Gemini - from the Box of Stars

Airiness, brightness, sparkle, quickness, intellect, intelligence, wit,,
duality,connection, communication, commerce

Castor and Pollux, the Heavenly Twins, the brightest stars in Gemini, have long been recognised as twins world-wide, and are an omen of good luck for sailors.

The Sun in Gemini

Of all the signs, Gemini is the most quick-witted and you have a natural gift for grasping new ideas and for sharing them with ease with others. Your curiosity is boundless and you are always on the go, moving from one subject to another, trying to see life from new angles. The down side is that you can easily grow restless and finishing a project can be hard. But one thing that life can never be for those with the Sun in Gemini is dull! So long, that is, as you can follow your own instincts and avoid being trapped by dull routine.

The goal for Gemini is to unite the opposites within, and to come to terms with the human condition and its limitations. Like Mercury, the messenger, which is your ruler, your domain is communication.

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The Myths and Legends of Gemini

The Heavenly Twins

Castor and Pollux, the Heavenly Twins, lying between Cancer and Taurus on the zodiac band, were immortalised for brotherly love.

Zeus, in the shape of a dazzling white swan, seduced Leda, the wife of Tyndareus. The result of their union was two great eggs, one of which contained Helen of Troy and the immortal Pollux, who were the children of Zeus. In the other were the offspring of Tyndareus, the mortal Castor, 'and his sister Clytemnestra, who murdered her husband in the bath.

St Elmo's Fire

Castor, who was a famous horseman, and Pollux, who was a boxer, were inseparable. They accompanied the Argonauts on their famous journey and calmed the rough seas which threatened to capsize the boat.

They have been an omen of good luck to sailors ever since and the appearance of twin balls of lightning in the rigging, which we now call St Elmo's Fire, after the fourth-century Syrian bishop Erasmus, who became the patron saint of sailors, was a guarantee of safety from the storm. A single light, however, presaged disaster, as this was Helen, the fateful sister of the twins, who had caused the fall of Troy.

Castor and Pollux Appear in Rome

The help of the Heavenly Twins was invoked in war as well as storm. In 496 Be, during the Roman war with Latium, the authorities decided to erect a temple to them, although up until then they had not been Roman gods. Within moments, the Twins appeared, leading the Roman cavalry to victory. That evening, two youths, both dressed in purple, were seen watering their white horses at a fountain in the Forum, and a huge temple in their honour was built without delay.

Symbol of Duality

A symbol of duality, and of the coexistence of the mortal and immortal sides of man, they spent alternate nights in Hades and Olympus, and they stood for Life and Death in Rome. Their origins, in fact, go back to the Euphrates.

Mercury, Ruler of Gemini

Mercury, the versatile, quick-witted messenger of the gods and guide of souls, rules communication, commerce, wit and learning. The link between this world and the next, he was also the protector of travelers and the bringer of luck. For the Greeks, he was Hermes, the inventor of music. The planet which belongs to him lies closest to the Sun.

The Stars

Both Castor and Pollux are extremely bright stars, which have been recognised as twins not only in Europe and Asia, but by the Australian Aborigines and the Polynesians. Castor is an enormous 'multiple' star, which portended mischief and violence in astrology, while Pollux, the orange star of the immortal boxer, brought fame and glory.

To Locate

Take a line straight along the handle of the Plough and out through Merak, or from the bottom star of Orion through Betelgeux (or Betelgeuse) on his left shoulder to find Castor and Pollux. Looking south, Gemini can be seen from November to April in the northern hemisphere, and to the north from December to March south of the equator.

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