I wonder what the discussions were like when Northern Lights were first seen by people... even Fire for that matter. I bet when the Sun disappeared into the Ocean people were scared until it was reborn the next morning.
Spiral phenomenon could turn out to be conditional, like right time right place, occurrence as the poles move around and the 'norm' of the planets atmospheres becomes unnormal, like Lucas in his video mentioned.
'The Gods must be Crazy'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66pTPWg_wUw
Have a Coke and a smile.