Leaving the house at 6:00 am has to have some reward--and I got two lovely ones today.
The first was that the stars were so bright in the thankfully cool morning air (thankful because cool air has been a rare treat this summer). We could see Venus and Orion's Belt so clearly, even the Seven Sisters were out. (at least, I think that's what those stars were--I'm never 100% certain if I've actually identified the right stars. I know I had Orion right, and pretty sure about Venus...).
Just before I reached the interstate, the most beautiful shooting star flashed across the sky. Usually they are gone so fast that I only have time to suck in my breath in awe. But this one trailed a beautiful sparkling tail. It honestly didn't look real, it was so bright, lasted so long and the trail--I've never seen anything like it.
Of course, it was a meteor, not a star, that I saw. I looked online for a picture of one that looked similar, but although I found many, none of them showed that sparkling tail.
There are many myths about the Seven Sisters and their origin in the night sky; twelve stories originate from Australia alone.
Shooting stars have many superstitions attached to them. Here are some I know:
*wish on a shooting star and your wish will come true
*seeing a shooting star brings good luck
*a shooting star is a soul going to heaven (someone just died is a less optimistic way of looking at it!
* a variation on this: if the star is going left--going to hell; if right--going to heaven.
*a soul just left purgatory (Creole)
*a baby is being born
*pass a washcloth over pimples while a shooting star is falling to cure them (French)
*a soul is trying to contact you
* many Native American beliefs are included on this webpage. (Scroll down to find them.) The page includes this intriguing legend:
(from the Menomini of the Great Lakes region)
When a star falls from the sky
It leaves a fiery trail.
It does not die.
Its shade goes back to its own place to shine again.
The Indians sometimes find the small stars
where they have fallen in the grass.
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