Rainbows, most would agree, are one of the most beautiful gifts found in nature. They are colorful, magical, and impossible to catch. They remind us of old stories between Gods and men, of magical creatures and natural wonder. The double rainbow is even more magical, and almost all cultures give positive meaning to seeing a double rainbow. 

Although rainbows can technically be found in a bottle of water or in a puddle, it is the double rainbows that fill the sky that take our breath away, and make people from all cultures, genders and creeds stop and take in the beauty.

A breathtaking double rainbow, Cancun, after stormy weather. 

'The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.' Dolly Parton 

The first song that comes to mind when we think of rainbows:

 

Scotland. A double rainbow appears over the Merse. Rainbows have always amazed man, which is why they appear in many stories - the story of Noah, the mythological rainbow bridge of the Norse gods, the folk tales of Ireland, the Greek mythologies had a messenger that traveled by rainbow, and many more... If anything looks like it came from heaven, rainbows are surely that. 

Over the burning man celebrations, a double rainbow appeared. In the desert, it always seems like the end of the rainbow is so close you can run to it. 

Pure happiness. The woman is standing in Wrangell-st Elias National Park in Alaska. This will probably be her favorite photo for years to come! 

Half of a double rainbow over the famous London Eye. "Nature’s natural color spectrum always elicits the same pattern (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) when light is refracted. While a primary rainbow is visible when light is reflected once off the back of a raindrop, a secondary and usually dimmer rainbow is spotted when light is reflected twice in a more complicated pattern.

The colors of the second rainbow are inverted, with blue on the outside and red moved to the inside. The second bow appears dimmer or cloudier because much more light is released from two reflections, and both bows cover a larger portion of the sky. It is rare and unlikely, but three or even four rainbows can be seen on occasion, but only if they are reflected off of the earthly objects," as described by Accuweather.

 

"And as he spoke of understanding, I looked up and saw the rainbow leap with flames of many colors over me." Black Elk 

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, Way up tall, There's a land where they've never heard of cholesterol." Allan Sherman 

Stac Pollaidh is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, and to see a rainbow here makes this place look like the birthplace of legend. Amazing. 

A rainbow reflected with the sunset in quiet waters, a calming and beautiful sight. 

"Every sunset should come with its own rainbow, never again would we be sad to see the sun go down." Anonymous 

What do the colors of the rainbow mean?

Well: RED is the first color and represents passion and energy. It is the color with the longest wavelength. ORANGE comes second, representing wisdom. Then comes YELLOW, which represents thought and decision making. GREEN comes after, the 4th and middle color, and as such represents harmony, balance, good health and growth. Then comes BLUE, the color of divinity, a soothing and relaxing color. INDIGO is next, which represents infinity, and last but not least is VIOLET, the 7th color. It is the beginning and end, representing a closed circle. The second rainbow has the exact opposite order of colors!

 

“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.” Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams 

Dare to dream in color. 

“Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain, but you can't make a rainbow without a little rain.” Anonymous 

North of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. According to the art and philosophy of Feng Shui, double rainbows "are considered symbolic of transformations in your life. The material world is represented by the first rainbow while the second rainbow is the spiritual world. Seeing a single rainbow is fairly common, so it is something we take for granted in the universe, but when we see a double rainbow we stop and take time to admire the wonder of the universe.” 

Rainbows: Making sunsets over beautiful beaches look even more magical. 

“Rainbows apologize for angry skies.” Sylvia Voirol 

A rainbow that seems to be going straight into the town of Girona in Spain. However, spectators standing right there will actually see the rainbow ending somewhere else. 

Canim Lake, British Columbia. The flames of the rainbow lighting up the calm, evening sky. 

Rainbows always seem to enhance the color of the world, so green looks greener, red looks redder, and everything looks more beautiful. 

A huge double rainbow over Costa Rica. 

A beautiful panorama of a double rainbow, Alaska. A sight like this, said the photographer of this photo, he will remember till the day he dies.  

The best time to view a rainbow in its full glory is either in the early morning hours or in the late afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky. The lower the sun, the higher the rainbow.