Astraea

“ It was in the reign of Saturn that the Heathen poets fixed the golden age. At that period, according to them, Astraea, (the goddess of justice,) 236and many other deities lived on earth; but being offended with the wickedness of men, they successively fled to heaven. Astraea staid longest, but at last retired to her native seat, and was translated into the sign Virgo, next to Libra, who holds her balance.balance. Such is the tendency of Christianity. On immense numbers of individuals it has superinduced these moral changes ”

“ II. HYMNES OF ASTRÆA. The following is the original title-page of 'Astrœa':
HYMNES OF
ASTRŒA, IN
Acrosticke verse
London
Printed for J. S.
1599
[4o pp. 27: register A. B. C. D. of 4 leaves each.]
Throughout, the Poet spells 'Astrœa': probably Asteria ('Αστερια) were more accurate. Our text for these 'Hymnes' is, as in Nosce Teipsum, the edition of 1622: but throughout, compared with the first, as supra. Title-page in 1622 edition is as follows:
HYMNES
of
ASTREA
In Acrosticke Verse. ”

“ Now come the eight Asteroids (Ceres, Juno, Vesta, Pallas, Astræa, Flora, Iris, and Hebe) at an average distance of about 250 millions. Then we have Jupiter, distant 490 millions; then Saturn, 900 millions; then Uranus, 19 hundred millions; finally Neptune, lately discovered, and revolving at a distance, say of 28 hundred millions. ”

“ War sprang up, using both as weapons; the guest was not safe in his friend's house; and sons-in-law and fathers-in- law, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, could not trust one another. Sons wished their fathers dead, that they might come to the inheritance; family love lay prostrate. The earth was wet with slaughter, and the gods abandoned it, one by one, till Astraea alone was left, and finally she also took her departure. ”

“ It would appear from observations made in Timor and other places, that the species of the genus Astræa which [395] are the only ones capable of covering immense extents of surface, do not commence their operations at a greater depth than twenty-five or thirty feet, in order to raise their habitations to near the surface of the sea. ”

“ O'er yonder eastern bill the twilight pale
Walks forth from darkness; and the God of day,
With bright Astraea seated by his side,
Waits yet to leave the ocean. ”

“ The reef-building corals comprise all those with a stony skeleton, yet the great work is carried on mainly by a few of the principal groups. Of these the following are the most conspicuous and familiar:
The Astrœas, so called from their star-shaped cells (Fig. 6, page 261) . They grow in huge hemispherical masses, often twenty feet or more in diameter. The brain-coral, covered with meandering furrows and ridges resembling cerebral convolutions (Fig. 1, page 282) . The masses are large, and are shaped like the astræa. The Porites, often branched ”

“ Thus firmly and strongly is the foundation of the reef laid by the Astraeans; but we have seen that for their prosperous growth they require a certain depth and pressure of water, and when they have brought the wall so high that they have not more than six fathoms of water above them, this kind of Coral ceases to grow. They have, however, prepared a fitting surface for different kinds of Corals that could not live in the depths from which the Astraeans have come, but find their genial home nearer the surface ”

“ In most species, as in Asterias, they are limited to a single cluster of tubes on each branch of the rachis, but in the Astropectinidae and Pentacerotidae each branch gives rise to a large number of clusters, arranged in longitudinal series, each cluster having its independent opening to the exterior.
Asexual reproduction, as a regular occurrence, is not common amongst Asteroidea. If, however, a Starfish loses some of its arms, it has the power of regenerating the missing members. Even a single arm will regenerate the whole Starfish. ”

“ As the great nature-goddess, the attributes of fertility and reproduction are characteristically hers, as also the accompanying immorality which originally, perhaps, was often nothing more than primitive magic. As patroness of the hunt, later identification with Artemis was inevitable. Hence the consequent fusion with Aphrodite, Artemis, Diana, Juno and Venus, and the action and reaction of one upon the other in myth and legend. Her star was the planet Venus, and classical writers give her the epithet Caelestis and Urania. Whether Astarte was also a lunar goddess has been questioned. ”

