Happy birthday, Nicolaus Copernicus

February 19, 1473. Nicolaus Copernicus, a Renaissance astronomer and mathematician, was born on this day in Thorn, Poland. At a time when deeply entrenched beliefs placed the Earth at the center of the universe – nested within crystal spheres – he proposed the revolutionary idea that Earth revolves around the sun. Can you picture the leap of imagination required for him to conceive of a sun-centered universe? His book – “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (“On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”) – was published just before his death in 1543. It set the stage for all of modern astronomy.

Today, people speak of his work as the Copernican Revolution.

Copernicus wasn’t the first to conceive of a sun-centered universe. Early Greek philosophers also spoke of it.

It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle, however, who proposed that the heavens were literally composed of 55 concentric, crystalline spheres to which the celestial objects were attached.

In Aristotle’s model, Earth lay at the center of these spheres.

Thus Earth lay – fixed and enclosed – until Copernicus published his version of a heliocentric, or sun-centered, universe.

Read more: Copernicus’ revolution and Galileo’s vision, in pictures

Bottom line: Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe. He was born on this date, February 19, in 1473.

Image 1: This engraving by an unknown artist is called Empedocles Breaks through the Crystal Spheres. It first appeared in 1888 in a book by Camille Flammarion with the caption: “A missionary of the Middle Ages tells that he had found the point where the sky and the Earth touch …” 

Image 2: Nicolaus Copernicus via Wikipedia.

Image 3: Earth-centered model of the universe via Aristotle. In the medieval world, people thought Earth lay enclosed within crystal spheres. Read more about about medieval astronomy here.

Image 4: This is Copernicus’ version of a heliocentric – or sun-centered – universe. Image via Library of Congress.

London-based Spiritual/ earth-centered indie pop folk duo: Shrinari, release new album called: Hold On To To The Hope, Though. Out November 24th!

British-Spanish indie folk duo Shrinari present their new long-player ‘Hold On To The Hope, Though’, a collection of deep, inspirational tracks recorded over the past few years, bringing the listener with them on a surrealistic journey on a path of discovery. You could call this music Genre Fluid, Sacred Funk or Spirit Soul. You could call it High Frequency Music or World Folk Pop. This…

London-based Spiritual/ earth-centered indie pop folk duo: Shrinari, release new album called: Hold On To To The Hope, Though. Out November 24th!

British-Spanish indie folk duo Shrinari present their new long-player ‘Hold On To The Hope, Though’, a collection of deep, inspirational tracks recorded over the past few years, bringing the listener with them on a surrealistic journey on a path of discovery. You could call this music Genre Fluid, Sacred Funk or Spirit Soul. You could call it High Frequency Music or World Folk Pop. This…

Pagan and Earth-Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism—Essays by some of the most prominent leaders in Unitarian Universalist Paganism bring Pagan and Earth-centered theo/alogy to life for a new generation. https://bit.ly/2C2RWqp

Aisha's Moonlit Walk—A fictional modern-day family celebrates eight pagan holidays over the course of a year. https://bit.ly/2kqAd49

Author's note: I'm re-running this article in honour of Earth Day - April 22, 2015

I've spent the last month examining my practices and interactions with the Elements. It's one of the core pieces of magic I teach in the Reclaiming Tradition. I revisit this work every so often as a teacher and as a student. In my last three articles I've chronicled my explorations with Air, my connections with Fire and my dive into Water. I'm turning now to the Earth.

I've spent the last month examining my practices and interactions with the Elements. It's one of the core pieces of magic I teach in the Reclaiming Tradition. I revisit this work every so often as a teacher and as a student. In my last three articles I've chronicled my explorations with Air, my connections with Fire and my dive into Water. I'm turning now to the Earth.

So, last week I skipped my Pagan Experience post. Partly because I was in full production mode over at FiberWytch (still am, in fact), which tends to make me feel overwhelmed; as I still work at an outside job part time, and I have invisible illnesses, multitasking can be a challenge. I also have a tendency to become nonverbal when working full steam ahead on crafting projects. But if I’m going to be honest, a bigger reason I skipped it was that my reaction on reading the prompt was more or less “meh.” Because as a godspouse and spirit worker, I’m a spirit-centered pagan, not an earth-centered one. Or so I told myself.