On Wednesday, Oct. 8, you will get the chance to see one of the rarest types of lunar eclipse, called a selenelion or horizontal eclipse.

While you wait for the eclipse here are 20 interesting myths about lunar eclipse from around the world.

1. The Sun and The Moon Fight During An Eclipse

According to the Batammaliba people in Togo and Benin in Africa, the sun and the moon are fighting during an eclipse, and the people encourage them to stop.

They see it as a time of coming together and resolving old feuds and anger, it’s a myth that has held to this day.

2. A Jaguar Attacks The Moon During An Eclipse

Among the collected myths is a story about a jaguar that attacked and ate the moon. The big cat’s assault explained the rusty or blood-red color that the moon often turned during a total lunar eclipse

The Inca feared that after it attacked the moon, the jaguar would crash to Earth to eat people. To prevent that, they would try to drive the predator away by shaking spears at the moon and making a lot of noise, including beating their dogs to make them howl and bark.

3. The Moon Is Attacked By Own Pets

The Hupa believed the moon had 20 wives and a lot of pets. Most of those pets were mountain lions and snakes, and when the moon didn’t bring them enough food to eat, they attacked and made him bleed.

The eclipse would end when the moon’s wives would come in to protect him, collecting his blood and restoring him to health.

4. A Lunar Eclipse Means The Moon Is Sick

To the Luiseño tribe of southern California, an eclipse signaled that the moon was ill, says Krupp. It was tribe members’ job to sing chants or prayers to bring it back to health.

5. Look Out For The Golden Toad During An Eclipse

The Jin Chan (literally: “Golden Toad”, “wealth-beckoning toad”), is most commonly translated as “Money Toad” or “Money Frog”.

This mythical creature is said to appear during the full moon, near houses or businesses that will soon receive good news (most of the time, the nature of this good news is understood to be wealth-related) or a three legged toad in China.

6. Take Your Bath to Receive Salvation

Some Hindus believe in the importance of bathing in the Ganges River following an eclipse because it will help you achieve salvation.

7. Lunar Eclipse Signifies God’s Anger Towards A Sinful Nation

In Nigeria, an eclipse is seen as God’s anger toward a sinful nation. In 2001, this superstition got completely out of hand as Muslim citizens attacked Christian targets during a lunar eclipse.

So strong are these beliefs that authorities and government officials launched a campaign in 2006, an eclipse year, to educate people in Nigeria about the scientific reasons for eclipses.

8. Throw Away Every Left Over Food

In India it is believed that all leftover food during an eclipse should be thrown away or given away because it is no longer safe to eat.

9. Two Wolves Chase The Sun And Moon During Any Eclipse

Ancient superstitions regarding eclipses include the Vikings believing that two large wolves were chasing after the Sun and Moon and, at the moment an eclipse took place, the wolves caught up with these celestial bodies.

10.No Sex During An Eclipse

Medieval folk believed that sex during an eclipse would result in ugly demon-filled children

Europeans in the Middle Ages thought that you should never get it on during a lunar eclipse, because any “moon children” would be born with ugly demons inside them.

11. Lunar Eclipse Causes Birthmark

A modern superstition also has it that a pregnant woman shouldn’t touch her belly during a lunar eclipse. Doing so will cause the baby to be born with a birthmark - the size of which depends on the force of the touch.

12. Eskimos Turn Their Utensils Upside Down During An Eclipse

Eskimos turn their utensils upside-down during an eclipse

Disease is meant to strike the Eskimo people whenever the women forget to place their utensils upside-down during an eclipse.

The Eskimos turn their spoons, forks and knives upside-down. They believe this is a sure way to stop the sick sun and moon from poisoning you by shining their rays onto your cutlery.

13. Don’t sleep with wet hair

In India, some people think that you shouldn’t sleep with wet hair, or it might turn you into a lunatic (a word which has the same Latin stem as lunar – still more proof that the so-called lunar effect has been around for a long time).

14. A Dragon Devours The Moon During A Lunar Eclipse

The ancient Chinese believed that solar eclipses occur when a legendary celestial dragon devours the Sun. They also believed that this dragon attacks the Moon during lunar eclipses.

In the Chinese language, the term for eclipse was “chih” which also means “to eat”. One ancient Chinese solar eclipse record describes a solar eclipse as “the Sun has been eaten”.

It was a tradition in ancient China to bang drums and pots and make loud noise during eclipses to frighten that dragon away. Even more recently, in the nineteenth century, the Chinese navy fired its cannons during a lunar eclipse to scare the dragon that was eating the Moon.

15. Take your bath before and after each eclipse

Still in India, some people think that you should take a bath before and after the eclipse, to wash away any evil spirits. And – get this – that you should wash your eyes out with urine, to stop your eyes from ever hurting again.

16. Lunar eclipse and birth defects

Talking of birth, the Indians seem to take the cake on this one: one newspaper recently told pregnant women not to go out during the eclipse, to stop them giving birth to a blind baby or one with a cleft lip. One woman laments:

“I did not take any precautions when I was pregnant during a lunar eclipse. I cut an apple even though I had been warned not to touch any sharp objects; My son was born with a missing finger.”

17. Your Actions Are Amplified During A Lunar Eclipse

Tibetan Buddhists say that during a lunar eclipse, our actions, whether good or bad, are multiplied one thousand fold.

18. The Ojibawas Try to Rekindle The Sun

According to the Ojibawas sect of the Red Indians the solar eclipse signifies the extinguishing of the moon or the sun for a while.

Consequently they hurl burning arrows in the direction of the sun so as to rekindle its original brightness.

19. Lunar Eclipse Occurs When The Moon Serpent Swallows The Moon Rabbit

The Todas from the Nilgiris believe there is a rabbit on the moon. According to them when a serpent swallows the moon the lunar eclipse begins.

In order to drive the serpents they shout and make loud noises; they also fast during the eclipse hours.

20. The Moon Was Unable To Repay A Loan

The imagination of the Munda tribes hailing from Bihar and Bastar region in Madhya Pradesh actually takes the cake.

They believe that the sun and the moon take loans from a demon called ‘Dhanko’. Their failure to repay within the scheduled period invites imprisonment by their creditors and therefore the sun and the moon are not seen in the sky at their usual positions.

Hence they bring their utensils, rice, and weapon to their courtyard in the belief that sun and moon will accept these to repay their debts to the demon thereby liberating the Mundas from the ghastly spectacle.

Do you know any myth that was not mentioned here? Let us know in the comment section below

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