Why seven mysterious stars have a connection to Halloween

Seven mysterious stars, known as the Seven Sisters, are making an appearance in the autumn sky this week.

And apparently, they’ve been keeping a Halloween secret for thousands of years.

On Tuesday evening, October 27, the Moon will appear close to a beautiful little cluster of stars known as the Pleiades. By Wednesday evening, October 28, it will have moved farther away, though both will still be in the eastern sky.

They’re also called the Seven Sisters.

But here’s where things get interesting.

These stars have a connection to an ancient autumn festival that helped shape the Halloween traditions we know today.

And that connection goes back long before anyone was carving pumpkins or arguing over candy corn.

What are the Seven Sisters in the night sky?

The Pleiades are a cluster of young stars located approximately 440 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus.

Unlike many familiar constellations, whose stars only appear close together from our perspective, the Pleiades are a genuine family of stars.

They formed from the same enormous cloud of gas and dust and are traveling through space together.

Astronomers estimate the cluster is roughly 100 million years old.

That’s practically kindergarten in stellar terms.

Although the cluster contains more than a thousand known stars, only a handful are easily visible without optical assistance.

Most people can spot about six bright stars under good conditions, although observers with excellent eyesight and dark skies may see more.

Why are these seven mysterious stars called the Seven Sisters?

Greek mythology tells the story of seven sisters who were transformed into stars.

Their names were Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope.

And across many cultures, these stars became important markers of the changing seasons.

Which brings us to their rather spooky connection.

What do the Seven Sisters have to do with Halloween?

Long before modern calendars, people watched the stars to help track the seasons.

And the Pleiades were particularly useful.

In the Northern Hemisphere, their appearance in the evening sky during autumn helped signal the approach of winter.

The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain marked the transition from the harvest season into the darker half of the year.

Traditionally observed around the beginning of November, Samhain was associated with seasonal change, the end of harvest, and beliefs about the boundary between the living and the dead.

The Pleiades also had seasonal significance in ancient traditions, and some interpretations connect their autumn visibility with the timing of Samhain. That proposed link is not proof that the festival was timed by this star cluster.

Over time, customs associated with Samhain became part of the broader history of Halloween.

But here’s an important distinction.

The Seven Sisters didn’t create Halloween.

Their connection is through the ancient human practice of watching the sky to understand the changing seasons.

And that leads to another interesting question.

Why would people thousands of years ago pay so much attention to a tiny group of stars?

Before calendars, the sky was a calendar

Imagine living without a weather app, a smartphone, or even a printed calendar.

You still need to know when winter is approaching.

When should crops be harvested?

When should food be stored?

When should communities prepare for colder weather?

The night sky provided clues.

Because Earth travels around the Sun, different stars become prominent in the evening sky at different times of the year.

The Pleiades are especially noticeable during autumn and winter evenings.

Their changing position and visibility helped people recognize the annual progression of the seasons.

In other words, the Seven Sisters were doing seasonal forecasting long before meteorologists had Doppler radar.

Although their appearance couldn’t predict a particular snowstorm, it could help mark the time of year when winter was approaching.

And the connection between the sky and the seasons is still there.

We just don’t depend on it the way our ancestors did.

How to see the Seven Sisters near the Moon this week

Here’s your chance to find them.

On Tuesday evening, October 27, look toward the eastern sky once the Moon has risen, roughly a couple of hours after sunset in much of the United States. Local rise times vary.

The Moon will be passing very close to the Pleiades. From some locations, it will even pass in front of individual cluster stars. By Wednesday evening, the Moon will be roughly 15 degrees farther east of the cluster, and you may need to wait longer for it to clear the horizon.

The cluster appears as a small, tightly grouped collection of stars.

Some people think it resembles a miniature version of the Little Dipper.

Others see a tiny sparkling cloud.

But there’s a catch.

The Moon is still quite bright following October’s Hunter’s Moon, which reached its full phase early Monday morning.

That moonlight will make the faint stars harder to see.

If you’re having trouble spotting the Seven Sisters, try binoculars.

They can reveal more stars than your eyes alone, turning that little fuzzy patch into a beautiful cluster of blue-white points of light.

Just avoid looking directly at the bright Moon through binoculars if you find the glare uncomfortable.

For the best view of the Pleiades themselves, return on a darker, moonless evening later in the season.

The strangest part of this Halloween connection

The Pleiades are hundreds of light-years away.

Their light has been traveling toward Earth for centuries.

And for thousands of years, people have looked at those same stars and connected them to stories about gods, seasons, survival, and the mysteries of the night.

Today, most of us think of Halloween as costumes, candy, and decorations.

But long before any of that, people were looking upward.

They were watching the sky change.

They were noticing the approach of winter.

And those seven little stars helped tell part of that story.

So when you look up this week, remember that you’re seeing more than a beautiful star cluster.

You’re looking at a celestial landmark that has fascinated humanity for generations.

And unlike Halloween candy, this treat doesn’t disappear by November 1.

Nerdy Nugget 🌟

Despite the name Seven Sisters, most people see only six bright stars in the Pleiades without optical assistance. The cluster actually contains more than a thousand known stars!

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