The Twins
The Twins| <-- Move cursor over | May 21 - June 21 |
| bar for menu. |
|
|
| Abstract meaning | Concrete and Traditional Meaning | Part of Body Ruled |
|---|---|---|
|
The relaxation between self and substance. The function of linkage and the urge to integrate through rythm and form |
intellect, sensation and nervation changeability, duality restlessness, cleverness literrary and artisitic ability, skill |
Nerves, lungs, hands, arms, shoulders |
| I Seek My Self through What I Think | |
|---|---|
| positive natural tendency | misuse or exaggeration of trait |
|
lighthearted and cheerful
extremely intelligent versatile and adaptable sensitive to others clear and objective in thinking precise |
silly and inane superintellectual, all words dissipates self through lack of unifying purpose nervous and excitable cold, aloof, and unemotional indiscriminate |
| Physical Characteristics | Mental Tendencies |
|---|---|
|
tall, slender, ercet but lithe figure quick, active walk long arms and fingers thin features, long face, nose and chin sanguine complexion hazel or gray eyes, quick sight dark hair, usually brown |
quick at learning fond of reading and writing, inquisitive capable of acquiring a good education dexterous, lively, ingenious, quick-witted inclination and admiration for music, drawing painting, languages, dancing, travel and invention sometimes shy and retiring, good disposition humane, nervous and restless |
| Emotional Key Words | Mental Key Words |
|---|---|
|
lack concentration, sensitive, eloquent, humane, travel, not domestic, changeable, unsympathetic but genial, quicktempered. |
dextrous in manual expression, inventive, literary, versatile, adaptable, self-expressive, democratic, curious, analytical if highly evolved, sometimes scatterbrained, tricky. |
|
|
| Bibliography |
 Back to Cancer
| Bibliography |
Ahead to Taurus
|
|
Gemini, the Twins (Castor, Alpha, represented by the bright star at upper right of the figure, and Pollux, Beta, by the star at lower left), from Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. The horizontal dashed line is the ecliptic. Cancer, the Crab, is immediately to the left of Gemini. The upper left part of Orion is down and to the right, Canis Minor and Procyon are beneath the Twins, while the head of Hydra, the Water Serpent, is to the lower left. The broad dark band at the top is centered on the ecliptic, and shows the region in which the Moon and planets can be found. The Milky Way runs at right across the Twins' feet. 
Courtesy of the Rare Book Room and Special Collections Library of the University of Illinois. |
 |
 |
Visit Dynamic Drive for free, original DHTML scripts and components, all of which utilize the latest in DHTML and JavaScript technology!
|
 |
|
Mutable air has little of the driving force of Aries or the physical stamina of Taurus. Lacking the impetus and focus needed to push hard in any one direction, Gemini follows no fixed course of action. Aries energy first propels itself outward into life and assumes it wil never stop rushing forward. But then Taurus slows things down - it even stalls for time - so that it can gather its power and build on itself further, until its foundation is rock solid. And now, in airy Gemini, mutable energy decides to take a few experimental detours by sharply moving sideways, or diagonally, or in any direction that allows it to view life from different angles. Life thrives on unpredictable change, even if in only minor, transitory ways. Gemini's function is to keep energy in a variable state so that nothing grows stale or limits us. The Twins open the door to refreshing activites that deviate from Nature's established patterns, and this helps quicken evolutionary progress.
Gemini is astrology's first sign of social dialogue, a sign which symnbolizes the lively interplay between minds that seldom see issues the same way. Gemini enjoys the contrasts and contradictions in life that provide us with different ways to look at anything, even if this causes the first two signs to see this whole air trend as somewhat of a complication. After all, single-mindedness is the only way to tackle life, according to either an Aries or a Taurus who only differ in their duration. But Gemini refuses to overconcentrate its energies on any one interest, especially since casually spreading itself all over the place is much more satisfying. The problem here is Gemini is more prone to talk at someone than with someone in any kind of a balanced, give-and-take-manner. Like the first two signs of the zodiac, Gemini is still very "me-oriented" in attitude, and obviously enthused and charmed by their own clever ideas, they tend to talk too much and unwittingly hog the conversation, although entertainingly so.
