Perseus the Hero, saviour of Andomeda, is one of the most famous Greek Heroes. He was tasked to bring the head of Medusa the Gorgon as a wedding gift for King Polydectes, who was marrying Hippodameia. Secretly though the king lusted after Danaë, mother of Perseus, and this task was designed to lead to the death of Perseus, freeing Polydectes to marry Danaë.
Medusa had snakes for hair, and her gaze would turn humans to stone. Perseus was favoured b the gods, Athena gave him a bronze shield, Hephastus gave him a diamond sword, and Hades gave him a helmet of darkness that made him invisible. Aided by these Perseus was able to sneak up on Medusa whilst she slept and cut of her head, putting it in a bag to take back to Polydectes.
On his return home Perseus used the head as a weapon to aid him in his journey. He asked the hospitality of Atlas, who refused. Medusa's gaze turned him in to the mountains that now bare his name. He also used the head to allow him to marry Andromeda. She was already betrothed to Phineus, brother of Cepheus (Andromeda's Uncle). Phinneus challenged Perseus at the wedding feast, throwing a spear at Perseus. In response Perseus used the head to turn Phinneus to stone. He also used the head to transform the treacherous Polydectes.

Draco, the dragon, features in many Greek myths in various forms. In his guise as the serpent Ladon, the serpent is tasked with looking after the Golden Apples that give immortality, growing in the garden of the Hesperides. The trees were a wedding gift to Hera, wife of Zeus, but she became angry when she discovered that the Hespirdes, daughters of Atlas, were picking and eating the apples. Knowing that Ladon prized anything gold she tasked him to guard the trees. 
Hera later tasked Heracles to retrieve some of the golden apples from the garden, hoping that Ladon would kill hi. Heracles however used a poisoned arrow to put Ladon to sleep, allowing Heracles to step over him, pick the apples, and escape unhurt. When Ladon awoke Hera placed him amongst the stars under the celestial apple tree of the Little Dipper, and it's golden apples,  the stars Polaris and Kochab. 

If I have worked my magic on the website then the spare Merino & Silk fibre from each 12 Days of Christmas parcel will be going in the online shop each day. This is the same base as all the other Superfine Merino & Silk fibre that's available, so you can mix and match with any other colour that's in stock, and also benefit from the same offer of "Buy any 2 and get the 3rd half price".
The whole range of fibre is available here.

The fibre this year has a theme of the Stars. In the northern hemisphere, at this darkest time of the year starlight can feel magical. Humanity has always looked to the heavens, and created stories around the patterns that they can see from these glowing balls of gas so far away from our own little planet.

If you fancy trying to find the stars linked to the fibre then there are some great apps that use the camera in your phone, assisted reality, and the internal compass to help you identify where to look.

Cassiopeia is the seated queen. It was her prideful boast about her beauty that so angered Poseidon and led to him creating Cetus to terrorise the oceans. On her death Zeus placed her in the heavens, maybe as a cautionary warning...
The Babylonians also identified the stars that we now call Cassiopeia, to them she was also a representation of a female form, representing Euphratean and Phoenician divinities. Back in 3,500 BCE Sumero-Akkadian cultures used this constellation to represent the Sun Goddess Kassêba.

Aquila the Eagle is the bird of Zeus, carrying his thunderbolts which the god hurled at his enemies. However it's not just thunderbolts that the Eagle carried. Legend has it that Aquila snatched up Ganymede, the son of the King of Troy, Tros. The boy was beautiful, and are to serve as cup-bearer to the gods of Olympus. 

If I have worked my magic on the website then the spare Merino & Silk fibre from each 12 Days of Christmas parcel will be going in the online shop each day. This is the same base as all the other Superfine Merino & Silk fibre that's available, so you can mix and match with any other colour that's in stock, and also benefit from the same offer of "Buy any 2 and get the 3rd half price".
The whole range of fibre is available here.

The fibre this year has a theme of the Stars. In the northern hemisphere, at this darkest time of the year starlight can feel magical. Humanity has always looked to the heavens, and created stories around the patterns that they can see from these glowing balls of gas so far away from our own little planet.

If you fancy trying to find the stars linked to the fibre then there are some great apps that use the camera in your phone, assisted reality, and the internal compass to help you identify where to look.

By now we're pretty familiar with Cepheus and his role in the myth of Cetus, Andromeda and Perseus. "The King" constellation is one of the hardest to see as it doesn't contain any very bright stars. Before their redeignation as Cepheus this group  of stars was known as a Shepherd by early Akkadian star watchersBabylonians used part of this group to make a constellation in the shape of a Panther-griffon. This was a celestial manifestation of the Lord of the Underworld. 

Cygnus the swan is a constellation with truly ancient origins. Long identified as a bird, it may well be the constellation show in  the Babylonian Clay tablet depicting the map of the world from around 600 BCE. 

The right triangular segment is labelled "Beyond the flight of birds" and this may refer to the constellation we call Cygnus as a way of orientating the map.
There are many myths linked to this constellation, we owe the name to the Romans, who adopted Greek mythology to explain the name, The Greeks had called it Ornis, meaning Bird. 
Cycnus, son of Poseidon, was friends with Phaethon (mortal son of Helios the Sun God). Phaethon persuaded is father to let him drive his  Sun chariot across the skies. Alas, the four horses that drew the chariot were not familiar with Phaeton and they soon ran wild. Phaeton let go with the reins and the horses ran off, running wild through the heavens, and perilously close to Earth, causing the land and sky to burst in to flames. Zeus averted disaster, and sent down lightning bolts to correct the course of the chariot, but by then it was too late for Phaeton. He fell to Earth, landing in the river Eridanus. Cygnus was distraught and repeatedly tried to retrieve his friends body, Zeus was so moved by this act of devotion he transformed Cycnus in to a swan, and gave him a spot in the heavens to forever look down on the remains of his beloved Phaethon. 
We can still see the path of Phaethon's doomed ride, the Cygnus rift is visible across the Milky Way. 

