Ecliptic Pathfinder

The Ecliptic Pathfinder is a handheld cultural instrument: part sky-guide, part myth-object, designed to make the geometry of the stars legible through the body. 

In one mode it is held parallel to the horizon, indicating the sunrise points of the solstices and equinoxes. In the other mode it is swept across the sky to trace the path of the ecliptic, the ancient track along which the most important celestial bodies travel. 

Regulus is the royal star most directly aligned with the ecliptic, revealing this path not just as an abstract idea but a beautiful arc through the firmament holding ancient cultural and mythological meanings. 

When the Ecliptic Pathfinder is first held to the horizon, then swept through the night sky, the user embodies the route taken by these major celestial bodies, creating a tangible connection between the universe and the self. 

In our tender hands we may briefly feel the pulse of the lion's heart.