There’s something about photos of reflections that captivates my imagination. It’s almost like playing the game of whisper down the alley. No, that might not be it. Perhaps it’s akin to looking at a scene through old-fashioned European rolled glass; the kind that’s sometimes used in stained glass projects.
I’ve taken a few photos of reflections that I could sit and stare at for hours. Sometimes the water appears totally calm, yet the shift in the whole texture of the reflection makes it obvious that there’s movement we might otherwise miss.
I love this – Photo: L. Weikel
The photo just above is one of those that I could stare at and lose myself within. There’s something about it – I think it exudes the vibration of a watercolor. Or maybe some kind of textured painting? Not being an artist nor having any education in the field, I will confess to knowing nothing of which I speak, other than what I feel when I look at these photos.
This captivates me every time – Photo: L. Weikel
Two other photos – reflections off the surface of the Tohickon (as opposed to a big puddle) – also spring to mind. I captured them in this post (but have included one of them above).
There’s a peace, a calm, that I feel emanating from them. There’s also an aliveness conveyed that feels almost more juicy – or is it ethereal? – than the objects themselves.
I can’t say as I’ve gained much, if any, additional clarity on ‘what’s next’ on my devotional agenda since last night’s selection of the Ace of Air. But when I read the card’s interpretation written by the deck’s creator, I have to smile. While I can’t quite put my finger on it, I feel like my question (“What’s next?”) has been heard and I’ll receive an answer all in good time. As with so many things in life, patience seems to demand its place in the grand scheme of my unfolding.
The keyword (perhaps ‘key phrase’ is more appropriate) for the Ace of Air in the Witches’ Wisdom Tarot* deck is Wind Harp. The addition of the word wind to the concept of the harp alone does add an element of letting sound be carried out across the ethers. Relevant? Perhaps.
The rest of the lovely, lyrical interpretation of the card by its author (Phyllis Curott) is as follows:
Ace of Air – Wind Harp
“Wisdom – Air, the first vibration from which everything proceeds into manifestation, the element awakening us to the consciousness of Creation, to infinite connection. Between the bones of what was first created, the winds of summoning stir the strings woven by spiders and filled with stars. A deafening noise roars through, a cosmic chord of sounds piled one upon the other. Together, they are almost music. The swish of a breeze and rustle of leaves, the melody of birdsong and howl of a storm, and all the sounds in between… This is the magic of the Wind Harp. It’s Love.
Essence – Listen, awareness, divine Love. Say what’s in your heart.
Counsel – Air is the element of consciousness, intelligence and intuition, reflection and communication, laughter and music, infinite connection and love. But silence comes first. If you’re talking, you cannot listen. The mind is always confronted with choices, and so it chatters. But don’t rush to action. Slow down. The answer you’re seeking is waiting for you to hear it.
Magic – Go outside on a windy day. Feel the Air on your skin, messing up your hair, singing in your ear. What do you hear? Listen to the love songs the wind sings to you. What is the enchantment of the moment? What is the song in your heart? The spell you long to chant? Give it voice and let the wind carry it into Creation.”
Underneath It All
There is some confirmation in this card, both in what I simply ‘saw’ in the symbolism (and wrote out last night) and the much more poetic expression as offered by the author, for at least one seed I’m quietly nurturing.
And as those of you who’ve watched how I work with cards know, I always like to look at the card that’s ‘underneath’ the one I select as the main card. Unsurprisingly, the one underneath my Ace of Air does have a related ‘feel’ to it. I’ll share that tomorrow.
I had an odd experience the other day. I’m glad I at least managed to take photos of the phenomenon I saw, although the truly eerie nature of the encounter isn’t readily evident. It can’t be conveyed in a still shot. That’s because what made the phenomenon especially weird was the way it appeared to be a roiling, tumbling fluid of some kind contained within a circular boundary.
It didn’t ‘visit’ with me for long. And yeah, I know. I probably sound a bit goofy attributing sentient characteristics to a ball of light on my porch ceiling, but you had to be here.
