R U Sirius? Hot Dog!

July 26th marks the annual heliacal rise of Sirius (meaning, with the Sun). This date heralds both the ancient Mayan and Egyptian New Year — for the latter, it also coincides with the flooding of the Nile, which Egyptians believed Sirius' rising caused.

Sirius has long been known as the "Dog Star". (Trivia: (1) Actor Keanu Reeves has a rock group called Dog Star, and (2) In the Harry Potter books, Sirius Black, an animagus who can shapeshift, transforms into a large black dog.) It wasn't until I happened upon Ellie Crystal's extensive metaphysical site, however, that I understood how the Dog Star also gave us the "dog days of summer":

Ancient Egyptians called Sirius the "Dog Star" because pictograms of the head of their god Osiris resembled a dog. In Egypt, Sirius shines for most of the summer, and since it's such a bright star, the Egyptians believed the additional light it radiated was responsible for the summer heat. This isn't true, of course, but the phrase "the dog days of summer" originates from this belief.

The Greeks named the star Sirius, which meant, "scorching or burning".

Wishing you one sizzling New Year, lightworkers...