Unknown author

Edited by A. O. Anderson

Ranna an aeir

[Ranna an aeir] ¹

 1Fiarfaighthear and so ca lin rann fuil annsan aer eidir deisceart ⁊ tuaisceart.

Ni hansa; tri ranna deg annsa deisceart ⁊ a hocht annsa tuaisceart. ⁊ as iat so a n-anmanna, i. rann an deisceirt: Idurus, Canicula, Lepus, Eridanus, Coetus, Centurus, Argo, Pisis, Ara. Is iat so ranna an tuaisceirt, i. na Seachtaro, i. Draco, Arcturus dara b'ainm Boeit, ⁊ Corona, Herculius dara b'ainm Nixus or Egonasis, ⁊ Libra, ⁊ Cicnus, ⁊ Serpeus, ⁊ Casiopea, ⁊ Perseus, ⁊ Delaton, ⁊ Eniocus, ⁊ Andrometa, ⁊ Pegasus, ⁊ Ofiucus, ⁊ Delpinus, Aquila. ²

An seachtaré mor dara b'ainm dileas Calisto, ingen Licoin, i. rig na n-Arcon eisein. ⁊ ro idhbair si a h-oighi do Dhean, i. do baindei na sealgairachta. ⁊ tug iarsin Ioib mac Saduirnd gradh do Cailisto ingin Licoin, ⁊ ro mheall hi ⁊ ro mill a h-oighi iumpi iarsin; et ro fearghaidheadh iarsin Dean baindei re Cailisto ingin Licoin ar milleadh a h-oighi, ⁊ ro cuir Dean a n-deilb mathghamna hi trit sin. ⁊ rug Iob iar sin Cailisto leis eider na rannaib uachturacha a n-deilb mathghamna.

An seachtaré beg imorro dara b'ainm dileas Cínosura, i. aen sie do buimeachaib Iobh. Uair ba himda buime ag Iob. ⁊  p.406 bandei hí do bainneib Sleibhi h-Idha; gurab ar an deagh-altram sin tug Cínosura ar Ioib rug Ioib leis hi eidir na rannaib gu n-deilb mathamhna furraid fos.

Serpeus; i. nathair neimhe sin neoch nar codail aen-locudh tre bithu sir ⁊ agg Iunainn ruthaidh sin; i. bandei eisein. Dobi si a coimet lubhgoirt na n-Issperda; do bith si do gnat a sliab Athlaind. ⁊ as i a nathair sin do coimetad an lubhgort sin, ⁊ ubla orda no bidis fair. ⁊ tainic Hercail iarsin ⁊ ro marb in nathair sin ⁊ ro cuireadh eidir na rannaib i trit sin. ⁊ Tiría ainm ele do nathair sin neoch ro barbadh fri Hearcail. ⁊ seacht cind dobidh urrtaigh ar tus; ⁊ an tan ro beanta aen ceand dib di, ro fasadh seacht cind 'na inadh; conadh eadh donid Hearcail ria iardain, intan do beanadh ceann dib di ro loisceadh an ceann agus a inadh, ⁊ ni fasadh ceann na inadh furri, no gur marb hi mar sin.

Arcostorus dono, mac do Ioib mac Shaduirnd hé ⁊ do Cailisto ingin Lícoin, i. righ na n-Arcon. ⁊ feacht ann tainicc Arcosturus do tigh Lícoin, i. do tigh a seanathar, ⁊ ro marb Lícon  2 iarsin mac a hingine ⁊ dorine aigheadha de, ⁊ rosbearb, ⁊ dorad da ithe do Ioib, i. d'athair an mac neoch taineig cuigi ar aidhgiacht. Agus a raecht feola daim tugadh do hi. ⁊ ro athain iarsin Ioib gur feoil duine tugadh do, ⁊ ro ob an feoil iarsin. ⁊ ro feargaigheadh re Licon co mor ⁊ ro hathnuaigheadh Arcosturus ⁊ tugadh beatha do aris, ⁊ rocuireadh eidir na rannaib trit sin e.

