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Stars and Constellations Page 1

Stars and Constellations of FaerunAstrology has been practiced by the peoples of Faerun since the dawn of time.

From elves to humans to orcs, each race (and even individual societies) has their ownconstellations and accompanying myths. Even (perhaps surprisingly) the subterraneandwarves recognie images in the night s!ies overhead.

For humans in Faerun, the art of astrology e"tends bac! to the ancient empire of#aurin. Although not the first humans to loo! up into the night s!ies and see images (thathonor going to their primitive cave$dwelling ancestors), the %mas!ari were the first toidentify the visible planets and set down a codified set of constellations (in fact, they werestrong believers in astrology, the art of studying signs and portents hidden in the stars andconstellations, a bit surprising for a nation that denied the e"istence of godly power). %t is believed that the %mas!ari gained much of their astronomical !nowledge from the elves ofthe South, as well as through contact with the eastern cultures of &ara$'ur. 'he %mas!ariscontemporaries to the north, the mighty etherese, !new of spell*amming and of magicsthat allowed one to travel the stars, and it is thought that this scientific approach to theheavens prevented the rise of such frivolous star$gaing.

After the fall of the %mas!ari, their observations of the stars were carried on bytheir descendants, the priests of the +ulhorand empire. %ndeed, it is through the+ulhorandi that much of the rest of Faerun gained their constellations (though along theway each culture often re$named and re$attributed these heavenly bodies to fit their ownneeds). %n modern times, astrology has become widespread throughout Faerun, althoughthe more scientific field of astronomy has dwindled until, today, it is mostly practiced only by mages and priests of Selune. owever, increasing contact with the societies of -a!haraand +atica (both highly$developed in the field of astronomy) is re$!indling Faerunsinterest in the heavens.

Angharradh'his female$shaped constellation is of ma*or importance to the silver elves of

Faerun, as they believe it represents Angharradh, the tripartite goddess of Sehanine,Aerdrie Faenya, and anali Celanil. 'o humans, the constellation has a much less$important designation as elessea, a powerful witch long famed in the orth for heruntiring battle against the hordes of goblin$!in, and her timely aid of travelers and theneedy.

Belnimbra's BeltA string of five stars. %t is one of the oldest named constellations on Faerun.

amed for the legend of the first human female to have been turned into a swanmay, andhow the god /athander chased after her. %t is !nown as Ishtar's Belt in 0nther and+ulhorand, and the halflings add in two nearby stars and call it The Pipe. 'o the elves, the

five stars are !nown as Corellon's Tears, and they have a more somber tale1 the elves believe that the 'ears are actual tears of grief Corellon cried when /olth corrupted thedrow, and elf first fought elf. Elven legends also state that the 'ears glowed blood$redduring the Fall of legendary +yth 2rannor.

The Brow Star*'he brightest star in the +ystras Star Circle constellation, it mar!s due north. 'he

3edine of Anauroch !now it as 4Alagairtha,4 after the legend of a proud 3edine sorceress


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who is said to have challenged the gods long, long ago, and been imprisoned in theheavens as a punishment1 to preserve her breathta!ing beauty, but !eep her forever froenand helpless.

The Caltrop*'his constellation is formed by three converging lines of stars, each with a cluster

of stars at its outward end, or 4point.4 5here the three lines come together is due east. 'ohumans, these stars are also !nown as the Arrows of the Gods, or the Sun's Signpost . 'heelves call this constellation Adarivael , and hold it sacred to Solonor 'helandira. 'henomads of Anauroch call the Caltrop At'ar's Arrows, and believe that they are three fieryarrows launched by the sun goddess, to clear and mar! her way (as the sun rises here).

CassimaAlso !nown as the Bird of Paradise, or the Phoenix. Although elvish in origin,

humans have also adopted the story of Cassima, a young maiden who was held to be anevil witch and burned at the sta!e. 3efore she dies, a god (anali Celanil to the elves,most often Selune or /liira to humans) reaches out and transforms her into a 6hoeni", a

bird of flame, whereupon she rises up and *oins the goddess in the heavens.

The ChaliceA relatively minor constellation, this cup$shaped grouping is often referred to in

ancient te"ts as Chebelos or The Odalin. Although the meaning of these words, believedto be #aumatharian in origin, is lost, the te"ts indicate that the Chalice once played a muchmore important role in the heavens, at least to the peoples of that empire.

