Sky, Ocean, Land Country and Physics Connection
Light, Colour, and Story
Rainbows are among the world’s most captivating natural phenomena — arcs of light that appear when sunlight meets rain, bridging science and spirit. They are physical expressions of light’s behaviour and cultural symbols of renewal and connection. For Indigenous peoples of Victoria, rainbows hold deep significance: they are tied to ancestral beings, water cycles, and sky law, embodying the unity of sun, water, and Country. Across cultures worldwide, rainbows appear in myths of creation and promise, linking the physical and metaphysical worlds.
The Science of Rainbows
Formation and Optics
A rainbow forms when sunlight enters a raindrop, slows, and bends (refracts), then reflects off the inner surface and exits at a new angle.
Each wavelength of light refracts slightly differently, separating white light into its spectral colours.
Red bends the least (longer wavelength, ~700 nm)
Violet bends the most (shorter wavelength, ~400 nm)
This differential bending produces the characteristic order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet — the visible spectrum first classified by Isaac Newton (1704) in Opticks.
Secondary and Rare Rainbows
Sometimes light reflects twice inside droplets, producing a secondary rainbow with reversed colours and fainter intensity. Other rare variants include:
Moonbows – formed by moonlight.
Fogbows – diffuse white arcs caused by tiny mist droplets.
Supernumerary rainbows – extra faint bands from light wave interference (Bohren & Clothiaux, 2006).
Physics Meets Perception
Rainbows are not physical objects; they exist where light, water, and an observer’s eye align. The angle of refraction (~42°) determines the radius of the arc. This means no two observers see the same rainbow — each perspective produces a unique, personal phenomenon (Descartes, 1637).
Colour, Earth, and Sky
Rainbows unite sunlight (fire), water, and air, symbolising the balance of natural elements. The arc appears to touch the ground, linking sky and earth, mirroring spiritual beliefs that the heavens and the land are inseparable.
Scientifically, each colour corresponds to a distinct wavelength, yet together they form continuous light — a fitting metaphor for unity within diversity.
In Indigenous worldviews, this connection is not metaphorical but lived: light, water, and land are interdependent manifestations of Country’s life force (Rose, 1996).
Rainbows in Indigenous Victoria
Ancestral Beings and Water Law
Across Indigenous Australia, rainbows are embodied by powerful water and creation beings — sometimes called the Rainbow Serpent or rainbow spirits.
In Victoria, these beings are connected to waterways, rain, and fertility, symbolising both life-giving forces and warnings of respect.
Among the Kulin Nations, rainbows relate to the cycles of rain, renewal, and growth, embodying balance between sky Country and water Country (Clark, 1990).
Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri stories link rainbows to spiritual protection — appearing after storms to signal peace, while also reminding people of their duty to care for rivers and wetlands.
In some traditions, the rainbow spirit guards sacred waterholes, appearing when disturbed or during cleansing rain (Pascoe, 2014; Clarke, 2007).
Colour of Country
The seven colours of the rainbow correspond with the colours of Country — ochres, clays, plants, and skies — representing the spectrum of life. Just as each colour of light has a frequency, each part of Country carries its own vibration and responsibility.
For Indigenous knowledge holders, reading the colours of a rainbow is part of reading seasonal signs and weather patterns — a way of understanding sky law (Norris & Hamacher, 2014).
Rainbows in Global Cultural Perspectives
Rainbows appear across the world’s mythologies, revealing humanity’s shared wonder at light and renewal:
Māori (Aotearoa/New Zealand): Uenuku, the rainbow god, bridges the human and divine realms, symbolising connection between rain and fertility (Durie, 1998).
Norse mythology: Bifröst is the glowing rainbow bridge linking Midgard (Earth) and Asgard (realm of gods).
Greek myth: Iris, the messenger goddess, travelled between heaven and earth on the rainbow.
Biblical tradition: The rainbow after the flood represents a covenant of peace between heaven and Earth (Genesis 9:13).
Yolŋu (Arnhem Land): The rainbow spirit Ngalyod embodies the life-giving force of rain and the sacredness of water (Morphy, 1991).
These traditions, like those of Victorian First Peoples, recognise the rainbow as both natural phenomenon and cosmic sign, linking physical light with moral and spiritual law.
Rainbows in Modern Understanding
Symbols of Renewal and Diversity
Today, rainbows continue to inspire science, art, and social meaning:
In science education, they illustrate optics, meteorology, and the spectrum of visible light.
In art, they symbolise imagination, transformation, and healing.
In society, the rainbow has become a global emblem of hope, peace, and diversity, notably adopted by LGBTQIA+ movements to represent inclusiveness and equality.
The persistence of the rainbow as a symbol across millennia highlights its universal resonance — an interplay of natural law and human meaning.
Conclusion
Rainbows are bridges between light and life, science and story. They unite the laws of physics with the laws of Country. In Victoria, rainbows are signs of balance and care — visual expressions of how sky, water, and land sustain one another. They remind us that knowledge is most powerful when seen in colour: not divided between Western science and Indigenous story, but refracted through both.
As the rainbow arcs across the sky after rain, it also arcs across human understanding — connecting ancient eyes with modern science, and the heart of Country with the physics of light.
References
Bohren, C.F. & Clothiaux, E.E. (2006). Fundamentals of Atmospheric Radiation. Hoboken: Wiley.
Clarke, P. (2007). Aboriginal People and Their Plants. Sydney: Rosenberg Publishing.
Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.
Descartes, R. (1637). Discourse on the Method. Leiden.
Durie, M. (1998). Te Mana, Te Kāwanatanga: The Politics of Māori Self-Determination. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
Hamacher, D. & Norris, R. (2014). ‘Australian Aboriginal Astronomy.’ In Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. New York: Springer.
Morphy, H. (1991). Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Newton, I. (1704). Opticks: or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections & Colours of Light. London.
Norris, R. & Hamacher, D. (2014). ‘Australian Aboriginal Astronomy.’ Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. Springer, New York.
Pascoe, B. (2014). Dark Emu: Black Seeds – Agriculture or Accident? Broome: Magabala Books.
Rose, D.B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
UNESCO (2019). Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Science of Light. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
Copyright of MLA – 2025
Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.