The Orion Connection

As I child I was allways fascinated by the stars. At night I would look up in the sky and watch the stars before I went to bed. I believe I was 10 years old when I got a telescope for my birthday. Now I could look at the stars even better. One group of stars captured my imagination and what I did not know at that time is that this particalur group of stars was called "Orion".

At the age of 10 I was fascinated by the Orion stars (and I still am). The stars were so bright and the constellations or group of stars formed a shape that reminded me of the shape of a hunter. So one day I decided to make a drawing and by connecting the stars with lines there was my hunter. What I did not know at that time is that the Greeks made about the same drawing more then 2,500 years ago and called the constellation Orion.

There are many versions of the star drawings of the Greek Orion and one is very close to my original drawing, where the spear is an actual combination of the 'belt' of Orion and the star called Sirius (Sirius does not belong to the Orion constellation).

In the Greek mythology Orion was the big hunter, killed by accident by Artimis (the Greek God of the Hunt and the Moon). The Temple of Artimis is one of the ancient 7 Wonders of the World.
In ancient Egypt Orion was known as the Soul of Osiris, the Lord of the Heaven and the Lord of the Earth. Osiris was also known as the Lord of the Death. When we think of death in ancient Egypt we think of mummies and of course the Pyramids. In 1984 Robert Buaval made an amazing discovery. After reading the book of the Mystery of Sirius (the star that forms the top of the speer in my drawings) he became interested in the usage of the stars by the ancient Egyptians in their architecture. On one day Robert Bauval discovered that the Pyramids of Gizeh were positioned exactly like the three stars that form the belt of Orion. In their parallel uneven line the stars form a mirror for the Pyramids of Gizeh.The lowest star in the belt of Orion is exactly positioned above the the first pyramid Cheops. The tunnels within the Pyramid of Cheops are engineered that they form a kind of telescope pointing to Orion, Sirius, Ursa Minor (Kleine Beer) and Ursa Major (Grote Beer). Built in 2,600 - 2,400 B.C.

While studying the Pyramids, Robert Bauval came with another discovery. Right next to the Pyramids of Gizeh we can find the Sphinx. If you look at the amazing structure we can see that the materials used to build the Sphinx are different once you come up to the head. Robert Bauval's theory is that the head was replaced after erosion had damaged the structure. It is his believe that the head was once the head of a Lion. There are a couple of theories that are the foundation of this theory. The body of the structure has the shape of the Lion. Although it is not rare that the Egyptians used human heads on the bodies of an animal but the dimensions of the body and head are not in line. Studying the material of the main body man can see the erosion. Although many believe that sand has caused the erosion, a study clearly shows that the erosion has to have come from water. But when was there streaming water in the dessert. It could only be 12,000 years ago when there was the last Ice Age. This means that the Sphinx was there before the Pyramids were build. And just like the position of the Pyramids of Gizeh the Sphinx might have positioned to a star or a constellation. The last time that the constellation 'Lion' was positioned to shadow the Sphinx was 15,000 years ago.....................it makes sense.....................but who built it? FASCINATING!
With all the mysteries and myths around Orion, mythology, life, death and resurrection I believe that Orion has a meaning. Is it coincedence that the history of the Egyptians, Greeks and the Seven Wonders of the world are all part of my hobbies? Is it coincedence that I use to live at a place where Orion planes flew over my house on a daily basis? Is it coincedence that my first largest customer (in my work) was the Dutch Navy that owned the Orion planes and that I ended up on the base where the Orions were stationed?

As of today I don't understand why I was drawn to this constellation and when I look up to the stars....there it is. I don't even have to look for it. It almost feels like I am programmed to observe Orion. Is there more behind Orion? What is there behind the constellation? Is this the gate to heaven.....is this a place of God.....I don't know and I will probably never find out.

In the mean time I will enjoy the sight and the fascination of Orion.

Patrick Bakker
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