Dog days Dog days The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The English name is a calque of the Latin "" (."the puppy days"), itself a calque of the Greek "kynádes hēmérai" (, "dog days"). The Greeks knew the star α Canis Majoris by several names, including Sirius (,
Sirius Al-Jawza' (Sirius), which a group of Arabs used to worship." The alternate name "Aschere", used by Johann Bayer, is derived from this. In theosophy, it is believed the "Seven Stars of the Pleiades" transmit the spiritual energy of the Seven Rays from the "Galactic Logos" to the "Seven Stars of the Great Bear", then to Sirius. From there is it sent via the Sun to the god of Earth (Sanat Kumara), and finally through the seven Masters of the Seven Rays to the human race. The Dogon people are an ethnic group in Mali, West Africa, reported by some researchers