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69 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Stars Station not that of the star itself but of the divinity con ceived as animating it. That this is a developed conception is at once evident, and points to the earlier belief in the life and divinity of 3. In the heavenly body itself. The fact of Egypt. a certain type of star-worship is estab lished by the figt.ring of the deities of Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, and Venus as mounted on their boats (this fixes their divine char acter, as it is the Egyptian method of representing the journeyings of the gods and corresponds to the Babylonian method referred to above, where deities are riding various animals), and making their prog ress under the guidance of Orion and Sirius (E. Le f6bure, Les Hypogees roynux de Thebes, part 4, plate xxxvi., Paris, 1886). So there was a Sothis or Isis Sothis, the deity of Sirius or the Dog Star. But the notice of such divinities is rare, and invocation of them is not frequent. In China among the objects of imperial worship at the capital are the Pleiades, the five planets, and the constellations, as well as the starry q. China heavens as a whole. The high cere and Japan. monies of this worship take place at the winter solstice at the Temple of Heaven situated in the southern part of the Chinese city of Peking. There are tablets to the souls of these bodies, as well as to the sun and the moon, which I last are included in the worship. In the common ', or popular religion these bodies have either a far less prominent place or none at all, though certain heavenly bodies which superstition connects with wind and rain receive special attention. These bodies are supposed to be the agents of the Yin and the Yang, the male and female elements of the uni verse. The star-cult in Japan, so far as early testi mony (the Nihongi) is concerned, is confined to the star-deity Amatsu mike hoshi (" dread star of heaven ") or Ame no Kagase wo (" scarecrow male of heaven "), a malignant god who was vanquished in the cosmic battle between forces malign and be nign (for control of man), and to Vega and the North Star, whose worship came from China (W. G. Aston, Shinto, p. 142, London and New York, 1905). The worship of the malign deity was probably avert ive. Similarly in India the worship of Saturn is that of a malignant and dreaded deity, who is pro pitiated by sacrifice. The indications of star-worship among primitive peoples are elusive and unsatisfactory, and the most that can be said with certainty is that much of the material is rather that of folk-lore and mythol ogy than of ritual. Yet it may be noted, for exam ple, that the Berbers offer worship to Venus, the Pleiades, Orion, the Great Bear, and the Little Bear. For some details of folk-lore, cf. J. G. Frazer, Golden, Bough, ii. 19 sqq. (London, 1900). GEO. W. GILMORE. BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. G. Rohde, Versuch fiber das Alter du Tierkredses and den Ursprunp der Sternbilder, Breslau, 1809; M. A. Stern, in Zeitschrift fur Wissenschafi and Leben du Judentums, iii (18645), 258-276; E. von Bunsen, E inheit der Religion, Berlin, 1870; idem, Die Plejaden and der Tierkre6s, ib. 1879; G. Hoffmann, in ZATW, iii (1883), 107-110; C. Ploix, La Nature des dieux, Paris. 1888; P. Jensen, Koamologie der Babylonier, Stras burg, 1890; R. H. Allen, Star-Names and Their Mean ings, New York. 1899; R. Brown, Researches into the
Origin of the Primitive Constellatiom of the Greeks, Phrcnic%ana, and Babylonians. 2 vole., London, 1900 ; C. Thomeon, Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon, London, 1900 ; F. Hommel, Der Gestirndienal der alien Araber and die altisraelitische Ueberliejerung, Munich, 1901 ; L. Frobenius, Das Zeitalter des Sonnengottes, Vol. i.,Berlin,1904; G.Schiaparelli,Astronomyinthe Old Testament, chips. iii.-v., LoncLon, 1905; A. Jeremias, Das alEe Testament im Lichte des altev Orients, 2d ed., Leipaic, 1908; idem,DasAlterderbabyloniachenAsEroreomie,Leipsie, 1908; F. Wilke, Die astralmytholopische Weltanschauung and das Alte Testament, Lichterfelde, 1907 ; H. Grimme, Das israeliEische Pfingatjut and der PlejadenJcult, Paderborn, 1907; Schrader, KAT, pp. 820 sqq.; Smith, Semite, passim; Benzinger, Archaolepie, pp. 159, 185-188. 188, 391, et passim; DB, i. 191--194, iv. 813; EB, iii. 3354-57, iv. 4779-86; JE, xi. 5f'7-528. For details of worship in separate countries recourse must be had to the literature under the articles on Arabia, Assyria, Babylonia, China, India, and the like, and to some extent to that under COMPARATIVE RzLiGio N.
STATION: A word having eeveral significations in liturgical and historical theology.
1. Stations as Fasts:, Fasting was a practise of the early Christians derived front Judaism, which observed Monday and Thursday (cf. Luke xvii. 12). With the early Christians the;,e days were superseded by Wednesday and Friday. In the time of Hernias (III., v. 1) these fasts were already known as " stations," being compared with the ,sentry duty of soldiers (cf. Paul's frequent use of military metaphors and similes; Tertullian, " On fasting," xiv.; " On prayer," xix.; Eng. transl., ANF, iv. 112, iii. 687). At first optional and not a precept, the observance of stations became obligatory in the pontificate of Innocent I. (402117). " The two stational days were also marked by meetings for worship. But these were held in different manners in different localities. In some places the liturgy, properly so called, was used; that is, the Eucharist was celebrated. This was the custom in Africa at the time of Tertullian, and at Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century. In the Church of Alexandria, on the other hand, the station did not include the liturgy " (L. Duchesne, Christian Worship: its Origin aad Evolution, p. 230, London, 1904). Duchesne thinks that the usage at Rome was like that of Alexan3ria as described by Socrates (Hist eccl., V., xxii.; E ng. transl. in NYNF, 2 ser., ii. 130-134). It is certain that the mysteries were not celebrated on Fridays either at Alexandria or at Rome. Nothing is known of the Wednesday service, and it was abandoned in the West, a fact which scandalized the Greek Church and became one of its grievances against the Latin Church.
The observance of stations is clearly indicated in the Gregorian Sacramentary. "The place of the station is always expressly indicated, unless the name of the saint alone is sufficie: t to designate the Church at which the festival was held. For instance, it was not deemed necessary to say where the station was on the days of St. Marcellus, St. Agnes, St. Sylvester, etc. But for the days of Lent, for the festival of the Holy Innocents, and for that of St. Felix of Nola, the Church is indicated. There are sometimes even two indication s, when the station is preceded by a general procession. In that case the Church is denoted from which the procession starts, and that also wherein Mass is celebrated. Similar indications are given when there are several
