by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: August 12, 2008   Last Updated: June 01, 2010

Sun dogs are astrological sun maneuvers caused by the sun shining through prisms of ice crystals. The sun reflects or refracts - bends - as it shines through cirrus or cirrostratus clouds while sending to astonished earth bound humanity a miraculous show of lights. Nothing is more thrilling than seeing the sun, dazzling as it is when it shines, performing even more delightfully for a welcoming public.

Understanding that the ice crystals are multifaceted in form and each are capable of deflecting light makes it easy to understand the phenomena that so excites onlookers. Some explanations we have heard are of the sun dancing. It's the same effect we often get when we see, on a very minute scale and of course, less energetically charged, the early morning sun shining through the window and dancing on our breakfast table. The sun isn't actually dancing but tree limbs swaying in the air outside intermittently block the sun and this causing the movement of the sun.

Like all other magical, or seemingly so, happenings concerning the sun, the moon, the stars and the interactions between earth and sky, what is seen or what is perceived is not actually what is taking place. We, as thinking and reasoning human beings have always wanted to know more than what was shown. In other words, we wanted to look behind the curtain to see who or what was pulling the strings.

Early Greek society was an earth bound society and even their heavenly creatures took on the attributes of humans or animals. They had a name for everything and for every aspect of what was seen and felt and they had a god governing each. As an example, Apollo was their sun god, although he is also known as Helios, Hyperion and Phoebus. These names are important to us today in that many of our notions, products, actions and whatever is named after this Greek sun god. The Romans know him as Sol. He was one of the twelve Olympians. Also, he was a much sought after eloquent god and his many occupations was to direct the fine arts, music, medicine and poetry. All this along with directing and managing the sun.

Wonder what the myth makers would have made, or did make, of the sun shenanigans that today we refer to as Sun Dogs? Would they have accused him of marital disharmony or would it have been too much of a night out on the town for this important ruler of the sun? Any number of his amours could have been disturbing his peace. A few female deities that Greek Mythology associates with him are: Leucotomy, Daphne,

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