Per aspera ad astra
Per aspera ad astra or Ad astra per aspera is a Latin phrase which means either "Through hardships to the stars", "A rough road leads to the stars" or "To the stars through difficulties". The phrase is one of many Latin sayings which use the expression Ad astra.
Various organizations and groups use this expression and its variants.
- Schools and Institutions:
- Motto of St Patrick's High School, Karachi, Pakistan, one of the oldest institutions in Pakistan.
- Motto of Colfe's School, UK.
- Motto of Mayfield Grammar School, UK
- Motto of Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC
- Motto of Woodville High School, Adelaide, South Australia
- Motto of Rotorua Boys High School, New Zealand.
- Motto of Lake View High School, Chicago, United States
- Motto of Macopin Middle School, West Milford, Nj
- Education and research:
- Colegiul National "Andrei Saguna" Brasov - PER ASPERA AD ASTRA[7]
- Pietersburg Hoerskool (Per aspera ad astra)[8]
- Trinity Prep in Winter Park, FL [9]
- California State University East Bay [10]
- Stevens Institute of Technology[11]
- Campbell University (Ad astra per aspera)[12]
- Greenhill School in Dallas, Texas[13]
- Albury High School (Ad Astra per aspera) [14]
- Dr Challoner's Grammar School (Ad astra per aspera)
- University High School in Fresno, California (Ad astra per aspera)
- Gravesend Grammar School for Girls (Kent, UK)
- Escuela Nacional de Música (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
- Immaculate Conception High School for Girls (Jamaica)
- Alexandru Papiu Ilarian High School[15] in Targu-Mures, Romania
- Andrei Mureșanu High School[16] in Bistrița, Romania
- The Mirman School, Los Angeles, CA (Ad Astra per aspera): www.mirman.org
- University of Tennessee Space Institute
- Keila-Joa Boarding School in Türisalu, Estonia (Per aspera ad astra..)[17]
- St. Paul's Girl's School, Milagiriya, Sri Lanka (Per aspera ad astra)
- Rotorua Boys' High School in Rotorua, New Zealand ("Ad astra per aspera")
- Mount Saint Michael Academy in Bronx, New York
- Miami Central High School in Miami, Florida ("Ad astra per aspera")
- Stavanger Cathedral School a Norwegian upper secondary school in Stavanger, Norway ("Per aspera ad astra", and to a lesser extent "per ardua ad astra").
- Fraternities and sororities:
- Popular culture:
- Rip Torn says this phrase to David Bowie in the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth".
- Tomo Milicevic, of the band 30 Seconds to Mars, has a tattoo on his right forearm reading 'per aspera et astra', with the band's logo in the background in red.
- Popular Filipino comic writer Pol Medina, Jr. of Pugad Baboy fame
- Aspera! Per aspera! Per ardua! Ad astra! is the refrain of the song "Aspera" by Erin McKeown on the album We Will Become Like Birds.
- At the end of the credits of a Half-Life 2 mod called Riot Act
- Said by Neil Patrick Harris in episode 18, season 4 of the TV show, Doogie Howser, M.D.
- Title of a play depicting the history of the fictional Maycomb County in To Kill A Mockingbird, in which the translation is given as from the mud to the stars.
- Title of a song by Haggard, from the album Eppur Si Muove.
- The name of an album by Abandon Kansas.
- A line from the song "On Thin Ice" by Evereve, from the album Tried and Failed.
- It is one of many hidden messages in the 2009 video game The Conduit.
- Motto of the Martian Imperial Commandos in Kurt Vonnegut novel, The Sirens of Titan.
- Title of a song by Seattle based band Acceptance.
- Title of a song by Goasia, appearing on the album From Other Spaces (Suntrip records, 2007)
- Appears on Right side shoulder patch in Star Trek Enterprise; on the "newer" uniform style shown on the series finale.
- It is the name of an album by Stars of the Lid
- The official motto of Solforce in the videogame Sword of the Stars.
Variants
References