A chapbook of eighteen traditional odes poems dedicated to the Behenian Stars and their near-neighbors. A perfect gift for the magician, the wizard, the poet, the artist, the astrologer, or the weirdo!

In 2015-2017, Andrew B. Watt wrote these poems based on his readings connected with the traditional mythology of the so-called "fixed stars", the apparent sphere of stars whirling beyond the planets of our Solar System. He became aware that early astronomers had compiled a list of fifteen such stars in the Northern Hemisphere's night skies, which served as beacons of knowledge for navigators, memory aids for storytellers, and keys for astrologers — all of whom had reasons to unlock the night sky as a tool of meaning. In time, Andrew chose to add several stars to the traditional Behenian list — Polaris, Altair, and Fomalhaut — because he came to understand the lore about these stars as 'of a piece' with the others, and as a way of preserving the lore about each star.

Each poem consists of a salutation to the spirit of the star; a collection of traditional images or myths associated with the star; and a plea for that star to send its traditional influences down upon the reader. As best as he could, Andrew tried to capture the traditional associations of these distant lights with their magical gifts — of fashion sense, of skill with mechanics, of writerly or artistic talent, of protection from risk or worry.

Among the things that Andrew discovered in the course of writing the poems, is that many of the complicated ideas about identity, personality, talent, success, failure, gender, and life-path are tied up in ancient notions about the stars. He explored these ideas in this poetry. While acknowledging that none of these words in this chapbook are at all *old* — it's nonetheless the case that nothing under the sun is entirely *new*, either.