“ It is difficult to distinguish between species in some of the divisions of corals: one Astrea, recent or extinct, is sometimes found so exceedingly like another of some very different formation or period, that the more modern might almost be deemed a lineal descendant of the more ancient species. With an eye to the fact, I brought with me some characteristic specimens of this Astrea [4] of the Lower Lias, which I have ranged side by side with the Astreæ of the Oölite I had found so abundant a twelvemonth before in the neighborhood of Helmsdale. ”

“ Papulae.—In Asteriidae and many allied families these organs are found both on the upper and under surface of the disc, but in another large group consisting of Astropectinidae, Pentacerotidae, and allied families, papulae are only borne on the dorsal surface, and, in some cases, are restricted to a few groups at the base of the arms. In most Asteroidea the papulae are arranged singly, that is to say, each occupies one of the interspaces between the plates of the skeleton, but in Asterias and some other genera they are arranged in tufts of two or three. ”

“ Though the kâmic aura from the brilliancy of its flashes of colour may often be more conspicuous, the nerve-ether and the etheric double are really of a much denser order of matter, being strictly speaking within the limits of the physical plane, though invisible to ordinary sight. It has been the custom in Theosophical literature to describe the Linga Sharîra as the astral counterpart of the human body, the word "astral" having been usually applied to everything beyond the cognition of our physical senses. ”

“ The innumerable Asters mark this period with their varied and wide-spread beauty; the meadows are full of rose-colored Polygala, of the white spiral spikes of the Ladies'-Tresses, and of the fringed loveliness of the Gentian. This flower, always unique and beautiful, opening its delicate eyelashes every morning to the sunlight, closing them again each night, has also a thoughtful charm about it as the last of the year's especial darlings. It lingers long, each remaining blossom growing larger and more deep in color, as with many other flowers ”

“ But I don’t believe his herbarium (which was sold piecemeal) would have helped me much, considering how he has named asters for other herbaria....
Accumulated collections, of Lemmon, Parish, [121] Cusick, [122] etc., especially have taken all my time up to now, after getting my home in order, a deal of trouble. And now I can think of getting at my “Flora” work again.
First of all, I am to make complete as I can my manuscript for Solidago and Aster. Solidago I always find rather hopeful. Aster, as to the Asteres genuini, is my utter despair! ”

“ Some genera with conglomerated capitula also occur, such as Cylindrosorus and Myriocephalus of Bentham, but they are of no beauty. Several Asteroideæ are found here, many of which belong to the inconspicuous genera Brachycome and Lagenophora; an Eurybia has also been described, and there is a genus nearly allied to Francœuria, the Asteridea pulverulenta,98 a plant of some beauty, with the appearance of an Aster Novæ Angliæ; it is not a little remarkable that with these there also occurs a plant of the genuine genus Aster,99 and of the Alpigenous section, with altogether its habit. ”

“ Asterias returning, told them, with accents of great disappointment, that he had had a glimpse of a mermaid, but she had eluded him in the darkness, and was gone, he presumed, to sup with some enamoured Triton, in a submarine grotto.
"But, seriously, Mr. Asterias," said the Honorable Mr. Listless, "do you positively believe there are such things as mermaids?"
Mr. Asterias.
Most assuredly; and Tritons too.
The Honorable Mr. Listless.
What! things that are half human and half fish?
Mr. Asterias.
Precisely. They are the Oran-outangs of the sea. ”

“ There is, however, undoubtedly a sort of bias or tendency permeating nearly all their subdivisions which operates to render them rather hostile than friendly towards man. Every neophyte knows this, for in most cases his very first impression of the astral plane is of the presence all around him of vast hosts of protean spectres who advance upon him in threatening guise, but always retire or dissipate harmlessly if boldly faced. ”

