Editing Betelgeuse (section)

=== Mythology ===
With the [[history of astronomy]] intimately associated with mythology and astrology before the [[scientific revolution]], the red star, like the planet Mars that derives its name from a [[Mars (mythology)|Roman war god]], has been closely associated with the martial [[archetype]] of conquest for millennia, and by extension, the motif of death and rebirth.<ref name="allen" /> Other cultures have produced different myths. Stephen R. Wilk has proposed the constellation of Orion could have represented the Greek mythological figure [[Pelops]], who had an artificial shoulder of ivory made for him, with Betelgeuse as the shoulder, its color reminiscent of the reddish yellow sheen of ivory.<ref name="wilk99" />

[[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] people from the [[Great Victoria Desert]] of South Australia incorporated Betelgeuse into their oral traditions as the club of Nyeeruna (Orion), which fills with fire-magic and dissipates before returning. This has been interpreted as showing that early Aboriginal observers were aware of the brightness variations of Betelgeuse.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hamacher|first1=D.W.|title=Observations of red–giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians|journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology|volume=29|pages=89–107|doi=10.1111/taja.12257|arxiv=1709.04634|bibcode=2018AuJAn..29...89H|year=2018|s2cid=119453488}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Leaman|first1=T.|last2=Hamacher|first2=D.W.|title=Aboriginal Astronomical traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 1: Nyeeruna and the Orion Story|journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage|date=2014|volume=17|issue=2|pages=180–194|doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2014.02.05 |arxiv=1403.7849|bibcode=2014JAHH...17..180L|s2cid=53477850 }}</ref> The [[Wardaman people]] of northern Australia knew the star as ''Ya-jungin'' ("Owl Eyes Flicking"), its variable light signifying its intermittent watching of ceremonies led by the Red Kangaroo Leader Rigel.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harney |first1=Bill Yidumduma |last2=Cairns |first2=Hugh C. |title=Dark Sparklers |publisher=Hugh C. Cairns |location=Merimbula, New South Wales |pages=139–40 |year=2004 |orig-year=2003 |edition=Revised |isbn=978-0-9750908-0-0}}</ref> In South African mythology, Betelgeuse was perceived as a lion casting a predatory gaze toward the three zebras represented by Orion's Belt.<ref>{{cite book|first=C. Scott |last=Littleton |year=2005 |page=1056 |title=Gods, goddesses, and mythology | volume=1 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7559-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HC93q4gsOAwC&pg=PA1056 }}</ref>

In the Americas, Betelgeuse signifies a severed limb of a man-figure (Orion)—the [[Pemon people|Taulipang]] of Brazil know the constellation as Zililkawai, a hero whose leg was cut off by his wife, with the variable light of Betelgeuse linked to the severing of the limb. Similarly, the [[Lakota people]] of North America see it as a chief whose arm has been severed.<ref name="wilk99">{{cite journal|last=Wilk|first=Stephen R.|year=1999|title=Further Mythological Evidence for Ancient Knowledge of Variable Stars|journal= The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers|volume=27|issue=2|pages=171–74|bibcode=1999JAVSO..27..171W}}</ref>

A Sanskrit name for Betelgeuse is ārdrā ("the moist one"), eponymous of the [[Ardra Nakshatra|Ardra]] [[nakshatra|lunar mansion]] in [[Hindu astrology]].<ref name="motz">{{cite book|last=Motz|first=Lloyd|author2=Nathanson, Carol|title=The Constellations: An Enthusiast's Guide to the Night Sky|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London, United Kingdom|year=1991|page=85|isbn=978-1-85410-088-7}}</ref> The [[Rigvedic deities|Rigvedic God]] of storms [[Rudra]] presided over the star; this association was linked by 19th-century star enthusiast [[Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning|Richard Hinckley Allen]] to Orion's stormy nature.<ref name="allen" /> The constellations in Macedonian folklore represented agricultural items and animals, reflecting their way of life. To them, Betelgeuse was ''Orach'' ("the ploughman"), alongside the rest of Orion, which depicted a plough with oxen. The rising of Betelgeuse at around 3&nbsp;a.m. in late summer and autumn signified the time for village men to go to the fields and plough.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Macedonian Folk Constellations |author=Cenev, Gjore |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade|volume= 85|pages=97–109|bibcode=2008POBeo..85...97C|year=2008}}</ref> To the [[Inuit astronomy|Inuit]], the appearance of Betelgeuse and [[Bellatrix]] high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March. The two stars were known as ''Akuttujuuk'' ("those [two] placed far apart"), referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula.<ref name=inuit/>

The opposed locations of Orion and [[Scorpius]], with their corresponding bright red variable stars Betelgeuse and [[Antares]], were noted by ancient cultures around the world. The setting of Orion and rising of Scorpius signify the death of Orion by the scorpion. In China they signify brothers and rivals Shen and Shang.<ref name="wilk99" /> The [[Batak (Indonesia)|Batak]] of Sumatra marked their New Year with the first [[new moon]] after the sinking of Orion's Belt below the horizon, at which point Betelgeuse remained "like the tail of a rooster". The positions of Betelgeuse and Antares at opposite ends of the celestial sky were considered significant, and their constellations were seen as a pair of scorpions. Scorpion days marked as nights that both constellations could be seen.<ref name="kelley11">{{cite book|author1=Kelley, David H. |author2=Milone, Eugene F. |author3=Aveni, A.F. |title=Exploring Ancient Skies: A Survey of Ancient and Cultural Astronomy|publisher=Springer|location=New York, New York|year=2011|page=307|isbn=978-1-4419-7623-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILBuYcGASxcC&pg=PA307}}</ref>