Sirius (Soptet)

SIRIUS CONT.
Native Americans
Sirius has religious meaning for the Cherokees who paired the bright white star
with the reddish Antares as dog-star guardians of either end of the "Path of Sou
ls". Other tribes also associated Sirius with dogs, wolfs or coyotes, and so did
the Inuit of Alaska.
Ancient
Chinese
ever, I
China,
Far East
called Sirius the star of the "celestial wolf" in the Mansion of Jng. How
do not know was there any religious meaning or cult of Sirius in ancient
Korea or Japan.
SIRIUS CONT.
Ancient Scandinavians
In Norse tradition Sirius is called Lokabrenna ("Loki's torch"). Loki is in some
myths a god and in others a giant.
Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki sometimes assists the gods
and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate
incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, mare, seal, a fly, and possibly an
elderly woman. Loki's positive relations with the gods end with his role in eng
ineering the death of the god Baldr. Loki is eventually bound by the gods with t
he entrails of one of his sons.
wikipedia
It is interesting that Loki was also projected to the sky and associated with Si
rius. We may assume that the star Sirius was important aid in navigation for the
seagoing Vikings who even were able to cross the Atlantic in their slender boat
s. Loki was not an easy character in dangerous trips as he was known as a tricks
ter god.
SIRIUS CONT.
India today
In Sanskrit Mrgavyadha (Deer hunter) Sirius represents the god of wind, storm an
d hunt Rudra (Shiva). Since the worship of Shiva continues today in India there
it is the possibility to ask living people what significance Sirius (and other s
tars in the night sky) have on their lives.
In the Tamil related language Malayalam Sirius is called Makarajyotii and is ass
ociated with the ongoing pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage center located in the Western Ghat mountain ran
ges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in
world with an estimated 4550 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is
believed to be the place where the Hindu God Ayyappan meditated after killing t
he powerful demoness, Mahishi. Ayyappan's temple is situated here amidst 18 hill
s. The temple is situated on a hilltop at an altitude of 468 m (1535 ft) above m
ean sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests.
Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While functional and
intact temples exist at many places in the surrounding areas like Nilackal, Kala
keti, and Karimala, remnants of old temples survive to this day on remaining hil
ls.
Sabarimala is linked to Hindu pilgrimage, predominantly for men of all ages. Wom
en between the ages of 10 and 50 are not allowed to enter the temple, since the
story attributed to Ayyappa prohibits the entry of the women in the menstrual ag
e group. This is because Ayyappan is a Bramachari (Celibate).

The temple is open for worship only during the days of Mandalapooja (approximate
ly November 15 to December 26), Makaravilakku (January 14- "Makara Sankranti") a
nd Vishu (April 14), and the first six days of each Malayalam month.
wikipedia
SIRIUS CONTI.
Pre-islamic Arabia
Sirius is mentioned in Surah, An-Najm ("The Star"), of the Qur'an, where it is g
iven the name
(al-shiraa.) The verse is: "
Kathir said in his commentary "Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Qatada and Ibn Zayd said abo
ut Ash-Shi`ra that it is the bright star, named Mirzam Al-Jawza' (Sirius), which
a group of Arabs used to worship.
wikipedia
Ancient Iran
In Iranian mythology, especially in Persian mythology and in zoroastrianism, the
ancient religion of Persia, Sirius appears as Tishtrya and is revered as a divi
nity. Beside passages in the sacred texts of the Avesta, the Avestan language Ti
shtrya followed by the version Tir in Middle and New Persian is also depicted in
the Persianepic Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. Due to the concept of the yazatas, power
s which are "worthy of worship", Tishtrya is a divinity of rain and fertility an
d an antagonist ofapaosha, the demon of drought. In this struggle, Tishtrya is b
eautifully depicted as a white horse.
SIRIUS CONTI.
Ancient Greece and Rome
The archaic Greek name for Sirius, Seirios, could well be derived from the major
Egyptian god Osiris as the Osiris-Isis-Horus myth is closely related to the agr
icultural seasons, the cycle of nature dying and rising again with the Nile.
It was classically depicted as Orion's dog. The Ancient Greeks thought that Siri
us's emanations could affect dogs adversely, making them behave abnormally durin
g the "dog days," the hottest days of the summer. The Romans knew these days as
dies caniculares, and the star Sirius was called Canicula, "little dog." The exc
essive panting of dogs in hot weather was thought to place them at risk of desic
cation and disease. In extreme cases, a foaming dog might have rabies, which cou
ld infect and kill humans whom they had bitten. Homer, in the Iliad, describes t
he approach of Achilles toward Troy in these words:
Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky
On summer nights, star of stars,
Orion's Dog they call it, brightest
Of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat
And fevers to suffering humanity
wikipedia
SIRIUS CONTI.
Ancient Egypt
As the brightest star of the night and visible in both hemispheres Sirius is kno
wn to all nations. It has religious and also practical significance as a calenda
r for ancient Egyptians.
The Sothic cycle or Canicular period is a period of 1,461 ancient Egyptian years
(of 365 days each) or 1,460 Julian years (averaging 365.25 days each). During a
Sothic cycle, the 365-day year loses enough time that the start of the year onc
", "That H
e again coincides with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius (the Latinized nam
e for Greek , a sta calld pdt by th Egyptans, n G k t ansc bd as ths; a
sngl ya btwn hlacal sngs f ths s a thc ya ). Ths sng c
cu d wthn a mnth s f th bgnnng f th Nl fld, and was a matt
f p ma y mp tanc t ths ag cultu al scty. It s blvd that Ancnt
Egyptans fllwd bth a 365-day cvl calnda and a luna lgus calnda
.
wkpda
At th Tmpl f Hath n Dnd a th s a pantng n whch th gddss f N
l fldng (a ws) att has d awn h a w at Hath asscatd wth us
. (Ths fw nts a just th tp f an c b g n th cmplx and dp lat
nshp f ancnt Egyptans wth th sta thy calld dpt).
IRIU CONTI.
us w shp amng natns
What t mans whn w md n ppl say that a sta p snts a dvnty? What
was Ma s f th ancnt Rmans Ishta f th ancnt Babylnans but a phys
cal p snc f th dvnty n th nght sky? Human lgus mnd ha dly cnf
ns Ma s t th Rd plant hndu gd Rud a t us, but smhw th havn
ly bdy s a mghty gn f dvn p snc. (W can study ths mntal cnst uct
wth authntc mat al whn analysng th at t un by mp Julan th
Apstat).
nc s many dff nt cultu s cnnct us wth dg I suspct that th ma
y b a p hst c subst atum t ths asscatn p haps achng vn Nlth
c whn w hav th f st vdnc f dmstcatd dgs jnng human camp f s.
T acs f cmmn mms f m th dstant past n dff nt cvlzatns ... p h
aps!
IRIU CONTI.
us nt n th Bbl
As fa as I knw, us s nt spcfcally mntnd n th Bbl. In md n H
b w t s calld av q "shnng".
Th f st chapt
n s th c at
Bbl th a
ally n J mah
, nus).
f th Bbl s a v tabl slaught hus f gds f Gd al

