The Warning of the Birdfoot Star
When the lionbird1 steps from the fire,
The land will move,
The sea will storm,
The harvest rot.
When the Great Bear wears a crown,
Princes die.
Beware the Birdfoot Star.
— from the Great Astrolabe above the Throne Room of the Norgon Kings
1The Morris translate lionbird as phoenix. They also call the Birdfoot Star the Phoenix Star.
cf. A warning from 16th century Earth (Fawn’s note)
The Blazing Star
Threatening the world with Famine, Plague, and War:
To Princes, Death!...
To Sailors, Storms; To Cities, Civil Treasons!
–De cometis
by John Gadbury, London, 1665