I don’t know what caught my attention at first, but I am posting sequential photos in the order I took them. The first, of course, is what I saw when I first recognized it was there and ‘sensed the presence.’
The Progression
As you can see, it started out as a simple round reflection on the roof of our porch. The circumference of the circle was well defined and there was no movement whatsoever within the circle. Quite simply, it looked like a reflection from a perfectly round mirror.
I say ‘quite simply,’ but the very presence of a perfectly round reflection of light on the underbelly of our porch is strange. I looked around for what could be reflecting a perfect circle like that and could find nothing. Nary a birdbath nor a mirror (literal or otherwise) was to be found. Not a glass or bowl of water, either.
When it first appeared – Photo: L. Weikel
But then the reflection (if you can call it that) got really strange. It started swirling and looping on the inside, while consistently maintaining its circular shape. It looked familiar. Was it reminding me of a molecule? A virus?
What in the world was I seeing?
Starting to gain a textured appearance – Photo: L. Weikel
Dead End Search
I tried to find the source of this reflection. Or phenomenon. Or whatever you want to call it. I reasoned that the source would have to be at or below the level of where I was sitting, since it was reflecting onto the porch ceiling – and there is a lip or overhang on our porch. So the source would have to be from below.
Zooming in on it – Photo: L. Weikel
I found nothing.
I’d been working on a project before initially noticing the orb’s reflection. And shortly after photographing it and searching without success for its source, my attention returned to the work I was engaged in and I ‘forgot’ the substance of this experience.
Is that what happens when we encounter the unexplained? We just forget about it?
I haven’t seen it since.
I only wish I could post the ‘live action’ photos of it in this blog. The way the light and shadows were moving within that sphere was mesmerizing.
Constantly moving and turning – such an odd experience – Photo: L. Weikel
Or should I say, “Calling all Crones?” No, even though I embrace my personal status as a Crone (and therefore prefer to capitalize it), I’m not writing this post as a rallying cry solely to my sisters. Rather, I’m excited to announce that there’s a crone calling all of us right now in the form of a brand spanking new, hot off the presses, limited run of 250 Tarot of the Crone decks.
I’ve written many posts (here, here, and here, for instance) in the past 967 days that make reference to my much-loved Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince. These cards always seem to bring an eerily accurate message when I consult them. And beyond whatever intuitive sense I may receive from the cards when I choose them – based simply on either the image itself or my pretty limited knowledge of tarot in general – the narrative provided by the deck’s creator is uncanny.
The exciting news I’m sharing today is that the deck, which has been out of print for a couple of years, I believe, is now available for pre-order.
Guidance for the Coming New Moon
Naturally, then, it feels only fitting that I consult the Crone for some guidance or insight on what to keep in mind as we approach this new moon in Cancer. Again – fundamental beliefs and structures are being challenged. Institutions we thought would always be part of our lives either no longer are or are on their way out. And we’re being asked to contemplate what we want to seed in their place.
As I write these words, I’ve not yet ‘picked.’ So I have no idea whether we’ll be given guidance on what is or needs to be ‘blown up’ (metaphorically, of course), radically changed, or suddenly exposed, or whether we’ll be shown what is waiting in the wings to be seeded as the structure or foundation of the next phase of our lives.
How and What I Chose
I decided to go a little rogue on all of us and instead of just choosing one card (and taking note of the card at the bottom of the deck – giving foundation or context to the ‘top’ card), I decided to pick three cards. The first card for insight into our ‘Saturn’ (i.e., the underlying, fundamental beliefs or structures that operate in our lives that need to be examined, perhaps challenged, and possibly torn down); the second card for insight into our ‘Uranus’ (i.e., how or in what way can or will sudden illumination strike or challenge that Saturn; how or in what area might we benefit from radical transformation); and the third card for insight into what seeds might be planted where the old foundations or beliefs we held (or were told) used to be.
