The Nebra Sky Disc

When I was writing my first novel, I needed a fake priceless artreal to use as a model.  After all, fiction must be believable, right?

ifact for my manuscript. Immediately, I donned on my research hat and searched for something

Naturally, I didn’t want to use a painting even though I’ve always been fascinated with the Mona Lisa.  Been done. And re-done. And… well, you get the picture—get it (painting, picture).  I know, too corny for art.

Anyway, I also considered Tut stuff, but Egyptian mysteries are tut commonplace.  For a brief moment, Hummel figurines stood atop my list, but hand painted figurines of children based on the art of a nun didn’t really inspire a grisly murder.

Then I came across the Nebra Sky Disc, a bronze artifact dated to 1600 BC. Since I’ve always had a fan-girl obsession with Stonehenge, this was the priceless artifact for me. This little disc, appeared from nowhere onto the international antiquities market in 2001.  Like most stone age artifacts, the disc pays homage to ancient mankind’s fascination with the seasons and depicts the autumn equinox.

Nebra Visitor's Center

At that time of my initial research, there was some question about the Nebra’s authenticity. The disc was discovered by two amateur treasure hunters illegally using a metal detector in a German forest. Talk about shady.  Duh, I did it again (forest, shady). Apologies.  Anyway, I was prepared for real or fake. After all, I was writing fiction.

Fortunately, scientific analysis proved the Nebra was the real deal, or the real disc. The piece is not quite twelve-inches wide, but its value cannot be measured. A priceless bit of history like that can totally disrupt the digestive system of your novel’s main character.  More important though, the Nebra Sky Disc is another example of advanced abilities of the people of Europe’s Bronze Age.

In my fictional novel, Artifact of death, a mysterious lawyer persuades Private Investigator, Cole Deacon, to search for a missing professor. Cole discovers the professor is not only dead, but rumored to have stolen a companion artifact of the Nebra Sky Disc that portrays the summer solstice.  Cole’s investigation leads him to Monique VanSotten, a museum curator and world-renown expert in Bronze Age artifacts with ties to the dead professor.  Unfortunately, the original owner of the priceless disc, a shadowy figure from the East German underworld, is also aware of Monique’s existence and wants his treasure returned.  Cavalier Cole tries to protect Monique while hunting for the disc and the professor’s killer, but fears for both his heart and his life as he falls for a woman who may have committed murder.

The World Turns #equinox #astronomy #planets

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. And this month's topic is Celebrating Equinox-Changing Seasons

My older son was born on the 22nd of September, not only sharing his birthday with Bilbo and Frodo Baggins of The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fame, but also often with the autumn equinox (for definite this year). My younger son was born close to the spring equinox. Midsummer has always been something I marked each year, and at one stage I regularly organised an online event during the summer solstice for an author group. The winter solstice is close to Christmas, and while I don't like that one so much at least I know once past it the days are getting longer again (even if it doesn't get much warmer for a while *shivers*).

As a scientist, I know an equinox is...

"...the moment in which the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun, which occurs twice each year..."
Wikipedia

It's when night and day are of approximately equal lengths, and the name itself comes from aequus ( Latin for 'equal') and nox (meaning night). Equinoxes and solstices are directly connected to the seasons of the year - here in the UK, the March equinox marks the start of spring (autumn for our antipodal friends), and September the autumn one. For some cultures, the spring equinox marks the start of the new year instead, and various events are linked to them, such as Harvest Festivals. I love the spring equinox best as it means we're coming out of winter (whether or not the British weather completely agrees), so goodbye to the deep cold, and short, grey days (phew). But as I get older, I seem to see or feel the change in the seasons more than I used to.

And it's something I've included in my stories. One thing that would be constant to any alien planets we might one day travel to (providing they have a significant tilt to their axis - of course, there are always going to be exceptions) are equinoxes and solstices. Where the length of days and nights, and even of seasons will differ from world to world, equinox and solstice may be the only relatable date and possibly the only events shared between different planets. When I was struggling to write a Christmas scifi romance, I went back to basics. Once upon a time we celebrated the winter solstice before Christianity came along. So in my winter planet SFR, my characters celebrate the equinoxes and solstices instead, and just happen to arrive on an ice planet as the winter solstice arrives. Only it's not much to celebrate this time around...

At least while I'm not so fond of the autumn equinox as it leads into winter, I have the birth of my oldest son to celebrate. It takes some of the edge off it. :P

The Turn of The Wheel

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

For those of us who look upon the natural world around us as proof of The Divine, Winter Solstice is an affirmation that on some level all is right in the world. In ancient times, the people were connected to the land in a way that most of today’s population is not.

Can you even imagine being so in tuned with the world around you that you would notice the difference in the amount of light there was between the Darkest Day and the next?

There were no clocks, no calendars in the day of the hunter/gatherers or earlier. And yet our ancestors learned how to mark the passage of time.

Winter Solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of our year. For me, personally, it is my New Year’s Eve because it heralds the returning of the light. If you follow the waxing and waning of the Moon, Winter Solstice starts the waxing of the Sun that represents light. From now until Summer Solstice, the Sun gains in strength. On the Summer Solstice that starts to wane as darkness becomes more a part of our lives.

One of the things that fascinates me is how our ancestors kept track.

Stonehenge and other stone and wood henges, The Great Pyramids of Egypt and pyramids and ancient temples are aligned with the stars, planets and the position of the sun and moon on particular times of the year like the Solstices and Equinoxes.

And when the Judeo-Christian religions took hold and grew, many of the traditions from earth-based traditions were incorporated. There are several books on the subject if you are interested in learning more.

For those people who celebrate life, Winter Solstice gives them a focus.

For those people who have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) it is a sign the days will lengthen and we’ll be out of winter soon.

For those people who prefer heat to cold, it reminds them that Spring/Ostara, the vernal equinox, when day and night are equal in length, and flowers are not far away.

In my Sacred Women’s Circle series, my heroines celebrate the 8 Sabbats, holy days that mark the turning of The Wheel of Life (Samhain, Winter Solstice/Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Summer Solstice/Lithia, Lammas, and Mabon). And, they each marry on a Sabbat. (For more information on Sabbats and other earth-based spiritual practices, check out my Judith Ashley blog where I post every Monday).

If you are curious about how Sacred Women Circles come together, start reading Lily. In her story, you can learn how to create your own Circle and your own Ceremonies. Sign up for Connections, mynewsletter and get a free copy of Lily.

And to learn even more about sacred women’s circles,The Wheel of Life, and the Women of the 14th Moon Gathering, Elizabeth (Book 2) is available throughJanuary for $.99.

Regardless of your spiritual path, I wish you all the light you need to show you the way to love.

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

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© 2016 Judith Ashley