We’re entering into the heart of the dog days of summer here in the northern hemisphere. This time of year refers to the annual heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star, which means it’s visible just before dawn, rising alongside our own beautiful Sun.
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and has a significant effect on our planet and ourselves. Many cultures and civilizations have described the star as being either the source or destination of a powerful force or energy. Its effects are recorded in countless ancient myths, temples, and art. The Dogon of Mali are connected to extra-terrestials said to have come from Sirius. In ancient Akkadia the star was called Kasista, which means prince or leader. In Persia it was known as Tistar, the chief of the East. All around the globe it’s described as being a dog (or wolf or coyote): In China, Sirius is known as the “star of the celestial wolf.” Native American tribes call it “Dog-face” (Blackfoot), “Moon Dog” (Inuit), and “Wolf Star” (Skidi). In Ancient Greece, Sirius was the hound of the hunter Orion.
In Ancient Egypt, Sirius was one of the most important stars in the sky, and most of its deities were connected with it, including the great Thoth-Hermes. The ancient Egyptian calendar was based on lunar cycles and the helical rising of Sirius, which also coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River.
This is what we know astronomically about Sirius: It has an enormous amount of energy! Close to it orbits an extremely dense dwarf star that has a surface 300 times harder than a diamond and an interior that has a density 3000 times that of a diamond. It spins on its axis quickly, about 23 times a minute, and thus creates enormous magnetic fields whirling around it. Sirius and its little dark partner rotate around each other, exchanging ferocious energies and particles. Every 49.9 years, the dwarf orbits all the way around Sirius, and the Dog Star’s brightness and sparkle is even more vivid and intense during this time.
We know that electro-magnetic currents flow throughout the starry skies around us, and their streams of energy course through orbits and galaxies, are polarized, negatively and positively, receiving energy and sending it out. This starry energy travels on magnetic field lines and affects us all.
Esoteric teachers and mystery schools describe Sirius as the illuminating “Sun behind the sun.” Sirius is the source of our spiritual energy, while our Sun is the source of our physical energy. Sirius reveals to us our inner light that shines in the east and illuminates us in ways we may hardly be able to imagine.
The dog days of summer may feel hot and muggy, but think of yourself as a great river that’s inundated with overload, and when the waters subside there’s left a land of fertility, calm, and spiritual growth and wealth.