Doggedly Plodding through the...

Dog Days. The Old Farmer's Almanac, a venerated publication first on the streets of the USA in 1792, tells that we in the Northern hemisphere are currently experiencing "the dog days" of summer - summer's hottest, most sultry days, spanning dates between mid to late July and mid to late August, depending on source, but generally around a 40-day span. Whichever dates are involved there's a link to the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of Sirius, known as the the Dog Star from its Latin name, Canis (=dog) Major.

Movements of the star Sirius have been noted by inhabitants of planet earth from as long ago as records exist - and probably long before. Sirius is a binary star system composed of Sirius A and Sirius B; there's supposition of a third star involved, but no proof of this. Sirius shines brightest of all bodies in the night sky. In case of difficulty pinpointing Sirius just look for the three stars in a row, forming Orion's belt, extend the line southeastward - there it is.

For some lucky people the dog days of summer are welcome - like a friendly cuddly puppy, eager to be taken for walks. For others (we in south-west Oklahoma included) the dog days come on, often in triple digits, more like a snarling, angry guard dog, ready to adversely affect any who dare cross the line. But, as Jonathan Swift once wrote/said:
"Every dog must have his day."

Fixed Stars Currently in Cancer

Onward with a series of monthly posts on Fixed Stars in each tropical zodiac sign.

Data for Cancer from Astroweb (HERE), showing star positions in 1900 in the left-hand column and in 2000 on the right.

Astrological interpretations for most of those stars, if found to be tightly conjunct a natal personal planet, or important point, are available online. A good, all-encompassing website to investigate for this is Constellation of Words.

So...which of those shall I choose to expand upon this month? The best known of the lot, I think, is Sirius, aka the Dog Star. I recall researching a little on that star some years ago....a re-airing:

The Old Farmer's Almanac, a venerated publication first on the streets of the USA in 1792, has the dog days, summer's hottest, most sultry days, spanning 40 days from 3 July to 11 August. Other, possibly more up to date, sources have the dog days set during a slightly later period of summer. Whatever dates are involved there's a link to the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of Sirius the Dog Star. Movements of Sirius have been noted by inhabitants of planet earth from as long ago as records exist - and probably long before that.

Sirius is a binary star system composed of Sirius A and Sirius B; there's supposition of a third star involved, but no proof of this. Sirius shines brightest of all bodies in the night sky. In case of difficulty pinpointing Sirius just look for the three stars in a row forming Orion's belt, extend the line southeastward - there it is.

Click on image for clearer view:

 Hat-tip here

It's possible to wander, all unsuspecting, into realms of myth and wonder while chasing information on Sirius. I shall post only what can be seen to be true(ish), and leave stories related to, for instance, the ancestry of the Dogon tribe of Africa for others to investigate.

Astrologer "Dr. Z" is always a good read, his piece on this fixed star is titled
Dog Days of Summer - Let’s Get Sirius.


The following paragraphs come from a piece written by Denise St.Denis at Souled Out.org

Liberation
Sirius is also associated with liberation; in fact, according to ancient teachings, the very concept of freedom itself resides in human consciousness because of the influence of this star system. Interestingly enough, the time each year our sun conjuncts Sirius at 14 degrees Cancer is close to July 4, America's Independence Day. Bastille Day, the French equivalent of Independence Day is July 14, and Canada celebrates its independence from England on July 1; Dominion Day. Venezuela's Independence Day is observed July 5, while Argentina's is celebrated on July 9. And noting, Iraq's Freedom Day, when the new Coalition government took control, happened on June 28, 2004 (two days earlier than it had been announced).

In 1993–1994, as the "great conjunction" of Sirius A and B approached, a wave of freedom swept our world culminating in the breakdown of the communist rule in Europe and the liberation of the Russian people from the hard-line Communist party. The Berlin Wall fell as the cold war ended ... these events transpired simultaneously with the magnetic forces building to their highest intensity on Sirius. Is there a connection? Perhaps. Conditions on our world may not become as dramatic as previously described; nevertheless, certain major adjustments are likely to occur.

Interesting eh?

The next "great conjunction" of Sirius A and B, will occur in around 50 years from 1993 = 2043. I'll not be around, but if a younger reader passes by and stops to read, do make a note of the year 2043, and watch what happens then!

Dog Days of Summer ~ Dog Star Sirius

I could do a post on 3 July about the "dog days" of summer, thought I..... The Old Farmer's Almanac, a venerated publication first on the streets of the USA in 1792, has the dog days, summer's hottest, most sultry days, spanning 40 days from 3 July to 11 August. Other, possibly more up to date, sources have the dog days set during a slightly later period of summer. Whatever dates are involved there's a link to the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of Sirius the Dog Star. Movements of Sirius have been noted by inhabitants of planet earth from as long ago as records exist - and probably long before.

