Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Course Six: Spectrum, Part 2 267

In the Southern Hemisphere, there is no South

Pole Star like Polaris. The closest thing is the South-

ern Cross, which is depicted on the flag of Australia.

As Earth’s Southern Hemisphere faces away from the

main disk of the galaxy, there are not very many bright

stars or constellations visible, and I don’t know of

any ancient stories attached to them. The Inca people

of Peru based their celestial mythology not on the

stars, but on dark patches in the Milky Way itself,

which is far more prominent in the southern sky. The

Magellanic Clouds (two small companion galaxies of

the Milky Way) are also visible near the South Celes-

tial Pole. However, the equatorial Zodiac is visible from

the South as well as the North.

The Brightest Stars

Stars are graded by orders of magnitude, the

brightest being 1st magnitude, and the very faintest 5th

magnitude. The brighter stars have all been given names

in Latin, Greek, or Arabic. There are 16 1st magnitude

stars visible in the Northern Hemisphere, and you

should learn to identify all of them, as these have been

used as celestial reference points through all of hu-

man history. In order of brightness, they are:

STAR CONSTELLATION COLOR DISTANCE

Sirius Canis Major (big dog) Bluish 8.5 light-years

Canopus Argo (Jason’s ship) Yellowish 650 light-years

Arcturus Bootes (herdsman) Orange 32 light-years

Vega Lyra (lyre or harp) Blue-white 23 light-years

Capella Auriga (charioteer) Yellowish 42 light-years

Rigel Orion (hunter) Blue-white 545 light-years

Procyon Canis Minor (little dog) Yellowish 10 light-years

Betelgeuse Orion (hunter) Reddish 300 light-years

Altair Aquilla (eagle) Yellowish 18 light-years

Aldebaran Taurus (bull) Reddish 54 light-years

Antares Scorpio (scorpion) Red 170 light-years

Spica Virgo (maiden) Bluish 190 light-years

Pollux Gemini (twins) Yellowish 31 light-years

Fomalhaut Pisces Austrinus (s. fish) White 27 light-years

Deneb Cygnus (swan) White 465 light-years

Regulus Leo (lion) Blue-white 70 light-years

Stories of the Constellations

Although we use their Latin names, the myths behind

the constellations date back to ancient Greece. At first,

most of the constellations were not associated with

any particular story, but were known simply as the

objects or animals which they represented. By the 5th

century BCE, however, most of the constellations had

come to be associated with myths, and the Catasterismi

of Eratosthenes (276–194 BCE) completed the mytho-

logization of the stars. Here are some of the best stories:

Perseus

No other story is so well-illustrated in the heav-

ens as that of Perseus and Andromeda, which is told

in the movie Clash of the Titans. King Cepheus and

Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia had a lovely daughter

named Andromeda. The vain queen foolishly bragged

that she was more beautiful than the Nereids (sea

nymphs), or even Hera, queen of the gods. The god-

desses were insulted, and complained to Poseidon, god

of the sea. Poseidon sent a monster (Cetus) to ravage

the coast, demanding the sacrifice of Andromeda to

call it off. The princess was chained to a rock by the

sea to await her doom. But just as Cetus appeared, so

did Perseus, son of Zeus, flying through the air with

the winged sandals of Hermes on his return from a

perilous mission. In a sack he carried the head of the

Gorgon Medusa, a hideous snake-haired monster

whose gaze petrified all who beheld her. When Perseus

had beheaded her (using his polished shield as a mir-

ror so as not to look into her eyes), Pegasus, the winged

horse, sprang from her bloody neck. Perseus showed

Medusa’s head to Cetus, who was instantly turned to

stone. Perseus and Andromeda were married and lived

happily ever after. In commemoration, the gods placed

all the main characters in the sky as constellations.

Orion

Orion’s father was the sea-god Poseidon, and his

mother was the great huntress Queen Euryale of the

Amazons. Inheriting her skills, Orion became the great-

est hunter in the world. Unfortunately, with his im-

mense strength came an immense ego, and he boasted

that no animal on earth could overcome him. Offended

by Orion’s vanity, Hera sent a little scorpion (Scorpio)

which stung Orion in the heel, killing him. With his

magickal serpent, Aesculapius the physician restored

Orion to life. But Hades, Lord of the Dead, complained

to his brother Zeus: What would become of his king-

dom if the dead could be resurrected by doctors? So

Zeus blasted both Orion and Aesculapius with his

thunderbolts. He then placed Orion in the sky, along

Queen

Cassiopeia

(her throne)

King

Cepheus

Princess

Andromeda

(chained)

Perseus

(the hero)

Cetus

(the sea

monster) Pegasus

6. Spectrum 2.p65 267 1/15/2004, 9:31 AM