Sirius, the Dog Star

Known as ‘The Shining One’ for its 1.5 magnitude radiance, Sirius is often one of the first stars visible in the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere, second only in brightness to the Sun; no pressure!

Located in the mouth of the Dog, in the constellation Canis Major, the Heliacal Rise of Sirius signalled the annual flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt, and its physical location in the sky gives it long associations with Orion, the hunter, and the Hare. As a guardian of thresholds, and a loyal companion, Sirius watches over the living and the dead.

Tonight as I was reading condolences for Lisa Marie Presley on the Graceland website, I noticed a link to the Graceland webcam. Curious, I gave it a shot and as I joined the 164 other people online in that moment, I noticed something moving near the front door. It wasn’t the spirit of Elvis, or Lisa Marie (or was it?)…it was a dog!

Read about Lisa Marie’s 2022 Solar Return & Presley family tragedy repeating

A dog can be seen sitting at the front door of Graceland at the time of Sirius rising over Memphis, Tuesday January 24th

As I watched it roam around the property and keep returning to the front door, I thought of Sirius and how Brady says in Celtic tradition the family dog was buried at the front door so it could continue to keep guard of the family…this then turned into the tradition of carrying the bride across the threshold so the Spirits would read her as a family member, not an intruder.

When I looked to see what phase Sirius was in, sure enough it was starting to rise over the eastern horizon in Memphis, TN. It was sitting at the door of its daily rebirth as the dog sat at the door of Graceland.

There are no coincidences, and dogs are the best! Try for yourself: Graceland cam can be viewed 24/7 here.

Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major, south-east of Orion. Image source: Stellarium

Only 8 light years away from us, Sirius is bigger than our Sun. January and February are good times to commune with the night sky and locate Sirius…or let it locate you! Best way is to find Orion, as most people tend to be able to recognise that, then look South-East. You can use the 3 stars in Orions Belt as pointers. If Jupiter, Mars, Venus or Mercury happen to be in its vicinity, you can distinguish it with a twinkle.

A dog can be seen sitting at the front door of Graceland at the time of Sirius rising over Memphis, Tuesday January 24th