Class II: Cosmology (Violet Magick)
and the Andromeda Galaxy. If you can’t get a tele-
scope, however, a good set of binoculars will still show
you many celestial wonders.
Through the ages, several Big Questions have
been the focus of attention for all who study the heav-
ens. The Truth is still out there...awaiting our future
explorations and discoveries.- What is the origin of the Universe? Did it have a
beginning, or has it been here for eternity? - How common are planetary systems around other
stars—especially terrestrial planets like ours? - Is there life elsewhere in the Solar System? If not,
why is Earth special? - Is there life beyond the Solar System—especially
intelligent life? Is anyone else out there, or are we
all alone in the dark?
- Glossary of Astronomical Terms
Aphelion: The point in the orbit of a planet, comet,
etc. which is furthest from the sun.
Corona: The very hot outer layer of the Sun’s atmo-
sphere, composed of highly diffused, superheated,
ionized gases, and extending into interplanetary
space. The hot gasses in the solar corona create
the solar wind.
Fission: The splitting of heavier atomic nuclei into
lighter ones. In the case of heavy atoms (e.g., ura-
nium, plutonium), this will release energy. Fission
is how nuclear power plants produce energy.
Fusion: The combining of lighter elements into heavier
ones. For lighter elements (e.g., hydrogen, helium)
this processes releases energy. Fusion is how stars
produce energy, and is being researched as a way
to produce power on Earth.
Heliosphere: The vast region starting at the Sun’s sur-
face and extending to the limits of the solar system,
well beyond the orbits of the most distant planets.
Ion: An atom which has lost or gained one or more
electrons so that it has a net electrical charge.
Light Year: A measure of distance, not time, based on
how far a particle of light will travel in one year.
Since light travels at 186,282 miles per second, a
light year is about six trillion miles.
Orbit: The path of an object (such as the Earth) re-
volving around another object (such as the Sun).
Perihelion: The point in the orbit of a planet, comet,
etc. which is closest to the sun.
Revolution: The motion of an object around another
larger body, such as the Earth’s yearly course
around the Sun.
Rotation: The spinning of a body about its own axis,
like a top.- Introduction: The Celestial Arts
UR FASCINATION WITH THE HEAVENS
certainly goes back even further
than our mastery of fire. Even
animals are affected by the Solar
cycles and the Lunar phases.
Wolves were howling at the full
Moon long before our ances-
tors walked upright. The great
bowl of the night sky—the Celestial Sphere—that
surrounds our tiny world has always been a subject of
magickal and Wizardly studies. “Connecting the dots”
of the stars to form constellations elevated our myths
and legends into the heavens. The fixed position of
the Pole Star in the rotating sky gave us a firm bearing
in all seasons. The movements of the Sun, Moon and
planets through the signs of the Zodiac gave us our
Calendars, our first way of keeping time, and one of
our earliest forms of Divination.
Celestial (“heavenly”) events like: meteor show-
ers, comets, eclipses of the Sun and Moon, the Aurora
Borealis capture our imagination. Sometimes, as
“Thunderbolts of the Gods,” meteorites would plunge
to Earth, bringing unexpected gifts. These were often
made of a strange metal, unlike anything known on
Earth: rustproof nickle-iron—the basis of our first iron
weapons. This material could even be magnetized (as
lodestones) gaining strange magickal proper-
ties different than any Earthly material.
Astronomy (“star classifying”) is our oldest sci-
ence. Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese and European
courts had professional astronomers long before there
were professional zoologists, geologists or
botanists. Ancient Sumerian tablets and carvings
show that the movements of the planets were being
carefully observed and recorded before 3,000 BCE. The
three greatest Pyramids of Egypt were precisely aligned
to match the three stars on Orion’s belt, with the Nile
River as the Milky Way. Stonehenge and Indian Medi-
cine Wheels were positioned to mark the seasonal
rising of the Sun and certain bright stars.
The first astronomical telescope was built in 1608
by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Gazing into the heavens,
a year later he discovered the four largest moons orbiting
Jupiter, and named them Io, Europa, Ganymede, and
Callisto. Seeing these as a model for the Solar System,
Galileo then proposed that the Earth likewise revolves
around the Sun. For such a radical notion, he was tried
and convicted of heresy by the Church.
Ever since Galileo, telescopes have been prized
instruments of Wizards. Even a fairly inexpensive one
will enable you to see the Galilean moons, Saturn’s
rings, Lunar craters, the Ring Nebula of Beta Lyrae,Corrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 39 6/10/2004, 4:02 PM