A figure with knobby knees and a sunken aged face sits with her thoughts in a throne-like chair. As the body is the root of life, age is the result. Hers is the voice of experience and the understanding of physical limitations. She may be valued for her wisdom, but her no-nonsense views often set her apart and keep her alone. Like her, know that life occurs mostly inside you. Value your own experience and the wisdom of your body.”
(Representing Uranus): Witch of Cups ~ Siren
“Where the waves dance
Where the stars and tides align
There I celebrate my passion
There I abandon restraint
There I create movement
That will last a thousand years
A red figure, whose body echoes the curl of the purple waves around her, reaches with them for the stars that arch overhead. The Siren flows with the power of water to move and transform. She draws to her what she desires from the strength of her own desire, like calling out to like to join in the dance. She sings with the power to carry you away to worlds where love reigns, souls merge and blood, the juice of your life, runs full and free.”
(Representing the Seeds to be Planted): Nine of Disks ~ Community
Nine homes with open doors are gathered on a rich brown hillside beneath a field of stars. Here connection reaches farther than family. It is not so personal a relationship, but it is quite as necessary. There are others who share your air, your earth, your dreams and there always will be. Each one is part of the whole. Acknowledge the endeavors that support your living. Consider your own contribution. The antidote to isolation is sharing. How do you want to touch this world?”
Food For Thought
The connection of each card with each ‘subject’ is fascinating to me. As is always true, we each bring to the table our own unique set of life circumstances and perspectives to interpreting the message of each card.
I invite you to sit with each card. Notice how you feel when you simply look at the image; then notice and pay attention to the words written by the deck’s creator. Which words jump out at you – and how do they make you feel?
Allow yourself to contemplate (and dare I suggest – write out in a journal?) a coherent message between the cards. Remember, Saturn (structure) being challenged by Uranus (transformation) could indicate that in order to achieve transformation we may need to bring more structure to our lives. Cultivate a secure environment in which to plant those new seeds.
In other words, don’t assume that Uranus always means things need to get flipped upside down and inside out. They could just need to be radically changed. And that can (almost certainly will) look completely different for each one of us.
Have fun with this. It’s time to shake stuff up one way or another. We might as well be active and conscious participants in the reshaping of our lives, don’t you think?
Finally, don’t forget to order your own Tarot of the Crone deck if you feel an affinity with these cards!
As we allow this post-holiday second week of July to play itself out, I’m reminded that there’s a new moon approaching that will arrive this Friday evening at 9:16 p.m. EDT. As always, because a new moon (also known as the dark moon) is exactly conjunct the Sun, then whatever sign the sun is in, the moon is too. Thus, this will be a Cancer new moon because the Sun is in Cancer too.
Please forgive me if my explanation is too basic for you. But for the longest time, I never really paid attention to the technicalities of what makes a moon new or full, or what a conjunction, opposition, square, or trine of planets (and the luminaries: Sun and Moon) means. And even after all the books I’ve read, readings I’ve had, and podcasts I’ve listened to, I still need to stop and think about it. So when I’m moved to write about astrological stuff in my posts, I like to explain it as best as I can so you can visualize it.
Thus experiencing a new moon this Friday evening means both the Moon and the Sun are in the sign of Cancer. And among other attributes, Cancer is the sign in which the Moon is very much at home. It’s a sign that is intimately connected to our emotions, nurturing, care and compassion – and the concepts of family and home.
As with all new moons, it marks a new beginning. The time of a new moon is the best and most powerful time to plant the seeds of new ideas or ways of being, start new jobs, begin new projects, strike out on fresh new adventures, and set powerful intentions.
Other Players, Too
As I’ve written about a number of times already (and linked to a number of astrologers who’ve explained it a lot better than I can even synopsize), this year’s theme, if you will, has been centered on Saturn ‘squaring’ Uranus. In point of fact, these two massive planets exactly square each other three times in 2021. The second of these three exact squares was on June 14th, and the final square will occur on December 23rd.