Coron, i. mind righ sin neoch dorine Ulcan d'or o geamaib ⁊ o leagaib inneagda, ⁊ dorat iarsin do Liber Pater, ⁊ tug Liber Pater do Ariaidhne a set suirgi. ⁊ tug Airiaidhne he do Theis, gunadh he tug eolus do asan laborinntig Earcail. ⁊ ar na buaghaib sin ⁊ ar meth a bhuadh, ⁊ ar imad ghaisceadh dorighneadh leis a talmain ⁊ a n-Ifearnn ro suighieadh eidir na rannaib e.

Libra, i. cruit Mercuir ar tus hi, ⁊ Oireb iartain. ⁊ seacht teda dobidh innti. ⁊ an ceol ro canadh Mercuir no Oireib aisti do thigdis na daine ⁊ na ceatra ⁊ na srotha  p.408 ⁊ na croind ⁊ na clocha d'eisteacht re ceol na cruiti sin; conadh trit ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib hi.

Cepeus mac Peinic, righ na t-Eteopda, athair Andrometa. ⁊ dorala eidir Andrometa la n-aen ⁊ Casopéa bean Thsheip, ⁊ dorígne Casopea imarbhaidh deilbhi ris na baindéeib muirighi: gunadh oire sin do cuireadh eidir na rannaib í, ⁊ a ceann sis ⁊ a cosa suas. ⁊ dochuireadh Andrometa ingin Scéip eidir na rannaib ar son an t-saertha tug Pars furri a belaib an bleidhmil muirigi inuair do b'ail leis a maelshlugadh.

Pars dono, as oiri ro suigiugadh eidir na rannaib he, i. ar na tri Goirghi do marbadh dho, con n-encennaidh ³ Mercuir ⁊ co cloidhem Olcain, ⁊ co cath-sgiath Meinerbha. ⁊ as amhlaidh do badar na tri Goirgi, i. tri hingina iat, ⁊ aentsuil acu na triur; ⁊ an ingin diam ba hail dib dul re gnóughudh dobeireadh in t-suil le. ⁊ gach duine atcidh in t-suil sin, donidh cloch dhe focedoir.

Eniocus, i. gilla ara; ⁊ as e as ainm dileas do, Erictonius. ⁊ ase as taiscaidh do ordaigh carbad ceathardha ar tus ar na gabhraib, i. arna h-eachaib. No buime do buimee ⁴ conocaib Ioib an Gabur sin, uair ba hainm dileas di Gabur; i. gabur fa formna di ⁊ meand in gach laimh di, i. ainm dileas neoch dobidh ar a dha hingin, i. Meann ar gach ingin dib sin.  3 ⁊ buime do Ioibh an gabur sin guna dha hingin, gunadh oire sin ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib et Iniocus et an Gabur sin guna da hingin.

Ofiocus dono, as airi eidir na rannaib e ar na nathreachaib ⁵ eiteacha ceathar cosacha doriadhad do fo carbat féin ⁊ fo  p.410 carbud Tripolim, i. dalta Cereri bandei na cruthnachta neoch ata fon uile domhun.

Aqulea dono, as oire ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib e, uair as e rug suas Ganamíd mac righ an Trae ar a muin fein d'indsaighi Ioib neoch tug gradh do ⁶ ar aille do denamh peacaidh sodamacda fris.

Aries,  ⁷ i. reithi; ⁊ anti dianadh ail fis bunaidh an reithi so d'fhaghbhail gusan olaind ordaigh dobai fair, as e so he: i. Adamans mac Olei fer sin dobi san Aisia, ⁊ dobi bandeii na mnai aigi, i. Nimpa ⁸ a h-ainm. ⁊ do rug si dís mac d'aentoirbert do, i. Frixis ⁹ ⁊ Eillis ¹⁰ a n-anmann. ⁊ tug Adamons mnai ele, Mica ¹¹ ingin Diomid; ⁊ dorat Mica miscais don cloinn. Et mar do chuala Nimpa sin, i. a mathair, gur b'ail le Mica a n-idhbairt dona deibh, tainic da saerad ⁊ tug le raeithi co n-olainn ordai fair, ⁊ trichat troigheadh ina fot, ⁊ ro cuir si a clann fair, ⁊ ro imcuir in reithi tar marannaib ⁊ tar tirtaib no gur torcair Eillis de isin muir; conadh uadh ainmnigtear in muir Ellepointide. ⁊ ro siacht Frixis for an rethe imshlan co tir na Colach, gu tug in raeithi a croiceann orda doib gurab trit sin fuaradar muintireas o Eta, i. o ri na Colach: gurab trit ro suigiugadh eidir na rannaib he.

