One of the first things we did when we first started studying astrology was the one we like to show our children as soon as their joy in the night sky begins to show. That's the fun of getting mussels. But discovering celestial bodies and using them to navigate in the sky is a discipline that goes back almost to man's exit. In fact, we have pictures of caves that show that the ancients could “see” the sky and show its value.
Millet was also important in culture and travel, long before we had complex navigation systems. Early explorers, especially at sea, rely exclusively on the night sky to help them find their way to their destination. In fact, when "Columbus sailed the blue sea in 1492" and "discovered" America, he could not have done without astronomy and space travel, much of which is happening because of important stars.
When we learn to find large galaxies in the sky, we use the “get one, get it all” system. That is because the easy-to-find constellation will guide us through all the others. That constellation is the Big Dipper. Look up at the northern sky on a clear night and expand your horizons from one horizon to the other. The interior will look like a large kitchen pot or ladle, right up in the fall, facing down in the spring.
If you control the big dip, you can easily find the North Star. This was the star that those ancient sailors relied heavily on for guidance to the land. Start with the far edge of the Big Dipper bowl, the side facing the handle. There are two stars that make up that side of the vessel. So start at the bottom of the pot and mentally draw a line across the top star of the container. These two stars “point” to the North Star. Just keep following that line, slightly bending the sky, the bright star to which you come is the North Star. You can make your friends or family happy if you know the scientific name of the star Polaris.
The North Star can then take you to The Little Dipper. The key here is that Polaris is the title of The Little Dipper handle, and the container hangs down on the handle as if it were hanging in the kitchen. Be patient, as the stars that make up The Little Dipper are darker than Dipper. But it is very good once you have it.
These are the obvious first places, but from The Little Dipper you can find a constellation known as "The Swan" or Cygnus. Just use the same system you used to find The North Star, but keep drawing that line that started with those stars, pointing to the bowl of The Big Dipper. Go about halfway through the journey to find Polaris, and you are there. You will see a trapezoid of as many stars as Big Dipper. This trapezoid forms the tail of the Swan.
The line we draw from the pointing stars is our guide to another well-known constellation called Cassiopeia. If you use that line and think you are less than two cursor stars, you will see a large "W" on the left side of the line. This is the constellation Cassiopeia, queen of the Egyptian king Cepheus, in Greek mythology. There are many amazing constellations you can find, and a beautiful star map can further your search.
Like Cassiopeia, all constellations contain good news and legends related to Greek culture. It is very interesting to find the stars themselves, as it is to enjoy the rich culture associated with that constellation. In every zodiac sign, for example, there is a constellation associated with the sky. So whether you are interested in astrology or not, it is fun to find a constellation related to your “sign” (or that of your children) and to see how the ancients related to these images in the sky.
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