Saturn is the planet associated with rules, foundations, laws, patriarchy, the ‘way things have always been done,’ and structure.
It’s also associated with shame and ‘shoulds,’ which kind of makes sense. If we don’t follow the rules or do things the way they’ve always been done (or the way we’ve been told), then those in a position of power to punish or judge us can heap guilt or shame on our heads. It’s important to note here that we hold the power of shame and guilt over our own selves – just as much as any external authority can wield it against us.
In the wider world, Saturn can represent the foundations of society, our government, ‘The Law,’ hierarchies of power, etc.
As I mentioned, Saturn is squaring (or another way of looking at it is challenging or provoking) the planet of Uranus pretty much all year, but we had a direct ‘hit’ on June 14th and we’re still feeling the effects of that because these outer planets move so slowly. Uranus is associated with radical transformation, sudden illumination, explosive shifts or changes in perspective and is often depicted in association with lightning. When these two planets are in square aspect to each other, it’s not hard to see where this could lead.
My Feeling
I have to laugh when I write ‘my feeling,’ since the sign of Cancer is all about feelings. But it feels to me as if this new moon is asking us to acknowledge those places in our lives where some major shaking of foundations has taken place – and to decide how and what we want to start building anew. What seeds do we want to plant that will replace those old structures, foundations, beliefs, or stories that we told ourselves (and based our lives upon) that have essentially been shaken or, in some cases, struck by lightning and blown up.
It feels really important that we all give ourselves the chance to sit quietly, take stock and honestly look at what has left us or fallen down or away in our lives over the past six months (representing the first two of the three squares of Saturn and Uranus).
And we need to ask ourselves: what do we want to plant after we clear away the rubble? It feels especially important for us to pay attention to our emotions as we engage in this reflection. What do we want to feel as we move forward? Who will we consider to be our ‘family?’ What do family and the foundations family represents mean to us moving forward?
I’m mentioning this now because the new moon isn’t until Friday. I don’t know about you, but I need a few days to really sit with this and make some choices.
‘Cosmic’ Crystal at Linwood Gardens – Photo: L. Weikel
Step Back and Reflect
I have to admit I actually relish the times when planets go retrograde. On some level, deep down, I feel a sense of permission being granted me. After all, when planets go retrograde, we’re told that all the ‘re’ words apply: rework, review, renew, restore, revamp, repair… You get the picture. So giving ourselves time and space to step back and reflect (there’s another one) is a gift. And if we’re paying attention, it’s a gift the Universe sort of builds into our lives: periodically encouraging us to accept some ‘re’ time (instead of resisting it). Ha ha – yet another ‘re’ word that happens a lot during retrogrades!
It’s occurred to me recently that there may be another reason why I generally welcome retrogrades. In looking at my natal chart (the position of the sun, moon, and planets on the date and exact time of my birth), I see that five planets were retrograde at the time I was born: Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It seems to me that I might feel most at home or ‘settled in’ when those planets go back to the way they were traveling at the time of my birth. This is just a guess, but it makes sense to me intuitively.
It’s sort of like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes.
Hold True For You?
Is it possible that you, too, feel a kinship with the energy of retrogrades? Do you know whether any planets were retrograde at the time of your birth?
Once again, I encourage you to visit the Astrodienst site. It’s free and can give you access to an astonishing amount of information about yourself. All you need to know is your date, time, and place of birth.
Most people can find their exact time of birth listed on their birth certificate. Sometimes hospitals send parents home with an ‘unofficial’ birth announcement that contains this information. Others of us have baby books our parents kept for us, in which they tracked all sorts of personal facts and accomplishments.
It’s definitely worth doing some digging to find your exact time of birth, since that time is of particular significance in determining both your Ascendant (the sign that was on the horizon at the time you were born) and your moon sign. Both of these change significantly from minute to minute.