Tabrus,  ¹² i. tarb. ⁊ as oire ro suisugud eidir na rannaib he, uair as e ro imcair Eropa ingin Aighenair leandan Ioib co h-ineis Creit docum Ioib and gach conair a n-deachaidh ara muin fein cum Ioib. ⁊ as e naduir an tairb, i. as treisi a tosach na a dereadh; as mar ¹³ sin as treisi grian a mi aipril na sa mhi roimpi.

Gemen,  ¹⁴ i. olor, i. Cicnus, i. an eala. ⁊ as amlaid seo do ruthaigheadh Geimhen, i. as inann Geimen ra radh  4 do reir nand ughdar, ⁊ dias arna ceangal a n-en-inadh, amail dobhi Castor ⁊ Pullux. ⁊ as amlaid do so ceangladh iat a n-en inadh, i. Ioib mac Saduirnd, ⁊ as e fa cumachtaighi  p.412 ag na deib, ⁊ tug se gradh do mhnai, i. do Neimis ¹⁵. ⁊ do bhidh peata eala ag Neimis, ⁊ ro b'inmhain le hí; ⁊ do smuainti Ioib dul a raecht na h-eala da h-innsaighi, uair nir fet a mealladh o mhudh ele no co n-deachaidh a riocht na h-eala da h-innsighi. ⁊ gur os meall i, ⁊ gor torrtaigheadh iarsin hi; ⁊ gu rug da uigh don toirrceas sin; i. Castor ⁊ Pullux an uigh dib agus Eilleann Legha ⁊ Clemenstra san uigh ele; i. dis mac ⁊ dis ingin sin ar n-a n-geineamhain ona deibh. ⁊ as oire ro cuireadh eidir na rannaib iat, uair an tan rugadh Castor da ainneoin a n-Ifearnd do cuaid Pullux ara cheann a n-Ifearnn, ⁊ tug leis ar eigin ¹⁶ he.

Caindcer,  ¹⁷ i. an partan laigh, i. righ na partan. ⁊ as aire so ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib e, i. aimsear da raibhe Earcal ag siubhal na tragha ⁊ tarrla air an Idhghir adhbfuathmhur arachda ilargha, ⁊ do comhraigh Earcail frisin n-Idhir co talcair tren-calma ⁊ tainig an partan chucu da n-insaighi, ⁊ rogab greim as cois na h-Idhrigh gu ro bacaidh e ⁊ gu ro thuit toid sin re Hearcail.

Leone,  ¹⁸ i. leomhan. ⁊ as amhlaidh ata an leoman, gu te tirim do reir a aicnigh, ⁊ co mear dighair dasachtach do reir a neirt ⁊ a mire ⁊ do reir a bhuaisle ⁊ a daingne ⁊ a gnimhaidhge ⁊ ar son a beth 'na rrigh arna h-uile ainmhighi inndligteach neoch ata ar an doman co h-uiligi. Gurab trit sin ro suigieadh eidir na randaib he.

Virgo,  ¹⁹ i. ogh. Comhartha do comarthaib grene sin. ⁊ as amhlaidh so dlighideas in ogh beth, i. co staitamail do reir a h-aicnigh, ⁊ is teaglach easlabhair do modhaib ⁊ do locht oibri ⁊ do daine bhuisle in teaglaig so, ⁊ do claeclodh piast o inadh co h-inadh. Et as uime aderar Virgo risin comartha sin, i. ona bheth mar bis ogh co neamtorrach, is amlaidh sin bis grian intan bís si sa comartha sin; oir is i cnaidi na fleda do reir a teasa si, ⁊ da reir sin bi talam co neamtortach intan bis grian annsa comartha sin, do reir cnaidh na fleda nadura on talmain.

