POSSIBLE BROCKEN SPECTRES IN ROCK ART:

 

Brocken Spectre. Internet photograph, public domain.

Brocken Spectre. Photograph by Chris Augliera, public domain.

For many years I have been interested in portrayals of natural phenomena in rock art, particularly atmospheric and meteorological phenomena. On 30 September 2009, I published a column titled “Headdress or Halo? – Heiligenshein In Rock Art” (Faris 2009) in which I speculated about the possibility of the phenomenon known as Heiligenshein (or Holy Light) being the inspiration for some rock art anthropomorphs with arcs or halos around their heads. A related phenomenon, the Brocken Spectre, might also be the inspiration for such portrayals. Ineed, the Brocken Spectre, when viewed, is often accompanied by heiligenschein.

Possible brocken spectre portrayal, Vantage, Kittitas County, Washington. Photograph Peter Faris, August 1983.

“Brockengespenst, also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre, or spectre of the Brocken is the magnified (and apparently enourmous) shadow of an observer cast in mid air upon any type of cloud opposite a strong light source. Additionally if the cloud consists of water droplets backscattered a bright area called heiligenschein and halo-like rings of rainbow coloured light called a glory can be seen around the head of aperture silhouette of the spectre. Typically the spectre appears in sunlight opposite to the Sun’s direction at the antisolar point.” (Wikipedia)

Possible brocken spectre, Mesa Prieta, Lyden, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 14 May 1997.

Figure in center with possible brocken spectre portrayal. Nine-Mile Canyon, Utah. Photograph by Paul and Joy Smith.

“The phenomenon can appear on any misty mountainside, cloud bank, or from an aeroplane, but the frequent fogs and low-altitude accessibility of the Brocken, a peak in the Harz Mountains in Germany, have created a local legend from which the phenomenon draws its name. The Brocken spectre was observed and described by Johann Silberschlag in 1780, and has since been recorded often in literature about the region.” (Wikipedia) Although it may be relatively common in the Harz Mountains, the meteorological conditions to produce this would be rare in most regions, and the less common the occurrence the more remarkable it would seem when it does occur. I submit, this is exactly the kind of experience that a person would wish to record on the rock.

Red Rocks Arizona. Photograph Paul and Joy Foster.

Homolovi, Arizona. Photograph by Paul and Joy Foster.

“The ‘spectre’ appears when the sun shines from behind the observer, who is looking down from a ridge or peak into mist or fog. The light projects their shadow through the mist, often in a triangular shape due to perspective. The apparent magnification of size of the shadow is an optical illusion that occurs when the observer judges their shadow on relatively nearby clouds to be at the same distance as faraway land objects seen through gaps in the clouds, or when there are no reference points by which to judge its size. The shadow also falls on water droplets of varying distances from the eye, confusing depth perception. The ghost can appear to move (sometimes suddenly) because of the movement of the cloud layer and variations in density within the cloud.” (Wikipedia)

Alex Patterson, Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest, 1992, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, p. 166.

Alex Patterson in his Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest (1992), illustrated a group of Barrier Canyon Style figures in Utah under a curved line that he identified as a rainbow (p. 166). I suggest that this may be inaccurate for a couple of reasons. First, the rainbow is seen on the far horizon. I cannot imagine a situation in which it would be seen in this close proximity to a person. And second, the rainbow is a circular arc, it would never be seen molding its contour to a group of figures in the manner illustrated. Remembering that the Brocken Spectre is accompanied by heiligenschein, I suggest, rather, that this might be a record of a small group of people who experienced the Brocken Spectre phenomena together.

Obviously I cannot prove that any of these examples were actually inspired by the phenomenon known as the "Brocken Spectre." So this is an exercise in surmise, the presentation of possibilities instead of known truths. Yet I wish to point out that, as I and many other researchers have stated before, it is likely that some rock art was created to record a remarkable or out of the ordinary experience, and viewing this phenomenon would certainly qualify as that.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. 

REFERENCES:

Faris, Peter, 2009, Headdress or Halo? – Heiligenshein In Rock Art, 30  September 2009, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search/label/heiligenschein

 

Patterson, Alex, 1992, A Field Guide To Rock Art Symbols Of The Greater Southwest, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado

 

Wikipedia, Brocken Spectre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocken_spectre, accessed on 4 October 2022.

HEADDRESS OR HALO? - HEILIGENSHEIN IN ROCK ART:

HEILIGENSCHEIN (HOLY LIGHT):

Heiligenschein, or holy light, is a subtle, yet amazing phenomenon in which observers facing away from the sun see their shadows with a lighter glow around their head than the basic background tone.

Dew heiligenschein, photo by the author. Victoria, B.C., 1995.

Wikipedia describes it as an “optical phenomenon which creates a bright spot around the shadow of the viewer's head. It is created when the surface on which the shadow falls has special optical characteristics. Dewy grass is known to exhibit these characteristics, and creates a Heiligenschein. Nearly spherical dew droplets act as lenses to focus the light on the surface beneath them. Some of this light 'backscatters’ in the direction of the sunlight as it passes back through the dew droplet. This makes the antisolar point appear the brightest."

Opposition effect halo in dead grass,
photographed by author, Aurora, CO,
February 2009.

"The opposition effect creates a similar halo effect, a bright spot of light around the viewer's head when the viewer is looking in the opposite direction of the sun, but is instead caused by shadows being hidden by the objects casting them.”

Figures with rayed headdresses, or
heiligenschein. Vantage, WA,
photographed by the author, 1983.

These phenomena are believed to be the cross-cultural cause of commonly portraying holy figures with a halo or spiritual glow around their heads so commonly found in the history of western art. If this was true for a number of religious beliefs world-wide why would we not assume that Native Americans would have also noticed this phenomenon and also portrayed it in their art. Rock art images that show figures with arcs or rays around their heads are usually identified as wearing headdresses, and I am sure that this is usually correct – but always? Would not an effect as striking as heiligenschein be just the sort of thing that we might expect to be recorded as a miraculous or spiritual event? If I were a Native American on my vision quest, and suddenly one morning I saw my shadow, cast by the rising sun and outlined by the bright glow of heiligenschein, might I not be justified in assuming that something powerfully spiritual had happened to me? And would I not want to record that marvelous event?

Heads with rayed headdresses, Yakima,
WA, photographed by the author, 1983.

As I said above we see reports of rock art figures with full headdresses, but we do not always know whether those cultures wore full headdresses. Some of our more psychically inclined colleagues see those same figures as displaying auras but this is a phenomenon that I have yet to see evidence for. I do think it that it is time that we try to explain the various features of rock art imagery based upon scientific truth when we can find it, and both heiligenshein and the opposition effect are scientific phenomena that I have both seen and photographed. I believe we need to keep it in mind as a possibility.

A beautiful book on atmospheric phenomena, optical and otherwise, is Robert Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, 1980, Cambridge University Press, London, New York. Illustrated with many photos and with explanations of the optics behind them, it may have insights into some rock art imagery otherwise unexplained.