The rest of the planets, because they move more slowly, are less likely to shift from one sign or house to another within a 24 hour period. So getting a snapshot of the position of the planets in the sky at noon (as a default time) on the day of your birth will give you a reasonably good idea of your chart.
Amazing Complexity
The depth and complexity of astrology is remarkable (and not a little daunting). There’s no question in my mind that our lives here on Earth are reflected in the macrocosm. We’re not ‘fated’ by any means. But we’re all operating under influences that can be tracked and understood – and all of us are prone to having our buttons pushed harder at certain times more than others. It’s helpful to know when this might be happening to us and why.
Information is power. Understanding how unseen forces may be uniquely applying to us can be of enormous benefit in making choices, both big and small.
I do not have aspirations to become an astrologer in my own right. Goodness knows, this subject is far more complicated than the simple knowledge of our ‘sun sign’ (the sign the sun was in at the time of our birth) and the blanket attributes associated with that.
But I am keenly aware of how my understanding of the movements of the planets and luminaries can help my clients better understand themselves and their feelings. Understanding our charts can help us have compassion for ourselves and each other, too.
Furthermore, don’t be fooled: every planet is associated with a particular sign and house in the zodiac, and these all come together in varying interlocking and interconnected ways in each of our own unique charts. Where everything is situated, including the specific degrees of each planet in each sign and house, is significant.
We really did give ourselves a roadmap to the challenges and gifts we were bringing into this lifetime. Whether or not we decide to read and attempt to understand those maps is up to us.
Sweet Resource
Of course, it’s definitely worthwhile to have your chart read by a professional astrologer. Your best bet is to seek out a personal recommendation from someone you trust.
In addition to receiving readings periodically throughout my life, I’ve also read about this stuff for years and years. Mostly I’ve just glossed over the details and focused upon cursorily understanding the signs of my sun, moon, and ascendant. But recently I’ve been giving myself a chance to understand things on a deeper basis by, among other things, usingAstrology for Yourself – a Workbook for Personal Transformation* by Douglas Block & Demetra George.
If you want to get to know yourself better, I highly recommend using this tool to delve into understanding your own personal map for this lifetime. There are lots of courses you can take as well. But this workbook is quite thorough and, well, tangible. I like that.
Grandmother of Wands ~ Matriarch, Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince
On the Horizon
It’s been a while since I chose a card for us to contemplate. The intense astrological aspects taking place in the cosmos right now are influencing all of us, whether we ‘believe’ in them or not. As a result, I thought it might be beneficial to see what my Tarot of the Crone might have to say in counsel to us as we navigate the wild unpredictability I sense on the horizon.
The total eclipse of the full blood moon on Wednesday sent powerful ripples of revelation out into the world. Truths are being uncovered. Relationships exposed. Treacheries revealed. We’re being asked to review, reflect, and readjust over the next few months.
Pluto (planet of transformation, death, and resurrection) and Saturn (planet of boundaries, limits, foundations, and conservatism) have both gone retrograde recently. A cursory look at what those two planets influence make it obvious that some big stuff in our lives is going to be demanding our scrutiny. And Mercury (planet of communication, electronics, and technology/mechanical things) goes retrograde tomorrow.
The effect of Mercury retrograde will probably be more personal and also more fleeting. Nevertheless, it can be a pain. It would be a good idea for all of us to back up our computers. And try not to have a meltdown when your tv acts like it has a mind of its own or your appliances conk out.
Long Weekend
It seems to me that the coming long weekend will give us an ideal opportunity to hunker down and engage in some juicy personal reflection so we can navigate these turbulent influences with grace. Not only do we have a holiday weekend encouraging this inner work but many of us will also have rainy and chilly weather pressing the issue.
I do want to mention again one other planetary aspect that’s influencing all of us this entire year, but especially now and heading into the next two weeks (culminating on the 14th of June): the Saturn square Uranus transit. It’s essentially the old vs. the new. Tradition and the way things have always been done vs. new, radical ideas and approaches that turn things inside out, upside down, or just utterly transform.
