Writing Our Own Starmyths (Why Not)

Writing Your Own Starmyth

Why cant we write out own myths? As I researched, pondered, mediated, and basically fussed over writing my own planetarium show, I kept running my head into this brick wall. Starshows require constellations. And constellations are shining history books, historical, no MYTHICAL figures. Ancient characters and stories handed down from peoples we slightly revere but frankly don't know much about. I'm talking about Greeks.. Chaldean shephards. Greek myths, but Arabic star names. But then there are so called 'modern' constellations as well.. scientific apparatus, mountains, even a telescope. All this set me to thinking. HPA Is all about home grown. So my next thought was .. Why not write my own myths?

Or at least one or two, to try them out. Myths have some basis in reality if you go back far enough, maybe? So that means at one time somebody wrote them, or did the deeds referred to. Was Perseus an actual guy? Medusa's hairdresser perhaps? But this gave me pause. Am I rewriting history? Would some kid startle a teacher in class someday with a totally foreign story about a well known king or queen doing or saying things quite unknown to anyone outside my dome? As much as I tried to worry about this, I never could take it completely seriously.

Everyone's writing children's stories it seems these days. Why couldn't I? Now I COULD see the dangers of taking this 'home grown' thing too far. I wasn't about to declare new constellations, or rename stars. Myth writing needed rules, seemingly. Science and wonder walk hand in hand in a planetarium, but each deserve their own space. I was well aware of the 'star naming' controversy, how educators and scientists were horrified with the concept of 'stars as gifts'. As most kids grew out of this after a few years anyway, I myself however saw any chance to spur interest in the stars a good one. I was excluding astrology however. I was spurring interest and wonder, not predicting the future.So sitting in my creative refuge, my domed star chamber (more on that in a minute), I decided to plunge in and write one. A Star myth. It sprang from my new handheld constellation shadow projectors (more on those too). The fact that I was keeping them at present handheld so I could find their constellation stars at any position overhead had me playing with them. Wandeirng them over the skies toward their eventual goal I finally begin picturing kids giggling as say,the Little Bear emerged from the southern horizon and ambled around, looking for his stars. well, this is for kids. Here goes ....

(continued next blog entry)