Use Big Dipper to locate Polaris, the North Star..(The Russian Bear) The Beginning of the End...

The Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major or the Big Bear constellation. Some sources say the Dipper makes up the Bear’s tail and hindquarters. Many people say they can’t see the Bear, but I’ve imagined I’ve seen a bear in these stars, on very dark night around this time of year. To me, the Big Dipper looks like it’s part of the stomach of the Bear.


One thing is certain. If you find the Big Dipper in the northeast on a March evening – and locate the two outermost stars in its bowl – those stars will point to Polaris!

[link to earthsky.org]

There might be a relationship between the roots bear. Aristotle "held that the name (Ursa) was derived from the fact that of all known animals the bear was thought to be the only one that dared to venture into the frozen regions of the north and tempt the solitude and cold".

The bear was the only animal able to bear the cold.

Navigators used the two bear constellations (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) to get their bearings on sea.

Arabs imagined the asterism, the Big Dipper, as a Bier with the three stars in the tail as the mourners following the Bier. The title "'the Bier' is so similar to the almost universal appellation 'the Bear,' that we might almost suppose that the latter title was a confused rendering of the former."

Ursa Major

Another sidereal sidepiece is Ursa Major, which, along with Ursa Minor, seems to tell the same story. Though it is depicted as the Big Dipper, it orginally referred to “the assembled flock.” As in the case of Ursa Minor, there are also seven bright stars, which make up the constellation of Ursa Major. The brightest star is Dubeh, meaning “herd or flock;” Merach means “the flock purchased;” Phaeda means “visited, guarded, or numbered;” and Benet Naish means “the daughters of the assembly.”

It is a magnificent view of the vast assembly of believers who are reserved in heaven today awaiting the resurrection. Both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor compliment the constellation Cancer by representing the great sheepfold in heaven where the Shepherd keeps redeemed believers.

Argo

The third sidereal sidepiece to Cancer is a ship called Argo. It was the celebrated ship of the Argonauts. According to Greek mythology, its captain, Jason, recovered the Golden Fleece from the serpent. To do so, of course, he had to fight both a dragon and a giant. From the ancient mythological story we can glean the true meaning of the “old ship Zion thus sailing along.” It represents heavens “clouds” — possibly the celestial transportation vehicles for resurrected and translated saints. Jason could have been an ancient story of the Redeemer; the Golden Fleece is a symbol of eternal life; the dragon is symbolic of Satan; and the giant could represent the largest of all earthly wars — Armageddon.

Of the stars in the constellation, the brightest is Canopus, meaning “the possession of him who comes.” Another star, Sephina, means “the multitude.” They appear to represent the ship of our salvation. Such is the story to be found in the great constellation of Cancer.

Leo

Now we come to the end of the circle. We began with Virgo, the virgin, and we shall end with Leo, the lion. No one who has followed our study can doubt that we have here the solving of the riddle in the Sphinx, for its head is Virgo, and its body is Leo. In Leo we reach the end of the revelation as inspired in the Word of God.

The constellation is depicted as a great lion pouncing upon its prey. It is a magnificent view of the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” so beautifully described in Revelation 5:5. When our Savior came the first time, He came as the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). But when He comes the second time,

He shall come as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” to establish His kingdom upon the Earth.

[link to www.constellationsofwords.com]