Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/188

128 As "the Lady Corn," Cassiopeia was also designated as "the Creatress of Seed." We also find that the Peruvians identified Virgo with the Earth Mother, and Maunder tells us that the ear of corn in the Virgin's hand may well be interpreted as referring to the "Seed of the Woman" who was born of the Virgin.

Prof. Young has given us a mnemonic word, "Begdi," to assist in recalling the Greek-letter names of the stars in

both constellations. In these ways, therefore, there seems to be a distinct similarity between these two female figures widely separated from each other in the starry skies.

Plunket suggests 3500 as the date, and 23 degrees north as the latitude of the invention of this constellation.

In the 17th century, when there was an effort made to attach a religious significance to the constellations, Cassiopeia became Mary Magdalene, or Deborah sitting in judgment under her palm tree in Mount Ephraim, or Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, worthy to sit on the royal throne.

The Eskimos imagine that α, β and γ Cassiopeiæ, three stars forming an isosceles triangle, represent the three stones supporting a celestial stone lamp. They call the constellation "Ibrosi."

Cassiopeia in its continual circling of the Pole of the heavens makes an excellent illuminated timepiece. Imagine that β Cassiopeice is the hour hand. When it is above Polaris it is noon, when it is in the west at right angles to its first position, it is 6 At midnight it is on the northern horizon, and at 6 it is due east. The time kept by this perpetual clock is of course Sidereal Time (star time), which differs from civil time in that the day begins at noon instead of at midnight. By recalling that the sidereal clock agrees with the mean solar clock on March 22d or thereabouts, and gains at the rate of two hours a month, one can easily pass to ordinary solar time. This is the simplest way to tell time by looking at the stars.