The rainbow has a place in culture owing to its beauty and the historical difficulty in explaining the phenomenon.
In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven.
In some traditions of Tibetan Buddhism or Dzogchen, a rainbow body is believed to be attainable through practice.
In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours.
The Irish leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold is usually said to be at the end of the rainbow. This place is impossible to reach, because the rainbow is an optical effect which depends on the location of the viewer. When walking towards the end of a rainbow, it will appear to "move" further away (two people who simultaneously observe a rainbow at different locations will disagree about where a rainbow is).
In the Bible's Genesis flood narrative, after creating a flood to wash away humanity's corruption, God put the rainbow in the sky as the sign of his promise that he would never again destroy the earth with flood (Genesis 9:13–17).
Rabbinic Judaism learns from this portion of the Bible that rainbows are a symbol of divine anger and patience. On the occasion of seeing a rainbow, a blessing is said, thanking God for promising to never again flood the world. As well, there were certain Rabbis who never had rainbows appear in their lifetimes, such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints founder and prophet Joseph Smith stated that the second coming of the Christ would not occur in any year in which a rainbow is seen.
In the Dreamtime of Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Serpent is the deity governing water.
In Amazonian cultures, rainbows have long been associated with malign spirits that cause harm, such as miscarriages and (especially) skin problems. In the Amuesha language of central Peru, certain diseases are called ayona’achartan, meaning "the rainbow hurt my skin". A tradition of closing one's mouth at the sight of a rainbow in order to avoid disease appears to pre-date the Incan empire.
In New Age and Hindu philosophy, the seven colours of the rainbow represent the seven chakras, from the first chakra (red) to the seventh chakra (violet).
fav
Nicely captured rainbow.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I was fortunate to get this rainbow against a dark cloud background, emphasising its colours.
Ian