._____. | | | | _|_|_ ' ' quality: mutable element: air ruled by: mercury
Mythology and Legends
Castor and Pollux, the two bright stars forming the heads of the constellation, were known as the twin stars from ages past. The Arabic culture knew them as the Two Peacocks, the Egyptians knew them as the Two Sprouting Plants, and the Hindus knew them as the Twin Deities.
Castor and Pollux were members of the Argonauts, who sailed with Jason to find the Golden Fleece.
Castor and Pollux were also known as the twin sons of Jupiter and Leda. Castor was the master of horses and Pollux was a master soldier and fighter.
St. Elmo's Fire was formerly called Ledean Lamps by sailors on sailing ships to honor the sons of Leda.
Pollux Castor *-----------* | | | | | | | | | | | | Wasat * | \ | Mekbuda * * Mebusta | | | | | | | * Trejat Alhena * \ / * / \ * *
An annual meteor shower appears near Castor and Pollux during December 10th to the 12th. Another meteor shower appears from the feet of Gemini during the month of October.
Castor was the first binary star to be observed, discovered by Bradley in 1750. Castor actually has approximately six companion stars in a loose cluster. A supernova was observed to the right of Mebusta in 1912.
Castor and Pollux were used as the names of the evil twin brothers in the movie Face-Off, starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta.
Their colors are cyan and yellow, their planet is Mercury, (which they share with Virgo), their stones are most likely citrine, pearl or alexandrite, feel free to argue that with me. The parts of the body they rule are the arms and hands...of course, two of the same that can each do different things. Their tarot card is The Fool, not because he is naive, but because of all of the doors he opens for himself. Geminis generally stear clear of leadership roles, mainly because the wear and tear would be a bother and a bore. They can exude creativity and make for good thespians and photographers. I could write you a list, but how does Angelina Jolie grab you?
Gemini was a series of missions flown by NASA, the United States space agency. It was started in 1961 when they saw a need for an intermediate step between the Mercury and Apollo projects, and it was dubbed "Gemini" in 1962.
Gemini's main goal was to produce a two-man manned spaceflight, to thereby study the effects of long term spaceflight and weightlessness on humans, to work out and test the procedures required for longer spaceflight, and to attempt methods of docking in space and landing on land, as opposed to water. (This last was cancelled from the program in 1964, so all the Gemini flights did land on water, but they perfected the landing control to the point where they could have theoretically landed on land.) NASA considers the Gemini project to have been highly successful, as it met most of these goals and made other minor achievements as well.
The Gemini spacecraft were an enlarged version of the Project Mercury capsules - a rounded cone, 19 feet high and 10 feet in diameter. Mighty cozy quarters for two grown men. The first Gemini flights started in 1964, and manned flights started in 1965, continuing through 1966. Each flight was given a roman numeral, as follows:
thanks to nasa's site and my childhood subscription to Odyssey magazine.
Gemini (May 22nd to June 21st) Twins Colours: Saffron yellow, and black and white contrasts. The colour of Mercury, ruler of Gemini is White. Stones: Crystal, topaz and beryl. Metals: Mercury Trees: Nut trees, rowan and beech. Flowers: Lily-of-the-valley, lavender and rock-roses Countries: Wales, America and Belgium. Cities: London, Melbourne and San Francisco.
Gem"i*ni (?), n. pl. [L., twins, pl. of geminus; cf. Skr. jmi related as brother or sister.] Astron.
A constellation of the zodiac, containing the two bright stars Castor and Pollux; also, the third sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about May 20th.
© Webster 1913.
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