---
season: early-spring
section: what the stars are showing
---

- orion is sinking west, his last weeks of the year. watch him go.
- leo the lion climbs high, the bright star regulus at his heart
- the big dipper stands nearly upright, its handle pointing down
- arcturus rises in the east, orange and steady, a sign the warm is coming
- gemini and the twins castor and pollux still hold the south sky
- the winter triangle (betelgeuse, sirius, procyon) fades lower each night

the old farmers watched orion leave and knew the planting was close. when he disappears below the western horizon, the frost is nearly done.

arcturus was the star the old plowmen followed. its name means "bear watcher" in greek, because it follows ursa major across the sky. but to the farmers it simply meant warmth is returning. when it rises at sunset, the soil is ready.

regulus, the heart of the lion, was another of the four royal stars of persia. it marked the summer solstice four thousand years ago. the name means "little king," and in spring it rules the high sky.