RIGEL Distance in Parsec Luminosity Class Spectral Type Constellation Colour 400 Giant B8 Orionis White

1 p223 Orion was the great hunter. There are two main 'contenders' for his nam e and its origin. One is ouros, 'mountain' (the Ionic Greek form of oros), the other, bizarre though it may seem, is ouron, 'urine'. The 'mountain' origin coul d well be suitable for someone born in Boeotia, as Orion was - indeed it is a na me that could apply to anyone from almost anywhere in Greece, which is a largely mountainous country. The 'urine' origin is inevitably, much more specific. The story was that Hyrieus, a Boeotian king who had no children, was advised by Zeus that if he wished for a child he should urinate on a bullhide. He did so, and H ermes and Poseidon buried it. Nine months later, a boy was born from the hide. T his was Orion. To support this account behind his name, Orion's name often featu red in the form of Urion. Yet a third explanation has been offered for the name, which derives it from orion, 'to be stirred', 'excite', with reference to his r ole as a hunter, or to the storms that he raised. The constellation of Orion was so named long ago, and certainly in Homer's time. 4 p313 In the Norsemen's astronomy Rigel marked one of the great toes of Orwan dil, the other toe having been broken off by the god Thor when frost bitten, and thrown to the northern sky, where it became the little Alcor of the Great Bear. 5 Vol 2 p1281 In contrast to Hercules, who has a very definite personality and is credited with a detailed series of exploits, Orion seems to us a vague and sh adowy figure. In Greek Myth he was simply a great and powerful hunter, a son of Neptune, and possibly of a somewhat boastful disposition, as he is said to have claimed dominion over every living creature. Homer refers to him as the tallest and most beautiful of men. He had come to love the divine huntress Diana, but w as unintentionally slain by an arrow from her bow, at the instigation of her bro ther Apollo. In another version of the story, Orion was killed by the sting of t he deadly scorpion sent by Juno to punish him for his arrogant pride, neverthele ss he was honored by a place in the heavens, and the fatal scorpion was placed i n the exact opposite part of the sky so that it could never threaten him again. Orion is the giant who is said to have pursued the Pleiades, particularly Merope , and was consequently blinded by the angry Oenopion, King of Chios. On the advi ce of Vulcan, however, Orion climbed to the top of a great mountain on or near t he isle of Lemnos, where, as he faced the rising sun, his sight was restored. p1286 Orion, under the name of Sahu, was one of the most important sky figures o f the ancient Egyptians, and was regarded as the soul or incarnation of the grea t god of the afterworld, Osiris. On wall reliefs at the Temple of Denderah, he i s shown journeying through the heavens in his celestial boat, followed by Sothis (Sirius) who is identified as the Soul of Isis, and is shown as a kneeling cow with a sta r between her horns. References to Orion occur also in the famous Book of the Coming Forth by Day, or the Book of the Dead, which dates back to the very earliest period of Egyptian history. In a late version, the Papyrus of Ani, which is at least 3000 years old , the text promises the scribe Ani that he shall enter the heavenly regions, and

become one with Orion. WM Flinders Petrie, in his contribution to that monument al archeological compendium Wonders of the Past, refers to Orion (or Sahu) as " a star of god of the myth-strewn firmament" 6 p197 Notes: A double bluish white star situated on the left foot of Orion. From Rijl, the Foot.

Influence: According to Ptolemy and Lily it is of the nature of Jupiter and Sat urn, but later authors consider it favorable and similar to Jupiter and Mars. Al vidas likens it to Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. It gives benevolence, honor, riche s, happiness, glory, renown and inventive or mechanical ability. p55 Orion The Giant or Hunter Legend: The giant Orion was created out of an ox-hide by the Gods, Jupiter, Nep tune and Mercury, at the request of Hureus who had entertained them. He was blin ded by Cenopion and Bacchus for his treatment of the former's daughter, but reco vered his sight by exposing his eyes to the rising sun. In consequence of his bo ast that he could slay any beast bred upon the earth the scoprion (SCORPIO) was brought forth and Orion died from its sting. Influence: According to Ptolemy the bright stars with the exception of Betelgeu se and Bellatrix are like Jupiter and Saturn. It is said to give a strong and di gnified nature, self-confidence, inconstancy, arrogance, violence, impiety, pros perity in trade and particularly by voyages or abroad, but danger of treachery a nd poison. By the Kabbalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Aleph and t he 1st Tarot Trump "The Juggler." 12 p297 Orion He was a young man of gigantic stature and great beauty, and a mighty hunter. He fell in love with the daughter of the King of Chios, and for love of her he cleared the island of wild beasts. The spoils of the chase he br ought always home to his beloved, whose name is sometimes said to be Aero, somet imes Merope. Her father, Oenopion, agreed to give her to Orion, but he kept putt ing the marriage off. One day when Orion was drunk he insulted the maiden, and Oenopion appealed to Dionysus to punish him. The god threw him into a deep sleep and Oenopion blinded him. An oracle told him, however, that he would be able to see again if he went to the east and let the rays of the rising sun fall on his eyes. He went as far east as Lemnos and there he recovered his sight. Instantl y he started back to Chios to take vengeance on the king, but he had fled and Or ion could not find him. He went on to Crete, and lived there as Artemis' huntsma n. Nevertheless in the end the goddess killed him. Some say that Dawn, also call ed Aurora, loved him and that Artemis in jealous anger shot him. Others say that he made Apollo angry and that the god, by a trick, got his sister to slay him. After his death he was placed in heaven as a constellation, which shows him wit h a girdle, sword, club and lion's skin. 14 p154 Orion, the Mighty Hunter