“ Smooth Aster (Aster lævis) is a handsome species having a smooth, stout stem, from 2 to 4 feet high. The flowers are in lovely terminal clusters, each blossom measuring about an inch across; they are usually light violet-blue in color, although color is very variable with all the so-called blue asters; each disk is surrounded by 15 to 30 rays. The leaves are nearly smooth-edged, lanceolate, clasping the stem with a distinct heart-shaped base. The Smooth Aster is abundant from Me. to Minn. and southward, growing in dry soil and blooming in September and October. ”

“ There are innumerable kinds of Astragalus; most abundant in Asia, usually perennial herbs, sometimes woody; leaves usually with numerous leaflets, flowers narrow, in spikes, with long flower-stalks; calyx tube-shaped, with nearly equal teeth; petals usually narrow, with slender claws, standard erect and somewhat oblong, wings oblong, keel with blunt tip, about the same length as the wings; stamens ten, in two sets of nine and one; pods numerous, more or less two-celled, often inflated, so the wind can distribute the small seeds, therefore these plants are often called Rattleweed. ”

“ But she could not help stealing an occasional glance at the clear-cut profile of her guest, until, all her artistic instincts being thoroughly aroused, she was fain to seize upon crayon and cardboard, and make sure of the lovely outline, ere it should vanish, as she expected it would soon do, utterly and forever from her sight.
The guest, meanwhile, studied the Mercury in profound silence. Yet Astra soon felt that an uncommonly deep and delicate discernment was brought to bear on her work, capable of accurately measuring both its excellences and its faults. ”

“ Explanation
"Astrea, goddess of the heaven, wearing angel's wings and gleaming everywhere with stars, stands at the right; on the left is Argus of the hundred eyes, not tense, but indicating by the position of the telescope at his knee rather than at the eyes in his head, that while observing the work of God's hand, he appears at the same time to be worshipping as in genuflexion." (Riccioli: Alm. Nov., Præfatio, xvii) . ”

“ It seems as though Nature, after the first blush of spring, relaxed her efforts for a supreme endeavor towards the close of the floral season. Then she assumes her festal robes and the woodlands and fields become gorgeous with the purple of the Asters, the gold of the sunflowers and golden-rod, with here and there the cardinal and blue of the lobelias.
Among all this symphony of color, no plant is more lavish of its charms than the New England Aster (Aster Novae Anglae) . ”

“ The two groups Podalyrieæ (the majority of the genera are Australian) and Sophoreæ (Sophora, Edwardsia, etc.) , represent the oldest [470] type, as they have 10 free stamens and so form the transition to the Cæsalpiniaceæ. Nearly all are trees and shrubs.
3. Astragaleæ. Herbs or shrubs, less frequently trees, with imparipinnate leaves (without tendrils) . The flowers are generally borne in racemes or spikes. Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous.—Astragalus (Milk-Vetch) has the legume incompletely divided longitudinally into 2 loculi by a septum formed by the incurved dorsal suture. ”

“ First, that the astral body of the living medium detaches itself from its corpus and assumes the appearance of the so-called spirit; for one of the properties of the astral matter is capacity to reflect an image existing unseen in ether. Second, the actual astral shell of the deceased—wholly devoid of his or her spirit and conscience—becomes visible and tangible when the condition of air and ether is such as to so alter the vibration of the molecules of the astral shell that it may become visible. The phenomena of density and apparent weight are explained by other laws. ”

“ Aster, though a Latin term, is now so generally received, that we shall make no apology for adopting it.
We are indebted to North-America for most of our Asters, but the present species, which is omitted by Miller, and is rather a scarce plant in this country, though not of modern introduction, being figured by Plukenet and described by Ray, is a native of Africa, and, like a few others, requires in the winter the shelter of a greenhouse. ”

“ The progression of the Asterias is thus very slow, and so regular that only the closest observation enables the spectator to discover the movement which produces it. Like the movements of the hands of a watch, the eye cannot quite follow it. When an obstacle presents itself—if, for example, a stone comes in its way—it raises one of the rays in order to obtain a point of support, then a second ray, and, if necessary, a third,—and thus the animal creeps over the stone with as much ease as if it walked over the smooth sands. ”