In the Greek myths of the night sky, there are only three constellations representing human women (there are a few animals designated as female as well). I’ve discussed the Queen, Cassiopeia, but for Christmas Eve I’ll turn my gaze towards Cass’s daughter, and the goddess of the zodiac. It is interesting to note that both these constellations lie roughly on opposite sides of the sky. But unlike Orion and Scorpio, they are not enemies, rather I feel they are two sides of the same coin…young women who appear innocent, but who I think harbour great power.
First of all, we begin our night in the evening, just after sunset. Next to a boxy winged horse, and below her haughty mother the celestial queen Cassiopeia, a princess reclines. Some depict her as chained, but I like to think of her as freed from those chains, and ascended to the sky, subtle yet sovereign. She holds one of the treasures of the night sky, a distant island of billions of stars.
In Greek myth, the princess Andromeda was the daughter of Cassiopeia-a powerful queen who was known for her boasting-and she was chained to a cliff to be sacrificed to a whale-like monster. This was because her mother angered the gods by claiming that either she or her daughter was the most beautiful woman in the world. Either way, the consequences were not looking good for poor Andromeda. But thankfully the heroic Perseus, son of Zeus, flew in on winged sandals (or the back of the flying horse Pegasus, depending on who you ask). Seeing the princess about to be eaten, he turned the sea monster to stone with the eyes of Medusa, the snake haired gorgon whose head he had just lopped off, and that Perseus carried with him as a weapon. Then he rescued the princess from the chains and they were married soon after, and as a result he too is immortalised in the stars, his constellation is next to Andromeda. Her parents are also constellations close to her, so you have the whole (rather dysfunctional) family unit up there.
Andromeda is often seen as the first example of a ‘damsel in distress’ in literature, but I think she has a quiet yet powerful cosmic gift that elevates her and liberates her, that has put her name on the map. I am talking about the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, and this is the most distant celestial object that can be seen with the naked eye.
To find the Andromeda galaxy, there are two ways to locate it. One is to find the W shape of Cassiopeia’s stars and to look underneath the middle star where you’ll find a line of stars threading across the sky. The galaxy is between the W and the line of stars.The other way is to look for a large square of modestly bright stars-the Square of Pegasus-and look to the left for a line of three widely spaced, moderately bright stars. This is the constellation Andromeda the Princess. The galaxy is above the middle star.
We’ll return to the starry princess and her remarkable galaxy tomorrow.
The next constellation may require a little bit of staying up late or getting up early before the sunrise on Christmas Day, and if you can’t sleep (or if you have kids, they can’t sleep) let the Moon guide you. In a waning crescent phase, it is slipping through the constellation of Virgo the Maiden, or commonly the Virgin. Folks of a Christian background or upbringing will see an obvious link between this constellation and this particular night, and the lovely coincidence of the Moon being near her brightest star as Christmas Day dawns. But this maiden and her association with the divine pre-dates the Christian Nativity by thousands of years.
Virgo in the sky is another zodiac constellation, and she is the largest of the twelve, and the second largest of all constellations after Hydra. One star gives her away, and it’s a sign of springtime. That star is the bright blue Spica, and the Moon is right next to it so it’s even easier to spot. Spica is Latin for ear of wheat, and this star represents a stalk of wheat held by the maiden.
In Greek myth, one of Virgo’s stories is that of the goddess of justice, Astraea, also known as Dike. She once lived on earth during humanity’s golden age, and under her rule all was in harmony, no fighting, no disagreements. But then the humans started to argue, the arguments became battles, the battles turned to war, humanity’s unpleasantness began to show. Even the goddess who upheld harmony in the world couldn’t save them. Astraea was so fed up of how the humans acted, and she flew off into the sky, and turned into the Virgo constellation. I get this story, because who else hasn’t been so sick of other humans that they want to fly away elsewhere, or retreat into the woods? Ok there are plenty of fabulous humans I love to spend time with, but I’m a huge fan of solitude, a little bit (a lot?) of me-time, and there is much to be said about reducing exposure to social media and the endless feed of news (where the ills of the world are constantly shoved in one’s face) for one’s mental health! Little wonder that the Tarot card of the Hermit is linked to Virgo.
Virgo was also associated with both Demeter and Persephone, both goddesses that ruled over the seasons. You’re probably familiar with the story of Persephone’s abduction into the underworld to become the wife of Hades, god of the dead, and how her mother Demeter brought winter upon the world in her sadness. There was a compromise, Persephone was doomed to spend six months of the year with him as a result of eating the forbidden pomegranate, but was able to be with her mother for the other six months. Well this story plays out in the stars too. Virgo is a constellation that is most prominent on spring nights into summer, and by Lammas (August 1), she starts to fade away and at the September equinox she has slipped behind the sun. This marks the arrival of autumn and eventually winter. This can be seen as either Persephone returning to Hades, or Demeter initiating the harvest season, with her gifts of wheat and wine, before she mourns the loss of her daughter.
Like the other signs of the zodiac, Virgo has roots older than the Greek stories, and she has been seen as many great goddesses including Isis and Astarte. The Babylonians called her the goddess of grain and her constellation was a furrow in the sky. In India she represents a young maiden as well, and Spica is called the Pearl or Lamp. In more modern times, Spica features as a star on the Brazilian flag, along with the constellations of the southern hemisphere.
One more thing if you’re up very early in the morning or are admiring the Moon and Spica, look out for a little planet, for dawn on Christmas Day just happens to coincide with a special appearance of Mercury. The smallest and closest planet to the Sun undergoes what is known as ‘greatest western elongation’ but I think this term is a little confusing. So I’m calling it ‘greatest morning elongation’. This means it is at its highest in the sky in the pre-dawn, but it’s not very high up and a lot less bright than Venus or Jupiter-you will need a clear east horizon to see Mercury about an hour before dawn, popping up like a sprightly elf in the southeast and then disappearing as the Sun comes up. (I strongly advise against using optical aids here, because if you catch the Sun rising through binoculars or a telescope, you will seriously and permanently damage your eyes!)
If you spot Mercury, and have seen the other planets mentioned in previous instalments, you will have seen all five naked eye planets of the solar system during this time.
Prompts:
Inspired by Andromeda: what do you need to let go of before 2025? How can you release yourself from anything restricting you so you can enter the new year feeling unburdened?
Inspired by Virgo, this great goddess figure in the sky symbolised abundance and the bounties of nature. So tonight’s prompt is one of gratitude. What are you thankful for this past year?