also, dragons are farts

[lauralh]

I finished When They Severed Earth from Sky in a frenzy this weekend. It was totally great, a look at deciphering myths as encoded history for pre-literate cultures. Most of the myths they explained were either about volcanoes or stars. The star myths were fascinating - basically every time a great cataclysm or apocalypse happened in a myth, it was really about the fact that the North Star was no longer North. Our familiar Polaris wasn't always the guiding star. The authors set down a few principles on how to decipher myths, and then they go for it in great detail. Really interesting stuff.

Comments

[perich.livejournal.com]

it was really about the fact that the North Star was no longer North. Our familiar Polaris wasn't always the guiding star.

I'm cosmologically ignorant; please explain.

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

Over the course of time, the North Star changes. Right now Polaris is within one degree of true north, but at other times the North Star has been and will again be Thuban (the brightest star in the constellation Draco), Vega (the brightest star in the constellation Lyra), and Alpha Cephei (the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus).

The North Star changes over time because the direction of the earth's axis changes slowly over time. Since by definition the North Star is the star most closely aligned with the earth's axis, as the axis moves the nearest star changes too.

(and so on (http://ms.essortment.com/northstarastro_rmdz.htm))

[perich.livejournal.com]

Interesting.