There Are Diamonds Dancin' in the Sky Quiz

Answer: Tanabata

Talk about star-crossed lovers! If you're a fan of the manga 'Bleach', you might associate the name Orihime with Ichigo Kurosaki's eccentric friend with fairies in her hair clips. 'Bleach' writer Tite Kubo named his heroine after the legendary weaver associated with Vega, the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra. Together with Altair and Deneb, Vega forms part of the Summer Triangle. Tanabata was introduced to Japan by the Empress Kouken in 755 and was based on the Chinese festival of Qixi. The festival increased in popularity during the Edo period (between 1603 and 1867), when the custom of writing wishes on strips of paper arose.

The main story behind the Tanabata festival bears similarities to the Chinese folktale of the cowherd and the weaver girl; in the most popular version has Orihime, the daughter of Tentei (the Sky King), weaved clothes for her father, but she was sad and lonely because she spent too much time working to meet anyone. Tentei introduced her to Hikoboshi, a cowherd who lived on the other side of the Amanogawa River (aka the Milky Way), and the two fell in love at first sight; however, Orihime stopped weaving clothes and Hikoboshi let his cattle wander, so Tentei forbid the couple from seeing each other. Orihime cried and begged her father to reconsider, so Tentei made a compromise: if Orihime worked hard, she could see Hikoboshi on the seventh day of the seventh month. The first time they tried to meet, there was no bridge over the Amanogawa, and when Orihime cried, her tears summoned a flock of magpies, who made a bridge. Thus, when Vega and Altair can be seen in the sky, it means Orihime and Hikoboshi are meeting.

Answer: Hens

While Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility and war, is associated with cats - her chariot is said to be pulled by a pair of giant male cats - the Pleiades are actually her hens, or chicks. Worshippers of the goddess would paint seven spots on henhouses as a symbol of protection. In a similar vein, a Hungarian name for the Pleiades is 'Fiastyúk', or 'hen with chicks'.

Incidentally, the ladybird was also known as 'Freyjuhoena', or 'Freyja's hen', in Norse culture and was also associated with the Pleiades because the average ladybird has seven dots on its back, one for each star.

Answer: Polar bear

In Inuit culture, the celestial sphere is known as the Qilak, and is believed to house the souls of the dead. Aldebaran represents Nanurjuk, a polar bear, while the Hyades - another cluster of stars in the Taurus constellation, along with the Pleiades - are hunting dogs keeping the beast at bay.

In some versions of the Inuit myth, the polar bear is already dead and the star is red to represent its blood, while the other stars in the constellation are the hunters and their dogs, who have lit fires and are preparing to eat the polar bear.

The constellation of Taurus as a whole is called Sakiattiak, or 'breast bone', and the appearance of Sakiattiak and Ullaktut, or 'runners' (Orion), mark the coming of the winter.

Answer: Pisces

A few of the constellations astrologers know today crop up in Babylonian myth: for example, Taurus represents the Bull of Heaven, which Gilgamesh hunted in 'The Epic of Gilgamesh'; Scorpio represents the scorpion men who act as guards for Shamash, god of the sun (and there may have been some confusion with Sagittarius as scorpion men did appear to be similar to centaurs); and Capricorn is associated with the god Ea, nicknamed the 'Antelope of the Seas', who wore a fish skin cloak (Capricorn sometimes being interpreted as a sea goat). In the case of Pisces, it was known as the Tails and was associated with the Tigris and the Euphrates, the main rivers of the Fertile Crescent area.

While the Greek interpretation of Pisces was two fish joined by a cord, the Babylonian Tails were a swallow and a fish attached by a cord. The south-western part of Pisces was known as Sinūnūtu, or the 'Great Swallow' and associated with Simmah, a fish goddess associated with the Euphrates, while the north-eastern part was known as Anunītu, after Anunitum, a goddess of war sometimes identified with Inanna, depicted as a mermaid and associated with the Tigris.

Answer: Crux

The stars on the flag of Australia represent Crux, or the Southern Cross. Along with the Coalsack, Crux represents the Great Emu's head. Rather than being a constellation, the Great Emu, aka Wej Mor, is actually a dark patch between stars, formed by dark nebulae in the autumn sky. A South Australian story goes that Wej, the emu, was married to Jooteetch, a jealous cat. Wardu, a wombat, fell in love with Wej, went to visit her and painted her with red ochre. Jooteetch asked Wej where she got the ochre and Wej lied that she found it, but Jooteetch knew she was lying because he saw Wardu's tracks. He asked Wej to build a fire and threw her into it, but Wej escaped by jumping into the sky, where she became a constellation.

There are alternative interpretations of Crux among different Aboriginal groups. For example, the Boorong of Western Victoria call Crux 'Bunya' and see it as a possum, and the people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory see it as a stingray, while for the Karuna of the Adelaide Plains, it is an eagle called Wilto. Crux also appears on the national flags of Brazil, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, and state flag of Victoria.

Answer: Bow

The Plough is known as 'Fávdnadávgi' or 'Fávdna's Bow' in Sámi culture in northern Europe. Fávdna, the hunter, is represented by the star Arcturus, while the three stars in Orion's Belt are Gállabártnit, a trio of hunters on skis, and their father, Gálla, is represented by Sirius.

