., abstract, images and pictures (considered holographic in nature) – that include a volume of additional information and meaning.
This means that the two sides of the brain are working independently but also closely together, as in rotation and alternation every instant and throughout the day like two dynamos – and also like the waves of a cycle going from ‘peak’ (left-brain) to ‘dip’ (right-brain) and back again to ‘peak,’ continuously. As it does so, the patterns and images interpreted or delivered by the subjective right-brain, are accompanied and ‘escorted’ by a ‘linear’ formulation of words and sentences, (internal dialogue) which is the language of the conscious-self – i.e., the logical, masculine, left-brain form of communication.
Linear word-forms give a more focused and obvious picture of the ‘information pattern’ we first formulate in our mind and then try to communicate to others.
Again, the most obvious and conscious form of communication is speech and we talk to each other using sound forms which have formed the basis of our written words.
However, unlike the abstract ‘picture symbols’ that can convey a lot of information at once but leave us ‘uncertain’ about the correct information we may interpret, or be trying to access or communicate, the linear word-forms take time and space to communicate a small amount of information which is more ‘certain’ as regards the point we are trying to make.
Abstract picture forms can give instant meaning and will contain a wealth of data – although at the same time, the true meaning can be considered ‘doubtful,’ ‘vague,’ ‘uncertain’ or even ‘spurious,’ on the part of the person who receives it and has to interpret it. But, and again, information in the style of ‘linear word-forms’ – though certain, unless the speaker is lying or dishonest – are themselves limited where any overall, holistic, in-depth meaning is concerned. Here of course is the same conflict between ‘certainty’ and ‘uncertainty’, which is better expressed in the quantum-theory paradox of a subatomic body being either a “particle” or a “wave,” or both and neither – but here I have related each to the male and female principles as regards our forms of language and communication.
It is obvious that when we ‘feel,’ ‘imagine’ and ‘visualise’ things – which can sometimes manifest in many abstract ways – we are processing whatever is arising from the ‘internal reality’ of imprinted information – i.e., the memory of what one has already learned and experienced.
Sometimes, because of its abstract nature these images will sometimes be thrown together in an incoherent and illogical fashion, and so what arises from the “subterranean”, internal reality of the ‘subconscious’ can often be difficult for the ‘conscious-self’ to communicate properly – even embarrassing because of its uncertainty – which is why the subconscious and what arises from it, is often suppressed by the conscious-self which wants to be accepted by the consensus and taken seriously. This inner conflict is at the heart of all our human problems, arguments, external conflicts, angsts and neuroses.
Figure 9: The Balance or Reintegration of the Divided Mind or Ego. Sun (left-brain, male) Moon (right-brain, female.)
The Star in the center? The ‘balance point’ or fusion of both opposites . . . the ‘Neutral Point’ of illumination.
Sabor, C. F. von: Practica naturae vera. N. p. o. p. o. o., 1721. frontispiece
However, as David Ovason points out in his book:
We are being told that this ‘upright situation’ of the earth where everything is stable and centred, allows us a more direct link with the Creator or the source-centre of creation – believed to be the ‘unmoving’ ecliptic centre in the heavens – the point to which the axis would be aligned if upright. Because the earth is tilted, it appears that people believed this reflected a “tilt” in human consciousness – the reason why there is all manner of argument, conflict, war, decay and death – meaning that in general we are ‘cut-off’ from any sense of spirituality, afterlife and immortality.
Therefore the allegorical story of Jesus and the image we have of him on the upright cross is perhaps really an example to awaken us – the original meaning of this ‘resurrection god’ lost over time – corrupted by the interpretations made by those who were behind the inception of the Catholic Church.
After the first, these OBE’s then became a regular occurrence for Monroe – so much so – that he was later able to induce them and control them at will.
Monroe’s Hemi-Sync encourages coherent brain-wave activity through the synchronisation of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Different frequency sound waves are transmitted to each ear through a set of headphones and these waves entrain the frequencies of each hemisphere to reach a point where both are harmonised and synchronised so as to create a centred state in consciousness. I would add that in effect, the Hemi-Sync process has really been designed to lead one’s consciousness into the Hypnagogic State – i.e., the twilight zone or ‘borderline state’ between waking and sleeping consciousness. (See Cycle Diagrams figure 5.)
It has been established that the hypnagogic state accompanies many kinds of paranormal and phenomena and may even be responsible for paranormal and mystical experience. Hemi-sync is one way of inducing this state while the individual remains conscious and the EEG images of the brain show that the frequencies of the two sides are harmoniously arranged and converge on the centre of the brain.
I would also say, that the closer these two divisions of the mind and brain synchronise and converge on the same point where both are cancelled out and become one with that pure energy of the infinite, then depending on how close this union is, this would account for all kinds of psychic activity and phenomena ranging from synchronicity to ESP, through to OBEs, up to mystical enlightenment itself, where one feels as if one’s consciousness has gone right back to the potential proto-atom of the universe just before the “big-bang” – the ‘Eternal Now’.
Many believe that paranormal phenomena is associated with the right side of the brain, and the subconscious. It must be emphasized that all psychic and mystical phenomena can be explained via this ‘third state’ of mind – in that what we call “supernatural phenomena” is actually produced by this union or fusion between the conscious-self and the subconscious – the accuracy and reality of the phenomena or phenomenon exprerienced being again, dependent on how closely synchronised these two divisions of the mind or brain are.
