History of Astrology
Getting into Gemini: Double Trouble or Doubly Daring?
Mythology’s dynamic duos and a brief look at Gemini from space
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(May 21 — June 21)*
“When looking in my looking glass,
I spied a trusted face.
Alas, not to be taken for him am I.
Beware, therefore, the Gemini.”**
— The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
The social butterflies of the zodiac, Geminis seem to exist in a world of their own design. I once knew a Gemini who seemed to speak her reality into being — she said what she wanted… and got it. I always envied her ability to influence. I wanted her power to seamlessly bend people to do what she wanted. Her ability wasn’t sinister or insidious. She just had a mind for business.
Now, I work with a Gemini with a completely different personality. They’re full of life, and they’re amazing with children. They care about the environment and are extremely knowledgeable about folklore.
Clearly, people are not all one thing.
I’d like to explore these different sides of Gemini and dive into the history of this sign. What can we learn from stories about historical dynamic duos? From folklore to astronomy, there’s always something going on behind the scenes.
So let’s get into Gemini, shall we?
Gemini in history and folklore
While many myths about twins persist throughout folklore, Gemini is often thought to represent the Greek twins Castor and Pollux.
According to legend, Castor and Pollux were twin boys born to Queen Leda of Sparta by two different fathers. Castor was the son of Leda’s husband King Tynarous, but Pollux was the immortal son of Zeus.
The pair grew inseparable and became known as the Dioscuri, or ‘Sons of Zeus.’ And by a twist of fate their twin cousins in the next kingdom were known as the half-immortal sons of Poseidon.
All four sons boarded Jason’s voyage to find the Golden Fleece (Aeries). And all four sons later disagreed and fought to the death. Family drama and all that.
In death, Castor was supposed to spend his afterlife in Tartarus. But the immortal Pollux could not live without his brother. Zeus had mercy on the twins and allowed them to split Pollux’s immortality: they would spend part of the year in the heavens as the constellation Gemini, and the other half hidden under the Earth.
Twins in history and folklore
Castor and Pollux are not the only famous twins of folklore. Many cultures share myths about twins’ supposed supernatural abilities.
In modern-day Nigeria (where the birthrate of twins is four times the global average) the Yoruba consider twins “spirit children.” If one child dies, the family may carve Ere Ibeji statuettes to appease these spirits.
And while Castor and Pollux couldn’t bear to live without each other, not all mythical twins end up sharing immortality with each other. Biblical twins Cain and Able share a similar fate with Roman twins Romulus and Remus: the pair quarrels. One twin kills the other. And that twin learns to live with the reality of what he has done (or doesn’t — Romulus later built Rome and lived a long, happy life as king.)
Gemini from space
Gemini’s brightest stars are named after that dynamic duo, Castor and Pollux. Castor (the star) is 51 light years away from Earth, while Pollux is 33 light years away. These and other stars can be observed at the twin Gemini Observatories located in Hawaii and Chile.
It’s important to note that the stars in Gemini have also been included in other constellations throughout history. The stars in this constellation may have made up portions of other figures including a white tiger, a well, and even a battle axe in Chinese astrology.
NASA’s Project Gemini
NASA’s Project Gemini laid the foundations for space travel, and it is called the “Bridge to the Moon.” This mission allowed astronauts to practice skills that would help make the Apollo missions to the moon possible in the 1960s and 1970s.
Project Gemini tested four main areas of space travel as the US prepared to go further than humankind had gone before. This project aimed to:
1) Test the feasibility of long-term missions
2) Understand how spacecraft could meet and dock in orbit
3) Fine-tune spacecraft re-entry and landing
4) Understand the effects of long-term space flights on astronauts
Project Gemini saw 12 missions, with Gemini III being the first manned mission of the project and Gemini XII ending the series in 1966.
Geminids
In mid-December in the Northern Hemisphere, near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon skims our planet’s orbit. When this happens, 3200 Phaethon sheds particles that fall into our atmosphere, producing meteor trails. Here’s how to see the Geminids meteor showers in 2023.
Some dynamic duos defy expectations. Some feud. Even the closest siblings fight sometimes. But does that mean that other signs should “beware the Gemini?”**
Not at all!
“Because of Geminis’ intrinsic duality, they’re often falsely misrepresented as two-faced,” writes astrologer Aliza Kelly for Allure. “In reality, however, Gemini rarely has a hidden agenda. Playful and intellectually curious, Gemini is constantly juggling a variety of passions, hobbies, careers, and friend groups.”
Getting to know my neighborhood Gemini has led to a lot of intersecting passions. It seems Geminis don’t need to choose just one path forward — they carve their own reality, whether through persuasion or some other admirable character traits.
Geminis are trailblazers and leaders. They’re doubly daring. They take the road less traveled by.
And that makes all the difference.
*Astrology is fun to explore, but it is not a science and should not be taken literally. History of Astrology aims to explore zodiac signs and spread curiosity, not offer advice.
**In The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, the heroes face an evil corporation run by their benefactor’s malicious twin brother. Thus, they are told to “beware the Gemini” and his intentions. This should not, dear reader, lead you to beware Geminis. (Unless of course they are evil.)
