AEC The Forge: Weather Vanes

Weather Vane History

The Weathervane - the enduring symbol of our dependence upon the wind and weather. Mankind has been testing the wind changes in weather and fortune for centuries. From raising a moistened finger to tossing blades of grass into the air, we have employed various methods for checking wind direction before embarking upon work or play.

By definition the weathervane, or weathercock as it is also called, is a figure that turns freely on a vertical rod and by virtue of its design, always points into the wind. Stated another way, the wind always comes from the direction in which the weathervane points.

Wherever people have settled, their reliance upon the weathervane has been as basic to them as grinding wheat for bread. The weathervane has always represented a simpler way of life, a life that is tied closely to nature. At the end of each day and with the dawning of the next, people have looked to the sky and studied the direction of their weathervane. They have plowed and sown, reaped and stored, worked and played, trusting the good directions of the wind that drove their fate.

Derived from the Old English word fane, meaning flag or banner, the weathervane was part of ancient cultures as early as 48 B.C. when a life-sized replica of the Greek god Triton was hoisted atop the Tower of Winds in Athens. Even then mankind realized that wind direction was the near certain indicator of weather patterns.

Now, as we've headed into a new millennium, people are forging a hole in cyberspace for things traditional: for reminders of a simpler time and a gentler pace, for a return to the garden and the deliberate timetable of nature, which won't be rushed or dictated to.