Introduction to Constellations
Introduction
Wikipedia
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere
in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived outline or pattern,
typically representing an animal,
mythological subject, or inanimate object ...
In the days when people could neither read or write,
the sky was used as a blackboard,
where pictures were overlaid onto star patterns.
In those paperless days, constellations were used
as a means of teaching symbols,
myths and morals, and used for navigation.
The symbols and myths helped people to remember the lessons
they were being taught,
but also the remembered pattern helped people find
their way in the pathless, roadless countryside -
A time when there were no books, no maps, no sea charts,
no method of finding your way around except by using the sky.
The origins of the earliest constellations go back to prehistory.
Different cultures and countries adopted their own constellations,
some of which lasted into the early 20th century
before today's constellations were internationally recognized.
The Sumerians were one of the first civilizations in the world,
along with ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley civilization,
the Minoan civilization, and ancient China to develop such systems.
And all had their own constellations
predating the earliest texts for example, Uruk and Jemdet Nasr,
developed as system dating back to between c. 3500 and c. 3000 BC.
Furthermore, the recognition of constellations
has changed significantly over time.
Many changed in size or shape.
Some became popular, only to drop into obscurity.
Some were limited to a single culture or nation.
We think of the Signs of the Zodiac, when constellations are mentioned.
But the Zodiac constellations are just 12 of myriads
that once existed when skies were clear
and eyesight undamaged by too much close work.
Wikipedia
The origins of the zodiac remain historically uncertain;
its astrological divisions became prominent around c. 400 BC
in Babylonian or Chaldean astronomy.
The 48 traditional Western constellations
were in Aratus' work Phenomena and Ptolemy's Almagest,
though their origin probably predates these works by several centuries.
Constellations in the far southern sky were added from the 15th century
until the mid-18th century when European explorers
began traveling to the Southern Hemisphere.
In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
formally accepted the modern list of 88 constellations,
and in 1928 adopted official constellation boundaries
that together cover the entire celestial sphere.
Any given point in a celestial coordinate system
lies in one of the modern constellations.
Today these constellations are a hotch potch of animals from myth,
gods and goddesses and modern day objects.
But at one time, the sky and its stars were the means of entertainment,
a means of explaining morals and an essential navigation aid.
Star signs and Sacred Geography
Men of old did not use signposts to point the way to places,
they used carved stones to give directions.
One of the most significant mystic systems was that of the Picts,
and their carved stones and structures
provided lots of information about constellations -
incorporating Totems [clans] that were constellations -
for example, this is the Boar country.
Totem groups and constellations once aligned and it is clear
that different constellation names were used from those we use now.
Cup marked stones are BOTH ley maps AND Constellation maps.
They diagrammatically represent a star constellation,
but at the same time that star constellation
has been physically marked out on the earth,
using sacred sites, mark stones, ley lines,
and so on with the exact proportions that occur
in the constellation were chiselled out - as above so below.
We can thus state that Sacred geography is representing heaven
and its constellations here on earth.
Example Constellations, their meaning and the playlist
Given the number of constellations and their changing nature,
it would be impractical to provide videos
for the many that are documented now,
if only because many of the newer ones
have no symbolic or mythical meaning.
But we have provided a small selection,
in order of their constellation name mostly based on Ptolemy’s list
but with the additions of Crux, Ansere and Vulpecula,
Talitha and Berenice’s hair.
Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Perseus
- Andromeda is also known as the "chained lady".
Her mother was called Cassiopeia and she is also a constellation.
Her father was known as Cepheus, yet another constellation.
And the hero in the story is Perseus - another constellation.
We have a video in the Playlist entitled Thrones,
Kings, Queens and the Story of Andromeda.
An Ara is an altar. We have a video in the playlist entitled
The Symbolism of Altars, Incense and the Ara constellation.
Argo Navis - the mythical ship Argo.
Jason uses the ship as his means of transport
in his search to find the golden fleece.
As such the constellation is described in two videos
Ship - the Symbolism of Boats
And Fleece is found in the Symbolism of Sheep and Wool
Auriga - the charioteer. We have a video in the playlist entitled
The Symbolism of the Chariot.
Berenice’s hair - We have a video in the playlist entitled
The Symbolism of Hair.
It is not a Ptolemaic constellation but was introduced
during the third century BC by Conon of Samos.
Canis Major and Minor - both Dog constellations.
We have a video in the playlist entitled the Symbolism of the Dog.
Cetus - "the whale" in English.
Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology.
We have a video on The symbolism of the whale in the Playlist.
Corona Borealis and Corona Australis - the crown.
We have a video that mentions this constellation
The Symbolism of Palaces, Kites and Crowns.
Crater or Krater - The cup.
Crater's name is the latinization of the Greek krater.
We have a video in the playlist entitled
The Symbolism of Rivers and streams,
the Chalice, the cup and the Holy Grail.
Crux or Crucis - The Cross.
The Crux is a constellation of the southern sky
that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism
commonly known as the Southern Cross.
It is not a Ptolemaic constellation,
but described in the 1603, Uranometria.
We have a video in the playlist describing the Cross in general called
The Symbolism of the Cross and the Mandala.
