Today, the obliquity of the earth is about 23.4°. 6500 years ago, it was about 24.1°
Imagine the blue square is the constellation of Orion, and the yellow star is the sun. Viewpoint B is you, on earth, today, when the obliquity is 23.4°. When you look at Orion, you see it as below the ecliptic. But with a change in obliquity, your viewpoint moves to Viewpoint A. Now when you you look at Orion, it appears to be on the ecliptic.
Am I correct, or have I got it wholly wrong?
I realise the diagram greatly exaggerates the angles, as well as condenses the distances, but the principle is there. The question is, does the principle apply in the case of Orion?
I'm exploring a hypothesis that at some time in the past (I chose the date of 6500 years ago, because the Vernal Equinox was closest to Orion at that time), Orion seemed to be closer to the sun's path than it does today. However, it has been suggested to me that it may actually have been further away.
So, would the change in obliquity have any effect on the view of Orion, or not?
EDIT after first 2 answers
Here's an image that better expresses what I mean:
Your viewpoint A is where you are on earth today, when the earth is at 23° axial tilt. Looking at the sun, you see no stars on the celestial sphere behind it. But when the earth was tilted 24°, when you look at the sun you see Orion behind it. (Obviously, this is imaginary, as you don't see the sun and stars in the sky at the same time, but it illustrates the principle of where the ecliptic is.)
Because the celestial sphere is much further away from the earth than the sun the distance C-D seems much greater than the distance A-B, even though the angles are the same. So the optical effect is that Orion appears on the ecliptic, or not, depending on what angle the earth is tilted at. Yes or no?
2nd edit
Without wishing to sidetrack, it might help if I explained why I'm so interested in this. I'm studying Egyptology. Among the few certainties we have are that a) their religion/myth was astronomically based, and b) their god Osiris was the constellation of Orion. Now, Osiris' name is written with the hieroglyphs of an eye and a throne. Because the eye is a common symbol for the sun, Egyptologists such as Lefebure and Brugsch, and others, have suggested that the name simply means "the seat, or throne, of the sun (god)". This is disputed by others, of course.
Now I'm re-examining the problem, without having a vested interest, one way or the other, in the outcome. My reasoning goes like this; a phrase such as "the seat of the sun" or sometimes "house of the sun" is well-documented in many ancient cultures as referring to a stage in the sun's path; that most often seems to refer to the equinoxes or solstices, but can also refer to the zodiacal constellations. The implication is that Orion was given this name because of some sort of relationship between him and the sun. 6500 years ago, the Vernal Equinox was directly above Orion: above, but not in, because Orion is not on the ecliptic.
However, Egyptian myth tells us that Osiris was murdered by being struck down (or in a variant text, drowned). This implies a downward movement. The name "the seat of the sun" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, unless the Vernal Equinox was actually in Orion, and not several degrees above it. And so, I'm wondering if the myth of Orion/Osiris being struck down or drowned is somehow an attempt to describe the visual effect of an axial shift; I'm hypothesising that perhaps 6500 years ago, from the viewpoint of an observer on earth, the sun did appear to be closer to Orion than it currently is, close enough to be described as in rather than above.
We cannot be absolutely sure precisely which stars of Orion represented Osiris for the Egyptians; we only have a general idea. But it's a fairly safe bet that the principal 7 or 8 stars of the 'hourglass' shape were included. Also, as Orion was frequently depicted in astronomical texts with one arm raised, much like the constellation is today, it's very probable that Chi 1 and Chi 2 Orionis were also included.
So, in order to demonstrate that, at the time of the Vernal Equinox, the sun was in Orion, I would need to somehow show that the sun appeared slightly lower in the sky, not necessarily low enough to cross Orion's Belt (which would be more than I could possibly hope for!), but low enough to even cross his raised arm. That would probably be enough. Look at the map: it's only a few degrees from the ecliptic to the arm... is there no way this could be possible?
It's not exactly a world-shattering event, but it would settle a long-running debate between Egyptologists once and for all.