“Cormorants on the Wind” | Anthony Satori
“More and more it seems to me that the ordering of nature is an art akin to music – fugues in a shell, counterpoints in fibers, throbbing rhythms in waves of sound, light, and nerve. And oneself is connected with it quite inextricably – an electronic interweaving of paths, circuits, and impulses that stretch and hum throughout the whole of time and space.”
– Alan Watts
“Jupiter and Saturn in Conjunction” –|– Anthony Satori
“The ninety and nine are with dreams content.
But the hope of the world made new
Is the hundredth person who is grimly bent
On making dreams come true.”
— Ted Olson
I took this photograph just a few weeks ago, on December 21, 2020. At first blush, it may not be evident why this image might be of particular note. The two lights in the sky, however, are the planets Jupiter and Saturn, and they are in “conjunction” — which means that on this particular night these two celestial bodies were visibly closer together in our sky than they have been in nearly 800 years. The last time they appeared this close (0.1 degree apart) was 1226 AD. Merely to be alive to witness the recurrence of such a phenomenon is quite amazing. To top it off, however, this incredibly rare event occurred on Winter Solstice (for the Northern Hemisphere), which feels doubly auspicious.
Winter Solstice is the longest, darkest, and often coldest night of the year. In this moment, we are the farthest from the Sun than at any other time. It also means, however, that a shift is occurring. Things are now beginning to turn around, and to move back toward the renewal of life, toward the expansion of light and warmth, and toward the rejuvenation that comes with springtime.
Keep faith, everyone. The planets have aligned.
(See below for a more close-up photograph of the conjunction!)
“Jupiter and Saturn in Conjunction (with moons visible)” | 2020-12-21 18:40 (PST) | Anthony Satori
“Artemis” | Anthony Satori
“Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets [of nature] have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them?”
— Orville Wright, co-inventor of the first airplane. (1903)
Nature holds so many wonderful mysteries. It’s like a giant cosmic Easter Egg hunt that has been carefully set in place for us to enjoy, and I picture a benevolent Creator just sitting back and watching, with pleasure and pride, as we seek — and gradually discover — the endless gifts and surprises that have been hidden for us throughout nature, around the universe, and even within our own souls.
Historical Note: This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which sent two American astronauts to walk on the moon for the first time in human history. Just this week, as well, a brand new mission has been announced by NASA, scheduled to return humans to the moon by 2024. This new mission is called Artemis. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the godess of wilderness, exploration, archery, and the moon. She is also the twin sister of Apollo.
“Moon Dust” | Anthony Satori
Just a few short weeks after NASA landed the Insight rover on the surface of Mars, the Chinese space program successfully landed a probe on the previously unexplored “dark side” of the moon. What wonderful accomplishments! I cannot wait to find out what we see, what we discover, and what we can all learn from these missions. Science, art, nature, spirituality — these are such crucial areas of exploration, because they each, in their own way, make us realize how we all, as humans, have so much more in common than we have differences between us.
Satori Circle | Art & Culture 