Color Spray Nebula'his nebulosity loo!s very much li!e the effects of a color spray spell. %t is a fan$

shaped ob*ect that is seen primarily during the spring and early summer. %t is appro"imately

two million miles long, with a width of one million miles at one end, and 788 feet at theother.

'he worshipers of +ystra believe this to be a sign from their goddess, that theiruse of the magic that she awards them pleases her. 'he cult of 3ane (and later, Cyric) believes that the nebula is the wrath of their deity, spreading its way across the heavens.'hey believe that everything within its destructive path is utterly annihilated.

Correlian*'hirteen stars ma!e up the autumn constellation of Correlian. 'o the moon elves,

the appearance of this star formation mar!s the final demise of summer, and has greatreligious significance, especially in moon elven strongholds li!e Everes!a.

For humans and gold elves, the other autumnal constellation of the 9ester:2ancer ismore important, although with a rising number of Eilistraee$worshipers claiming the2ancer as their own, many gold elves on the mainland are also choosing to hold theCorrelian constellation ascendant, to avoid associating with 4drowish notions.4

The Double Daggers*/ocated in the western s!y, this constellation is two fuy clusters of blue$white

stars, which appear as two side$by$side crescents or arcs in the s!y, points downward.


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'rue west can be found e"actly halfway between the two arcs $ heading 4straight betweenthe eyes.4

%n the Sword Coast orth, the 2aggers are !nown as The !es of the "at#hing"o$an, and in the western eartlands men spea! of 4where Selune loo!s bac!.4 'o the3edine of Anauroch, the 2aggers are !nown as The Two %a$bi!as, or the !es of lah.Similarly, the elves !now this constellation as The !es of &elaereene (named after thelong$ago ;ueen 0elaereene of Evermeet), and the halflings of /uiren connect the two arcsand call it The Gull .

Galleon Nebula'his nebula loo!s very much li!e a large, multi$colored galleon ship. %ts sails

appear to blow in a celestial wind that does not e"ist. 5ith mariner spyglasses, the oars onthe sides of the ship can be seen rowing in their never$ending tas!. 'he nebulosity is twomillion miles long and high, and well over 788,888 miles wide. %t is visible primarily duringthe autumn and early winter.

'he


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or set, but always seems to be glued to a single point in the s!y. So, at any time in thenight you can find the Sailors Star, as it is always in the orth. %f a ship got lost, theycould always figure out their direction by finding %eriyn. ot surprisingly, the Sailors Staris held sacred to Selunites, and praised by sailors across Faerun. owever, the navigationaluse of the star is not limited to the seas, and travelers, prospectors, and worshipers ofShaunda!ul all use the star for land$based travel.

#ansreene's Throne$The An%il'his grouping of stars is !nown as The Throne to humans, named after the

legendary ;ueen 9ansreene of Asram. 'o dwarves, the constellation is !nown as the Anvil,and holds great religious significance to them, especially in relation to the church of+oradin. A comet passing through the Anvil around $>88 2# is said to have heralded thefounding of the dwarven nation of 2eloun.

%n ancient arfell, the 'hrone was !nown as The Altar , and represented the altarsupon which sacrifices were made to their dar! gods. 'he name is still in use today by theirdescendants, the ars, even if the sacrifices arent.

The #ester'his constellation shines brightest in Eleint, especially around igh$harvestide. %t is

!nown as 'he 9ester to humans and halflings1 to elves, this constellation is called The an#er , and in recent years it has become associated with Eilistraee, the 2ar! +aiden (atleast on the mainland. ?n Evermeet, elves have been !nown to react violently at anysuggestion that the 2ancer has become 4corrupted4 by 4drowish notions4).

&ing's CoinA brightly$shining, yellowish star which forms the 4pommel4 of the sword in the

Swordsman constellation. %t is traditionally held to foretell the lives of Faeruns rulers, andmany tales through the ages tell of the Coin glowing brightly at the birth of rulers destined

for greatness (indeed, the stars little$!nown 4proper4 name, I$adain, is believed to comefrom the ancient %mas!ari, meaning 4/uc!y Star of the &ing4). A few fables even tellstories of the Coin disappearing from the heavens upon the deaths of several !ings, themost famous of which is Faerlthann, the first !ing of Cormyr.

