The Story of Gemini
Since Babylonian times, the constellation of Gemini has
represented twins. The Greeks named the twin brothers
Castor and Pollux.
The story begins, as usual, with Zeus disguising himself
so that he could seduce a beautiful woman. This
time his disguise was that of a swan and his chosen lady was
the beautiful Leda on the night before her wedding to
Tyndareus, the king of Sparta. Leda gave birth to two
eggs, one of which contained Pollux, who was Zeus' son
and therefore immortal, and his sister, Helen of Troy.
The other egg contained Castor and his sister Clytemnestra,
fathered by Tyndareus.
The twins were raised by the centaur
Chiron who taught them in the martial arts. Castor
became famous as a horseman and great wrestler while Pollux
grew equally skilled at boxing. They were inseparable
companions who had many adventures, one of which was to
rescue their sister, Helen of Troy, from the Athenian hero, Theseus.
Another of those adventures was to sail with
Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece.
While on that great adventure, they saved the ship Argus
during a storm. They came to be known as St
Elmo's Fire, patron saint of all seafarers. It was
said that they had power to calm the winds and waves.
Even today, when sailors see
the twin balls of blue flame that light up the mast during a
storm, they can rest assured that the storm will soon be over.
But the story of how the stars of Gemini got into the sky relates to a
further adventure.
Castor and Pollux had some cousins, Idas and Lynceus, who came along on
the trip after the Golden Fleece.
There had been some bad blood over wife stealing in the past, but that
was all reconciled during the trip.
A few years later, the cousins decided to go on a cattle raid together.
It turns out that the cousins
cheated the twins out of their fair share of the stolen cattle. A fight
broke out and Idas killed Castor.
Castor, as a mortal, was destined for
Hades, far below ground. Pollux, who was immortal,
begged to share his immortality so that he would not be
separated from his brother. His wish was granted by
Zeus, who placed them together in the sky as the
constellation, Gemini.
Gemini in Astrology
So what can we learn about the Gemini energy from the myth?
One thing that stands out is the need for brotherly love.
This is an asexual type of love for which we are willing to give
up our own life. When planets traverse Gemini,
brothers and sisters play a more active and important role in our lives.
Another standout is the need for diversity. Gemini is Mutable, which means
adaptable. Variety is the spice of life for Gemini.
Being able to thrive in many different environments is a key theme of the Gemini energy.
Image Credit: spreadlibertynews.com
Gemini is
also an Air sign, which brings in the mental nature. Is ruling planet is Mercury,
messenger of the Gods. There are no walls that can contain air. The thought
process occurs at the speed of light, maybe even faster. Learning is easy. Put them
all together and you get one of the dominant characteristics of Gemini: talkativeness.
Words are of paramount importance when you're talking about Gemini.
But these are not the deep, pondering meanings found in some of the other
signs. These are words for the enjoyment of words.
It's the capacity to understand many, many things. And the
desire to communicate them to others. When planets transit
Gemini, we all become talking machines. Too much of this
energy means nobody is listening to what anybody else has to
say.
Quality: Mutable
Element: Air
Natural House: Third
Energy: Yang (+) Masculine
Traditional Ruler: Mercury
Modern Ruler: Mercury
Exaltation: None
Detriment: Jupiter
Fall: None
Key word: Versatility
Key phrase: I Think!
Part of the Body: The Lungs, Hands,
Arms, Shoulders, and Nervous System
Gemini in the Sky
Constellation Art from Stellarium
Dating from ancient times, many cultures have seen two
humans in this star pattern that looks like two stick figures.
Gemini is the Latin word forTwins. The heads of
the twin figures are the bright stars Pollux and the
somewhat fainter Castor, two of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Pollux is one of the few giant stars with an orbiting planet. Castor is actually made up of six stars, two
of which can be discerned with a telescope.
In the Egyptian cultural center of Alexandria lived Ptolemy,
one of the most influential astronomers of the 2nd century
AD. He wrote a book called the Almagest, which
included a list of 48 of our present day constellations.
To Gemini, he assigned 18 stars.
Gemini is the northernmost of the constellations in the
zodiac. It lies above and to the left of Orion
and is best seen during winter and spring.