The Passage of the Pope and an Eclipse
An eclipse on the day of John Paul's funeral makes a Yijing reader thoughtful.
Eclipses aren't terribly unusual. There are (I learn from the radio) five to seven a year.
In the Yijing there is an eclipse as a figure for the passage of great power, the passing of the Mandate of Heaven.
Further, it is associated with the funeral of a very great king, the saintly and literary King Wen.
He was, to a greater or lesser degree, a historical person; and the founder of a great dynasty.
Today's eclipse is a "hybrid" which means it is not a total eclipse everywhere on the path of totality. Here is a map of the path of totality:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2005Apr08H.GIF
The trajectory of the path of totality does make one thoughtful.
Eclipses aren't terribly unusual. There are (I learn from the radio) five to seven a year.
In the Yijing there is an eclipse as a figure for the passage of great power, the passing of the Mandate of Heaven.
Further, it is associated with the funeral of a very great king, the saintly and literary King Wen.
He was, to a greater or lesser degree, a historical person; and the founder of a great dynasty.
Today's eclipse is a "hybrid" which means it is not a total eclipse everywhere on the path of totality. Here is a map of the path of totality:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2005Apr08H.GIF
The trajectory of the path of totality does make one thoughtful.
posted by Freeman Crouch at 7:03 AM
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