For the last 6 days it has rained and rained and rained. Finally the rain broke giving way to the sunshine, cold wind and petrichor.
Petrichor is the term given to the smell of rain upon the hot earth. It has a very peculiar smell, that fills the nostrils with pleasure and the ambrosia that was once mythically thought to the the liquid that flowed in the veins of the ancient Gods. Its a magical smell that the perfume manufacturers have attempted to harness for decades.
Yes I am a pluviophile, a lover of rain and find joy in the peace of mind that comes with rainy days. But is there a science behind it or is it simply spiritually grounding? Both. Nature does not do anything without reason. So rain is in fact manufactured in the clouds by bacteria. These little extremophiles are carried up to high altitudes from the earth through evaporation and wind currents, and assist in creating weather.
The petrichor, or smell of rain is not of the rain itself but it is the moment the rain drops hit an arid land that the magic unfolds, as the rainwater releases these weary traveling organisms and those within the earth that mix with the smell of plant oils and the ozone… magic fills the air.
This was understood by Australian scientists in 1960 who discovered this phenomenon and later many have attempted to bottle this scent, but this was investigated as early as the 1916 timeline. So geosmin, a molecule produced by streptomycin bacteria is released into the air after water touches the ground. Our senses pick up this primal smell. Lightning creates the scent of ozone as it thrashes around actually cleaning up the air quality by charging dust particles.
These smells are from an ancient time of our ancestors when we needed rain for survival. Yet from a spiritual perspective the smell of rain connects us back to all the elements of nature, connecting us back to the wholeness of nature. It is grounding. It is healing. No matter your troubles, petrichor is healing, and the seem to temporarily interrupt the electrical flow of our doubts, fears and troubles and pause the turbulence. Our nervous system comes back on line after being briefly reset.
Many ancient cultures and even tribal societies do rain dancing not to just summon the rain but help with healing using nature. Humans are exceptionally sensitive to the smell of rain, more than most animals in fact.
Maybe I am old fashioned but I love “dancing in the rain”, as the thunderstorms and lightning liven the air and the falling rain rejuvenates my senses. For me rain is holotropic, moving toward wholeness. Do you like the rain?
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I love you
