On the Wings of Desire: the Lovers Triangle
By Philip Sacco, PSSG 2001
Mythology overview:
serve to help learn and identify the heavens, significant
times of year, teach lessons of life, religious significance.
Geography of the heavens:
Placement- Virgo: Proserpina (Persephone)
spends 6 months in underworld, 6 months above, Ursa Major: Callisto destined to never
set foot on ground again circling pole. Arrangement- Ursa Minor: Arcas son of
Callisto near mother, Cannis Vanetici: The hunting dogs placed near their master.
Association- Bootes: the herdsman shepherds the bears all year, Orion and Scorpius
place opposite to tell story. Corvus on the back of Hydra.
Classify Love Stories:
True Love, Illicit Love, Brotherly Love. The asterism
of the ‘summer triangle’ Vega, Altair, and Deneb. Patrick Moore coined it. No
significance other than it is seen at this time of year. The Heavenly Birds of the
Ancients- The Eagle(Aquila), The Vulture(Vultur Cadens- the Lyra), The
Swan(Cygnus). These three constellations include the ‘pecker’, the ‘tail’, the ‘rising
one’ and the ‘falling one.’
True Love: Vultur Cadens- the Lyra.
Vega- ‘the Plunging One’ in
Arabic Created by Mercury from a tortoise shell, traded to Apollo for the caduceussymbol of life and death, bestowing wealth and prosperity and the power to fly. Gifted to
his son, Orpheus. Marriage to Eurydice interrupted by the attack of Aristaeus- half
brother of Orpheus. She steps on serpent and dies in minutes. Forlorn Orpheus goes to
underworld to save her. Foiled by trick of Pluto. Nothing but sad music flowed
afterwards. The creation of Country Music. All the women of his country try to soothe
him with their charms to no avail. Plot to kill him. All weapons stop mid air. Their
screams overpower the music- Country rock- kill him and rend him. To the Chinese this
constellation is Tzi-Niu the weaving princess who falls in love with Nio-Lang, the kings
cow herder.
Brotherly Love: Cygnus the Swan. Deneb- the tail
Phaethon and
his blood brother Cycnus. Phaethon brags that Helios is his father and asked that he ride
the chariot(the love of a father). Dashed by Jupiter’s lightning bolt to fall in a plume of
fire into the river Eridanus. Despite his fear of fire and his limited ability to swim,
Cycnus dives for all remains(to prevent the damning of Phaethons soul) until he swoons
and nearly drowns. For his devotion and love, he is slowly transformed into a swan so
that he may forever follow the path of Phaethon. His descendants still hate rivers and
fire, and stay in lakes and quiet water instead.
Alternate story- Lust and true love- Jupiter and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus- King of
Sparta. Jupiter approaches her at a quiet pool in the form of a swan. He seduces her and
she gives birth to Pollux and Helen. That same night she lays with Tyndareus and gives
birth to Castor and Klytamnestra. Klytamnestra was the first ‘Womans-liber,’ wrote
many tales of the condition of woman, and ultimately kills her husband Agamemnon on
his return from the Trojan war. Her daughter Electra saves her brother Orestes life, who
subsequently avenges his father and slays his mother. He is banished for his crime and
led mad by the Erinyes(the Furies) of his dead mother. He is ultimately acquitted of his
crime by Athena- herself the ultimate ‘transcendent woman.’
Illicit Love: Aquila the Eagle.
Altair- the rising one; the beak or ‘pecker.’
Jupiter’s favorite bird- the Eagle. Hebe was his cupbearer until she turned an ankle.
Jupiter sends Aquila for the most comely youth of the land and he returns with
Ganymede, son of the King of Troy. All the gods are taken by his manliness and he
catches more than the eye of Jupiter. King of Troy is appeased by blessing Ganymede
with eternal life, acceptance as one of their own, and Troy gains the favor of the gods and
is blessed with abundant vineyards. Jupiter’s involvement eventually involves the
offspring of the King of Sparta and the King of Troy, and the kidnapping of the
Dioscura’s sister- Helen- leads to the 10-year Trojan War. This war eventually involves
Hercules and the Argonauts, who recruit Orpheus among others. The telling of Hercules
and his 12 feats alone takes 3 complete circuits of the sky, while the tales of the
Argonauts takes 2. Many of these tales themselves involve love interests spawned by the
involvement of the gods, primarily Jupiter of Zeus.
The Eagle is often portrayed with its wings folded or one outstretched signifying it is
wounded. Sagitta is placed under one wing. Cupids Arrow. It is positioned between all
three birds in the heavens.
Aquila is also responsible for the punishment of Prometheus- the eating of his liver daily.
Prometheus’ crime was his love of mankind, and blessing mankind with fire. The
‘reward’ for his love of man was to be chained to the Caucasus Mountains to be feasted
upon daily. Hercules saves him by killing the Eagle with a poisoned arrow. The Arrow
was also represented by a lightening bolt- the favorite of Zeus. “Those who live by the
sword, die by the sword.”
Aquila also represents Nio-Lang, the kings cow herder. He and Tzi-Niu, the princess
weaver, fall in love and become so infatuated with each other, they neglect their duties.
The king has them separated by the river of mourning- the Milky Way- and on the 7th day
of the 7th month a bridge of magpies form a bridge to allow the lovers to unite for the
day. This day typically begins with a mist, fog, or light rain, signifying their tears of joy,
followed in the evening by thunderstorms- signifying the lovers cries of pain at being
separated for another year.
Summation:
All classical stories relating these constellations tell a tale of love in
one of several fundamental forms. For this reason, the asterism of Vega, Deneb, and
Altair are best remembered as “The Lovers Triangle,” complete with tail (Deneb),
pecker(s), rising hopes and hearts- Altair- and falling hearts of the forlorn- Vega.