Hu Gadarn’s plough

By markontour, March 31, 2024

Spring has sprung in Wales and the changing of the seasons on earth also marks a shift in the ascendancy in the heavens, with Bootes taking over from Orion as the most prominent constellation in the night sky. In Welsh mythology, Bootes represents Hu Gadarn, the first farmer to use oxen to pull a plough. The moment at which Hu Gadarn (Bootes), his yoke (Auriga), and ox (Taurus, the bull) first line up after sunset was a reminder to ancient Celts that it was time to plough the fields and sow seeds. Markontour is not going to be taking up farming, but warmer weather means more time outdoors, including warmer evenings to enjoy the dark skies of the Bannau Brycheiniog.

In other Welsh myths, Hu Gadarn is instead holding the reins of two hunting dogs – Cwn Wybir and Cwn Annwn. Together they are the Sky Dogs, or Canes Venatici in the Latin, and can be spotted just below of the tail of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. In Celtic legend, hearing the Sky Dogs presaged the death of a family member and thus they were also known as The Dogs of Hell, usually depicted as white furred “with red ears and flashing eyes, bright with fire”.

If you can overcome that fear, the constellation of the Sky Dogs is rich with deep sky objects, including the unforgetteable Whirlpool Galaxy, which I am hoping to see when I dust off my telescope tonight.

Markontour’s one song playlist for this blog: Lights Out for Darker Skies, by Sea Power

Reading: Dark Land, Dark Skies: The Mabinogion in the Night Sky, Martin Griffiths