One thing you can rely on
Published: Mon, 03/26/18
Astronomy is one of those activities which used to strike me as nerdish in the extreme. All that staying up late at night looking at tiny points of light that have always been there and, we assume always will be. Okay, the first time as child you look at the moon through a telescope on a really clear night it is pretty amazing, the first time. I mean it is not as though anything happens up there is it? The occasional visit of a comet breaks the monotony and the only really dramatic thing that happens in the sky is a total eclipse. Those don’t last long either, although that is probably just as well.
And yet, people have been watching the stars for a very long time. Long, long before they had telescopes, let alone the electronic equipment and computers that are used for monitoring the heavens these days. There is the story in the New Testament where the Magi arrive at Herod’s court and announce. ‘Where is the one born the king of the Jews, we have seen his star in the East?’ The Vikings used the stars to navigate as far as Iceland, Greenland and even the land we now call Canada. Apparently they also had sun stones which enabled them to see where the sun was even on an overcast day, very useful in Northern climates. We certainly know that the various constellations of stars have been identified and named for thousands of years. The names of these groups of stars give us the 12 signs of the zodiac.
In a previous post I mentioned Precession. I don’t know how successfully I can describe this phenomenon in a few words, but I will try. At the equinoxes the sun will rise at a particular point on the horizon. Just before the sun rises a particular constellation will be visible. Of course the stars are still present as the sun rises but it won’t be possible to see them. The constellation you can see changes over time as the earth wobbles on its access. Apparently this is called the Obliquity cycle. The change is very slow as the complete cycle takes 25,920 years, that is a change of 1 degree (out of 360) every 72 years. There are 12 constellations so the sun will rise in one ‘house’ as it was known, for 2160 years. For the past 21 centuries we have been in the age of Pisces, we are now entering the age of Aquarius.
So what? Two things for me.
Firstly, people have been noticing, recording, measuring and teaching this stuff to the next generation for a very long time. We cannot be certain what ancient constructions such as Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Angkor Wat and so many others were built for, but a relationship with the stars and astronomy seems inevitable. We like to think of our society as some kind of peak of knowledge and technology, in some areas we might be, but there is so much to learn from the past too.
Secondly, the precision and predictability of astronomy shows us the constancy and reliability of gravity. I know, we tend to take gravity for granted. It is one of the few things in the universe you can take for granted I suppose. But it is still worth thinking about from time to time. Why does the earth hang together? Why does the sun rise and set right on schedule? Why do the tides ebb and flood on a time table that can be predicted for a century ahead? Why is it that when a bird decides to relieve itself in flight the result falls straight onto the head of someone standing below? Yes, that happened to me yesterday when I was doing the stances. Venetia found it hilarious as she put my head under the tap and washed it out of my hair. Thank you gravity for that little surprise, but that is the same gravity which makes sure that the water falls from the tap into the basin, then drains away with the plug comes out. We
really would not want to be without gravity if you think about it.
Stav is the study of the web, which only has structure because of gravity, a tree could not grow up in accordance with the web if there was no down. The stances teach you to work with gravity, or you might just like to call it ‘learning how to balance’.
The web and stances are explored in the Foundation programme, along with other aspects of Stav such as the five principles, bind runes and some of the mythology. The next day course will be on the 26th of May which gives you time to receive and study the nine modules as preparation, or you can just do the modules as distance learning. Details at http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/foundation.html
regards
Graham
PS Day course in Somerset on the 7th of April, we are holding it at Buckland St Mary, between Chard and Taunton. It is a lovely location deep in the countryside, with room for training inside and out. We will be focusing on martial training and beginners or experienced students are welcome. Details at https://iceandfire.org.uk/somerset.html