Category: Myths, Legends, Folklore

Yes, yes, it’s Scorpio time, and we’re back to epic tales of mythical heroes and divine interventions! No worries, Zeus stays put this time…

So, once upon a time in ancient Greece, there was a mythical hunter, with gigantic proportions, called Orion. You might have already heard of the constellation and its famous “belt” or you might be Metallica fans! In some of the earliest works of Greek authors, like Homer and Hesiod, Orion is already mentioned as a constellation, and in the Odyssey, Odysseus meets with Orion’s shadow in Hades. What this tells us, is that his story is ancient, even for ancient Greeks!

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A month has passed, the Sun in well into the sign of Libra, and here I am, researching the mythology behind the constellation. Alas, and I apologize to all my Libra readers, there’s not much to write…

See, the problem is that Libra is the only inanimate sign. Throughout the ancient civilizations, it was considered to be either “the claws of Scorpio”, or “the scales of Justice”, held by Dike/Astraea (see the article on Virgo for more details).

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The sun has already entered Virgo, and loyal (but kinda late) as I am to this section, I’ve been researching the myths surrounding it for quite some time now. One would think that such research shouldn’t take so much time, but trust me, this is one complicated constellation. Daring an astrology joke, this constellation is far more complicated than it would want to be.

Let’s start with the basics, and by that I always mean etymology! The word “virgin” is of course Latin, and although in our collective minds, it means a person who never had sexual relations, the original meaning is closer to someone being pure and “untouched”. Think about it. When you buy “virgin olive oil”, it doesn’t mean that your oil never made whoopie, it means that the olives used where “young” and pure.

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The sun has entered Leo, and as planned, I sat down to write the story of the constellation, but alas, and such a shame for such a glorious sign, the story isn’t that interesting…

The story is again about our friend Hercules and his twelve tasks, and from the looks of it, you will probably learn all of them by the time I finish the zodiac…

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As of this month, I’m introducing a new topic, which will feature one article per month. See, the macabre, eccentricities, and human stupidity are endless, so I thought we could all lift our gaze higher for a while and dive into the history of the constellations. June is the month of Gemini, so for all of you wondering, this is how it came to be.

Ever since ancient Babylon, this constellation has been known as “the twins”. Each civilization has an epic story or two about the twin brothers that earned celestial immortality. Still, since the official astronomical names are based on the ancient Greek mythology, I will present you this version of the story.

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Today is the 20^th of June, and astrologically speaking, the Sun is entering the sign of Cancer. In keeping up with this new section, here’s the story of the constellation, and it is an inglorious one…

You all know Hercules, right? That drunken, brutal, super-strong, fallen hero, who was deeply hated by Hera? I’m also certain you have heard of the 12 tasks he completed, but did you know that he had to go through with that in order to redeem himself for killing his children and wife while drunk? Yeah, I know, that fine detail wasn’t in the Disney movie…

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