Saturnalia, Christmas and Common Sense

A great morning for stargazing and one planet in particular was holding court. Saturn hung brightly in the southern sky between Virgo and Leo.

In astronomical terms Saturn is an impressive planet, the second largest in the solar system and girded by its famous rings. It also comes with as much religion and mythology as you could ask for on a crisp November morning.

Saturn featured very strongly in Roman religion as the harvest god, responsible for sowing, seed and most things agriculture. His festival, Saturnalia, was a time of much merriment and became the most celebrated of Roman festivals as tools were downed, slaves granted temporary freedom and 'certain moral restrictions were eased', and for all their seriousness in battle the Romans sure knew how to ease a moral restriction when they chose to. It was such a success that we are still feeling its partying power to this day. Saturnalia was originally celebrated on December 17th, but became a week long celebration and paved the way for our festivities at Christmas and New Year.

When Saturn was not busy doing all this he also lent his name to a day of the week, 'Saturday', from 'Saturni dies' in Latin.

While thinking this over I noticed something else less mythical and more tangible, the back of my head and ears were freezing. If a wind feels a lot colder than normal it often has some north in it, which like so much of understanding nature is common sense. A bigger slice of common sense was for me to stop shivering in my pyjamas and coat and get inside.

Never Ending Story

The incestuous relationship between the stars and mythology is nothing new, but we often overlook how constantly the relationship is rekindled or how fresh some of the stories are. The following paragraph is from Emily Winterburn's entertaining new book, 'The Stargazer's Guide'.

'In Orion these [stars] are Rigel, Betelgeuse and Bellatrix; in Canis Major there is Sirius - and even Canis Minor, which essentially consists of only two stars, has the very bright Procyon. These are familiar names, but not perhaps for astronomical reasons. Bellatrix and Sirius are probably better known now as characters in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, while Betelgeuse was the title of a Tim Burton film, albeit with a different spelling [Beetlejuice].

Coconuts Navigation

'Sagur, a spirit and chief, lived on the island of Pulap with his daughter, Inosagur. As she bathed in the lagoon before the canoe house one morning, she beheld a rainbow. It became a spirit, Anumwerici, which came to her. The spirit had eaten all the inhabitants of Truk and Naminuoito; now he intended to eat the people of Pulap, too.

But Sagur told his daughter to fetch a little piece of taro and a small drinking coconut. Although Anumwerici complained this would not be enough, each time he tipped the cup containing the taro to his mouth it was refilled. the same thing happened with the drinking coconut. Anumwerici ate and drank his fill. Never, he said, had he been so satisfied.

In gratitude he taught Inosagur navigation. He placed her in a small coconut tree and by magic made it grow above the clouds. Inosagur could see all the islands, all the creatures of pookof, and all the reefs, banks, and shoals...'

From 'The Last Navigator', by Stephen Thomas.