Auriga Constellation

Auriga combines a charioteer with the goat and young animals held in his arms. The image places skill in directing movement beside responsibility for vulnerable creatures.

Robson associates the Charioteer with self-confidence and an interest in education, including the care of young people. He also describes a liking for country life, with happiness subject to severe changes of fortune. Ptolemy assigns its bright stars a Mars and Mercury nature.

A reading can emphasize practical ingenuity and responsible stewardship. The charioteer's task requires attention to competing demands, while the animals in his care make protection as important as forward movement.

Auriga's Charioteer depicts a skilled driver who directs horses while caring for the animals held in his arms. The reins connect the figure with direction and control; the she-goat and her kids give care for young animals a place in the same image.

This dual capacity, controlling the fierce while protecting the gentle, represents the spiritual art of integration. Robson's association of Auriga with self-confidence and education includes the care of young people.

The identity of Auriga's charioteer is debated among classical sources. One tradition identifies him as Erichthonius, a legendary king of Athens who invented the four-horse chariot and was rewarded with a place among the stars by an impressed Zeus. Another identifies him as Myrtilus, the charioteer of King Oenomaus, who was betrayed and killed by Pelops. In one tradition, the she-goat (the star Capella) held by the charioteer beside her two kids is Amalthea, who nursed the infant Zeus in a cave on Crete while he was hidden from his father Kronos.

The goat connection runs deep in this constellation. In Mesopotamian astronomy, this region was called the Crook (GAM). Bedouin Arab astronomers called the constellation's main stars "the Goat" and "the Kids." The she-goat Amalthea's horn, broken off by the infant Zeus, became the cornucopia (horn of plenty), an image of abundance and nourishment.

Auriga is one of Ptolemy's 48 original constellations. The constellation's position in the Milky Way makes it rich in star clusters, including the open clusters M36, M37, and M38, which Charles Messier cataloged in the 18th century.

Capella's name means "the little she-goat" in Latin.

The chariot connects Auriga with civilization and technology through the human capacity to direct natural forces.

Auriga is a prominent winter constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, best observed from December through March. Capella, its brightest star, is one of the most conspicuous in the winter sky and is easily found as the bright yellow star northeast of Orion. The constellation's distinctive pentagonal shape is relatively easy to trace. Elnath (Beta Tauri) was also Gamma Aurigae.

Three fine open star clusters (M36, M37, M38) lie within the pentagonal outline, making Auriga a rewarding target for binoculars. Visible from all northern latitudes and partially from the Southern Hemisphere.