They are hunting Sarrva, the Great Reindeer, whose celestial body includes the W of Cassiopeia (which forms its antlers), Perseus (which forms part of its front legs), and Auriga (its rear end). While Fávdna is ready to shoot the Great Reindeer, the only thing stopping him from doing so is Boahji-násti, the Pole Star, as it holds up the sky and shooting it will cause it to fall and crush the world. Fávdna's Bow is also mentioned in the opening lines of the Sámi national anthem.

Answer: Cassiopeia

In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a rather snooty Ethiopian queen who bragged about her daughter, Andromeda, claiming she was more beautiful than the Nereids (a group of sea nymphs). Poseidon, god of the sea, threatened to flood Ethiopia in revenge and Cassiopeia tried to appease him by having Andromeda chained to a rock and sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus. In Welsh myth, however, Cassiopeia was known as 'Llys Dôn' after Dôn, a deity said to be the mother or father of three children who feature in Welsh myth. While Dôn was initially thought to be female, later historians believe Dôn to be male. Dôn's children were Gwydion, a wizard and trickster; Arianrhod, the mother of Dylan ail Don, who became a sea creature when baptised, and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, a flesh-like creature who was kept in a chest by Gwydion until it assumed human form; and Gilfaethwy, who incurs the wrath of his uncle Math fab Mathonwy by raping Goewin, his foot-holder (as a prophecy states that Math must keep his feet in a virgin's lap at all times). Both Gilfaethway and Gwydion were turned into animals as punishment.

Other constellations were also named for Dôn's children; the Milky Way was known as 'Caer Gwydion' ('Gwydion's Castle'), while Corona Borealis was 'Caer Arianrhod', or 'Arianrhod's Castle'.

Answer: Makara

Capricorn is either represented as a goat or a sea-goat - a hybrid of fish and goat - and Makara is a similar creature, although it looks more like a crocodile (the Hindi word for crocodile is 'magar', from which the Indian mugger crocodile gets its name). Each Hindu deity has their own mount, or Vahana, and Makara is the Vahana of Ganga, the personification of the River Ganges. Varuna, a Vedic sea god, and Narmada, the personification of the river of the same name, also use it as a Vahana, and statues of Makara can be seen guarding Hindu and Buddhist temples. Depictions of Makara vary, though it is usually part land animal (such as a deer or elephant) and part aquatic animal (such as a fish or crocodile).

Fans of the webcomic 'Homestuck' may note that the answers are similar to the names of trolls associated with various star signs, and creator Andrew Hussie was inspired by Hindu mythology when naming some of the characters. Gamzee Makara, a juggalo parody, is the Capricorn troll, while Vriska Serket, Karkat Vantas and Mituna Captor - trolls representing Scorpio, Cancer and Gemini respectively - get their names from Vrścika, Karka and Mithuna, the Hindu counterparts of those signs.

Answer: Zebras

The three stars in Orion's Belt are Mintaka, Alnilam and Altilak. According to a Nama myth, the Khunuseti (Pleiades) asked their husband Aob (Aldebaran) to shoot some zebras for them. He missed the zebras, but could not get his arrow back because Betelgeuse, a lion, was guarding the zebras, and was too embarrassed to return home, so he ended up sitting in the darkness for eternity. According to !Kung myth, the middle zebra (Alnilam) is male, while the zebras representing Mintaka and Altilak are females.

The !Kung people are a subgroup of the San people, or Bushmen, who live in the western Kalahari Desert, the area formerly known as Ovamboland (which spans northern Namibia and southern Angola), and Botswana. Their language is one of the 'click' languages, a group of languages that feature consonants that sound like clicks. The Nama are a subgroup of the Khoekhoe people, a nomadic group, who live in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

Answer: White Tiger of the West

Baihu, the White Tiger of the West, is known as Byakko in Japan, and represents autumn. While the lion is the King of the Beasts in Africa and Europe, in Asia, it is the tiger, and according to Chinese myth, a tiger's tail would turn white once it reached the age of 500. The White Tiger would either appear if the entire world was at peace, or if the Emperor of China ruled with virtue. In Wuxing, a multi-disciplinary Chinese philosophy, white represents peace and the element of metal (vermilion is red, azure is wood and black is water). The tiger is also a symbol of military power.

Each Guardian contains seven positions of the moon, and seven constellations. Kuí Xiù, the Legs, (Eta Andromedae) represents scholarship and wisdom. Leu, the Bond (Sheratan/Beta Arietis), is named after the train of a garment, and also represents the noose used to hang an animal for sacrifice. Wèi Xiù, the Stomach (35 Arietis), also represents fingers and a granary. Mao Xiù, the Hairy Head, is the counterpart of the Pleiades, particularly Alcyone. Bìxiù, the Net, corresponds to Ain/Epsilon Tauri; Zī Xiù, the Turtle Beak, to Meissa/Lambda Orionis; and Shēn Xiù, the Three Stars, incorporates Alnitak.