So I got to thinking recently.....I'm sure you have all discovered this is a dangerous pool for me to swim in......and I have this tendency to link... 2 Comments
So recently one of my old posts got ressurrected and tossed around :
http://noblepagan.com/wicca-86/sacred_space_your_altar-2776/
It was a... 7 Comments
Okay so here I am a practioner of Wicca for 17 years. A lot of you already know that though. This does NOT mean that I am the most Wiccany or Witchy... 9 Comments
After sharing The Spiritual Component of Autism (Pantheon) and reading the discussions that followed, I got to thinking about how medication effects... 4 Comments
So here I would like to educate (somewhat) on constellations. You know those deranged random spots and clusters of stars that are supposed to make pictures in the skies? Well they each have a story. I'll be touching base on the stories I know ( and hopefully some useful information where you can try your hand at spotting them too).
They are listed in no particular order just to let you know because I am cool like that.
Yes the pics here are home made.....
Anyways this squiggly fellow is Scorpious. He seems to be missing his arms (one tale tells how Julius Caesar lopped them off to make Libra). Anyways with some imagination you can see how this star formation makes a formidable looking Arachnid. Oooh!
Okay so the star searching info I am gonna give is for the Northern hemisphere and is as accurate as can be expected from a novice star gazer. The best time of year to check him out is July ( look to the south) and the easiest way to find him is that red star ( Antares). You can't miss that bugger wedged between the other two stars.
So once upon a time ago there was a big Scorpion. He was pretty bad ass. One day he heard a rumour that Orion was talking smack again.
And it was true.
Orion was a notorious hunter and would brag constantly about how great he was, when someone pointed out that he had yet to slay say Scorpious. So Orion started running his mouth about what a wimp Scorpious was and how easily he could take on a bug no matter how big.
Needless to say when this got to Scorpious' ears he was none too happy. So they searched each other out to do battle.
And battle they did indeed. In the end the Mighty Scorpious got in a winning sting right on Orion's foot! It hurt so badly that with pride in tow Orion fled the scene. And to this day he still runs from Scorpious ( who is still after Orion because he feels that the fight ain't over yet).
And that is why you won't see the two of them playing in the same skies together.......
Moving on and away from Trogdor the Burninator ( which is most awesome in its own right however does not have his own constellation) we will touch base on Orion.
This fellow is best seen in January. Look South/Southwest for him. His belt is the easiest way to find him (it's roughly 3 or 4 stars). If you can find the belt then his Masculine hourglass like body should more or less "pop" out at you.... and if you have really good eyesight ( or a telescope) check out the star that makes the left side of his belt. "Hanging" down off of it are 3 or 4 smaller stars which are said to be his dagger.
Okay so you know how Scorpious kicked Orion's butt. What's the deal with Orion?
Well one story goes that he fell in love with a gal named Menope ( she is one of the seven sisters who make up Pleiades....more on them in another post). She rejected his love. He became sad.
Some say this is why he called Scorpious out. Others say he was na paying attention and stepped on Scorpious and that is why Scorpious got so mad.
At any rate he was placed in the skies ( Zeus does like a talented hunter) with his two dogs and animals ( like Lepus the rabbit) to hunt.
Let us talk about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor or more commonly known as The Big Dipper and The Little Dipper.
These two are supposed to represent Bears. Why they have such long tails really is beyond me ( maybe they just don't make bears like they used to?). At any rate the big one is Ursa Major. Follow her nose and it leads you to the tippy tail of her cub. That tippy tail star is none other than Polaris! The North Star! Yup. If you can find these two in the skies you will never be lost. You can see this duo facing North ( yah figger right?) any time of the year.
Here is their story.
Once upon a time there was a fair maiden named Kallisto. Poor poor dear. She had no idea that her beauty had attracted the interest of Zeus. Hera noticed though and was quite irate about his attraction to Kallista and was going to kill her. Zeus found out about his wife's nefarious plot and intervened by turning her into a bear.
Kallista was horrified by the transformation! After all she was a rich lady and a beautiful mother ( did I mention she had a son?) and was absolutely terrified by bears and other beasts. She ran off into the forest and did no better there for even though she shared the form she did not share the lifestyle and so was shunned even by her new own kind.
All she could do was hover around the edges of the forest over the years watching her son grow from child to man.
One day he was out hunting and she was so proud of him and how he had grown that she came out of hiding to give him a loving embrace. Her son did not reconize her ( how could he? She was a frickin bear!) and instead drew forth to take her down (what a prize trophy this beast would make!).
Hera was loving this developement ( she never was one to easily relinquish a grudge) however Zeus had had enough of the sad drama and changed the son into a cub and placed both bears in the sky for safety.
Hera was pretty pissed about the whole thing and went to Neptune to complain about the whole ordeal. It seems Zeus was pretty much on the crapper list because Neptune also had a bone to pick with him. There was nothing he could do about getting the bears landbound again however he promised Hera that the two bears would never set paws in his seas.
And that is why they always circle above in the skies never settling into the horizon.
Back for more eh? Let's talk about Cygnus the great Swan.
This fellow is also known as the Northern Cross so I am betting here you wanna look North to find him. Oh yeah look for him in September (late in the eve).
Apollo the sun god was very proud that his son Phaethon was so eager to take his place in driving the Sun chariot across the sky, however he knew the boy still had a bit to learn. Phaethon though begged and pleaded and against his better judgement Apollo handed the reins over. It did not take the horses of the chariot to realize that the master at the reigns were not so experienced and gave him a hard time. To make matters worse he was driving them straight towards Scorpious! Well Scorpious stung one of the horses it freaked out and started bucking and as you can see terrible things were in the middle of eventing.
Phaethon fell from the chariot and plummeted into the Eridanus river. This would have been fine if Phaethon could swim.
His friend Cygnus was nearby and watched the whole thing in horror. As Phaethon hit the water Cygnus dived in to save him. The waters were strong though and though try as he might no matter how many times he fought the waters he could not save his friend.
Cygnus was beside himself in tears and grief. Zeus took pity upon him and changed him into the form of a swan (as Cygnus so resembled the swan with his attempted divings) and then placed him in the skies.
Constellations 
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