It’s no surprise that we’re being asked to remember the insurrection of January 6th and deal with not only its aftermath but also – crucially – its planning and purpose. There’s a lot going on right now. Responsibility and accountability are two big words that have yet to be meaningfully invoked. And the tensions are only going to grow. Thus, we must prepare ourselves.
Request for Guidance
I asked what we maybe should keep in mind over the coming long weekend – and beyond. I chose the Grandmother of Wands: Matriarch (again, from the Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince). The wisdom that’s shared with us when we only ask never ceases to amaze me:
Grandmother of Wands ~ Matriarch
“It is time to have a talk
And time to have a listen
Time to recognize our common bonds
With honest standing
With Goddess guiding
We create our culture
By how we treat one another”
“In a cave of light under a cover of dark, many figures gather closely around a fire. One figure looms larger than the rest; this is the matriarch. One of the group, she is also its heart and its strength. She speaks, she leads, she ensures all are heard and considered. She weaves individual strands into a tapestry, creating common ground and common cause. With warmth, rectitude and respect, she creates space for group magic to happen. She is tradition and invention in one. She is the fullest integration of your spirit. Embrace it; her power is yours.”
Between my walks yesterday and today (both of which I managed to get in just under the wire, dodging the rain), I managed to photograph some beautiful things. I just love how every once in a while I discover something small beside the road and when I zoom in on it, it appears even more exquisite than it did when I first glimpsed it.
Most of my walks lately have been silent. I wonder if this causes me to notice the little things even more. I don’t know.
The first flower I came upon today – which I don’t think I’ve written a post about before (although I may be wrong) – was the buttercup. I saw a flower being written about on Facebook a week or so ago, and the people writing were calling the yellow flowers buttercups. But they didn’t look like the buttercups I grew up with.
The ones I grew up with looked like the one above. I remember holding them under the chin of my friend Chris, or my mom, or even under my own wrist – you know, to see if it reflected yellow, which meant you ‘liked butter.’ Ha – I never was a big butter fan when I was younger. But I always loved the magic of buttercups.
Spartacus enjoyed tromping around on them today. I didn’t pick any, so I’m not sure if they reflected on him. But I do know he loves butter.
Spartacus Wondering What All the Fuss Is About – Photo: L. Weikel
Another Beauty
I’m not sure what wildflower this is, but it was a singlet – alone in the midst of a lot of greenery. I don’t remember seeing it yesterday, so it’s possible it only bloomed this morning.
Forgive me – I feel like I can get lost in the act of just staring into the faces of these wildflowers. They’re simply lovely.
Somehow or another, just seeing them today reminded me of the countryside in which I grew up. I have to wonder how it is that those days seem so long ago yet almost just yesterday.
Dragon in Repose (Patient Dragon?) – Photo: L. Weikel
New Moon Reflections
We’ll be experiencing a new moon this coming Saturday morning at 5:21 a.m. ET. This new moon will, of course, be in Pisces because when a moon is ‘new,’ it occupies the same sign and degree as the sun, just as when the moon is ‘full,’ the sun and moon are in signs opposite each other on the wheel of the zodiac. As the cycle of the last new moon (which occurred in Aquarius) comes full circle and reaches completion, it’s time to engage in new moon reflections.
The new moon in Pisces is almost always a particularly fecund one, since it’s in the sign of Pisces and has all that dreamy, creative, just-shy-of-spring energy associated with it. With the new moon occurring early Saturday morning, it’s an especially good time to seriously contemplate what aspects of your life yearn to burst through the ground like a seedling singularly focused upon reaching for the sun. What new growth yearns to be given life through you and your skills or passions?
I’m mentioning this now in order to give us all a day or so to consider the goals we wish to set or the projects we want to initiate. (Or maybe, quite literally, the seeds we wish to plant in the Earth!)
