Can a Solar Eclipse Take Your Voice Away?

There is actually a Classical Chinese medicine logic to why this happens.

In classical Chinese cosmology, the Sun is Yang. Ancient texts described a solar eclipse as a moment when Yin temporarily obscures or “invades” Yang: an unexpected withdrawal of light, warmth and outward movement in the middle of the Yang portion of the day.

Chinese medicine never imagined the human body as separate from these changes.

Our physiology is continually adapting to light, temperature, season, atmosphere and rhythm. The ability to meet the outside world is partly the work of Wei Qi, our defensive Qi, which is closely connected with the Lungs or metal element.

And the Lungs have a particularly beautiful diagnostic tell: the voice…

So perhaps an eclipse does not give me a cold…

Perhaps an abrupt environmental shift (like an eclipse) exposes the place where my system is already most vulnerable.

This is very different from saying eclipses cause illness. Modern medicine has not established that.

But researchers are increasingly interested in something Chinese medicine has assumed for millennia: biological organisms are exquisitely responsive to changes in light, circadian timing, solar and geomagnetic conditions.

And then, because I couldn’t stop wondering about this, I started looking.

In 2026, researchers analyzed recordings from 181 bird species across 873 locations during two North American solar eclipses. As the light changed, so did the birds. During totality, most species became quieter, while nocturnal and large-eyed birds began calling more.

The eclipse quite literally changed the soundtrack of nature.

I don’t think this proves that an eclipse takes away my voice, but I find it remarkable that when light changes dramatically, other living bodies change their voices too.

Which leaves me with a question…

Am I a bird? 🐦 Just checking if you are still with me 😉

What if some people are more attuned to changes in the world around them and how does this impact their health?

My body certainly is and it often registers these changes through my Lungs.

And, sometimes, I lose my voice.

Does your body notice when the cosmos shift?

If this idea intrigues you, look into Stems and Branches—the classical Chinese system that maps the movements of Heaven, Earth, seasons and time onto the human body. It’s a beautiful doorway into one of Chinese medicine’s oldest ideas: that our physiology is not separate from the cosmos, but continually in conversation with it.

Steep a few slices of fresh ginger and a small handful of fresh mint in hot water for 8–10 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of honey once it cools slightly.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, ginger gently warms and supports the exterior; mint is traditionally used to gently disperse Wind and benefit the head and throat. Honey makes it soothing when the throat and voice feel vulnerable.

I won’t make you add the herb Chan Tui—ground cicada shells, to your Eclipse Tea. But I love that Chinese medicine looks at the nature of things: a creature with an extraordinary loud voice leaves behind a medicine traditionally used when we lose ours. 🦗🦗🦗

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