f v ythng, ncludng un, Mn and sta s. Elswh n th
passags wth st ng cndmnatn f pagan sta w shp, spc
spakng aganst th Babylnan cult Qun f th Havn (Ishta
But lt us kp n mnd that th c ptu s als shws und standng f th man
ng f sta s t humanty t th pnt wh Danl was mad th had f Chaldan
ast lgsts. Evn m s, th b th f th n f Gd was ma kd by th appa
anc f th ta f Bthlhm as a bautful sgn th ws mn f m th East n
t p td manng th b th f a g at kng n Palstn.
In Egyptan mythlgy, pdt was th dfcatn f ths, a sta cnsd d b
y almst all Egyptlgsts t b us. Th nam pdt mans (sh wh s) sha
p n Egyptan, a f nc t th b ghtnss f us, whch s th b ghtst s
ta n th nght sky. In a t sh s dpctd as a wman wth a fv-pntd sta
upn h had.[1]
Just aft us appa s n th July sky, th Nl Rv bgns ts annual fl
d, and s th ancnt Egyptans cnnctd th tw. Cnsquntly pdt was dnt
fd as a gddss f th f tlty f th sl, whch was b ught t t by th
Nl's fldng. Ths sgnfcanc ld th Egyptans t bas th calnda n t
h hlacal
sng f us.
pdt s th cns t f ah, th cnstllatn f O n, by whch us appa
s, and th plant nus was smtms cnsd d th chld. Th ntcably hum
an fgu f O n was vntually dntfd as a f m f H us, th sky-gd, an
d thus, tgth wth h bng a f tlty dty, ths ld t h bng dntf
d as a manfstatn f Iss.
Aft us' appa anc, th sc chng hat f summ a vs, an aspct that w
as f d t as pdu, manng (n wh s) wth pd, pd bng smply th m
asculn f m, and stm, f pdt. nc th hat a vd aft us's appa
anc, t was sad that pdt had gvn b th t t, thus pdu was sn as bn
g a chld f pdt, and thus als f ah.
us w shp n va us lgns

Human lgns a v y cmplx xp ssns f cultu , hst y, and w ld vw
but hav n thng n cmmn - th mp tanc f sta s n th nght sky.
F md n ctzns f cts
a da k nght and spa klng b
mnds tnd t pck ta gts f
n cultu s sta w shp has
wth massv lght pllutn th awsm ffct f

llant sta s s nt mmdatly cla . Rlgus
w shp and appa ntly n mst f nt all p -md
bn qut sgnfcant n n way anth .

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What are some of the different cultures that associated Sirius with dogs?

How was Sirius viewed in ancient Egypt?

SIRIUS CONT.

e group. This is because Ayyappan is a Bramachari (Celibate).

f th Bbl s a v tabl slaught hus f gds f Gd al

us w shp n va us lgns

wth massv lght pllutn th awsm ffct f

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