How I love a dark sky, free of light pollution, to gaze up at the stars, and their constellations. I have a wonderful app Stellarium which maps out different cultural star systems around the world against the sky.
Niddhog makes me think of Draco. I'm of the school of thought that says the Uffington White Horse is in fact a dragon, since the sacred ceremonial mound beneath aligns with Draco. It would have been a celestial viewing point of ceremony, this makes sense the ancestors would have brought the dragon to earth on the hillside.
But over the millennia the dragon transformed into a horse, and by the time of Beowulf we have the great smithy along the way.
Sailing this summer past the coast of South Wales, the flames of Mordor (Port Talbot) lighting the sky, beneath the milky way was just wonderful.
The stars were so important to our navigators. My father sailed the world alone using his sextant. Old School sailing.
So many of our temples around the world built as early observatories, including Stone Henge.
We came from the stars, and so we shall return to the stars.
I'll take my place on Freya's High Seat, if she'll have me 💃🌈💃
Yes - identifying these constellations in real time in the sky is an important part of engaging with them and also their behaviour will correspond to many Eddic myths. But that would be for a whole new essay!
Interestingly, my most popular story on my website is the one of Skadi avenging her father Thursi. Especially popular in the USA. It was the first story I wrote and told in my runic journey https://www.runesnroses.com/stories/2019/1/2/the-wolf-and-the-whale
Thiazzi not Thursi. I can't seem to edit the typo via the app
How I love a dark sky, free of light pollution, to gaze up at the stars, and their constellations. I have a wonderful app Stellarium which maps out different cultural star systems around the world against the sky.
Niddhog makes me think of Draco. I'm of the school of thought that says the Uffington White Horse is in fact a dragon, since the sacred ceremonial mound beneath aligns with Draco. It would have been a celestial viewing point of ceremony, this makes sense the ancestors would have brought the dragon to earth on the hillside.
But over the millennia the dragon transformed into a horse, and by the time of Beowulf we have the great smithy along the way.
Sailing this summer past the coast of South Wales, the flames of Mordor (Port Talbot) lighting the sky, beneath the milky way was just wonderful.
The stars were so important to our navigators. My father sailed the world alone using his sextant. Old School sailing.
So many of our temples around the world built as early observatories, including Stone Henge.
We came from the stars, and so we shall return to the stars.
I'll take my place on Freya's High Seat, if she'll have me 💃🌈💃
Yes - identifying these constellations in real time in the sky is an important part of engaging with them and also their behaviour will correspond to many Eddic myths. But that would be for a whole new essay!
Get writing Andreas 😁 lI ook forward to the next installment