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[[File:Gemini2.jvfjwkdkgrjsleltkdjhrnskdkekrlfmndnbdkrnfnddnnbdjfnndnajajhdfjdhdjdndj 🚘🚑🚅🚄🐎🏇🎳⚾🛁🏰🌊🌞🌈🍇🍥🍩🍔🐲🐯🐆🎹🎸🎮💿💽✏🎂🎄🔦💉🔫🔪👢👇👈👉👋👏👐👌✊ 👊👺👻🎅😸🙅😜😇pg|thumbnail|left|A symbolic representation of Gemini. ]]
Gemini (pronunciation:
/ˈdʒɛmɪnaɪ/ or
/ˈdʒɛmɪniː/
JEM-in-eye or
JEM-in-ee) (♊) is the third
astrological sign in the
Zodiac, originating from the
constellation of Gemini. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between May 21 and June 21. The symbol of the twins is based on the
Dioscuri, two mortals that were granted shared godhood after death.
[1]
Mythlogy
This Greek myth states that there were two sons: the first son was named Castor, a mortal son of the King and Queen of Sparta, Tyndareus and Leda. The second son, Polydeuces (commonly referred to as Pollux) was the offspring of Zeus and the Spartan Queen Leda, making Castor and Polydeuces half-brothers. The two boys grew up together and were very close with one another which earned them the title of “twins”. In their later years, they would embark on the quest with the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece, a mythical artifact. Castor and Polydeuces eventually pursued two women, Phoebe and Hilaeira, who happened to be engaged to twin Argonauts, Idas and Lynceus. Castor and Polydeuces tried to steal the women from the men, but Idas and Lynceus chased after them. In a scuffle between the four men, Lynceus fatally stabbed Castor with his sword enraging Polydeuces which lead to Lynceus’ death. Quickly after, Idas wanted to avenge his brother’s death and went to attack Polydeuces; however, Zeus sent a lightning bolt from the heavens just in time to save his son. Polydeuces then asked his father to share his immortality with his dead brother. Zeus granted his son’s wish and put them in the sky together as the constellation Gemini. The main two stars, the heads of the figures in the constellation, have been named Pollux and Castor in remembrance of the two brothers. [2]
The Zodiac
The Zodiac is a series of twelve constellations in the sky that have been used by many groups of people, namely the Egyptians, Babylonians, the Hindi and the Sumerians, as a way of describing a person’s personality. These constellations are centered along the line called the ecliptic, or the path the sun travels on throughout the year, in 30 degree increments so that each constellation has an equal share of the sky [3]. Because of this ancient groups of people were able to determine the change of the seasons based on the position of these major constellations which aided them in preparing for harvests or planting seasons [4]. Throughout time these civilizations have identified strikingly similar constellations, and through translation into modern vernacular the names of the twelve Zodiac signs have become Aries (ram), Taurus (bull), Gemini (twins), Cancer(crab), Leo (lion) , Virgo (virgin), Libra (scales), Scorpio (scorpion), Sagittarius (archer), Capricorn (goat), Aquarius (water bearer) and Pisces (fish). There is actually a thirteenth sign, Ophiuchus (snake holder), that was disregarded early on. The sign dates therefore may be slightly askew because there is an extra constellation the sun travels through that is not technically part of the 12 more commonly recognized constellations [5] The reason this thirteenth constellation was thrown out was because ancient astrologers tried to track time using the stars and their positions during the year and the number twelve is commonly used in dividing time, so this thirteenth constellation made tracking time a bit harder to manage.
History
The first concept of a Zodiac came from the ancient Armenians, in which an observatory was discovered in Metsamor, Armenia, with the first recorded division of the year into twelve parts. With this discovery, it was also found that there were 12 engravings of “zodiac creatures” that contributed to later understanding of the Zodiac. In ancient Babylonia however, astrology became popular as the Babylonians realized that 12 lunar cycles, or months, passed in the time it took the sun to return to a similar position. They then found constellations that coincided with the path of the sun over the course of the 12 cycles leading to the first concept of the Zodiac. The problem is that in order to be a certain Zodiac sign, the sun must be in the constellation, meaning it is not visible at night. Therefore, the ancient Babylonians had to map out the constellations as they appeared in the night sky and use their knowledge of Earth’s rotation to predict which constellation the Sun was in at a given time. The watching of time in this manner was common for ancient civilizations, and because of this the word horoscope came to be. Horoscope literally translates into time watcher stemming from the Greek roots for hour, horos, and the stem for watching, scopos [6]. The constellations were named based on their appearance in the sky in conjunction with a season change or by their physical shape in the sky. For example, in the case of Gemini, the constellation resembles two figures next to each other, earning the constellation the name Gemini, meaning twins or double [7]. Other groups of people, such as the Sumerians, Hindi and the Babylonians had similar Zodiac signs to that of the Greek signs recognized today and contribute to the translation into the vernacular language [8].
Characteristics
Each Zodiac sign has many traits that help explain a person’s personality. These traits may not be completely accurate for each individual person as it is just a simple method to relate who people are based on astronomic phenomena. The 12 Zodiac signs are each “governed” with some overlaps by one of the planets in the solar system that denotes traits to the Zodiac sign it rules over. These celestial bodies are namely the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Recent astrologists have further included Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as a governing body for the Zodiac. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury and the planet ruler gives the sign intellectual abilities like working with logic, numbers and calculations, as well as the ability to look at both sides of an argument and chose a side based on the information supplied [9]. Not only are they categorized by a planet, but they are also subdivided into one of the four elements with Gemini belonging to the element of air. One of the most notable traits a Gemini tends to possess is the idea of dualism. There is always some colliding pair of ideas or viewpoints, with many Gemini personalities being unpredictable and two-faced [10]. These traits attempt to define a person who affiliates themselves with the Gemini sign, but the accuracy and legitimacy of these traits in people varies greatly.
References
- ^ "DIOSCURI : Greek Gods of Horsemanship, Protectors of Sailors | Mythology, Dioskouroi, w/ pictures". Theoi.com. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- ^ Gemini Myth
- ^ Origins of the Zodiac
- ^ Heavenly, Yes- And Forever
- ^ New Dates of the Zodiac
- ^ Definition of Horoscope
- ^ History of Astrology
- ^ Origins of the Zodiac
- ^ Brief History of Ancient Astrology
- ^ Signs of the Zodiac
External links
Category:Astrological signs Category:Astrology Category:Divine twins