Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/163

 Libra, the Scales—lying to the east of Virgo. In classic days, the two bright stars which mark the Scales were on the claws of the Scorpion which were then pictured as more extended.

The ancient people worshiped the constellation of Virgo with its beautiful white star, and, even as a quiet prayer may be said in music instead of in words, the purity of Spica seemed to glow like a benediction upon their revering hearts.

Even to the modern world, the springtime loveliness of this large and beautiful star is refreshing. But we are wont to gaze upon it more with awe than reverence for science tells us that it is not only one white star but two, the mass of each being much greater than that of our sun. These two stars are only 11,000,000 miles apart and whirl around their common center of gravity in the amazingly short period of only four days!

Such is the jewel found on the Virgin's ear of wheat, although the myths do not all agree that Virgo is Astræa.

However, they all do seem to agree that the constellation is connected in some way with the thought of harvests.

Virgo was early identified as the Egyptian Isis who dropped an ear of wheat as she fled from the monster Typhon when he appeared around the Nile. As a result the wheat was scattered in a wide path along the heavens which is now called the Milky Way. Among other characters, Virgo has been regarded as Ceres, the Goddess of the Harvests, and even as Ceres' daughter Proserpine. Plutarch seems to think that the Greeks are indebted to the Egyptians for their story of Ceres. Thus the Egyptian Isis would be Ceres, or Demeter. Isis also taught the use of corn which once stood neglected in the fields. The story of Ceres and Proserpine