Planets - Summer Solstice
| Our master had a wonderful knowledge of astronomy. He had a huge globe over 4 feet high, to represent the earth & small globes to represent the moon and neighbouring planets. The sun was represented by a boy carrying a lighted candle round the earth. Duchas.ie Schools Project - Carlow |
Reading the Planets
It would seem that, in the past, Irish astrology involved looking directly at the starry sky and reading the stars, much as one would predict the future by the tea leaves in a cup. In the dark skies it is said you can see over 4,000 stars twinkling, planets such as Venus or Jupiter ...
This star-gazing practice of explaining the world is found across many cultures. "It's amazing when visitors go out with a Native guide and hear stories of how the stars and the Moon affect the plants, the animals, the water and, essentially, our very being," said Rupert, "It gives them a different perspective on life and can change someone's journey through the world." BBC - America's ancient sky watchers
A few centuries ago there was a young man travelling on the road and he was able to read planets. Duchas Schools Project - Meath
and from Mayo - Some years ago there used to be old men going around through the country who were gifted with knowledge of the planets...
and Co. Laois - There is another traveller who goes around here called "The Monk"; from his appearance. He is very clean in his ways. He is of medium height, foxey complexion, very fair skin and wears a long flowing chestnut wavy beard. He speaks very gently and nicely and he is always talking about the stars and moon and other planets.
He believes all about being born under such and such a star. He says God wants that knowledge to give us information and help as well as the wireless or any other of the great inventions. He too is a very welcome visitor.
| This is described in the Bible - Isaiah 47:13 - Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee |
Stargazing
We are the universe experiencing itself. Alan Watts
A meditation, particularly in the Bon and Buddhist traditions. The practice starts by allowing your eyes to adapt to the darkness of night then observing the sky, keeping your eyes still. You fix your gaze and focus on space.
Sit or lie down and settle your breathing. Be aware of your outward breath. Rest your gaze on the sky or horizon, and just breathe regularly and normally. Be aware of your breathing without forcing it. Notice that the sky you are seeing is at one with your mind, that they can connect. The sky above is mirrored by your inner sky of the mind. You are 'in the moment'.
There's nothing to do but stop, watch and if you do have emotions, etc. which you wish to release, you can dissolve them in the open sky.
You are not thinking about the stars, just aware. You may notice they form patterns. That some stars are brighter than others. Let these thoughts arise then pass.
If you are having difficulty achieving this one practice is to stretch out your arm and look at your index finger. Once you are comfortable and settled lower your arm and maintain the gaze. You just keep repeating this process until focusing in space becomes easier. Full explanation of Sky Gazing
Healing Ritual
In some versions of Navajo healing traditions, a star gazer
completes a ceremony to diagnose the type of illness a patient has.
The star gazer first creates a sand painting in his patient's hogan (a Navajo dwelling made of bark, logs, and earth). He then exits the hogan to sing star-songs and use a “glass rock” to cast light upon the hogan or the patient. The colour of light that comes from the quartz crystal determines if it is a serious sickness or not. The star-gazer uses this information to give a diagnosis on the illness. Tony Hillerman Portal - website
Morning Star and Lough Gur
An Chamhaoir - Morningstar - is a Limerick river which flows westwards through rich farmland to join the Maigue north of Bruree. The Morning Star is a 17th century English mis-translation of the Irish name and was originally known as "Dawn".
The morning star has various identities - Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise; Sirius, which appears in the sky just before sunrise from early July to mid-September; and a less commonly Mercury when it appears in the east before sunrise.
In Neolithic times the Morningstar river would have provided access to Lough Gur. On the land surrounding the lough are many Neolithic monuments, including Grange (Lois) - Lios na Gráinsí, meaning 'Fort of the Grange'. The largest stone circle in Ireland dating from around 3000 to 2500BC. The entrance is cut through a bank, stone lined, aligned NE/SW. The Summer Solstice sunrise shines through the entrance way of the circle.
Some of the larger stones may be aligned to the cross-quarter days, and there are numerous other celestial alignments and orientations formed by the 113 stones.
Aine - "Queen of Heaven?" Return of the Divine Feminine : Discovery of Venus Alignment in Ireland by Diarmuid Mac Gearail, venus-alignment-of-14th-august-2019-at-lough-gur. This article suggests an alignment between Lough Gur and the Dendera Temple of Hathor in Egypt. The Greeks called Hathor Aphrodite, and the Romans referred to her as Venus.
| The motion of the planets is along the imaginary line defined by the plane of earth’s orbit around the sun known as the ecliptic. As a result, a planet can appear to rise anywhere between the summer and winter solstice sunrise directions and set anywhere between the summer and winter solstice sunset directions. For example, the maximum northern and southern setting directions of Venus observed at the Caracol in Chichen Itza are the same as the solstice sunset directions. An Analysis of the Alignment of Archaeological Sites - Article in Journal of Scientific Exploration · March 2020 by Mark J. Carlotto |
Metal Bells
Hindu's ring a ghanta, a ritual bell at the entrance to the temple as preparation for their practice and to announce their presence to the god/ goddess.
The bell is made out of five to seven precious metals, which are connected to the planets:
lead (Saturn), tin (Jupiter), iron (Mars), copper (Venus), mercury (Mercury),
silver (the Moon) and gold (the Sun).
Gods and Goddesses
These lie in the area of UPG, Unverified Personal Gnosis. It is clear that there was a great understanding of the night sky and heavens in ancient times yet these days we know little of what that entailed. Early texts refer to the earth, sea and sky as a triad of influences.
The myths and legends tend to connect Irish deities to the land rather than the sky. They are rarely restricted to one particular facet, such as Mars being God of War as in Roman traditions. Thus there are no apparent links between the Planets and heroic or sacred beings as in many cultures.
However, Lugh could be seen as linking to the Sun as light or by the Romans and in more recent interpretations as Mercury,
The love story of The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne may be symbolic of the movements and alignments of sun, moon and stars when related to places the lovers visit on their flight across Ireland. This is conjecture of a wild kind of course!
Perhaps Dagda is a Sky Father, sometimes linked to Jupiter, as well as being the primal earthly creator god, chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, king, and druid, but there is little in the literature to suggest that.
Planets and Months
Australian suggested by https://www.wellbeing.com.au
| Season | Australia - Qualities | Australia - Planet |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Hot, wet | Jupiter, with Venus |
| Summer | Hot, dry | Sun with Mars |
| Autumn | Cold, dry | Saturn, with Mercury |
| Winter | Cold, wet | Moon, with Venus |
Days of the Week
| When I look upon the seven it puts me in mind the seven ministering spirits that stand before the throne of God.... and the seven planets that rule the seven days of the week. Duchas.ie - deck of cards - Leitrim |
It is said that the Babylonians recognised 7 planets and thus they divided the week into seven days long. You achieve great advantage by living your life by the unique qualities of each planet and the days they correspond with.
Often the influence of the planet is said to be restricted to the first hour of the day.
This astrological system also appears in Greek and Roman culture.
Sunday-Sun, Monday-Moon, Tuesday-Mars, Wednesday-Mercury, Thursday-Jupiter, Friday-Venus, Saturday-Saturn.
