Pleiades in folklore and literature

Pleiades

The high visibility of the star cluster Pleiades in the night sky has guaranteed it a special place in many cultures, both ancient and modern.

The astrological Pleiades was originally described in Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (Köln, 1533, but published manuscript as early as 1510).

The heliacal rising of Pleiades often marks important calendar points for ancient peoples.

Middle East

Bible

In the Bible the Pleiades are mentioned as Khima (Amos 5:8), and also in Job 38:31 as the Lord speaks to Job. The Lord tells Job that he bound the Pleiades together. Talmud (Bavli, Berakhot, 58a) says that it has about 100 stars.

They are known as kimah in Jewish culture.

Arab world

In Arabic the Pleiades are known as al-Thurayya الثريا, and mentioned in Islamic literature. The name was borrowed into Turkish as a female name, and is in use in both Turkey (as Surayya) and Arab countries (for example Thoraya Obaid). It is also the name of the Thuraya satellite phone system based in the United Arab Emirates.

Iran

In the Persian language they are known as "Parvin".

Pakistan

In the Urdu language they are known as "Parvin", and are a symbol of beauty. 'Parvin' also used to be a popular given name for females in Pakistan till some decades ago.

Europe

The word has acquired a meaning of "multitude", inspiring the name of the French literary movement La Pléiade and an earlier group of Alexandrian poets, the Alexandrian Pleiad.

Greek mythology

Main article: Pleiades (Greek mythology)

In Greek mythology, the stars of Pleiades represented the Seven Sisters.

Norse mythology

To the Vikings, the Pleiades were Freyja's hens, and their name in many old European languages compares them to a hen with chicks.

Western astrology

In Western astrology they represent coping with sorrow and were considered a single one of the medieval fixed stars. As such, they are associated with quartz and fennel.

In esoteric astrology the seven solar systems revolve around Pleiades.

Celtic mythology

A bronze disk, 1600 BC, from Nebra, Germany, is one of the oldest known representations of the cosmos. The Pleiades are top right. See Nebra sky disk

To the Bronze Age people of Europe, such as the Celts (and probably considerably earlier), the Pleiades were associated with mourning and with funerals, since at that time in history, on the cross-quarter day between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice (see Samhain, also Halloween or All Souls Day), which was a festival devoted to the remembrance of the dead, the cluster rose in the eastern sky as the sun's light faded in the evening. It was from this acronychal rising that the Pleiades became associated with tears and mourning. As a result of precession over the centuries, the Pleiades no longer marked the festival, but the association has nevertheless persisted, and may account for the significance of the Pleiades astrologically.

Turkey

In Turkish they are known as Ülker.

Ukrainian folklore

In Ukrainian traditional folklore the Pleiades are known as Стожари (Stozhary), Волосожари (Volosozhary), or Баби-Звізди (Baby-Zvizdy).

'Stozhary' can be etymologically traced to "стожарня" (stozharnya) meaning a 'granary', 'storehouse for hay and crops', or can also be reduced to the root "сто-жар", (sto-zhar) meaning 'hundredfold glowing'. ..

'Volosozhary' (the ones whose hair is glowing), or 'Baby-Zvizdy' (female-stars) refer to the female tribal deities. Accordingly to the legend, seven maids lived long ago. They used to dance the traditional round dances and sing the glorious songs to honor the gods. After their death the gods turned them into water nymphs, and, having taken them to the Heavens, settled them upon the seven stars, where they dance their round dances (symbolic for moving the time) to this day. (see article in Ukrainian Wikipedia)

In Ukraine this asterism was considered a female talisman until recent times.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The Lakota Tribe of North America had a legend that linked the origin of the Pleiades to Devils Tower. According to the Seris (of northwestern Mexico), these stars are seven women who are giving birth. The constellation is known as Cmaamc, which is apparently an archaic plural of the noun cmaam "woman".

It was common among the indigenous peoples of the Americas to measure keenness of vision by the number of stars the viewer could see in the Pleiades, a practice which was also used in historical Europe, especially in Greece.

The Native American tribe, the Kiowa, had a myth similar to the Lakota that explained the creation of the Pleiades and Devils Tower. According to the Kiowa there were seven young maidens that went out to play and were spotted by several giant bears. The bears saw the young women and began to chase them. In an effort to escape the bears the women climbed on top of a rock and prayed to the spirit of the rock to save them. Hearing their prayers the rock began to rise from the ground towards the Heavens so that the bears couldn't reach the maidens. The seven women reached the sky and were then turned into the star constellation we know today. The bears in an effort to climb the rock left deep claw marks in the sides which had become too steep to climb. The rock later became known as Devils Tower.

In the ancient Andes, the Pleiades were associated with abundance, because they return to the Southern Hemisphere sky each year at harvest-time. In Quechua they are called collca' (storehouse).

