Heyoka Comet

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer – 2 hrs 50 mins ago

WASHINGTON – An odd, greenish
backward-flying comet is zipping by Earth this month, as it takes its only trip toward the sun from the farthest edges of the solar system. The comet is called Lulin, and there's a chance it can be seen with the naked eye — far from city lights, astronomers say. But you'll most likely need a telescope, or at least binoculars, to spot it. The best opportunity is just before dawn one-third of the way up the southern sky. It should be near Saturn and two bright stars, Spica and Regula.
On Monday at 10:43 p.m. EST, it will be 38 million miles from Earth, the closest it will ever get, according to Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's
Near Earth Object program.

The story behind the comet is more intriguing than its appearance — the greenish tinge may be hard for many to discern. The color comes from a type of carbon and cyanogen, a poisonous gas. Lulin was discovered by a Chinese teenager two years ago. It still has many of its original gases — gases that are usually stripped away as comets near the sun. Unlike most comets viewable from Earth, this one hasn't been this close to the sun before, Yeomans said.

While all the planets and most of the other objects in the solar system circle the sun counterclockwise, Lulin circles clockwise, said NASA astronomer Stephen Edberg. And thanks to an optical illusion, from Earth it appears as if the comet's tail is in the front as the comet approaches Earth and the sun.

"It essentially is going backwards through the solar system," he said. It came from the outskirts of the solar system, 18 trillion miles away. Once it's made the journey around the sun, Lulin will gain enough speed to escape the solar system, Edberg said.

"If you are interested in comets, make sure you see it," he said. "But it's not going to be a real great blast for the general public."
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I called Lulin the "Heyoka Comet" because of its appearance of moving backwards. I used to call Ben (my autistic son) the Heyoka. Around age 3 or so, he would walk backwards. Around the apartment, in his room, sometimes outside. He likes to do a number of things backwards. He'll watch an entire video running backwards. He seems to like to do things in reverse. Lately, he is in a "green" phase. He'll only want green-colored juice, he'll only eat green Skittles. He likes to wear green shirts.

When I looked up the Lulin comet, I discovered it is named for the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan (where it was discovered.) Lulin, as best translated by my paltry Mandarin etymological search, means "green wood." As noted above, the comet has a green color (due to the poisonous gases surrounding it.) Poisonous gases! That made me think of Wormwood, a bitter herb. That made me think of Revelations in the Bible. Revelation 8:11 specifically. I'll note the passage, after this look at the Heyoka (which is a "sacred clown." The Navajo word for clown is Heyoka.)

Heyoka
by Laughing Deer
A Lakota way of being, a medicine way. A Heyoka is one who does things backwards or opposite. The idea that Heyoka is a clown comes from the
opposite behavior; it is part of the medicine of Heyoka, to remind us we are merely human beings and not to become too serious about ourselves,
not to imagine we are more powerful than we really are, reminding us that Spirit holds all the power. In this day there are those among the Lakota
who pour Heyoka lodges, which are directed towards the West and full of laughter. If a Heyoka man messes up he has the Thunder Nation to deal
with. Spirit chooses who is Heyoka; it is a very difficult path to follow.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/heyoka.html

The word Heyoka refers to the Lakota concept of a contrarian, jester, satirist or sacred clown.

Heyoka are thought of as being backwards-forwards, upside-down, or contrary in nature. This spirit is often manifest by doing things backwards or
unconventionally -- riding a horse backwards, wearing clothes inside-out, or speaking in a backwards language. For example, if food were scarce, a
Heyoka would sit around and complain about how full he was; during a baking hot heat wave a Heyoka would shiver with cold and put on gloves and
cover himself with a thick blanket. Similarly, when it is 40 degrees below freezing he will wander around naked for hours complaining that it is too
hot.

A unique example is the famous Heyoka sacred clown called "the Straighten-Outer":
He was always running around with a hammer trying to flatten round and curvy things (soup bowls, eggs, wagon wheels, etc.), thus making them
straight.

The Heyoka symbolize and portray many aspects of the sacred, the Wakan. Their satire presents important questions by fooling around. They ask
difficult questions, and say things others are too afraid to say. By reading between the lines, the audience is able to think about things not usually
thought about, or to look at things in a different way.
Principally, the Heyoka functions both as a mirror and a teacher, using extreme behaviors to mirror others, thereby forcing them to examine their
own doubts, fears, hatreds, and weaknesses. Heyokas also have the power to heal emotional pain; such power comes from the experience of
shame--they sing of shameful events in their lives, beg for food, and live as clowns. They provoke laughter in distressing situations of despair and
provoke fear and chaos when people feel complacent and overly secure, to keep them from taking themselves too seriously or believing they are
more powerful than they are.

— John Fire Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, p250


(Hopi Heyoka "Koshare")

Revelation:
8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.