I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo “Milky Way” by EvgeniT, Pixabay

“Ecstatic Love is an ocean, and the Milky Way is a flake of foam floating on it.” -Rumi

Morning Edit:  22July19 c.8am

I fixed the photo on the Gem.  It’s so gorgeous and I didn’t want any of it cut from the frame. I also posted a link to the photo.  Then I started wondering who named the Milky Way and things went on from there.

I learned it was called the “Milky Circle” by the Greeks.  The story goes, Zeus brought the infant Hercules to nurse from Hera while she slept.  She woke while the baby suckled and pushed him away.  (His mother was a mortal, one of her husband’s many conquests).  A few drops of milk spilled and formed the Milky Circle. The Romans adopted the name and called it “Via Lactea.” Translated, that means “the road of milk.”

In Germany it’s Milchstrasse. In Norway, it’s called Melkeveien. Both translate to Milky Way in English. But in Finland, it’s called Linnunrata (“path of birds”). In Armenia, it’s “hard goghi chanaparh,” or “Straw Thief’s Way.” In Sweden and Iceland, it’s called Vetrarbrautin and Vintergatan (Winter Way). In East Asia, it’s called “Silver River.”

Source:  How the Milky Way Got Its Name

I love the name Silver River best because it comes from the story of the Weaver Girl and the Buffalo Boy. Two of my poems from Elanthian Love Songs are based on this legend, one for the Weaver Girl and one for the Buffalo Boy (also called “The Cowherd.) I was inspired to write the poems after seeing two beautiful paintings by Steph Law about this legend.

“Bridge of Dreams Where She Waits” by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes.com

“Bridge of Dreams Where He Waits” Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes.com