Paul Goble, Native American storyteller, tells a Blackfoot legend that he says is told by other tribes as well. In the story, the Pleiades are orphans ("Lost Boys") that were not cared for by the people, so they became stars. Sun Man is angered by the mistreatment of the children and punishes the people with a drought, causing the buffalo to disappear, until the dogs, the only friends of the orphans, intercede on behalf of the people. Because the buffalo are not available while the Lost Boys are in the skies, the cosmical setting of the Pleaides was an assembly signal for Blackfoot hunter to travel to their hunting grounds to conduct the large-scale hunts, culminating in slaughters at buffalo jumps, that characterized their culture.

The Hopi built their underground kivas for multiple utilitarian uses, the most important of which was a ceremonial meeting place. Access was through a ladder in a small hole in the roof of the kiva, and during certain ceremonies, the night passage of the Pleiades over the center of the opening was a direct signal to begin a certain ceremony. Most of the cultures used the angle of the Pleiades in the night sky as a time telling device.

A Cheyenne myth "The Girl Who Married a Dog", states that the group of seven stars known as the Pleiades originated from seven puppies which a Cheyenne chief's daughter gave birth to after mysteriously being visited by a dog in human form to whom she vowed "Wherever you go, I go".

The early Monte Alto Culture and others in Guatemala such as Ujuxte and Takalik Abaj, made its early observatories, using the Pleiades and Eta Draconis as reference, they were called the seven sisters, and thought to be their original land.

The ancient Aztecs of Mexico and Central America based their calendar upon the Pleiades. Their year began when priests first remarked the asterism heliacal rising in the east, immediately before the sun's dawn light obliterated the view of the stars. Aztecs called the Pleiades Tianquiztli (meaning "marketplace").

Asia and Oceania

Australian mythology

Depending on the language group or clan, there are several Aboriginal stories regarding the origins of the Pleiades. Some Indigenous Australian peoples believed the Pleiades was a woman who had been nearly raped by Kidili, the man in the moon.

In a legend told by the Wurundjeri people of south-eastern Australia, the Pleiades were represented by the seven Karatgurk sisters. These women were the first to possess the secret of fire and each one carried live coals on the end of her digging stick. Although they refused to share these coals with anybody, they were ultimately tricked into giving up their secret by Crow, who subsequently brought fire to mankind. After this, the Karatgurk sisters were swept into the night sky. Their glowing fire sticks became the bright stars of the Pleiades cluster.

Another version, often painted by Gabriella Possum Nungurayyi as this is her dreaming (or creation story), daughter of the late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri from the Central desert art movement of Papunya, depicts the story of seven Napaltjarri sisters being chased by a man named Jilbi Tjakamarra. He tried to practice love magic to one of the sisters but the sister did not want to be with him and with her sisters, they ran away from him. They sat down at Uluru to search for honey ants but when they saw Jilbi, they went to Kurlunyalimpa and with the spirits of Uluru, transformed into stars. Jilbi transforms himself into what is commonly known as the Morning Star in Orion's belt , thus continuing to chase the seven sisters across the sky.

Japan

In Japan, the Pleiades are known as 昴 Subaru, and have given their name to the car manufacturer whose logo incorporates six stars to represent the five smaller companies that merged into one. Subaru Telescope, located in Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii, is also named after the Pleiades.

Thailand

In Thailand, the Pleiades are known as "ดาวลูกไก่" (RTGS: Doa Luk Kai) or the "Chicken Family Stars," and there are folk tales about them:

There were old couples living amidst a forest in Thailand. In their farm, there was a family of chickens: a mother chicken with six children. Once a monk passed by, and the old couples thought that there were no good meals to serve him, and suggested to kill the mother chicken to be cooked. The mother chicken heard this, she came back to the barn and taught her children for the last time to be in harmony and to take care of themselves because she had to leave in order to repay the kindness of the couples who fed her family for a long time. When the mother chicken was being killed, her six children threw themselves into fire to die together with their mother. Deity, impressed by and in remembrance of their love, appointed the seven chickens as the stars.

Indian astrology

In Indian astrology the Pleiades were known as the asterism (nakshatra) Kṛttikā (which in Sanskrit is translated as "the cutters"). The Pleiades are called the star of fire, and their ruling deity is the Vedic god Agni, the god of the sacred fire. It is one of the most prominent of the nakshatras, and is associated with anger and stubbornness.

கார்திகை (karthigai) in Tamil refers to 6 wives of 6 Rishis the seventh being Arunthadhi the wife of Vashitaa the seventh Sage(Rishi)relate to star Alcyone.

