The Three Hunters, Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka,
were made from black fabrics.
They carry a bow,
for they chase the Seven Sisters across the vault of the heavens.
Each has a kite shape made with sequins and beads on its base.
This base is covered with black velvet to suggest the inkiness of the night sky.

"Dwell on the beauty of life.
Watch the stars,
and see yourself running with them."
Marcus Aurelius

Orion has been known since ancient times.
The constellation is also known as the Hunter,
as it is associated with one in Greek mythology.
It represents the mythical hunter Orion,
who is often depicted in star maps as either facing the charge of Taurus, the bull,
pursuing the Pleiades sisters,
represented by the famous open cluster,
or chasing after the hare (constellation Lepus) with his two hunting dogs,
represented by the nearby constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor.

There is a joy in celebrating new beginnings.
New year. New job. New friends. New crop.
Hope is renewed.
Gratitude unwrapped and shared.
We step into the mystery that is life.

Karakia ki a Matariki
A karakia to Matariki


Matariki te tipua
Matariki te tawhito
Tau mai te wairua
Mai ngā ira atua
Ki te ira tangata
Tihei mauriora !!!


Matariki the sacred
Matariki the old
Welcome the spirit
welcome the life force
from the essence of atua
to us of the human kind
Let there be life....

Practice & share this karakia daily!!!

Source: Ngahihi Inc

Try and find the Matariki cluster ...

From early June,
before sunrise,
look to the north-east horizon.
Find the constellation Tautoru, or Orion’s belt (sometimes called ‘the pot’).
Trace a line northwards from the three stars of Tautoru.
Look for a faint sparkle of tiny dots,
about the same width as Tautoru is long.
This is the Matariki star cluster.
Matariki can also be seen during the summer months in this location of the sky after sunset.

Matariki is a star cluster.
A cluster is a group of stars that are near each other in space.
When seen from Earth,
the stars in a constellation appear to be close together in a pattern,
but they might actually be far from each other.
There are about 500 stars in the Matariki cluster,
but only six or seven are visible without a telescope.

The star cluster is visible to the naked eye from most parts of our planet,
and has many different names.
In English, it is called the Pleiades (its ancient Greek name) or the Seven Sisters.
The Hawaiian name is Makali‘i, or ‘eyes of royalty’,
and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning ‘gathered together’. 

Source: Te Papa

According to Maori Myth, the stars of the Pleiades are Matariki a mother,
surrounded by her six daughters,
Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-rangi and Ururangi
who appear to assist Te Rā, the sun,
return to the southern hemisphere.

Although there are nine stars in the Pleiades constellation,
I chose to focus on the more common seven sisters.
Each sister has a silver flower on her shoulder.
There are seven beads in the centre, showing their connectedness.

I was one of 30 artists from the Rotorua region
invited to create art for the Matariki exhibition
held at Helium Gallery during June 2016.

The inspiration was the template of a kite 15cm by 9cm.
We could interpret how we pleased.
I chose to use the kite shape outlined on the base of three hunters.
These hunters were chasing the seven sisters through the night sky.

SEVEN SISTERS AND THREE HUNTERS
The Pleiades were the seven daughters of the titan, Atlas, and the sea-nymph, Pleione.
After Atlas was forced to carry the heavens on his shoulders,
Orion began to pursue all of the Pleiades.
Zeus transformed them first into doves, and then into stars to comfort their father.
The constellation of Orion is said to still pursue them across the night sky.

Lord Tennyson wrote,
“Many a night I saw the Pleiades, rising through the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid."

Here the Seven Sisters glitter like the dawn in their silver,
unaware of the Hunters chasing them across the night sky.