section_path: In culture and religion
section_name: In culture and religion
paragraph_text: In culture and religion
  
  Clouds play an important mythical or non-scientific role in various cultures and religious traditions. The ancient Akkadians believed that the clouds (in meteorology, probably the supplementary feature mamma) were the breasts of the sky goddess Antu and that rain was milk from her breasts. In Exodus 13:21–22, Yahweh is described as guiding the Israelites through the desert in the form of a " pillar of cloud " by day and a " pillar of fire " by night. In Mandaeism, uthras (celestial beings) are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("clouds"; e.g., in Right Ginza Book 17, Chapter 1), which can also be interpreted as female consorts.
  
  The Cloud of Unknowing is a 14th-century work of Christian mysticism that advises a contemplative practice focused on experiencing God through love and "unknowing."
  
  In the ancient Greek comedy The Clouds, written by Aristophanes and first performed at the City Dionysia in 423 BC, the philosopher Socrates declares that the Clouds are the only true deities and tells the main character Strepsiades not to worship any deities other than the Clouds, but to pay homage to them alone. In the play, the Clouds change shape to reveal the true nature of whoever is looking at them, turning into centaurs at the sight of a long-haired politician, wolves at the sight of the embezzler Simon, deer at the sight of the coward Cleonymus, and mortal women at the sight of the effeminate informer Cleisthenes. They are hailed the source of inspiration to comic poets and philosophers; they are masters of rhetoric, regarding eloquence and sophistry alike as their "friends".
  
  In China, clouds are symbols of luck and happiness. Overlapping clouds (in meteorology, probably duplicatus clouds) are thought to imply eternal happiness and clouds of different colors are said to indicate "multiplied blessings".
  
  Informal cloud watching or cloud gazing is a popular activity involving watching the clouds and looking for shapes in them, a form of pareidolia.