Libra Horoscope for week of March 15, 2012

[Ian Livingston]

Guess I'll have to play with my stones this week, huh?

On Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 6:22 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
> Libra Horoscope for week of March 15, 2012
>
> How did the Vikings navigate their ships through rough northern seas
> on cloudy and foggy days? Medieval texts speak of the mysterious
> "sunstone," a "Viking compass" used to detect the hidden sun. Modern
> theories suggest that this technology may have been Iceland spar, a
> mineral that polarizes light, making it useful in plotting a course
> under overcast skies. Do you have anything like that, Libra? A
> navigational aid that guides your decisions when the sun's not out,
> metaphorically speaking? Now would be an excellent time to enhance
> your connection with whatever it is that can provide such power.
>
> http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/libra.html
>
> Iceland spar
>
> 126; Iceland spar is a calcite, which gets its name from "chalix" the
> Greek word for lime, a most amazing and yet, most common mineral. It
> is one of the most common minerals on the face of the Earth,
> comprising about 4% by weight of the Earth's crust and is formed in
> many different geological environments. Iceland spar is basically
> clear cleaved fragments of completely colorless (ice-like) calcite,
> originally discovered and named after Eskifjord, Iceland where the
> calcite is found in basalt cavities. This special form of calcite
> became highly prized among scientists and optical instrument makers
> because it is quite transparent (colorless) and flawless and occurs in
> huge crystals (up to 7 meters long). Iceland spar is also found in
> Mexico (Guanajuato), Siberia, Missouri and elsewhere, but the single
> deposit at Helgustaðir in eastern Iceland was the world's chief source
> from 1668 to the early 20th century. See this article in PDF format
> for an excellent account of the properties, importance and history of
> Iceland spar. This mineral best demonstrates the unique property of
> calcite called double refraction where, when a ray of light enters the
> crystal and due to calcite's unique optical properties, the ray is
> split into fast and slow beams. As these two beams exit the crystal
> they are bent into two different angles (known as angles of
> refraction) because the angle is affected by the speed of the beams. A
> person viewing into the crystal will see two images ... of everything.
> Note that the text of the dust jacket of the book is split into three,
> not two overlapping images. A strategic mineral during WWII used for
> the sighting equipment of bombardiers and gunners. See this website.
> There is a nifty Java applet here that demonstrates what Iceland Spar
> looks like when it refracts something and another here that shows
> actual Iceland Spar at work. Also of interest is the fact that some
> scientists and historians have argued that the "sunstone," a
> mysterious item that mentioned in Norse sagas which aided Viking
> sailors in navigation, might be Iceland Spar. There exists a page that
> lays out the basis of the theory, though without much detail as to how
> the process would work."The Book of..." 133; "paramorphoscopes of"
> 250; Schieferspath, 305-06; Zombini's, 355; aka espato or espanto,
> 375; double-refraction, 375; 387; 391; 437; 564; "expression in
> crystal form of Earth's velocity" 688;
>
> http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I
>
> Thomas Pynchon refers to the doubling property of Iceland spar in his
> 2006 novel Against the Day.  A section of the novel is entitled
> "Iceland Spar".
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_spar#In_literature
>
> Against the Day - Thomas Pynchon: Part 2, Iceland Spar
>
> http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/2009/06/against-day-thomas-pynchon-part-2.html



-- 
"Less than any man have I  excuse for prejudice; and I feel for all
creeds the warm sympathy of one who has come to learn that even the
trust in reason is a precarious faith, and that we are all fragments
of darkness groping for the sun. I know no more about the ultimates
than the simplest urchin in the streets." -- Will Durant