Within this centre, all opposites become one – indeed everything becomes One – a state of non-illusion. And if one pursues this ‘third fusion state’ or ‘third force’ in consciousness either intellectually or experientially – then one will realize the truth; that to experience reality, one’s consciousness must be divided in two. However, this division is really an illusion, which means that what we call ‘reality’ – whether we believe the ‘real reality’ is the internal realm, or the external realm – is an illusion. Again, the true reality is oneself, which is really the creative ‘third force’ between these two realms, which one is creating. It is the ‘Creator’ within us.
The mind is a great creator and constructor of patterns, which it then experiences and interprets through either the conscious-related left-brain or the subconscious-related right-brain – often unaware of its own participation in the creation of these experiences. Fusing these two divisions together, one comes closer to the Creator – and it is Oneself . . . as simple as that!
This fusion is the ‘enlightenment experience’ known by the Hindu’s as Kundalini, and as experienced by shamen, yogis and mystics. Our realisation of this fact is one of the things the stories of the Gospels and the Grail are leading us to so that we can actually transcend our ‘non-realization’ of this fact! At the highest level, the true and experiential realization of this is the Grail.
So then, ‘Christ on the Cross’ symbolises the crossing point between the male and female energies – also space and time, past and future, life and death (see Cycle Diagrams, figure 8) – indeed all opposites associated with the cyclical duality in consciousness, and where both become neutralised in the NOW.
Figure 10: The Eclipse as the Gateway in Consciousness?
A Solar eclipse through one of the trilithon portals of
Print by William Blake, from his poem,
Earlier I mentioned the artists who used the eclipse as the central theme of their art. This shows evidence that all creative people are more conscious – i.e., subconscious or semi-conscious – of those points in the cycle, where most people are usually ‘unconscious,’ and so because of this these individuals are “tapping” more energy from that Creative Source or Centre, and this would account for their unique talent as well as their creative genius, which can both influence and inspire many people.
Ovason’s sentiments parallel my own insights into the deeper meaning behind eclipse phenomena, as shown here in these quotes:
In essence we are all “fragments” of God – meaning that the Centre of our own consciousness which these points in the cycle can lead us to, and where we tap the life-force energy from that centre and which also keeps our consciousness oscillating out on the periphery, is that fragment, which is itself connected to, and is the same as, the Collective Source or Centre of consciousness – being the Godhead, the Kingdom, the Source or Absolute.
As Ovason says, it would be wrong “to believe that we are the playthings of the gods” – especially in light of the fact that in essence we are God and that we are creating all this from that Centre within us. If we consider ourselves to be “playthings” then we have merely made ourselves the “playthings” of the “gods” or other “gods” – being those people, who try to dominate and control our lives for superficial reasons known only to the ego that is ignorant of the ‘god’ inside, which it hides away from itself by becoming unconscious of it.
Here’s another extract from Ovason’s book:
Ovason’s metaphorical description of the Moon “boring a hole into space, creating a safety-valve for human passions – a tunnel leading towards the world of the gods” is again supportive of my own insight; that the reason why we become unconscious at these points, is because our momentary “black-out” acts exactly like a “safety-valve”. As regards the rapid oscillating process of the mind or consciousness, we only let in the same measure of energy and information each time our consciousness passes over those eclipse points in the cycle, thereby limiting the amount of energy and information we can access from our Centre or the Collective Centre (“world of the gods”) within us where the energy and information pertaining to the whole of the multiverse is fused together at one point. This accounts for our limited sense-perception and experience of a finite reality that contains only a certain amount of energy and information.
In our unconscious “tapping” of this energy-information, we therefore allow ourselves only a certain amount of energy-information as regards our understanding of the true nature of ourselves and our surrounding reality at any one time – and the amount we access depends on how conscious we are of that Centre within us, which in turn, is both equatable with, and reveals the ‘stage of evolution’ we are at.
The words: “ . . . the two luminaries (the Sun and the Moon) are inside man himself, for what is above is also below.” also supports what I said earlier:
The Sun is associated with the light and objectivity of the conscious-self, and the Moon is associated with the dark and subjective world of the subconscious.
In brief, and due to this experience, Man was able to access that “gateway” within and was able to probe into the very processes of his own consciousness and realised that these processes are also reflected in the cycles of nature and the cosmos. Man then sought to know all about these cycles so that he could find the Eternal Now – the beginning and end point of each, as well as the halfway point in the cycles. He did this so that he could control his reality to some extent by synchronising his own awakened consciousness with those points in the cycles – and especially during the brief synchronisation phase whereby some or all of these biorhythmic cycles become momentarily superpositioned at one point – being the end and beginning point in one of the major cycles.
Based on Mayan cosmology, a synchronisation point has already been forecast for December, 2012, by the late Terence McKenna after he studied the biorhythmic cycles of Man’s history – noting the peaks and dips, and especially the points where the waves cancel each other out. In 2012, the waves are seen to dip right off the scale as if into a Void.
What will happen at this time is anyone’s guess, but as always, the “prophets of doom” are predicting a major disaster of some kind – and then again, maybe not. It may just signify a major transformation in consciousness.
Strangely, another artist who paints black, void-like spheres or disks, and which could easily be interpreted as ‘eclipses,’ is UFO and “alien abduction” researcher, Budd Hopkins. Just before he first began investigating so-called, “abduction” cases, and just after he sighted a UFO himself, Hopkins went through a period when all his paintings featured a black circle or blackhole in the centre of the canvas as if referencing the Void. His first painting of this kind was titled ‘Sun Black’ . . .