- It is not surprising to find a ram in the sky, for rams were frequently sacrificed to the gods, and Zeus was at times identified with a ram. But the mythographers agree that Aries is a special ram, the one whose golden fleece was the object of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. This ram made its appearance on Earth just as King Athamas of Boeotia was about to sacrifice his son Phrixus to ward off an impending famine.
passage through the ecliptic
- Star Tales - Taurus (ianridpath.com)
Taurus (Ταῦρος in Greek) is a distinctive constellation, with star-tipped horns and a head defined by a V-shaped group of stars. Two Greek bull-myths were associated with Taurus. Usually it was said to represent Zeus in the disguise he adopted for another of his extramarital affairs, this time as the bull that carried away Europa, daughter of King Agenor of Phoenicia.
- Polystichum munitum (Wikipedia)
Polystichum munitum, the western swordfern, is an evergreen perennial fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with disjunctive populations in northern British Columbia, Canada; the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States; and Guadalupe Island off of Baja California, Mexico. Western swordfern is known to have locally naturalized in parts of Great Britain and Ireland.