12/08/2026
πβοΈ THE SOLAR ECLIPSE β 12 AUGUST 2026 βοΈπ
Look to the sky π
These are the actual pictures I took of the eclipse. π
Tonight, 12th August 2026, the skies bring us something truly fascinating β a major solar eclipse. Here in the UK weβll experience a very deep partial eclipse, with around 90% of the Sun covered by the Moon. In parts of Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain, the eclipse will be total.
But long before we understood eclipses through science, people looked up at the darkening Sun and believed something supernatural was happeningβ¦
π Ancient beliefs surrounding eclipses
To ancient people, the sudden disappearance of daylight could be terrifying. Some believed the Sun was being eaten by a monster, dragon or demon, while others saw an eclipse as a warning from the gods a sign of death, war, disaster or great change.
In ancient China, stories told of a celestial dragon devouring the Sun, while in Hindu mythology the demon Rahu was believed to swallow the Sun and Moon. Eclipses could therefore become times of prayer, rituals, silence and protection.
Imagine living hundreds or thousands of years ago, with no knowledge of the Moon passing between Earth and the Sun.
One moment it is daylight⦠and suddenly the world begins to darken. Animals may react, temperatures can drop and the sky takes on an eerie appearance.
Itβs easy to understand why our ancestors connected eclipses with the supernatural and the unknown. π
Today we know exactly what causes an eclipse but thereβs still something undeniably eerie about watching the Sun disappear in the middle of the day.
So as we look up tonight, perhaps spare a thought for those who stood beneath the same sky centuries ago, wondering whether the darkness was a message from something beyond our world.
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