Whenever an eclipse rolls around, especially a total one in the U.S.  It’s a very big deal. Eclipses aren’t new, most people have experienced 1 or more in their lives. However, for some reason, this eclipse seemed different to other people. The solar eclipse we had this year was total, which is more rare, but not unprecedented. So why are people saying it would incur the rapture? That if you see demon faces during it you’ll be hospitalized? That you need to look at the eclipse directly to ‘ascend’?

These rumors are hidden under the guise of spirituality. However, being spiritual doesn’t mean having psychosis, spirituality doesn’t involve the rapture and doomsday predictions.

Predictions of the rupture have existed for years now, but were much more prevalent with the eclipse, and coming from younger people online. This fear mongering can lead to unnecessary panic from those who are more mentally vulnerable, as well as younger, gullible people online who are getting this information from people they think of as more trustworthy, rather than an old man on the street with a sign yelling at everyone.

However, we should take these statements seriously. Some of these people affected by ‘spirituality’ during the eclipse can genuinely harm others. One woman went on a shooting spree on a Florida interstate during the solar eclipse, saying god told her to. Many of these rumors of raptures and other religious armageddon originated from a bible verse describing the end of times. It in short stated the sun’s light would be covered and the moon wouldn’t give it’s light, which while sounding similar to an eclipse, eclipses don’t involve planets shaking and stars falling.

Despite scientific information existing about the eclipses and what it is and what causes it, some decide to ignore it in favor of religious or spiritual paranoia. So in the next 2 or 10 years when another eclipse comes around, just don’t listen to people saying it’s the end of times, a portal opening, or that you can totally look at the eclipse. Eclipses aren’t new, so don’t listen to people trying to scare you.