The story behind the Pleiades
The Pleiades are an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus. The trained (naked) eye can admire seven individual stars here. A few times a year, the moon occults this open star cluster, including on the night of December 4th to 5th. A great sight to see, especially with these fascinating stories in mind!
Greek mythology
The Pleiades are also known as the Seven Sisters. The stars bear names from Greek mythology: Maia, Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Taygete, Electra and Merope. In the tales of the ancient Greeks Hesiod and Homer, they are indeed seven sisters. They are beautiful nymphs placed in the sky by Zeus to protect them from the hunter Orion. Initially, the seven sisters are doves, only later transforming into stars.
Tribe in Canada
In most (ancient) cultures, the Pleiades are seen as seven goddesses, for example in China, India, Egypt, Japan and among indigenous American peoples such as the Lakota tribe. However, there are also stories that deviate from this pattern.
For instance, an indigenous tribe in Canada has a very different story. There, the stars are not goddesses, but orphan boys. Cast out by their tribe, they befriended a pack of wolves. The Great Spirit took pity on the orphan boys and transformed them into stars. The wolves could then see their friends in the sky, but they miss them dearly. That is why they howl at night.
Six, seven or eight?
There are also civilizations where it is not about seven goddesses. In Nepal, for example, there are eight goddesses known as the Ashtamatrika. In Bhaktapur, there are sometimes nine or ten, the Mahavidya.
In Hinduism and Japanese culture, there are six stars. In those traditions, one of the seven sisters had to leave the group because of a hidden love. She fell in love with a human samurai, descended to Earth for him and could not return to the heavens.
Occultation on December 4th
On the night of December 4th to 5th, the star cluster will be occulted by the moon. This happens a few times a year. It occurred three times in 2025 and will occur three times in 2026 as well. The most beautiful view is an occultation during the first or last quarter, where the bright stars disappear or reappear at a dark lunar limb. However, the occultation on December 4th takes place during a full moon and will therefore be slightly less spectacular.
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