 5 Libra,  ²⁰ i. meadh thomhais. ⁊ as oire aderar meadh ria, uair as amhlaidh bis an mheadh ag denamh an cothtroim eidir dha ni, ar son nach beth imurcaidh ar ni dibh sech aroile, as amlaidh sin bis grian annsa comurtha sa; uair as comhthoimseach, cothrom, comhfada la ⁊ aidhche d'uairib ⁊ do mhomheintib annsa mhi so, agus ann sa comhurta so, re n-abur Libra uair as dealb meidhi bis tfuas urraidh eidir na comurtaib.

Scoirpius,  ²¹ i. nathair neimhe. ⁊ as amhlaidh robi a nathair sin, arna foghlugadh an dibh rannaib; i. arna dealughudh maille re moran do nathrachaib ⁊ do examhlacht ainmhinteadh: ⁊ bhaill n-ingantach n-adhfuathmur n-examhail a leanmhain di as a corp amach; gurab ar med na m-ball sin dobi aici adubairt gach neach da facaidh ⁊ da cualaidh hi co muirfeadh gach ainmighi dar geinedh ar talmain acht muna beth adragan aturru ⁊ an scoirp hi sin. Gurab oire sin ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib hi.

Sagitarius,  ²² i. saighdeoir. ⁊ as amhlaidh dobi, i. aen do na ceandturachaibh é. ⁊ as mar so ro bi an ceanntur, co luirgnibh eachdaib ⁊ conerboll eachda ⁊ co n-ulca saighdi amail dobi an seantuir dar b'ainm dileas Ciron mac Saduirnd, i. Ciron cruitire. ⁊ as oire so suigiugadh eidir na rannaib é ar son a bheth na oidi ag Aichil mac Peil, ⁊ ar med a fhirinne ⁊ ar son a bheth mirbuileach, i. each comuscda; oir rob each a ichtur ⁊ ro ba duine a uachtar.

Sagitum, i. an t-soighit. As aire so ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib hi, uair as le do rugadh suas san fhirmamint Gonamid mac righ na Traé; ⁊ as di ro marbh Apaill na Cicoiloipecda; ⁊ as di ²³ doronsat soighena do Ioibh, ⁊ as dib sidhein ro marb Ioib Ascolaip mac Apaill.

Capricornd,  ²⁴ i. an comurtha so re n-abur an Gabur: as amlaidh so dobidh se, i. comhulta do Ioib é an Capricornn so. ⁊ ro eirigh cuis eigin do ceannairc no d'imurbaidh eidir Tipon coraid ⁊ Capricornn gabur  6 no co n-deachadar  p.416 do cathugadh ⁊ do comhrog re cele, ⁊ gur theith Capricornn roim Thipon, ⁊ gur cuireadh a ceand a ceann ngabair trit sin. ⁊ do cuaidh iarsin ar teitheadh a sruth Tibhir, gur soghudh ag iarthar ⁊ a earr a cosmaileos eisc annsa sruth, co n-dearnadh toratharracht air marsin. ⁊ gurab trit an toratarracht sin rosuighigheadh eidir na randaib he.

Aquarius,  ²⁵ i. an comurta ainmnigtear on usci; ⁊ as inand Aquair ⁊ usci. ⁊ as mar so ata cosmaileas ²⁶ an comurta so ris an usci, oir an te on ainmnigtear an t-usci dobi ag na deib, as tar lamhaib nand dée do timtiridh se an t-usci sin; oir as ar socraideacht a dealba ⁊ ar feabus a dealba tugadh timthireacht an usci do. ⁊ trit sin tug Ioib gradh dho ar feabus a dealba allos peacaid sodamaccda do denamh fris tug se timtireacht usci nan dee do da faghbail ar ais no ar eigin. ⁊ as trit sin do cuireadh eidir na comurtaib he. No as trit an abdhur ele so aderar Aquair fris, i. neach dobidh uair eigin dar b'ainm dileas Peighis; ⁊ as mar so do cruthaigheadh é, d'fhuil na tri n-Goirgeadh, i. na tri hingina aga roibe an aen t-shuil 'na ceannaib. As d'fhuil an toir sin ro geineadh Peighis. ⁊ tug se buille da cois forsin talmain, gur muigh tobur d'usci somilis asin talmain; gurab trit sin aderar Aquair ris, ⁊ as oire sin ro suighigheadh eidir na comurthaib e.

