Orion Times Two
Feb. 16th, 2026 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphilo Most of the time the night sky over Eastbourne gets blanded out by light pollution but yesterday, around ten o'clock, I happened to look out the south-west facing window and there, floating over Beach Head, for the first time this winter, I saw Orion with his entourage- and they were all so sharp and clear that even the Pleiades were visible.
Hey, I've suddenly- just this instant- had a flash of inspiration or knowing. The Long Man of Wilmington, our ancient hill figure: might he not be a representation of Orion? They're the same sort of shape....
OK, I've just checked and it's not a new idea- how could it be?- but it's new to me.....
Because if Orion floats over Beachy Head there must be times, if you're standing in the right place, you'll see him floating over Windoor Hill- further along in the chain of the Downs- with the Long Man right below him- the one shining in the sky the other, outlined in chalk, shining ghostly out of the grass.....
I think the Long Man is a portal, a gateway to the stars....
Go sit at his feet. Ingest some mushrooms. See what comes next.....
The Long Man by Eric Ravilious
Hey, I've suddenly- just this instant- had a flash of inspiration or knowing. The Long Man of Wilmington, our ancient hill figure: might he not be a representation of Orion? They're the same sort of shape....
OK, I've just checked and it's not a new idea- how could it be?- but it's new to me.....
Because if Orion floats over Beachy Head there must be times, if you're standing in the right place, you'll see him floating over Windoor Hill- further along in the chain of the Downs- with the Long Man right below him- the one shining in the sky the other, outlined in chalk, shining ghostly out of the grass.....
I think the Long Man is a portal, a gateway to the stars....
Go sit at his feet. Ingest some mushrooms. See what comes next.....
The Long Man by Eric Ravilious