We have already encountered Andromeda, the chained maiden. She was the one sacrificed by her father King Cepheus to the sea monster Cetus. Thankfully for Andromeda she was rescued by Perseus. The tale depicts her as being the paragon of the Greek ideals of femininity, at first being too shy to even answer Perseus, and refusing to say why she was chained to the rock. Despite her impending doom Perseus even has time to ask her parents for her hand in marriage should he slay Cetus, which he duly did. 
Andromeda and Perseus do marry and have six children. The goddess Athena placed her image in the skies, where she lies next to Perseus, and only separated from Cetus by the constellation Pisces. 

If I have worked my magic on the website then the spare Merino & Silk fibre from each 12 Days of Christmas parcel will be going in the online shop each day. This is the same base as all the other Superfine Merino & Silk fibre that's available, so you can mix and match with any other colour that's in stock, and also benefit from the same offer of "Buy any 2 and get the 3rd half price".
The whole range of fibre is available here.

The fibre this year has a theme of the Stars. In the northern hemisphere, at this darkest time of the year starlight can feel magical. Humanity has always looked to the heavens, and created stories around the patterns that they can see from these glowing balls of gas so far away from our own little planet.

If you fancy trying to find the stars linked to the fibre then there are some great apps that use the camera in your phone, assisted reality, and the internal compass to help you identify where to look.

In the Northern skies is a charioteer with no chariot. His hands grasp the reins, but his chariot is no longer his to drive. Our charioteer appears in various different stories, the most popular identifies him as Erichthonius, King of Athens. Erichthonious was the son Hephastus, but was raised by the goddess Athena. She taught him many skills, including horsemanship. Legend goes that he was the first to harness four horses to a single chariot in imitation of the Sun's Chariot drawn by four horses. This drew the admiration of Zeus, who then placed him in the night skies. 

Alternatively the charioteer is sometimes identified as Myrtilus, son of Hermes. Myrtilus was the charioteer of Oenomaus a Greek King. His chariot was destroyed in a race between the suitors of Oenomaus's daughter Hippodamia. Myrtilus was placed in the sky by his father Hermes, when he was killed Hippodamia's successful suitor Pelops.

If I have worked my magic on the website then the spare Merino & Silk fibre from each 12 Days of Christmas parcel will be going in the online shop each day. This is the same base as all the other Superfine Merino & Silk fibre that's available, so you can mix and match with any other colour that's in stock, and also benefit from the same offer of "Buy any 2 and get the 3rd half price". 
The whole range of fibre is available here.

The fibre this year has a theme of the Stars. In the northern hemisphere, at this darkest time of the year starlight can feel magical. Humanity has always looked to the heavens, and created stories around the patterns that they can see from these glowing balls of gas so far away from our own little planet. 

If you fancy trying to find the stars linked to the fibre then there are some great apps that use the camera in your phone, assisted reality, and the internal compass to help you identify where to look. ​

A comparatively modern constellation, instead of being named by the Ancient Greeks, this one was introduced by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. Sadly this leaves us with no lovely myth, but the star atlas which originally identified the constellation does contain some beautiful illustrations. 

If I have worked my magic on the website then the spare Merino & Silk fibre from each 12 Days of Christmas parcel will be going in the online shop each day. This is the same base as all the other Superfine Merino & Silk fibre that's available, so you can mix and match with any other colour that's in stock, and also benefit from the same offer of "Buy any 2 and get the 3rd half price". 
The whole range of fibre is available here.

The fibre this year has a theme of the Stars. In the northern hemisphere, at this darkest time of the year starlight can feel magical. Humanity has always looked to the heavens, and created stories around the patterns that they can see from these glowing balls of gas so far away from our own little planet. 

If you fancy trying to find the stars linked to the fibre then there are some great apps that use the camera in your phone, assisted reality, and the internal compass to help you identify where to look. ​

One of the easiest constellations to see in the sky, and on clear nights will definitely be one you can step outside and see. I'm lucky enough to live on the edge of a Dark Sky Reserve, so my views of the night sky are pretty incredible, but Orion contains such bright stars that it will be visible in all but the most light polluted locations. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, and the 10th brightest star in the night sky, and is at Orions right shoulder. It contrasts very clearly with Rigel, the 6th brightest star in the night sky, which is a blue supergiant. If you want to know more about the types of stars then this is a nice starting point. It's very easy to see the difference in their colours. 

This constellation features in the mythology of many cultures, but under the name Orion, the Greeks describe him as the hunter. Orion is the son of Poseidon and the Gorgon Euryale, His father gave him the gift of being able to walk on water, and using his powers Orion walked to the island of Chios. He then had too much to drink, and made unwanted advances to Merope, daughter of King Oenopion. As punishment the king blinded Orion, Orion managed to return home, where Hephastus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) took pity on him, and made his servant Cedalion accompany Orion to Helios (god of the sun), who restored Orion's site. 
Orion however didn't learn his lesson. He boasted that he would conquer every creature on Earth. This angered the Earth goddess Gaia, who sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion. In death Orion was placed in the stars alog=ngside the scorpion who had killed him.