Earthly Light and Heavenly Light

Our earthly Sun is amazing! A huge star right at the centre of our solar system, 330,000 times larger than earth and made of every colour, making it appear white.

Without the vital energy that the sun gives us, as we know vegetation would die and the human race would cease to exist. As part of our larger solar system science is now showing us that its presence is influencing other planets and bodies in space. I find all of this fascinating…

At 4.6 billion years old, the sun is considered roughly halfway through its life and is currently known as a Yellow Dwarf.

It is believed that at the some point the hydrogen in the sun will burn up. It will then continue to burn all the Helium within it for about another 130 million years, and at some point expand – swallowing Mercury, Venue and Earth as it does. It will then be known as Red Dwarf.

Our ancestors saw the Sun as a as a spiritual deity, God or a Goddess, sometimes to be feared but mostly to be worshipped.

The Sun was a seen as an object of mystery and also as a guide to the time of day and the seasons. We know that certain points on Earth were used as temples to honour the Sun. For example, Machu Picchu is a city high up in the Andes in modern Peru – here there is a unique semi-circular temple with a tower and an in-built trapezoidal window. It is believed the Incas worshipped the Sun God ‘Init’. It is here that the sun is captured through this window dramatically on the 21st June each year being midsummer day.

Stone Henge near Glastonbury is believed to have been built by ancient Celtic priests known as the Druids and is associated with significant points of worship for both the Sun and the Moon.

The sarsen stones, put up in at the centre of the site in about 2500 BC, were carefully aligned to line up with the movements of the sun. If you were to stand in the middle of the stone circle on midsummer's day, the sun rises just to the left of the Heel Stone, an outlying stone to the north-east of the monument.

It appears our ancestors had knowledge about working with and aligning with the Sun in significant ways that we no longer understand. The adoration of the sun was clearly one of the earliest and most natural forms of religious expression.

We know there is a Sun in the sky that lights up our world everyday, but it is also largely talked about there being ‘Heavenly Sun’. We could see the earthly sun as a reflection of this great spiritual Sun.

Sirius is the second brightest star in the sky apart from the Sun and is sometimes referred to as the "Spiritual Sun". That's because in astrology and other mystical practices, it's known to light up the spirit and help to illuminate our higher-minded goals and ambitions.

Every year, right in the middle of the sign of Leo on the 8th of August Sirius rises in the skies and becomes brightly visible in the eastern sky. This is called the lion’s gate portal. The lion's gate portal occurs when Earth and the star system Sirius are aligned. Leo, of course, is symbolised by the lion and at this time, it is believed we can embodies the animal's courageous and noble energy. This is just one of the ways we can harness the suns energy at a certain time of the year.

If we journey deeper into this idea of a ‘Spiritual Sun’, we can hold the idea that beyond this universe there is an infinite light we can draw from.

The light of the physical sun opens the seeds of plants and gives them the energy to grow. This is also another spiritual allegory when looked at on a different level. As the physical sun “awakens” those seeds, the Spiritual Sun awakens our spirits and souls.

Our other sources of natural light include the moon, starlight and flame.

All of these sources of light hold a magical quality to us as humans and have their own significance when using the Light as a guide in our lives!

This is where we can use the light in our yoga and within meditation. A practice that has filled me with healing, hope and inspiration.

The light has inspired me so much that even as young person I had named my company ‘Casting Light’, although at this time I had no idea it would be a yoga company!

 I am now working on a book entitled by the same name, exploring how we can use the light for our own healing and spiritual guidance. Watch this space!