Pises,  ²⁷ i. an da bradan neoch do ruthaigheadh ag na deib. ⁊ as iat so an da bradan sin cosmailtear re Pisis, i. re comurta na grene, i. Veinir ⁊ a mac Cuipeadh. ⁊ ar teitheadh roimh Tipon coraidh cetna docuadar an dias sin ar sruth Disc. ²⁸, co n-dearnaidh da bradan dibh ar aen. Gurab trit sin ro suighigheadh eidir na rannaib iat. No as trit so aderar Piscis ris, i. na bradain sin, as iat frithoileas usci na n-déé o Acquair, ⁊ as iat ro coimed Ioin ingin, in aithbean Ioib, neoch rocuireadh ar teitheadh fon muir roimh Iunaind cruthaidh, i. bean ele do mhnaib Ioib sin.

a Muire ²⁹

The Constellations

It is inquired here how many constellations are in the sky, in both southern and northern hemispheres.

Easily told: — thirteen constellations in the [northern], and eight in the [southern] hemisphere. And these are their names. Of the constellations of the southern hemisphere: — Idurus, Canicula, Lepus, Eridanus, Cetus, Centaurus, Argo, Pisces, Ara. Of the constalltions of the northern hemisphere: — Septentriones, Draco, Arcturus which was called Bootes, Corona, Hercules which was called Nixus or Engonasin, Libra, Cygnus, Serpens, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Delaton, Eniochus, Andromeda, Pegasus, Ophiuchus, Delphinus, Aquila.

The Great Bear, whose proper name was Callisto, daughter of Lycaon king of the Arcadians. She dedicated her virginity to Diana, the goddess of hunting. And thereafter Jove son of Saturn loved Callisto, the daughter of Lycaon, and deceived her and corrupted her virginity: and the goddess Diana was incensed against Callisto the daughter of Lycaon, because of the corruption of her virginity; and Diana turned her into the form of a bear on that account. And thereafter Jove took Callisto with him among the upper constellations in the form of a bear.

The Little Bear, also, whose proper name was Cynosura: she was one of the nurses of Jove. For Jove had many nurses.  p.407 And she was one of the goddesses of Mount Ida; and for the good nursing Cynosura gave to Jove, Jove took her with him among the constellations, also in the form of a bear.

Serpens; that was a venomous snake which slept not one moment through the ages for ever, and it belonged to beautiful Juno: she was a goddess. It kept the garden of the Hesperides; it was ever in Mount Atlas; and this snake used to watch that garden, wherein were golden apples.

And then Hercules came and slew that serpent; and for that it was placed among the constellations. And Tiria [Hydra] was another name of that serpent which was killed by Hercules. It had seven heads at first; and when one of its heads was struck from it, seven heads grew in its place; so that then Hercules did this to it, when he struck one of his heads from it, he burned the head and its stump, and no head grew in its place upon [the hydra] until thus he killed it.

Arcturus; he was the son of Jove son of Saturn, and of Callisto daughter of Lycaon king of the Arcadians. And once [Arcas] came to the house of his grandfather; and thereupon Lycaon slew the son of his daughter and murdered him, and boiled him and gave him to Jove to eat: that is, to the father of the son who had come to him as a guest; and in guise of ox flesh was it given to him. And then Jove recognized that it was man's flesh that was given to him, and he refused the meat. And he was much enraged against Lycaon; and restored [Arcas] and life was given him again, and for this he was placed among the constellations.

Corona, that is a king's diadem which Vulcan made of gold, of gems and of Indian stones, and gave to Dionysus; and Dionysus gave it to Ariadne as a wooing-gift, and Ariadne gave it to Theseus; and it gave him knowledge of the labyrinth of Hercules. And for these virtues and for the number of its virtues and for the many deeds which were done by it on earth and in Hades it was placed among the constellations.

[Lyra.] It was the harp of Mercury at first; and then of Orpheus afterwards. There were seven strings in it; and the music that Mercury or Orpheus made on it, — men and beasts, and  p.409 streams and trees and stones used to come to listen to the music of that harp. So that therefore it was placed among the constellations.