%n recent years, the &ings Coin has become prominent in the religion ofSiamorphe, the deity of nobles and nobility, and members of her faith have ta!en to addingits image to their heraldic devices, especially in the land of 'ethyr.

abraen+ore commonly called The Ar#her , this constellation is often seen as a companion

to the Swordsman, whom he faces across the nighttime s!y (a ma*or e"ception is the people of 'hay, whose myths hold that the Archer is (ival!n, a warrior famed for his partin defeating the first +ulhorandi invasion of 'hay. 'he'hayans believe that #ivalyn gives unending chase to the Swordsman, called A$entira after the pharaoh who launched the invasion, across the heavens).

'he elves also call this constellation )abraen, and each elven enclave seems tohave their own legends and stories about him.

The ion$The (ol)$The Dog$The eopard


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'his animal$shaped constellation is !nown by a different name to almost everyculture on Faerun. %n the


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for years, and then suddenly slowly moving to another. Astronomers have discerned thatShaundral is not a planet or other solid body, but what e"actly it is, is still a mystery. Also,it seems to shine brightest when a great misfortune or disaster is about to befall on Faerun,and so is often attributed to the +aid of +isfortune, with the secondary name of Beshaba's !e (similarly, the 3edine of Anauroch attribute the 2rifting Star toShaunda!ul, the 'reacherous /ur!er in the Sands).

Star o) ,siris?ne of the brightest stars in the southern hemisphere, ?siris is not visible to

anyone living north of a line drawn through the middle of the Sea of Fallen Stars. %n+ulhorandi lore, this heavenly light is the gateway to the #ealm of the 2ead, throughwhich the souls of the deceased rise up into the care of ?siris.

The SwordsmanAlso !nown as The "arrior or The Sentinel , this constellation shares the same

traits in cultures across Faerun1 loyalty, guardianship, battle, freedom. +any legends andmyths have been attributed to the Swordsman through the ages, although most recent

human ones tend to center around the e"ploits of 'orm or 'empus. %n the +oonshaes, theSwordsman is called Cymrych ugh, and is believed to be the soul of the legendary hero, placed in the heavens by the Earthmother.

Similarly, the elves have many myths about the Swordsman1 the most popular isthat the Swordsman was Auranamn, the first elf, who fought at Corellons side during thegreat battle with


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to the east, in the lands of #ashemen and ancient #aumathar. 'he myths of these landsfeature several stories about the three, said to have been powerful mages who wanderedthe lands, defending people from monsters, brigands, and other enemies, while dispensingwisdom and advice to local rulers.

-ruath*South in the desert s!y of Anauroch is mar!ed by a igag line of stars that

4crawls4 along the horion, from west to east, beginning with an upswept 4head4 or brightstarry cluster, and ending with a curving 4tail4 of stars. 'o the 3edine, this constellation isthe Serpent of the Sands, &ruath, 4The Swallower .4 'he desert nomads believe that thiscreature is wild and amoral, older than the gods, and that it swallows mountains, trees,and grasses to create the desert, leaving only sand in its wa!e. %ts presence in the southerns!y, most 3edine believe, means that the desert will continually e"pand southward, as iteats its way across the ?utlands.

Fol! elsewhere in Faerun do not see this line of stars so clearly1 not being on theirhorion most of the time, it is enmeshed in a tangle of smaller constellations, and is notthought of as a unit. %n 'unland, Cormyr, %riaebor, and 5estgate, however, it is recognied

as a star configuration mar!ing the direction 4south,4 and is !nown respectively as 0aeraula, the Sword of the South, the Southfires, and the )ightning Bolt .

/'landrothiel !The Tra%eler's Star"*'he elven name for %eriyn (The Sailor's Star ). %t is believed that humans first

learned of the stars navigational uses from the fair fol! of the orth.

/'tellarien !The 0ar Star"* o information available.

General Notes

Nearby 1lanets?f the nine planets in orbit around 'orils sun, the inhabitants of 'oril can see four

others in the nighttime s!ies (indeed, to most people, these other four planets are all that isout there, although there are mages, astronomers, and spell*ammers that !now the truth of the matter). %t is believed that the etherese were the first to give names to these planets(through their contact with 5ildspace), and those names have since spread to the rest ofFaerun.

Sometime in the prehistory of Faerun, these four planets, apparently due to theircolors, became associated with the four elements and, later, with the four Elemental


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• Coliar !A3adi"2 bluish$white color. 'he elves call Coliar )uridel , and associate it with

Erevan %lesere.

• *&arpri !shtishia"2 blue$green color. 'he elves call &arpri O#hael , and associate it

with #illifane #allathil.

• Chandos !Grumbar"2 brownish color. 'he elves call Chandos Iaras, and associate it

with /abelas Enoreth.

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