Milky Way Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Jupiter and Saturn taken minutes ago – Photo: L. Weikel

Perseid Meteors

Over the past few nights, the sky has been exquisitely clear in my neck of the woods, especially around midnight. In spite of conducive conditions, I’ve yet to catch a glimpse of any Perseid meteors streaking across the sky. I’m hopeful, though. Maybe tonight will be my lucky night.

Technically, the Perseids last until August 24^thbut they are at ‘maximum streaks per minute’ across the sky later this week.

Of course, as I looked up into the moonless sky last night, thinking about the Perseids and how happy I am when they arrive every year, I was distracted by a few other bright celestial objects calling out to me.

Jupiter & Saturn right now – w/horizon – Sky Guide app

Jupiter and Saturn

First and among the most prominent are Jupiter and Saturn.

Jupiter is pretty hard to miss in the Southeastern sky. It’s obvious why this massive planet is deemed to be a ‘benefic,’ or planet that brings good fortune to us when it makes aspects in our charts. Jupiter is the ‘biggest’ planet we can see with our naked eyes, the one that unexpectedly draws our eyes toward it and say, “What’s that?”

And once again, I must confess, I cannot gush enough about my Sky Guide astronomy app. I love how it tells me exactly what I’m looking at – and even shows me what’s going on below the horizon. The Milky Way dazzles on this app – and only makes me ache to see it again from a place with little vast stretches of open sky and little light pollution.

I was thinking about all of you last night as my heart kept opening wider and wider. I was on my back on top of a picnic table, entranced by the night sky and the accompanying cadence of crickets and katydids. The ethereal music the app creators added to the Sky Guide is truly a perfect accompaniment to cosmos-gazing.

Jupiter & Saturn – just minutes ago – Photo: L. Weikel

Shooting ‘Stars’

I’m almost always amply rewarded for my determination to celebrate our planet’s annual trek through space dust – a/k/a the Perseid Meteor Showers. My only worry is that it’ll be cloudy on Wednesday (11^th) or Thursday (12^th) night, when ideally they should be peaking.

Believe me, I know how hard it can be to drag yourself outside once you’ve settled in for the evening. But the magic inherent in drinking in the vastness of the visible universe borders on the indescribable, and I want all of you to remember to indulge if you are so inclined.

It seems to me that we so easily and so often forget our relative unimportance in the grand scheme of things. It’s essential, in my opinion, that we remind ourselves of that insignificance every once in a while, especially when we’re on the brink of trashing this beautiful blue planet and potentially rendering it uninhabitable.

Are we truly incapable of raising our game and actually becoming thoughtful stewards of this planet? I’d like to think we’re still redeemable, but my hope is dimming.

Another view of Jupiter & Saturn with a bit of the Milky Way; Sky Guide app!

(T-109)

Leonid Alert

In case you didn’t realize it, the Leonid meteor showers will be taking place this weekend (Saturday and Sunday evening, November 16-17^th, 2019). Had I realized it before this evening, I would’ve written this post last night. As it is, this won’t get automatically sent until 1:00 a.m., which I suppose could still work to provide a heads up for some of you.

When I first began this 1111 Devotion, I didn’t imagine my posts becoming a harbinger of meteor showers, but that’s apparently something that’s evolving out of this practice. I’ve written about the Delta Aquarids, Capricornids, and ‘advertised’ the Perseids. And now the Leonids.

I’m guessing it’s because looking up, increasing our awareness of the cosmos, promoting our realization that we inhabit an incredibly vast universe (and even that – my use of the singular ‘universe’ – feels limited) all feel deeply important to me. It feels important that we earnestly begin expanding our awareness of ‘reality’ (even more accurately, realities) sooner rather than later.

And That’s Just the Physical…

It’s amusing, I guess, that I consider watching the skies for ‘shooting stars’ to somehow be a gateway for us to consider other realities. Why would this be so, when they’re clearly part and parcel of this shared physical reality?

I guess I’m enamored with meteor showers because they have the ability to both confirm the physical fact that chunks of debris (from exploded planets and massive ice chunks and who knows what else) careen through space and burn to a cinder when slamming into our atmosphere – and also remind our spirits that we can experience astonished delight by simply witnessing a hoped-for but totally unpredictable point of light streak through the sky above our heads.

Why I Rant

I was out walking in the dark this evening, weaving my way along the stones and across the logs traversing the springs that bubble up along the path. The trees, having only recently lost their leaves, looked a bit naked in stark relief against the midnight blue of the star strewn sky.

But their nakedness allowed me to look up and actually see the bazillions of stars that are visible in places where light pollution barely exists. My heart cannot help but expand beyond all boundaries when realizing I’m staring into the Milky Way galaxy from my single little spot on Mother Earth.

When I look up and feel that vast sense of expansion, I yearn for everyone to stop what they’re doing and look up. I yearn for everyone to turn off the lights and look up. I yearn for everyone on Earth to stop for a moment and remember there’s so incredibly much more to life than what occupies most of our minds and consumes most of our thoughts.

Indulge the Magic

I’ve written about a couple different meteor events, but this is my first post about the Leonids. So tonight or tomorrow night, around or after midnight, turn off your lights. Go outside if weather permits and, if possible, spread out a blanket and allow yourself the luxury of both connecting your back (literally) to Mother Earth and your spirit to some magic.