Bernadette Brady

The Role of the Constant Sky in the pursuit of the Restoration of Sky Myths

Abstract

Stories may appear to hold sky components. However, if they have become disconnected from the sky, it can be a difficult task to return them to the heavens. Every shift in the story's narrative can and does add speculation to any claims for the source of a myth being the sky. Nevertheless, if a character and the sequence of a story are to be a sky narrative, then they will be dictated by the determinism of the heavens, rather than the expected actions of character and plot. Additionally, as Alan Garner (1997: 71) argues, any absurdity in a story's plot can indicate a sky myth embedded in the actions of the characters. Thus the nuances of naked-eye and horizon astronomy are necessary skills required for the exploration of a possible sky myth. Furthermore, any restoration is fundamentally seeking to see the sky through the eyes of the people who first created the myth, their world view, and their cosmological beliefs. By paying attention therefore to these components of character, sequence, absurdities, naked-eye astronomy, and cultural fidelity, a methodology can be formed that aids the researcher in restoring the myth to the sky. Furthermore such a procedure can become a guide for future work regarding the validity of sky myth claims.

Garner, Alan, 'Oral history and applied archeaology in East Cheshire', in The voice that thunders : essay and lectures, (London: Harvill, 1997), pp. 65-79 (p. 71).

Biography

Bernadette Brady has a PhD in Anthropology (2012) and MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology (2005). She is currently a tutor in the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK. Her research interests are in the cultural significant of astrology both historically as well as in contemporary life and within the field of ethnographical/astrological work where she has published on the cultural influence of stars and the religious and cultural significant of star phases.