"One task after another. Will there never be an end to them? I refuse to continu e on this way!" Orion shouted. Orion was alone, drinking heavily. "I'll show him!" he shouted out angrily and off he went to Merope's room where h e drunkenly took her by force. Then staggering to his own room he fell asleep. W hen Oenopion, Merope's father, discovered what Orion had done he found where Ori on was sleeping and blinded him for the misdeed. This all came about after Orion fell in love with Merope. Wanting to get married , Orion asked Merope's father to give his consent. "First prove that you will be worthy of Merope," answered Oenopion. "Clear my forest of the wild beasts that are killing my cattle." Orion completed the task. Instead of giving consent to t

he marriage, Oenopion came up with another task to be done. "My water well is beginning to run dry. See if you can find another one for me." When Orion completed the second task, "before I consent to your marrying my dau ghter," said Oenopion, "show me that you can turn my forest land into grazing ar ea." And now Orion was blind. Orion, said to be a man of great beauty, was so tall he could walk on the bottom of the seas while keeping his head above water. He was a mighty hunter, being e xpert with spear or bow and arrow. But Orion was blind. "I will find a way to regain my sight!" cried Orion. With great determination he went to an oracle for help, and was told" "Travel to the East, Go only one direction, You must see the Light of Helios. Make connection!" Orion immediately set out to the East to regain his sight. No hardship, no diffi culty he encountered, could turn him from his goal. "Come what may," he said, " I will reach the land of Helios, the Sun, and have my sight restored." Always travelling Eastward, he finally managed to reach the land where the Sun r esides. There he met Eos, goddess of dawn and sister of Helios. She fell in love with Orion and had her brother restore his sight. After spending some time with Eos, Orion left her to seek Oenopion for revenge. However, shortly after leaving the land of Helios he met Artemis, the huntress. She persuaded him to forget revenge for the love of hunting together. Orion agre ed, boasting, "I will rid the whole world of wild beasts and monsters." Because of his boastfulness, sexual promiscuity and especially because a mortal shouldn't cavort with the gods, Apollo sent a giant scorpion to attack Orion. Wh en Orion found he couldn't pierce the armor of the scorpion with his spear or ar rows, he swam out to sea to escape. Apollo then went to Artemis and provokingly said to her, "If you're as good a ma rkswoman as is said, see that blob out on the water? Show me that you can hit it with one of your arrows." Artemis shot and struck the blob right on. Of course the blob was Orion. When Artemis found that she had slain Orion, she had him p laced in the heavens as a great constellation. Orion, now in the starry heavens, can be seen dominating the skies with his migh ty stature for many months. He battles the Taurian Bull of desire with this club while standing with one foot in the waters of the Eridanus, the river of life a nd its experiences. But he is vanquished each year by the Scorpion, the symbol of sex. As celestial Scorpio begins to rise in the East, Orion begins to slowly sink in the West. Archetypal Meanings: Orion The highly developed, self willed personality. His great beauty is beauty of spirit. His tall stature refers to the spiritual heights he has attained. W alking on the bottom of the sea with his head above the water symbolizes feet on

the physical ground, head in the spiritual air, while remaining aloof from the water, emotions (a potential not always used successfully). Spiritual heights a re achieved through determination that will not accept defeat. In order to reac h those heights, emotional desires must be overcome and the personality aligned with the soul. No task, no obstacle is too great. Even the loss of his sight (spiritual sight or in-sight), lost when desire is allowed to rule, can be regained by increased determination to regain insight. Ridding the world of wild beasts and monsters r efers to one's inner world which must be purified. Oenopion: The archetypal father. He tests personality for purity and readiness to unite with anima. Merope: The anima. Orion failed the test of purity of emotions. Desire, not l ove ruled, and he fell (spiritually blinded). Helios: The sun, spiritual light Eos: The goddess of dawn She can symbolize the spiritual reawakening of Orion, when he spent time with her. Leaving her for revenge symbolizes a fall from the heights he had regained. (No path is straight, but consists of many ups and do wns). Artemis: A moon goddess, who nurtures the subjective nature. She symbolizes a s econd spiritual reawakening of Orion. She is also the Huntress of the Heavens. S he hunts and slays the wild beasts and animal forms (uncontrolled emotional and physical forms). Thus, she is the slayer of the lower self. The slaying of Orion can be considered a symbol of initiation, in which the physical form was remove d in order to place the perfected self in the heavens. The Scorpion: A symbol of the sting of death, but also of regeneration. This is shown by the constellation Orion falling in the West as the Scorpion rises in t he East. But the following year Orion will be found rising in the heavens once m ore, reborn. 18 p100 'Brown traces the name Orion to the Akkadian Ur-ana, "the Light of Hea ven," a poetical and a most natural title for the brightest of all the stellar g roups. He further thinks that the name was given, because the constellation was taken as a stellar re-duplication of the great Light of Heaven, the Sun (Maunde r). p33 It is interesting to find that Orion met with a fate very similar to that of his Indian brother Kalapurusha. Orion fell in love with Merope, one of the sta rs in the Pleiades. At the instigation of her father, who had been much exaspera ted at his treatment of the maiden, Bacchus deprived him of his sight. After his death, Orion was placed among the stars.