The Sentient Sentinel

Part of the steps I wish to take in explaining the power of ritual and prayer is where these rituals and prayers come from. Since the beginning of time man has been enthralled by the beauty of the heavens and have often times spent many a moons studying them. Through the study of the stars ancients have learned the mathematical prowess to build astounding fetes of manual labor. They also came up with names for the groupings of stars that they often viewed, such as Taurus, Virgo, and Scorpio. Later they embellished these names with stories to go with each constellation, giving the stars a persona of their own. Through these constellations they declared 12 main constellations that comprise our Zodiac table. The influence of this table can be seen in many religions from the cross that defined the table to the importance of the number twelve even to the representation of famous religious figures to the constellations themselves (ie the Jesus fish). Orion is one of the favorite constellations of lore and can easily be seen by the Greek Mythology about Orion. However the constellation plays a much more important role than that. The belt of Orion, known as the Three Kings, is the easiest to locate sub-constellation in the sky. It also pointed to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, if a line was drawn through the Three Kings and if continued would point to the rise of the sun. This explains the importance of the Three Kings in most mythological stories. Also the sun appears to raise and lower at 'higher' and 'lower' points in the sky to the individual observer. During Summer Solstice it reaches it's highest and during the Winter Solstice it is at it's lowest. On December 21st, if one follows the suns decent each evening, the sun reaches it's lowest point in the sky. It remains at that same degree in the sky for three days and then on December 25th it raises once again one degree. This shows the importance of December 25th in the many myths that have used it to as the birthday of the different gods and sons of gods. The ancients also didn't celebrate this birth until the Spring Solstice (Easter), where the sun once again is in the sky longer than it is not (the days become longer then the nights again). This explains the common dates of the different religions of the world but why show so much emphasis on the sun? Well the sun is a star, like the others, the biggest (obviously) in our sky, so big that it warms our planet and allows for the gift of life. The ancients were aware of this as well. They did not fully comprehend the sun, but they saw it as the most magnificent and life giving force in their world. That is why the sun was often represented as a god in local mythology and in most of the original religions the head god or the son (sun) of the head god. The crown of a king, gold, shiny and pointy is the representation of the rays of the sun. Even our eras are defined by the different constellations, such as Pisces which we are currently in. The life of an Earthian is so ruled by the stars in our area of observation at our local in the universe that one could nearly find it's influence in everything in our daily lives. Even the moon plays an important role in the way mystics viewed the world. Not only does it influence our tides, but it is a lone silhouette in blackness of the night sky. It often gave comfort to the night traveler who otherwise would have a very hard time navigating his route indeed. It is also represented as the 'Great Mother' in many cultures. The moon represented by it's effect on water which man represented with the fluids of a woman. The moon also was used to represent the terms of pregnancy, as the moon grew bigger it became more ripe for birth and then the moon would 'give birth' and become small again. This is once again the reason for the importance of the Sun, Moon, and Stars in man's daily existence. This explains the our father prayer (Father God) and the importance of the Great Mother in the mythological existence of the Gods along with the Hunter (Orion), the Three Kings (Orion's Belt), and the Virgin (Virgo).