Lunar eclipse and pregnancy: between legends, fears, fascination, and truth.

The night between September 7 and 8, the sky will gift us with a spectacle as ancient as humanity itself: a lunar eclipse. While astronomers prepare their telescopes and sky enthusiasts get ready to look up, in many households, the same recommendations that grandmothers used to pass down to their daughters are still whispered today: "If you're pregnant, don't look at the disappearing moon." It is a call that transcends continents and cultures, a red thread that connects seemingly distant traditions, all united by an ancient concern: protecting the life growing in the mother's womb from the mysterious cosmic influences.

The myths that cross continents.

Like an invisible thread, the concern for pregnant women during lunar eclipses can be found in cultures that are far removed from each other, each with its own peculiar protective solutions. Let's begin our journey on the other side of the ocean.

The red ribbon of Latin America.

In much of Latin America, from the Mexican coasts to the Peruvian Andes, a tradition persists that has its roots in pre-Columbian civilizations. Pregnant women are invited to wear a red ribbon or band around their belly during the lunar eclipse. According to popular belief, this amulet would act as a protective shield against the negative influences of the celestial event. Red, the color of blood and life, is considered particularly powerful in repelling the malevolent energies that would be released when the moon "temporarily dies" in the sky.

Tradition says that without this protection, the baby could be born with dark spots on its skin, called eclipse spots or moon kisses. These beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation, blending with folk medicine practices and even resisting the urbanization and modernization of Latin American societies.

Indian taboos: Knives and scissors.

Heading east, in the Indian subcontinent, we find a completely different approach, but one equally rooted in tradition. Here, prescriptions for pregnant women during a lunar eclipse are particularly detailed and strict. Ayurvedic tradition and popular beliefs intertwine in a complex system of prohibitions that govern every aspect of daily life during the astronomical phenomenon.

The most widespread taboo concerns the use of cutting objects: knives, scissors, razors, and even sewing needles must be carefully avoided. It is believed that any cut made during the eclipse could reflect on the baby’s body, causing malformations or scars. Some variations extend the prohibition to cutting hair and nails, while others prescribe not consuming food throughout the eclipse period.

Additionally, pregnant women are encouraged to recite protective mantras and carry blessed objects with them. In many traditional families, pregnant women spend the entire duration of the eclipse in prayer, surrounded by elder relatives who watch over them with chants and invocations.

Mediterranean silence.

Approaching our own land, in the Mediterranean region of Europe, we find that our latitudes are also not immune to these ancient concerns. From Greece to southern Italy, from Spain to Portugal, the tradition takes on more sober tones, but is no less categorical. Here, the main advice is to stay indoors during the lunar eclipse, especially if you are pregnant. Windows are often closed and curtains drawn, as if protecting oneself from an invisible storm.

This precaution is rooted in ancient beliefs that associate the eclipse with moments of particular cosmic vulnerability.

The moon, considered the protector of femininity and maternity, is temporarily “wounded” or “sick,” and its suffering could affect the women carrying new life within them. The domestic refuge thus becomes a protective shell, a sacred place where one waits for the natural order to be restored.

The ancient fear of devouring.

But to truly understand the origin of all these beliefs, we must take a step even further back in time. Ancient civilizations across the world interpreted the lunar eclipse as a moment of great cosmic danger. Babylonians, Mayans, Incas, Egyptians: all these peoples saw in the darkening of the moon the action of malevolent forces that literally “devoured” the celestial body. For pregnant women, this metaphor of devouring took on especially sinister connotations.

It was believed that these same dark forces that attacked the moon could turn against the child in the mother’s womb, feeding off it or marking it with their malevolent presence. Protective rituals often included the use of amulets, the recitation of magical formulas, and, in some cases, propitiatory sacrifices to appease the entities responsible for the eclipse.

The psychological roots of beliefs.

After traveling across continents and centuries in search of these myths, a spontaneous question arises: why have these beliefs taken such deep root in the collective imagination? The answer lies at the intersection of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that have always characterized humanity's relationship with celestial phenomena.

The moon has always held a particular fascination for human cultures, and its symbolic connection to female cycles is universally recognized. The menstrual cycle, with its duration of about 28 days, mirrors the lunar phases almost perfectly, creating a natural association between the celestial body and female fertility. It is no coincidence that in many languages, the word “month” derives from the same root as “moon.”

When this celestial body, so intimately connected with femininity, undergoes an eclipse, the event is perceived as a direct threat to reproductive balance. The ancient fear of the unknown combines with the maternal instinct to protect, generating rituals and beliefs designed to restore a sense of control over forces that seem incomprehensible and potentially dangerous.

Cosmic events, furthermore, have always represented moments of rupture in the natural order, omens of change or disaster. In an era when infant mortality was extremely high and pregnancy carried enormous risks, any additional element of uncertainty was perceived as a threat to be neutralized through protective practices.

What modern Science Says.

However, beyond the charm of these ancient traditions, it is important to confront what modern scientific research tells us about the topic. From a scientific point of view, there is no evidence that a lunar eclipse can influence fetal development or the health of a pregnant woman in any way. The eclipse is simply the result of the Earth passing between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the celestial body. It is a purely optical and gravitational phenomenon that does not involve any change in the physical conditions of our planet.

Solar radiation does not undergo any modification during a lunar eclipse, nor are there significant alterations in the Earth's gravitational field. The moon continues to exert its normal influence on tides and biological cycles, with the Earth’s shadow in no way altering these effects.

Studies conducted on thousands of pregnancies worldwide have never found statistically significant correlations between lunar eclipses and gestational complications, fetal malformations, or premature births. Variations in birth rates during eclipses fall well within normal statistical fluctuations and cannot be attributed to the astronomical phenomenon.

Even the alleged “eclipse spots” on newborns have a much more prosaic medical explanation: they are normal benign skin marks, such as nevi or birthmarks, that form during embryonic development for genetic reasons completely unrelated to celestial phenomena.

A bridge between the past and the present.

So then, what’s the point of talking about these beliefs that science has clearly debunked today? While science reassures us of the harmlessness of lunar eclipses for pregnant women, there is something deeply human and moving in these ancient beliefs. They represent humanity’s millennia-long attempt to make sense of the mysteries of the cosmos and to protect the most precious thing: the continuity of the species.

Remembering and recounting these myths does not necessarily mean believing in them, but rather recognizing the richness of the cultural heritage left to us by our ancestors. Each belief, each ritual, each superstition is an open window into the mindset and values of the generations that preceded us.

In an era of space exploration and advanced medicine, keeping the memory of these traditions alive also means preserving that dimension of wonder and mystery that makes the human experience richer and more complex. Eclipses will continue to enchant both young and old, astrophysicists and poets, skeptics and dreamers.

When the night between September 7 and 8 arrives, and we look up at the moon slowly turning red, we can choose to see it simply as the shadow of the Earth passing between two celestial bodies. Or we can imagine, for a moment, the shiver of fear and wonder that our ancestors felt in front of the same spectacle, and feel ourselves as part of a story that has spanned millennia, uniting mothers and children under the same starry sky.