“Go out and look: If you want to know the stars you have to go out as often as you can and look at the sky…The number of constellations is not overwhelming…If you know thirty constellations…you have a good working knowledge of the sky. Make the acquaintance of two or three each time you go out and you will soon be familiar with all thirty.” – H. A. Rey, The Stars: A New Way to See Them, p. 18, 20.
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If we visit an ancient site like New Grange in Ireland, StoneHenge in England, or the Adena and Hopewell Indian mounds in my home state of Ohio, we can see that ancient peoples saw themselves as living in relation to the moon, stars, and heavenly bodies. Traditions and rituals associated with solstice and equinox are not simply celebrations of the Earth, they are festivities recognizing the complex (and repeated) relational harmony of the Earth and its creatures to a greater universe beyond our bounds of understanding or observance. They are celebrations of vastness.
We live muted lives. Not “muted” as in unable to speak; no, we are quite noisy beings. We are “muted” as in muffled; we have put a damper on vastness. We speak little of the “light pollution” that has extinguished the stars overhead in our cities and suburbs, but the toxic consequences of this pollution are surely great. Amazing technologies enable us to explore the outreaches of our universe in ways unimaginable to previous generations. Ironically, our nightsky has been dimmed, so our eyes, minds, and hearts are less drawn to the heavens. Therefore, we are not moved with awe and wonder at the star-filled night.
It is no surprise that the constellations represented stories to our ancestors. To draw lines connecting dots of light in space, connecting these immense, blazing balls of fire, is to apply story and meaning to the unknowable vastness of the universe. Constellations represent myths and tales. Yet how many of us know the story of the Greek princess Andromeda, let alone the constellation tales of cultures beyond Greece and Rome? Even if we do know these stories, what relation do they have to the night sky? We are unable to see the dots of connection. The night sky has been dimmed.
There are probably state or national parks not too far distant from where you live.. What happens when we go camping with family or a few friends? You may not know many constellations or any stories associated with them, but, if you happen to camp on a clear night, you will probably look skywards more than you typically do. Take a moment and notice, in your body and mind, what you are feeling as you look up at that star soaked sky. Breathe in and out. Be mindful of what you are experiencing. It may be wonder and awe.
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Wonder and awe are food for storytellers. If a serious athlete must consume so many grams of protein, a formidable storyteller must taste a due measure of wonder. The starry sky was available to our ancestors each clear night of the year. Those of us living in cities and large towns are impoverished. We must seek the stars. So many souls are hungry. Be fed by the night sky.
(Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Sacred Earth.” )