One of the most confusing things in Jyotish and one of the least discussed is the relationship between the Sun and Moon(this includes their interaction with the nodes). Oddly enough, it is probably the most important issue in dissecting and analyzing a chart.  Typically the new moon is considered auspicious, it is a sign of the soul and moral reasoning working together with the individuals emotions.  The confusion in relation to the Sun and Moon comes with the full moon.  Some sources consider the full moon to be "inauspicious" because the moon and sun are "opposing" each other.  Some say it is auspicious because the moon and sun are working in harmony.  

Lunar Eclipses and Solar Eclipses only can occur during a full moon and new moon respectively.  And it would seem that the confusion when adding the nodes is much more complex.  When looking at the Sun and Moon independently with the nodes,  there isn't even a leading opinion.  Some say that the moon with ketu is considered inauspicious.  Some say that it creates a spiritual person that isn't tied down by the normal emotions that most people are.  A very similar situation with rahu except rahu conjunct moon makes the person extremely passionate about their emotions.  This debate turns out the same when comparing the nodes to either the Sun or Moon(all planets for that matter).  

The conjunction or opposition of the moon and sun only makes it even more confusing.  I'm curious as to what opinions those have here of eclipses or node/(sun or moon) relations.

Hi America ji,
It may not be as confusing as it may sound .Let me try to reply to it with bit of clarity.

It is clearly mentioned in BPHS that Puranmassi moon protects native like god mother.Also it is mentoned by JN Bhasin ji that far the moon is from Sun, stronger it is.If moon is more than 72 degree  away from Sun then it is strong.Even if its under malefic influence it will not stop playing its part of benefic if it is puranmassi moon i.e. full moon.
So there is NO  question of saying that Full moon is inauspicious.

Moon is like MAN.. or heart /emotions of native.. when moon is puranmasi moon then it is 180 degree from sun i.e. in 7th house from
sun and thus there is formation of Soli-lunar axis..moon is emotions and
sun is soul and they are exactly opposite from each .. what will happen if kroor(if not malefic)planet like Sun will be sitting in 7th from moon and aspecting moon........ Even though moon will play its part of benefic but so will sun ..
and life of the native would be consisting of strong mix....u can simply see that ur soul and ur heart goes in opposite direction from each other.. but you will see this happening in material life also...and they go thru emotional turnmoil quite often...

Now about Rahu and ketu..If you know the story how rahu and ketu are formed(if not Google it)you will know that nodes does not like luminaries and thus whenevr they get cloe to them eclipse result as it is said that rahu/ketu has eaten moon/sun..
For rahu and ketu luminaries are worse enemy..

I have seen people suffeing from schizophrenia coz of conjunction with nodes..coz it result in illusions and sometimes they get violent coz of being in illusions..Even aspect of nodes on sun.moon can result in creation of illusions at different levels of life...day dreaming could be one of them though all of us are litle bit of day dreamer

Conjunction of ketu with moon can be said to be one of the reasns for getting spiritual but that is at internal level but still at material level  it will be a turnmoil for native..And native tend to get illusioned with rahu definetely high level of uncontroled emotions and native may end up getting an extreme emotions(I m saying at General level)

I hope i was able to make your point clear but i will repeat dont blindly apply this (or any other principle)on ur own chart coz you have to learn to segregate the effects ..as i have mentioned in Full moon paragraph.Both co-exist

Regards,
Raman

Well thats what I'd expect a full moon to do, as the 7th house isn't a house of opposition but of partnership.  I've never actually read it as being inauspicious,  but on some descriptions and explanations I've read, it has stated that a full moon and sun are somewhat at odds(this doesn't really make sense to me) and doesn't work as well together.  Take the Uttamadi yogas for example.  According to that yoga Sun and Moon in a mutual kendra is considered to create an "ordinary" wealth and reputation; while in the Panaphara and the Apoklima  from each other it is considered on a higher ladder.  

On Eclipses,  probably one of the most interesting and complex phenomenon to judge in astrology, yet there is very little as far as reading material in most historical Jyotish texts about it(probably due to the complexity).  Even when historical texts refer to eclipses, there isn't a whole lot of explanation behind them and the results of the eclipse.  Are all eclipses inauspicious?  I'd highly doubt that they all are.  I imagine they can be rather stressful because the core characteristics of the individual(Sun and Moon) are amplified(rahu) or disconnected (ketu).  Though I could be wrong, I've never actually thought of rahu and ketu as "evil" on their own.  Yes Rahu is a signficator for desire, which is always a problem on the spiritual journey of calmness.  Many great people have Sun or Moon conjunct one of the nodes.  Gandhi was one of them.  I agree with the sentiment that the nodes can cause mental illnesses, but only in places where Rahu or Ketu's lord or house is weak. What exactly does an eclipse signify at its root level?  I understand that this is a difficult question to answer because their are several different types of eclipses.

Hi America ji,
First of all let me mention 2 things.....
Dont goto yogas so soon... and u cant use their logics to judge horoscopes.Yogas also need conditions to be fulfilled.I have seen even natives with Mahapurush yogas leading normal life... so let us not use them to judge.

Secondly INAUSPICIOUS may not be word to be used here coz it may not be right to use them.. moon with nodes does not make it inauspicious..
As an example given by you of Mahatma gandhi...this combination cant stop them from becoming great or minature..U didnt mention that moon is sitting in its own house in MG's chart..Also that is his AL and retro Jup gave him ability to think quite distinctly from normal crowd..wasnt his life a good enough turnmoil of events...Are you sure he was not emotionally intense..

7th house is NOT just house of partnership...why lagna is called house of satya and 7th house of maaya.One of the exception u knwo of that AL is not taken in 7th and lagna coz what people know of cant be pure satya and cant be fully opposite to it(i.e fully influenced by maaya)......So 7th is not just house of partnership....

A u asked ..Are all Eclips are inauspicious
cant we ask ...Does all
Uttamadi yogas lead to normal life or
Mahapurush yoga always lead to GREAT life

I too doubt that..
So do not judge horoscope by single line verification or principle.
Even though it is mentioned in BPHS about Amavasya birth to be inauspicious birth and propitation is given but so is for placement of single planet in different raashis.. so do we apply them straight away..

Regards,
Raman