China

In Chinese constellations, they are 昴 mao, the Hairy Head of the white tiger of the West, while the name of the Hindu God Kartikeya means him of the Pleiades.

Polynesian mythologies

The heliacal rising of the Pleiades (around June) begins the new year for the Māori of New Zealand, who call the Pleiades Matariki. There is an analogous holiday in Hawaiʻi known as Makahiki.

Ben Raji mythology

Among the Ban Raji people, who live in semi-nomadic settlements scattered throughout western Nepal and northern India, the Pleiades are called the "Seven sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law" (Hatai halyou daa salla). Ban Rajis note that when the Pleiades rises up over the mountain each night, they feel happy to see their ancient kin (Fortier 2008:in press). On a more practical note, Ban Rajis can tell that evening has arrived, indicating that it is about eight o'clock by local time standards when their star-kin rise above the Nepali mountains bordering the Kali River.

Sub-Saharan Africa

In the Swahili language of East Africa they are called "kilimia" (Proto-Bantu *ki-dimida in Bantu areas E, F, G, J, L, and S) which comes from the verb -lima meaning "dig" or "cultivate" as their visibility was taken as a sign to prepare digging as the onset of the rain was near.

In the closely related Sesotho language of the Southern Africa's Basotho people the Pleiades are called "Seleme se setshehadi" ("the female planter"). Its disappearance in April (the 10th month) and the appearance of the star Achernar signals the beginning of the cold season. Like many other Southern African cultures, Basotho associate its visibility with agriculture and plenty.

Modern beliefs

Theosophy

In Theosophy, it is believed the Seven Stars of the Pleiades focus the spiritual energy of the Seven Rays from the Galactic Logos to the Seven Stars of the Great Bear, then to Sirius, then to the Sun, then to the god of Earth (Sanat Kumara) and finally through the seven Masters of the Seven Rays to us.

UFOs

In Ufology some believers describe Nordic alien extraterrestrials (called Pleiadeans) as originating from this system. A contactee named Billy Meier claims to have met with them.

Pleiades in popular culture

Science fiction

• In Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov, a soldier is described as coming from the "agricultural worlds" of the Pleiades, with the implication that they provide cannon fodder for the army in the days of the Galactic Empire.

Video games

• One image of the Pleiades was selected for the cover art of the US release of Xexyz video game.
• The Pleiades are also referenced in Persona 2 with the name of "Seven Sisters High School", which some of the characters attend.
• In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Lylat Cruise stage is situated on an original spacecraft that doesn't appear in the Star Fox series called Pleiades.

Music

• Mentioned in the 311 song "No Control".
• Mentioned in the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Can't Stop".
• Mentioned in the song "Emily" by Joanna Newsom
• There is a song entitled "Pleiades" on Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, the sophomore offering from progressive metal band King's X.
• Mentioned in the Jimmy Buffett song Desdemonas Building A Rocket Ship

Other

• Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, which inspires the logo for the Subaru brand automotive manufacturer .

References

Δέδυκε μεν ἀ σελάννα
καὶ Πληΐαδες, μέσαι δὲ
νύκτες πάρα δ᾽ ἔρχετ᾽ ὤρα,
ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω.

The Moon is set,
And the Pleiades.
Night's half gone,
Time's passing.
I sleep alone now.

— Sappho

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

— Job 9:9

Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or loose the cords of Orion?

— Job 38:31

It behoveth you to seek agreement and to be united;
it behoveth you to be in close communion one with the other,
at one both in body and soul,
till ye match the Pleiades
or a string of lustrous pearls.

— 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 85

Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?

— Edwin Markham, The Man With the Hoe

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid.

— Alfred Tennyson, Locksley Hall

Can I get two maybe even three of these,
Comin' from a space to teach you of the Pleiades.

— Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Can't Stop"

Pleiades callin' her home
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters

— Jimmy Buffett, "Desdemona's Building a Rocket Ship"

Though all I knew of the rote universe were those Pleiades, loosed in December,
I promised you I'd set them to verse, so I'd always remember

— Joanna Newsom, "Emily"

Our shells clacked on the plates.
My tongue was a filling estuary,
My palate hung with starlight:
As I tasted the salty Pleiades
Orion dipped his foot into the water.

— Seamus Heaney, "Oysters"

Last night I saw the Pleiades again,
   Faint as a drift of steam
      From some tall chimney-stack;

— Arthur Adams, "The Pleiades"

The Pleiades are an extraordinarily beautiful and brilliant star cluster in the constellation of Taurus. I have a large picture of them hanging in my recording studio, and sometimes when I look at this picture, I am inspired to compose a certain kind of music, which is very different from the music I usually compose, and very different from anything I have ever heard before. This album is a collection of those pieces.;

— Gerald Jay Markoe, From the insert of the 1989 album Music From The Pleiades