Sirius is a binary star system composed of Sirius A and Sirius B; there's supposition of a third star involved, but no proof of this. Sirius shines brightest of all bodies in the night sky. In case of difficulty pinpointing Sirius just look for the three stars in a row, forming Orion's belt, extend the line southeastward - there it is.



I found my self falling down one or two online rabbit holes into realms of myth and wonder while chasing information on Sirius. I resolved that I shall post only what can be seen to be true (ish). Those rabbit hole trips can be fun though.

What I mainly hoped to find was information from astrologers on how Sirius might be viewed astrologically, either in a natal chart on in mundane astrology i.e. affecting world events.

Rob Tillett at astrology.com has this interpretation on Sirius as a Fixed Star. More detail at the link. On the ecliptic Sirius falls around 14 Cancer, depending on the year (in 2010 it was at 14.13 Cancer).

Sirius: Ambition, pride, emotionality, fame, leadership, wealth, fires, drought, danger through impetuosity. Sirius was worshipped in many cultures; its heliacal rising signalled the peak of summer, the annual flooding of the Nile and the beginning of the ancient Egyptian calendar.

The following paragraphs come from a longer and interesting piece on Sirius, written by Denise St.Denis at Souled Out.org

Liberation
Sirius is also associated with liberation; in fact, according to ancient teachings, the very concept of freedom itself resides in human consciousness because of the influence of this star system. Interestingly enough, the time each year our sun conjuncts Sirius at 14 degrees Cancer is close to July 4, America's Independence Day. Bastille Day, the French equivalent of Independence Day is July 14, and Canada celebrates its independence from England on July 1; Dominion Day. Venezuela's Independence Day is observed July 5, while Argentina's is celebrated on July 9. And noting, Iraq's Freedom Day, when the new Coalition government took control, happened on June 28, 2004 (two days earlier than it had been announced).

In 1993–1994, as the "great conjunction" of Sirius A and B approached, a wave of freedom swept our world culminating in the breakdown of the communist rule in Europe and the liberation of the Russian people from the hard-line Communist party. The Berlin Wall fell as the cold war ended ... these events transpired simultaneously with the magnetic forces building to their highest intensity on Sirius. Is there a connection? Perhaps. Conditions on our world may not become as dramatic as previously described; nevertheless, certain major adjustments are likely to occur.

Interesting eh?

The next "great conjunction" of Sirius A and B, will occur in around 50 years from 1993 = 2043. I'll not be around 31 years from now, but if a younger reader passes by and stops to read, do make a note of the year 2043, and watch what happens then!

Robigalia ~ Festival of An Unlikely God ?

In modern Rome today, 25 April is known as Liberation Day, a national holiday on which liberation from the Nazi occupation and fascist rule during World War 2 is remembered. This day of celebration comes close to a celebration of Rome's birthday (21 April) when it is believed to have been founded by twins Romulus and Remus in 753 BC. In ancient Rome, though, 25 April marked a festival to appease Robigus, god of wheat rust and mildew - Robigalia.

Something as lowly as mildew and wheat disease would seem hardly suitable oversight for a member of the celestial hierachy, yet in those days a crop blight could condemn a farmer and his family to starvation; also Roman economy relied greatly on agriculture, bad harvests were something to be dreaded. I guess, actually, that rather than seeing Robigus as a god he/it represented for the people a personification of the dreaded mildew, so sacrificing to that personification probably helped, psychologically.

Robigalia involved a public procession through Rome and around the fields to a shrine where a rust coloured dog and a sheep were sacrificed, with prayers, incense and wine. Why the dog? Why a rust coloured dog? The colour probably links to the reddish-brown wheat rust. Romans believed in sympathetic magic, meaning anything red, like blood, could also be connected with wheat rust. Mars, the red planet, in Roman mythology was the god of both war and agriculture.

By the year 600 a Christian procession had replaced the pagan one. Rogation Days are April 25 ( Major) and the three days before the Feast of the Ascension ( Minor). The Major Rogation replaced Robigalia, and was shrewdly timed, probably, to counteract the existing "heathen" event. Rogation Day (from Latin rogare = to ask or beseech) was instituted by Pope Gregory I to atone for a lack of sobriety and continence during Lent. Prayers at that time ask for blessings on the fields and agriculture. In colonial America, and even still in some places, Rogation Sunday (the Sunday prior to Ascension Day) was the day farmers and clergy would walk the newly planted fields, praying for healthy crops.