Reflection and Assessment
This is when I remind myself (and all of us) to check in on the ideas, goals, or projects we began at the last new moon. The last new moon was on February 11th at 2:06 p.m. – and it was in Aquarius. If we launched a new product or idea on or around February 11th, has it blossomed by now? Have you taken the steps required to manifest the vision you had? If it hasn’t reached its fullest expression, was it a project that will more likely take six months to realize tangible progress on?
It’s important for all of us to remember that some things take longer cycles to come to fruition than others. It can be helpful to check to see whether your longer-term projects are progressing. You might, therefore, want to check back in your journal to see what dreams or intentions you held and you set in motion six months ago. Are they close to reaching their fullness?
Cycles and Patterns
Nature is incredibly precise in so many ways – and yet almost reliably subject to chaos. There’s a paradox, huh? When we take the time to look deeply at life, it’s hard to miss the many extremely predictable ebbs and flows. Some of the longer cycles are harder to notice than others, though. Mostly because they’re so long, we forget what it was like when they weren’t precisely as they are now.
Speaking of cycles and patterns, tonight on our walk I saw a Dragon on the horizon.
I just did a search of my posts to find out when the last time was that I saw and posted a photo of a Dragon in the sky. Lo and behold, as I sit here and write about monthly cycles and six month cycles, didn’t I see a spate of Dragons six months ago? Yes, indeed I did; when the sun was in Virgo (the opposite of Pisces).
Cycles and patterns. Everywhere we look, there are cycles and patterns.
Dragon from afar (looks like it’s casting a shadow!) Photo: L. Weikel
I can’t say for sure that the atmospheric phenomenon we observed late the other afternoon was technically a sun dog. But it sure looked cool.
To my eye, it didn’t look like most of the examples I saw when I looked ‘sun dog’ up on the internet. Most of the examples I saw seemed to indicate that sun dogs appear two at a time – one on each side of the sun, usually at a 22° angle. There were a number of other phenomena described that are apparently closely associated: rainbow halos and, although they weren’t called it in the couple of things I read, rainbow dogs, being a few.
This Wikipedia entry on sun dogs is impressively thorough. I found this reference toward the end of the “Etymology” section sounded a lot like my idea of the rainbow dogs with which I’m familiar: “
“In the Anglo-Cornish dialect of Cornwall, United Kingdom, sun dogs are known as weather dogs (described as “a short segment of a rainbow seen on the horizon, foreshowing foul weather”).”
Tracking the dog – Photo: L. Weikel
As Above, So Below
Again, though, almost everything I read indicates an expectation of at least two sun dogs appearing on either side of the sun. My photos from yesterday’s post and those accompanying today’s post definitely portray a ‘double sun’ one on top of the other. I at least took comfort in the historical reference from Rome that mentioned a “double sun.” Most of the others described a triple sun.
Some descriptions seem to definitively state that sun dogs occur on either side of the sun – never above or below. But that’s precisely what we witnessed; so that’s puzzling.
The brilliant red color of the sun dog, if we want to call it that, particularly as the sun was sinking behind the cloud in the photos of this post, is in keeping with the descriptions of many sun dogs. But as you can see, it really did look like a round red twin sun – but in more of a totem pole configuration than a side-by-side, defying conventional description.
Technical Talk
All the technical talk of refraction of sunlight off of ice crystals in the atmosphere actually lends credence to accurately considering our experience to have been one of witnessing a sun dog.
Technically speaking, I’m still marveling at the stunning beauty that unfolded before our eyes. Refraction, reflection, ice crystals, sunset, omens, feeling ‘lucky’ for having been at the perfect place at the perfect time to watch the sun go through this optical evolution…
Just because we understand the mechanics behind our observations doesn’t make them any less of a delight – or detract from the rarity of experiencing such a meteorological treat – and celebrating it as a blessing of sorts.
This blessing is for all of us. Surely good things are on the horizon.