Cygnus - the Swan constellation.
We have a video in the playlist describing the Swan in general
entitled The symbolism of the Swan.
Delphinus - the Dolphin. We have a video in the playlist
for this constellation The Symbolism of the Dolphin.
Dracos - the dragon. We have a video in the playlist
for this constellation The Dragon of Wantley.
Equuleus - the horse or pony. We have a video in the playlist
for this constellation The Symbolism of the Horse.
Eridanus - River. We have a video in the playlist for this constellation
and have given it the more general title
The Symbolism of Rivers and streams.
Lepus - the hare; we have a video in the playlist for this constellation
and have given it the more general title The Symbolism of the Hare.
Lupus - the wolf. We have a video in the playlist for this constellation,
but this video shows how an originally positive shamanic symbol,
could be redrawn to be negative.
We have given it the more general title The Symbolism of the Wolf.
Pegasus - Pegasus was a winged horse
and we have described Pegasus within the more general video
we have in the playlist entitled The Symbolism of the Horse.
It also appears as the bearer of the hero Perseus
in the story of Andromeda.
Serpens - the Serpent or snake.
We have a video in the playlist for this constellation
and have given it the more general title The Symbolism of the Snake.
Talitha - The Third Leap of the Gazelle - Talitha is the name of two stars,
Talitha Borealis and Talitha Australis.
The constellation is not Ptolemaic, but shows
how constellation boundaries could be moved and renamed.
We have a video in the playlist for this constellation called
The Symbolism of the Antelope and Gazelle.
Vulpecula cum Ansere - This is not a Ptolemaic constellation
but in the 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum,
is known as Vulpecula cum Ansere.
Vulpecula - is the Fox constellation. And we have a video
in the playlist entitled The Symbolism of the Fox.
And Ansere - is the goose that the fox holds in its jaws.
We have one video in the playlist
entitled the Symbolism of the Goose.
Constellations not covered - Ptolemy
Rather than overwhelm the playlist with constellations,
the video description [below] shows the constellations
that were recognised by Ptolemy around 2000 years ago,
for which we have no video but can provide links to symbols.
Argo Navis is the only constellation from the astronomer/astrologer
Ptolemy's original list of 48 constellations
that is no longer officially recognized.
Claudius Ptolemy (c.100 - c.170 CE) lived in Alexandria, Egypt.
He "wrote in ancient Greek
and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data.
He might have been a Roman citizen, but was ethnically either a Greek
or at least a Hellenized Egyptian under Greek rule."
Ptolemy was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer,
and music theorist in the days when astrology and astronomy
were not separate disciplines.
The Library at Alexandria - a resource of the Egyptian Mysteries
- was "accidentally burned" by Julius Caesar
during his civil war in 48 BC,
but it is unclear how much was actually destroyed.
Despite the modern belief that it was cataclysmically destroyed,
there is also a belief that all was not destroyed and that
it further declined as the Mysteries were replaced with Christianity.
Given Ptolemy's birth date, he may only have managed to salvage
a small number of the original constellations recorded in the library.
Nevertheless, his is one of the earliest records of the constellations
and these constellations contain a wealth of symbolic
and mythical content.
He wrote a number of scientific treatises, one of which
was the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest,
although it was originally entitled
the Mathēmatikē Syntaxis or Mathematical Treatise,
and later known as The Greatest Treatise.
Another of which was the astrological treatise
in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology
to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.
This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika (lit. "On the Effects")
but more commonly known as the Tetrábiblos,
meaning "The Four Books".
Wikipedia
Unlike most ancient Greek mathematicians,
Ptolemy's writings (foremost the Almagest)
never ceased to be copied or commented upon,
both in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages.
However, it is likely that only a few truly mastered
the mathematics necessary to understand his works.
Aratus
Aratus (c. 315 BC/310 BC - 240 BC) was actually a Greek didactic poet.
His major extant work is his hexameter poem
Phenomena (Greek: ),
which describes the constellations and other celestial phenomena.
The first half of this poem is a verse setting of a lost work
of the same name by Eudoxus of Cnidus.
So it is certainly one of the earliest descriptions
of the constellations in place at the time.
It is not astronomically accurate because that was not its purpose.
His poem was very popular in the Greek and Roman world,
as is proved by the large number of commentaries
and Latin translations, some of which survive.
Aratus concentrates on the constellations surrounding the North Pole
- Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, and Cepheus,
whilst Orion serves as a point of departure for those to the south.
He uses an earth centric model and presumes the immobility of the Earth,
and the revolution of the sky about a fixed axis.
The opening of the poem asserts the dependence of all things upon Zeus.
In Summary
The historical records of Constellations compiled by Ptolemy,
or Aratus, engraved in stone by the Picts
with the Mysteries in the Orkneys and Scotland,
and the records of the skies made by Eastern astrologer/astronomers.
Can not only be used to date sites archaeologically,
but provide a marvellous compendium of the symbols
that were once prevalent across every Mystery.
And the myths that combined those symbols.
As such the skies provide an invaluable record of the beliefs of the time
and a storehouse of data which could be used by archaeologists.