Sacred Script
Bone Writing, Shang Dynasty, c. 1384 - 1122 bce.
Chinese Oracle Bones
Writing on the Bones
Heat the bones of an animal (a shoulder blade will do) and cracks will appear. Perhaps this was the basis of the first divinations in China, the heat of the fire produces cracks in the light bone, it brings forth the dark markings that can be used to foretell the future. And perhaps out of this practice came the origin of writing in China. The chinese writing characters represent the meaning of words, not the sounds and so they can be read by anyone who knows the writing, no matter what dialect s/he speaks.
Divination
The oracle bones are called dragon or tortoise bones. So-called the oracle bones have association with two of the four ancient arrangements of constellations in China. The Azure Dragon (spring) includes parts of the constellations known in the west as Scorpio, Libra and Virgo. The Dark Warrior (winter) includes parts of the constellations known in the west as Aquarius, Capricorn and Sagittarius. Each arrangement has a determining star, in the Azure Dragon it is Antares, and in the Dark Warrior, the determining star is the beta star in Aquarius. Early Shang writing indicates that some stars are lucky while others are unlucky.
The Weaving Sister and the Ox-boy
All day and every day the daughter of heaven, Chih Nu ( the constellation Lyra - marked by the bright star, Vega), sat by the banks of Han, the River of Heaven (the Milky Way), weaving endless webs. Her august father, the Sun, let it be known that he desired to give her in marriage. On the other side of the Heavenly River lived Niu Lang (the constellation Aquila - marked by the bright star, Altair), the Ox-boy. His proposal to marry Chih Nu was looked upon with favor by her august father. Soon they were married. But Chih Nu was now so enamored of her husband that she no longer wove her endless webs and the heavens fell out of harmony. Then her august father, the Sun, determined to separate the couple and ordered Niu Lang to stay on his side of the river while Chih Nu had to remain on her side of the river. The couple was allowed to meet only once a year by crossing a bridge made by friendly magpies -- on the seventh day of the seventh month. And so that the River of Heaven does not flood at the time when the Chih Nu and Niu Lang are destined to meet, each year the people of earth pray that no rain falls on that appointed day.