All three of these signs are comfortable living in the world of here-and-now, dealing consciously in the present and operating directly on the surface of life. Although Gemini introduces a multilevel way of viewing reality, none of these signs are truly complex in their makeup. But Gemini's orientation is a major departure from the strongly instinctual ways in which Aries and Taurus relate to the physical world. The fact that this is the first sign whose image involves human figures instead of animal seems to depict a handful of character traits that are only to be found in people, even though all of life's creatures have ways of communicating with one another. Gemini teaches us to study the outcome of actions taken by others and then learn from their situations. Let old Aries and Taurus play the rold of crash-test dummies. Gemini is smart enough to realize that it doesn't have to undergo such events firsthand to benefit from the knowledge gained. Always a quick study, Gemini is ever-curious about how things work, as long as the details involved are not too grueling. They usually prefer to have a clear, concise overall picture of something rather than to be given precise, blow-by-blow descriptions, not caring to get too deeply into anything. Often brilliant, they are seldom profound, preferring trivial but fascinating information to life's more imponderable issues, and as a result they can appear a tad superficial.
In Gemini the communicativeness of air and the changeability of mutability are combined with the rational influence of Mercury to produce a nature that is quintessentially human. Curious, restless, versatile, youthful, fun loving, and imitative, natives of this sign sometimes call to mind our chattering primate ancestors, which Gemini rules along with those attributes that distinguish him from the primates - manual dexterity and language. Interested in everything they see around them, they are eager to learn and just as eager to communicate. Yes, they are the eternal students and natural citizens of the planet Earth. They are intelligent and alert, but lacking in concentration they are easily distracted as they enthusiastically seek new ideas, information, and experiences to feed into the insatiable computer that is the Gemini mind. With the Roman numeral two as their glyph, these natives are more aware than others of the duality of the human condition as mind and body, spirit and flesh, giving them intellectual sophistication but also a tendency to emotional ambivalence. With their ready wit, enthusiasm and eternal youthful appearance, they can be the charmers of the zodiac. However, their love of freedom and variety often militate against lasting relationship, and in the end, these restless spirits will be held only by someone who provides the intellectual stimulation that for many Geminis is even more important than physical love. They might be happy with two lovers at the same time, or with another Gemini - which amounts to the same thing.
Mercury is the trickster who often outwits even himself, and mythological examples of Gemini often involve the interaction of two opposing forces. The duality of Gemini also has to do with the fact that this is a double sign, i.e., the twins. The constellation of Gemini consists of two stars, side by side, seemingly of equal magnitude, but if one looks more closely, it becomes apparent that one star is a little bit brighter than the other. Similarly, the mythological twins called the Gemini consisted of a son of Zeus, Castor, and a pure mortal, Pollux. They were, in fact, part of a quaternity, for when Zeus seduced Leda, wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, disguised as a swan, she gave birth to two sets of twins, one male and one female. Castor and Pollux were the male set of twins, while Helen and Clytaemnestra were the female. Castor and Clytemnaestra were the children of King Tyndareus, while Pollux and Helen were demigods, children of Zeus. The Gemini Twins, therefore, are more properly part of quaternity, a fourfold symbol of wholeness which includes male and female, human and divine elements. Castor, the mortal brother, was slain during a war, and Pollux, mourning, begged Zeus that he not be allowed to outlive his brother. As a son of Zeus, however, Pollux was immortal, and could not die. Hence he ascended into heaven, where he was placed among the constellations along with his brother Castor. Because of Castor's mortality, it was ordained that the Twins must spend half their time in the underworld as well as in heaven, corresponding to the periods when the constellation of Gemini was visible (heaven) or hidden (the underworld).
The 
Among its many meanings, the symbol Gemini stands for two pillars. In ancient times, the Twins were the guardians of all doorways and entrances. Pairs of gods are often found at the gates of Babylonian, Egyptian and Assyrian temples and houses. The two gods are most often depicted as brothers, although they have been represented as male and female siblings as well. The Assyrians worshiped the twin deities Nebo and his wife, Tasmit. In the East, the Mahabharata the ancient Indian epic, tells us that "there were two brothers names Sunda and Upusunda, living together and incapable of being slain by anyone unless each slew the other." In the better-known epic, the Ramayana, Rama, a great Indian saint, has a twin brother. In the later Greek and Roman legends, Leda, wife of Tundarus, the king of Sparta, was seduced by Zeus (Jupiter) in the guise of a swan.
Leda subsequently gave birth to two eggs, from one of which came Helen and Clytemnestra, 
and from the other, Castor and Pollux, for whom the modern-day Gemini twins stars are named. The legend of Castor and Pollux can be traced back to the island of Samothrace, a place which was actually dedicated to the cult of the twin gods. The aboriginal people of ancient Greece celebrated what was known as the "mysteries of the Cabeiri" or the Great Ones consisting of a Mother Goddess and her two divine Children.