Cepheus son of [Belus], king of the Ethiopians, father of Andromeda. And it happened one day between Andromeda and Cassiopeia, the wife of Cepheus, that Cassiopeia made a contest of beauty with the goddesses of the sea; and therefore she was placed among the constellations, with her head down and her feet up. And Andromeda the daughter of Cepheus was put among the constellations because of the rescue which Perseus made of her in face of the monster of the sea, when it wished to devour her.

Perseus; this is why he was placed among the constellations, because he slew the three Gorgons by means of Mercury's talaria and Vulcan's Sword and Minerva's battle-shield. And thus were the three Gorgons: they were three maidens, and they had one eye among the three; and the maiden whom they wished to go on an errand took the eye with her. And everyone whom that eye saw, it turned him into stone straightaway.

Eniochus, that is the charioteer; and his proper name was Erichthonius. And he was the first who yoked steeds (that is, horses) in a chariot, four in hand. Or, one of the nurses who received Jove was this Capra,— for her proper name was Capra  ³⁰ that is, a goat was under her shoulder, and a kid was in each of her hands; hence the proper name with her two daughters had; for “KId” was the name of each. And this Capra was nurse to Jove, with her two daughters, and therefore bith Eniochus and this Capra with her two daughters were placed among the constellations.

Ophiuchus, for this reason is he among the constellations, because of the winged dragons which he drove in his own  p.411 chariot, and in the chariot of the Triptolemus, the foster-son of Ceres, goddess of corn throughout he world.

Aquila. It was placed for this reason among the constellations, because it took up Ganymede, son of the king of Troy, upon its own back to Jove, who loved him for his beauty and sinned with him.

Aries, that is the ram; and for him who would acquire knowledge of the origin of this ram and the golden fleece it had, this is it. Athamas ³¹ the son of Aeolus was a man who lived in Asia, and he had a goddess as his wife: [Nephele] was her name. And she bore him two sons ³² at one birth, called Phryxus and Helle. And Athamas took another wife, Mica daughter of Diomed. ³³ And Mica hated the children. And when [Nephele] their mother heard this, that Mica wished to sacrifice them to the gods, she came to rescue them, and brought with her a ram with a golden fleece, and thirty feet in length; and she placed her children on it, and the ram carried them over seas and lands until Helle fell off into the sea which is named hence the sea of Hellespont. And Phryxis came safely upon the ram to the land of Colchis, and the ram gave them its golden skin, and therefore they received employment from Aeëtes king of the Colchians; and through this it was placed among the constellations.

Taurus, that is the Bull. And this is why it was placed among the constellations, because it carried Europa daughter of Agenor, Jove's mistress, to the isle of Crete, the whole way upon its back, to Jove. And this is the nature of the Bull, he is stronger in front than behind; so the sun is stronger in the month of April than in the previous month.

Gemini, or Olor, or Cygnus, that is the Swan. And it is thus that Gemini was formed; Gemini is like a wheel, according to the writerss, and to two men bound in one place, as were Castor and Pollux. And it is thus they were bound in one place: — Jove son of Saturn was the most powerful of the gods,  p.413 and he loved a woman called [Leda]; and [Leda] had a pet swan, and it was dear to her. And Jove thought to go to her in guise of the swan, since he could deceive her in no other way until he went to her in guise of the swan. And he deceived her, and she became pregnant and bore two eggs of that pregnancy; and Castor and Pollux were in one egg, and Helen [daughter of ] Leda and Clytemnestra were in the other egg; that is to say these were two sons and two daughters born of the gods. And therefore there were placed among the constellations, because when Castor was taken against his will to Hades Pollux went to him in Hades, and brought him away by force.

Cancer, the ... crab, the king of crabs. And this is why it was placed among the constellations. At the time when Hercules was travelling along the shore and came upon the Hydra, odious, monstrous, multiform, and when Hercules fought with the Hydra stubbornly, valiantly, the crab came to them and took out a bite of the Hydra's foot, and it was lamed, and it fell thereby before Hercules.

Leo, the Lion. And thus is the Lion, hot and dry by nature, and wanton, violent and fierce according to his vigour and his wildness, and according to hs pride and strength and activity, and because of his being king over every lawless beast which is in the world. So that therefore he was placed among the constellations.

