Recently for a group ritual I wrote a story about the many myths surrounding the Constellation of Orion. I thought I would put it up to share!
Orion is a great star constellation recognized in cultures all around the world. These brilliant stars in The Northern Hemisphere are only visible in the night from November to February. But the Earth one day will see several of its stars explode and be visible in the day time.
People across the Earth have recognized the power of Orion’s constellation. The first records we have are from the late bronze age in Babylon, where the stars were known as a Heavenly Shepard of Anu. Anu is the chef gods of all things, and Orion his messenger, sometimes depicted as a walking cock or a bird.
The Egyptians aligned Orion with the god of rebirth Osirus, the consort of Isis. Once upon a time a pharoah was said to eat his mortal enemies to steal their magic, becoming so powerfu as to eat the gods and to climb into the stars forever as Orion.
People in America also saw power in these stars. The Chippewa Native Americans called him the Winter Maker as its appearance in November signified the winter’s approach. The Lakona Native Americans saw the belt as a spine of a great bison in the sky. The Seri people of New Mexico called the three belt stars Hapj or Hunter, and the middle star represented a slain deer dripping blood onto Tiburon Island.
In China half a world away Orion was known as Shen meaning three, and it’s chracter contains three stars over a man’s head.
The Rigvedam a sacred Sanskrit text refered to the stars as Mriga, the Deer.
In Hungary, Orion was known as a magic Archer or Reaper, the greatest hunter and father of strong men. He carried a bow, a scythe, or a Judge’s stick.
And finally in Greece, from which the name of Orion comes, Orion was blinded by the father of a woman he loved with jealous rage, but he recovered his sight to hunt with the help of the smith Hephaestus and the sungod Helios. He hunted with Artemis and threatened to kill every animal on Earth. Some tales say he died by the sting of the giant scorpion sent by Gaea. Others say Artemis fell so in love with him, that her brother in his jealousy challenged her to shoot a far off target which turned out to be her lovers head. But a theme is that the powers that be would not allow Orion’s plan to succeed, that great power needs balance or it ends in destruction and death. But still he was brought to the sky. Odysseus spies Orion in the underworld where he tells his story of heroism and everlasting life .
As the summer returns to earth let us remember the power of Orion, the passion, the purpose, the fire, the strength, the will, the drive to accomplish our goals, and how even when overshadowed by the light of the day, this power will always live on.
