Realms of Faerie: Sky

On to the next element of the natural world! Today, our focus will be on sky, and everything wrapped up in it--clouds, stars, sun, moon, air.

Faith & the Sky

Psalm 19:1 really sets the stage for our whole discussion: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork."

Truly, the sky and air is an example par excellence of the beauty of God's creation. Just looking at the light and warmth of the sun, feeling the breath of wind on my cheek, everything points to God's mastery as Creator.

Psalm 147:4 says, "He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names." What a stunning example of God's power! Also a great idea for writing, too; giving stars names and valuing each individually could come in handy in a story!

Stars and sky can also be signs of future events--for example, the great star that heralded Christ's birth. However, we've got to remember that, as beautiful and powerful as the sky, sun, and stars are, they are mere reflections of God's glory and power (and not very good reflections, at that).

Writing & the Sky


The sky gives writers an amazing freedom to create and specialize. You've only got to put your imagination to work, and--voila!--the sky in your world is created, unique and important. A few tips, as usual:

1. Constellations ~ in any culture, stars and signs of the sky are important. They can represent that culture's great legends, and symbolize light and hope. C. S. Lewis created the constellations the ship, the leopard, and the hammer. J. R. R. Tolkien created many different named stars--Earendil's Star (attached to a very long legend, too), Valacirca, and many others.

2. Beings in the Heavens ~ C. S. Lewis created star-beings, which were stars that could assume a humanoid form and even marry (for example, Prince/King Caspian's wife was a star-being). Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time contains beings that used to be stars, but sacrificed their star-form and became other creatures in an effort to vanquish the dark. The possibilities are vast and varied, so create!

3. Clouds ~ Got any special formations? Deer-shaped? Special colors? Perhaps blue clouds represent coming evil?

4. Moon & Sun ~ One? Multiple? None? Try changing it up from the normal and expected. It might give that vital dash of life to a dragging story!

That's all for now, but don't be shy--dream and create!