The Northern Lights

Story and Photography: Gillian Sanchez

Model: Ally Ainsleigh

“Aurora borealis,” “the northern lights,” or whatever you may call these color-changing lights that appear near the north and south poles are magnificent natural wonders. They have been cited throughout history to have immense cultural meaning. Some cultures thought they were a sign of good luck; others thought they heralded bad things to come.  

What exactly is an aurora? 

An aurora refers to the color-changing lights that appear by the North Pole, aurora borzois, or the South Pole, aurora australis. This occurs when solar winds reach Earth and interact with its magnetic field. The planet’s magnetic field protects itself from the solar activity and sends this energy to Earth’s poles. This creates a magical light show. The specifics about why the lights happen when they do and the colors are unknown. A lot about these lights remains a mystery, and we are learning more about them frequently. Before science became so advanced, ancient civilizations that lived where these lights could be seen made up their own explanations for this phenomenon.  

Norse Mythology  

In Norse mythology, there were many legends about the lights ranging from deities to death. The vikings believed that the lights were to be celebrated as they were an embodiment of their gods. Another legend of the vikings was that the lights were a part of Ragnarök, which was the start of a new world. The vikings thought that the lights were the bridge from Åsgard to Midgard and called them Bifrost. The lights were also thought to be a reflection of the armor of the Valkyries, who were the protectors of the warriors chosen to fight in the great battle that would precede the end of the world. These warriors were honored for their bravery and taken to Valhalla, their final resting place. It was also said the aurora was the last breath of the soldiers who fought bravely and the lights would lead them to Valhalla.  

 The Sámi however, did not see the lights as any kind of positive manifestation. The lights were respected but feared by the people. The Sámi believed that the lights were the souls of the dead and as such should not be mocked in any way. Waving, whistling and singing during the lights could draw the  attention of the dead, and the lights would come down and carry you back up to the sky or, in a darker version, the lights would behead you.   

Europe 

Finland has their own explanations for the lights and even their own name, revontulet, meaning ‘fire fox.’ They believed that the lights were created by fire foxes that cast snowflakes into the sky when running. By catching the lights, the fire foxes make the aurora borealis.  

In parts of Southern Europe the aurora borealis was thought to foreshadow many deaths to come. One such occurrence was just before the French Revolution. There was a bright red aurora in the sky weeks before the French monarchy was overthrown.  

There are some European countries who have a much more positive perception of the lights. Greco-Roman mythology saw the aurora as being the living embodiment of dawn. The northern lights were said to be Aurora taking her chariot across the sky to inform the other gods of the start to a new day. 

Native Americans  

Native American tribes all had their own unique stories. Most of them shared a common thread and believed that the lights were souls of the dead. The northern lights were believed to be paths made by torches leading souls to the afterlife. Some believed that the aurora made whistling sounds and you could communicate with them through whispering. Dogs are also said to bark at the lights; they believe that this is because they sense their lost owners.  

The native people of northern Greenland, the Inuits, believed the lights to be spirits playing with the skull of a walrus. This has also been flipped to be walruses who play games with human skulls. They call the lights “aurora aksarnirq.”  

There are many more stories and variations of all of these myths from cultures around the world that are dazzling and even frightening. These stories all came from a place of trying to find an explanation for something that is seemingly impossible and magical, and they developed in many different ways depending on the mentality of the society.