Virgo, that is the Maiden. This is a sign of the Zodiac. And it is thus a maid should be, by nature dignified, in the household courteous ³⁴ to slaves and to workers and to the gentlefolk of this family, and to remove cattle from place to place. And for this reason is this sign called the Maiden, because of its being like a maiden unfruitful; in this wise is the sun when it is in this sign, because it is consuming the feast through its heat, and accordingly the earth is unfruitful while the sun is in this sign, through the wasting of the feast of nature from the earth.

Libra, that is a weighing balance. And this is why it is called the Scales, because just as scales make a balance between two things so that one does not exceed the other, so does the sun in this sign, since day and night are equally measured, equally balanced and equally long in hours and in seconds in this month and in this sign, which is called Libra because it has the appearance of scales up among the constellations.

Scorpio that is a venomous reptile. And thus was this reptile, divided into two parts; that is to say divided like many reptiles and diverse creatures, and it had limbs strange, horrible, dissimilar extending from its body behind. So that from the number of limns it had, everyone who saw or heard it said that it would kill any creature living on the earth were not the dragon between them and this scorpion. So that for this reason it was placed among the constellations.

Sagittarius, that is the Archer. And it is thus he was; he was one of the Centaurs. And a Centaur was like this, he had horse's thighs and a horse's tail, and a pointed beard (?), as was the centaur whose proper name was Chiron son of Saturn, or Chiron the harper. And he was placed among the constellations because he had been a teacher of Achilles son of Peleus, and because of the extent of his truthfulness and because he was miraculous, — being a horse in part; for he was a horse below, and a man above.

Sagitta, that is the Arrow. It was placed among the constellations for this reason, because by it was wounded up in heaven Ganymede, son of the king of Troy; and by it did Apollo kill the Cyclopes, who made the thunderbolts for Jove by which Jove had slain Aesculapius the son of Apollo.

Capricornus, the sign which is called the Goat, was like this. He was a foster-brother of Jove; and some cause arose of strife or contention between the warrior Typhon and Capricorn the goat, until they came to fighting and to combat  p.417 with each other. And Capricorn fled before Typhon, and his head was turned into the head of a goat on this account, and he went thereafter in flight into the river Tiber, and his hinder part and his tail changed into the likeness of a fish in the river, so that in this way he became a monstrosity; and through this monstrosity he was placed among the constellations.

Aquarius, the sign which is named after water; Aquarius and water are the same. Thus is the likeness of this sign to water, because the person after whom the water of the gods was named used to serve that water to the hands of the gods. For the service of the water was given him because the pleasantness and the excellence of his comeliness, for which Jove loved him, because of the excellence of his comeliness; and to sin with him he gave him the service of water with the gods, to have him whether he would or not. And through this he was placed among the signs. —Or it is called Aquarius for this other reason. There was once a person, whose proper name was Pegasus; and thus was he created, from the blood ³⁵ of the three Gorgons, that is of the three maidens who had one eye in their heads. From the blood ³⁶ of these three was Pegasus born. And he struck a blow with his foot upon the earth, and a spring of sweet water welled up out of the earth; so that he is called Aquarius, and for this cause was placed among the signs.

Pisces, that is the two salmon which were created among the gods. And these are two salmon which are likened to Pisces, that is to a sign of the Zodiac, namely Venus and her son Cupid. And in fleeing from the same warrior Typhon they both went into the river Styx, and thery were made into two salmons; and therefore they were placed among the constellations. —Or it is for this reason that it is called Pisces, that these salmon are distributors of water of the gods from Aquarius. And they guarded the girl Io, Jove's second wife, who was caused to escape under the sea from beautiful Juno, another of Jove's wives.

O. O. Andersonrecte A.O. Anderson.

@article{G602002,
  editor 	 = {A. O. Anderson},
  title 	 = {Ranna an aeir [The Constellations]},
  journal 	 = {Revue Celtique},
  editor 	 = {Henri D'Arbois de Jubainville},
  number 	 = {30},
  address 	 = {Paris},
  publisher 	 = {F. Vieweg},
  date 	 = {1909},
  pages 	 = {404–417}
}
 G602002.bib