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Cool! Maybe I’ll get lucky tonight (if I can stay awake). I have to head to the open prairie to the north to get a good, dark place to watch.

The Norse associated the aurora with the Valkyries, warrior maidens who guided fallen warriors to Valhalla. The lights were thought to be reflections of their shining armor or the “Bifrost,” a rainbow bridge connecting Earth to Asgard, the realm of the gods.

The Sami, indigenous to Lapland, believed the aurora was the souls of the dead or energy from ancestral spirits. They treated it with reverence, avoiding whistling or pointing to prevent angering the spirits, who might sever fingers or cause misfortune.

The Finnish ancients called the aurora “revontulet” (fox fires), believing it was caused by a mythical firefox sparking light with its tail while running across the sky.

The Scottish and Celtic thought the rare auroras were “merry dancers” or spirits battling in the sky, with red lights foretelling war (e.g., before the Battle of Culloden, 1746).

The Mongolian and Siberian Tribes viewed auroras as sky gods or spirits, often linked to fertility or celestial hunts, influencing shamanic rituals.

Chinese astronomers documented auroras as early as 2600 BCE, viewing them as celestial omens or manifestations of “qi” (life energy). They were often interpreted as dragons or serpents dancing in the sky, symbolizing divine messages or cosmic battles.

The Greeks linked the aurora to divine or atmospheric phenomena, possibly the goddess Aurora (Eos), who heralded dawn with rosy light. Aristotle (4th century BCE) described auroras as “chasmata” (sky gaps) or burning vapors in his Meteorology, suggesting a natural but mysterious cause.

The Romans viewed them as omens of war or divine anger, with red auroras signaling bloodshed, as recorded during the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE).