ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars forming it: 188
2. Its most important star is Aldebaran, also known as “the eye of the bull.”
3. Within the constellation are also included two-star clusters: the Hyades and the Pleiades.

MYTHOLOGY: Europa, the beautiful daughter of King Agenor, dreamed that Asia and the land across the sea had been transformed into women and were fighting over her. In this struggle, Asia—who had raised Europa—was defeated and yielded authority to her.
Zeus fell in love with the stunning Europa and, in order to abduct her, transformed himself into a magnificent bull. He charmed her so that she climbed onto his back. Then he rose with great strength, crossed the sea, and carried her to Crete, where he fathered with her three powerful and wise sons: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon.

“The Rape of Europe.” P. Veronese. Palazzo Ducale Venice

In another version of the myth, Zeus did not transform into a bull, but abducted Europa and fled from Phoenicia with her on a bull, which he later released upon reaching Crete. Soon after, however, the gods sent madness upon the bull, which ran wild from the palace causing destruction. Heracles was ordered to capture this bull and deliver it to Eurystheus. He succeeded: Heracles seized the bull, bound it, and, like Europa, swam with it to the eastern coasts of the Peloponnese. From there, he carried it on his shoulders to Mycenae.

Eurystheus admired the beautiful animal and wished to dedicate it to Hera. However, she refused, as she did not want to accept a gift that reminded her of Heracles’ success and growing fame. Thus, the bull was set free and wandered through Argos, Sparta, Corinth, the Isthmus, and Attica, causing great destruction, until it reached Marathon. There, Theseus captured it and offered it as a sacrifice to the gods, who then placed it among the constellations to immortalize the glory of the heroes Heracles and Theseus.

The Hyades, also called Atlantides because they were daughters of Atlas, were nymphs whom Zeus transformed into stars to honor them for caring for his son Dionysus as an infant. They were associated with moisture and storms and were considered stars of rain. The seven most well-known were Aesula, Ambrosia, Dione, Eudora, Coronis, Thyone, and Polyxo.

The Pleiades—known in folk tradition as “Poulia”—were sisters of the Hyades and were placed in the sky by the gods, with whom most of them had relationships. The seven most important, mothers of gods and heroes, were Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygete, Celaeno, and Asterope. Their father Atlas and mother Pleione also belong to this cluster. They were considered favorable stars for long journeys.

SYMBOLISM: It symbolizes the need to control desires under the power of the mind, and the taming of the bull represents precisely this.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME: Venus
SYMBOL: A circle above a cross.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: Dominance of spirit over matter; it has been internationally accepted as the symbol of the feminine.

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 108,100,000 km. Mass equal to 0.81 of Earth’s mass. Because it is covered by clouds of sulfuric acid that reflect light, it is the third brightest object in the sky, commonly known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star.

MYTHOLOGY: When Cronus cut off the genitals of his father Uranus, he cast them into the sea, and from their union with the sea foam emerged a beautiful goddess—Aphrodite—whom the waves carried to the shores of Paphos in Cyprus.

The goddess Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love. The gods compelled her to marry the ugliest of them, the lame Hephaestus, yet she engaged in love affairs with many gods as well as mortals. She was accompanied by the three Graces, who wove her garments, bathed her, anointed her with perfumes, dressed her, and accompanied her in dances. One day, when Hephaestus learned from Apollo that she was at that very moment unfaithful with Ares, he decided to take revenge. He crafted an iron net with which he trapped the lovers and invited all the gods to witness and judge them. In the end, Poseidon intervened and the two gods were set free. From this union, Aphrodite bore Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, and Eros.

In the contest of beauty with Hera and Athena, Paris awarded her the apple of the fairest. In return, she later helped him abduct Helen, thus sparking the Trojan War, in which she supported Paris and the Trojans. However, as she was not made for war, she was wounded by Diomedes and humiliated by Athena.

SYMBOLISM: Aphrodite is the living symbolic image of Love. She represents the feminine, virginal, and fertile essence of Nature, which, when later united with the masculine divine fire of Ares, gives birth to Eros, through whom the work of creation is fulfilled. She also symbolizes aesthetic beauty, which cultivates sweetness, grace, harmony, and adornment, filling life with art, fragrance, and flowers. She gives rise to the impulses of desire.

ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars forming it: 25
2. The most important stars are Castor and Polydeuces.

“The Dioscuri Abduct Leucippus’ Daughters, Ilaera and Phoebe.” Rubens. Munich Palatinate Gallery

MYTHOLOGY:
One day, Zeus saw Leda, the beautiful wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, bathing in the river Eurotas and fell in love with her. In order to win her, Aphrodite transformed him into a swan, while she herself took the form of an eagle pursuing him. Zeus, in the form of a swan, sought refuge in Leda’s arms. Nine months later, Leda laid two eggs. From one hatched the beautiful Helen, and from the other the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces.
Because Leda had united on the same night both with her husband and with Zeus, Castor was born mortal, while Polydeuces was immortal. Castor was a renowned horseman and a teacher of Heracles in the art of war, while Polydeuces was a famous boxer with many achievements. They took part in numerous expeditions and performed many heroic deeds that established them as national heroes of Laconia. During the Argonautic expedition, they saved the ship Argo from certain destruction on the rocks of Thrace, and thus were considered protectors of sailors. For this reason, even the Romans placed their likenesses on the prows of their ships.
According to myth, in a clash with their cousins—the sons of Aphareus, Lynceus and Idas—Castor was killed, along with the Apharetidae. Polydeuces, unable to bear the death of his brother, asked his father Zeus to grant him death as well. Zeus offered him a choice: either to live eternally among the gods on Olympus, or to share his immortality with his brother. Polydeuces chose the latter. Thus, during the day Polydeuces lives on Earth, and at night Castor lives, symbolizing the Sun and the Moon—the latter reflecting light received from the former. As a confirmation of this symbolism, the two brothers abducted and married the two beautiful daughters of Leucippus: Castor married Hilaeira (another name for the Moon), and Polydeuces married Phoebe (meaning “Dawn”).

SYMBOLISM :The zodiac sign of Gemini symbolizes a love and friendship that endures even unto death, grounded in the individual’s conscious awareness of their relationship with the world.

The god Hermes

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN
NAME: Mercury
SYMBOL:   The caduceus.
MEANING OF SYMBOL: A bridge between the individual and their potential.
ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 57,850,000 km. Mass equal to 0.04 of Earth’s mass. It is the second smallest planet in our solar system, but the fastest.
MYTHOLOGY: The result of Zeus’s love for Maia, the daughter of Atlas, Hermes was considered primarily a god of the wind, and by others a god of twilight and the changes of the sky. Due to his ingenuity, strength, and speed, he was appointed messenger of the gods and was endowed with winged sandals and a winged helmet.
While still a newborn, he secretly left his cradle without his mother’s knowledge and stole the sacred cattle of his half-brother Apollo. The god of the Sun was enraged, and Zeus forced Hermes to return the cattle. To appease Apollo, Hermes began to play the strings of the lyre, which he had invented and constructed from a tortoise shell and the entrails of an ox. Enchanted by the beautiful music, Phoebus entrusted him with guarding his celestial cattle, and thus Hermes became the protector of herds.
The Greeks considered him the most intelligent of the gods and believed that he invented the alphabet, the musical scale, astronomy, and boxing. He was the protector of travel, commerce, thieves, and alchemy—the magical art of transforming metals into gold. His ability as an alchemist later extended to medicine, and thus the caduceus became a symbol of physicians.
SYMBOLISM: Hermes symbolizes fluidity that overcomes rigidity. He is the force of mediation, which requires intelligence, rhetorical skill, literary talent, critical thinking, and at times, irony.

ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars forming it: 48, along with nebulae
2. The most significant nebula is the Beehive Cluster (Praesepe)

MYTHOLOGY: Cancer was sent by the goddess Hera to assist her protégé, the Lernaean Hydra, in its battle against Heracles. The enormous crab harassed Heracles by biting his foot at the very moment when the Hydra was tightening its grip and paralyzing his leg with the lower part of its body.

“Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra” Antonio Pollagiuolo Uffizi. Florence.

Heracles struck off the monster’s heads one by one with his club, but from each severed neck two new heads would emerge. He then called upon the help of his companion Iolaus, who took burning torches and cauterized the Hydra’s necks at the points where the hero cut off the heads.

In this way, Heracles destroyed the Hydra and finally crushed its ally, the Crab, beneath his foot. Hera, to reward the Crab for dying on her behalf, placed it in the sky next to the constellation of Hydra, thus forming the zodiac sign of Cancer.

SYMBOLISM: The crab symbolizes the sea, the cradle of all life. It represents both the passive and dynamic feminine force of nature—the mother who nourishes but also devours everything. The individual senses the elements of existence and the world, gaining the ability to perceive events in their full scope.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : The Moon (Selene), whose name evokes the radiance of light (selas), and Mene, referring to its periodic transformations over the course of a month.

SYMBOL: The crescent moon.

MEANING OF SYMBOL : The soul and the unconscious self.

ASTRONOMY : Mass equal to 1/81 of Earth’s mass.

“Artemis in her lunar chariot”

MYTHOLOGY: Selene, sister of the Sun and daughter of Hyperion and Theia, was portrayed by poets as a maiden of exquisite beauty, owed to the great clarity of the Greek sky. When she appears in the heavens, she is Mene, with her great wings and golden crown. Having bathed her radiant body in the waves of Oceanus, she dons her light-filled garments and drives her chariot drawn by splendid and vigorous horses. When she disappears, she seems simply to withdraw on her horse toward the earthly horizon, from where soon the dazzling chariot of the Sun will rise. There are many traditions about her loves, but the most famous is her relationship with Endymion.

Endymion was a king of Elis, whom Zeus took to Olympus and made immortal as a reward for his justice. However, when he became the lover of Hera, Zeus condemned him to eternal sleep in a cave in Caria. There, Selene saw him, fell in love with his beauty, and from then on visited him every night to embrace and admire him, unable to fully enjoy his presence because of his endless sleep. Later, Selene was identified with the goddess Artemis, and they were worshipped together.

SYMBOLISM: The Moon is associated with fertility, motherhood, family, growth, death, and decay. It is linked to duality—light and dark qualities—rhythms, change, sensitivity, and memory. It evokes emotional depth, patience, but also instability, and gives rise to dreamers.

ASTRONOMY:

1. Number of stars forming it: 81

2. The most important star is Regulus (also known as “the little king”).

“Hercules and the Nemean Lion” Francesco de Zurbaran Prado Museum, Madrid

MYTHOLOGY: The Nemean Lion was born from the union of Orthrus, the son of Typhon and Echidna, with the Chimera. It was raised by the goddess Hera, who later released it into the forests of Nemea, where it caused great destruction. Eurystheus, king of Tiryns, ordered Heracles to kill it. After a fierce struggle, Heracles succeeded, and from then on he wore its skin—the lion’s hide—as an invulnerable garment, using its head as a helmet.

SYMBOLISM: The solar hero tames the power of the fire of the solar beast and guided by the nobility of superiority, sets out on the path toward the conquest of knowledge.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : Sun

SYMBOL: A circle with a dot at the center.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: Consciousness, the illuminated aspect of the mind.

The sun god Apollo

ASTRONOMY: Mass equal to 331,965 times the mass of the Earth.

MYTHOLOGY: The Sun (Helios) was the son of the Titan Hyperion—son of Uranus and Gaia—and his sister Theia. When Zeus defeated the Titans and became ruler of the cosmos, he showed great favor to Helios. Without depriving him of his role of illuminating the world, Zeus built him a magnificent golden palace in the heavens, adorned with precious stones. When it was time for him to shine upon the world, the Hours prepared his chariot, crafted by Hephaestus as a hollow cup of gold. From within it, Helios guided his winged horses along their celestial path. Ahead of him went Eos (Dawn), and first of all flew Phosphorus (Eosphorus), in the form of a radiant spirit, with a forehead that shone brilliantly.

SYMBOLISM: Because the Sun dispels darkness, it symbolizes the source of human knowledge and wisdom. However, the power of its heat can burn those who do not respect it, bringing fire and drought. It evokes vitality, leadership, freedom, and capability, shaping conscientious and ambitious individuals, while stimulating reason and creative imagination.

ASTRONOMY:

1. Number of stars forming it: 120, along with a cluster of galaxies
2. The most important star is Spica (meaning “ear of wheat”).

“The Abduction of Persephone” Lambert Sistry. Upton House Oxford

MYTHOLOGY: According to one version, the constellation of Virgo is identified with Demeter, as well as with her daughter, the beautiful Persephone, whom Hades fell in love with and abducted. The goddess Demeter became enraged and commanded the Earth not to let any flower bloom nor any tree bear fruit. To prevent humanity from perishing from famine, Zeus intervened with his brother Pluto, and it was agreed that Persephone would spend one-third of the year with Hades (winter, the season when Nature lies dormant under Demeter’s grief) and the remaining months with her mother and the other gods on Olympus (spring and summer, when the joyful Demeter renews life on Earth). The ancient Greeks imagined her holding a palm branch in her right hand and an ear of wheat in her left, as the goddess of harvest.

According to Aratus, Virgo represents the goddess Astraea, daughter of Zeus and Themis (or of the Titan Astraeus and Eos), who was the goddess of Purity and Justice, also called Dike. During the Golden Age of justice—referred to by poets as the Age of Astraea—she and the other gods lived among humans on Earth. However, when crime and wars began among humans, the gods abandoned the Earth, and Astraea ascended to the heavens, forming the constellation of Virgo. She was often depicted holding the scales of justice and a palm branch in one hand, and in the other an ear of wheat or a sword.

SYMBOLISM:

It symbolizes the individual’s ability to analyze reality and to develop insight into the understanding of life and existence.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME: Mercury

SYMBOL: The caduceus.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: A bridge between the individual and their potential.

ASTRONOMY:

Average distance from the Sun: 57,850,000 km. Mass equal to 0.04 of Earth’s mass. It is the second smallest planet in our solar system, but the fastest.

The god Hermes

MYTHOLOGY:

The result of Zeus’s love for Maia, the daughter of Atlas, Hermes was primarily considered a god of the wind, and by others a god of twilight and the changes of the sky. Due to his ingenuity, strength, and speed, he was appointed messenger of the gods and was endowed with winged sandals and a winged helmet.

While still a newborn, he secretly left his cradle without his mother’s knowledge and stole the sacred cattle of his half-brother Apollo. The god of the Sun was enraged, and Zeus forced Hermes to return the cattle. To appease Apollo, Hermes began to play the strings of the lyre, which he had invented and constructed from a tortoise shell and the entrails of an ox. Enchanted by the beautiful music, Phoebus entrusted him with guarding his celestial cattle, and thus Hermes became the protector of herds.

The Greeks considered him the most intelligent of the gods and believed that he invented the alphabet, the musical scale, astronomy, and boxing. He was the protector of travel, commerce, thieves, and alchemy—the magical art of transforming metals into gold. His ability as an alchemist later extended to medicine, and thus the caduceus became a symbol of physicians.

SYMBOLISM:

Hermes symbolizes fluidity that overcomes rigidity. He is the force of mediation, requiring intelligence, eloquence, literary talent, critical thinking, and at times, irony.

ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars forming the constellation: 52
2. Its most important stars form the shape of a balance (scales) in the sky.

“Δικαιοσύνη”Ντομένικο Μπεκαφούμι Παλάτσο Πούμπλικο, Σιένα.

MYTHOLOGY: Libra was one of the symbols of Themis, who was considered the embodiment of impartial divine Justice. The goddess Themis was the daughter of Uranus and Gaia. Acting under the orders of Zeus, she imposed order on Olympus and presided over all divine ceremonies. According to Hesiod, she was Zeus’s second wife after Metis (who symbolized intellect), representing order itself. She is often depicted seated beside Zeus’s throne, inspiring him with wisdom. Themis protected all institutions, especially hospitality, and on Earth she could detect every injustice and see everything. She governed human justice, which was considered of divine origin as it was connected to universal order. She also possessed prophetic abilities—this is why Aeschylus regarded her as the mother of the prophetic Prometheus. At Delphi she was believed to have held the oracle before passing it to Apollo. Themis was also the mother of the Hours (Horae): Eunomia, Dike, and Eirene, representing Order, Justice, and Peace.

SYMBOLISM: Libra symbolizes the individual’s ability to develop judgment and seek harmony through the balance of opposites.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : Aphrodite

SYMBOL: A circle above a cross.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: Dominance of spirit over matter; it has been internationally accepted as the symbol of the feminine.

The goddess Aphrodite

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 108,100,000 km. Mass equal to 0.81 of Earth’s mass. Because it is covered by clouds of sulfuric acid that reflect light, it is the third brightest object in the sky, commonly known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star.

MYTHOLOGY: When Cronus cut off the genitals of his father Uranus, he threw them into the sea. From their union with the sea foam emerged the beautiful goddess Aphrodite, whom the waves carried to the shores of Paphos, in Cyprus.

Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love. The gods compelled her to marry the ugliest of them, the lame Hephaestus, yet she engaged in love affairs with many gods as well as mortals. She was accompanied by the three Graces, who wove her garments, bathed her, anointed her with perfumes, dressed her, and accompanied her in dances. One day, when Hephaestus learned from Apollo that she was at that very moment unfaithful with Ares, he decided to take revenge. He crafted an iron net with which he trapped the lovers and invited all the gods to witness and judge them. In the end, Poseidon intervened and the two gods were set free. From this union, Aphrodite bore Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, and Eros.

In the contest of beauty with Hera and Athena, Paris awarded her the apple of the fairest. In return, she later helped him abduct Helen, thus sparking the Trojan War, in which she supported Paris and the Trojans. However, as she was not made for war, she was wounded by Diomedes and humiliated by Athena.

SYMBOLISM: Aphrodite is the living symbolic image of Love. She represents the feminine, virginal, and fertile essence of Nature, which, when later united with the masculine divine fire of Ares, gives birth to Eros, through whom the work of creation is fulfilled. She also symbolizes aesthetic beauty, which cultivates sweetness, grace, harmony, and adornment, filling life with art, fragrance, and flowers. She gives rise to the impulses of desire.

ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars forming the constellation: many star clusters
2. Most important: the star cluster M8

“Centaur and Nymph” Franz von Stuck Gremelde Gallery, Dresden

MYTHOLOGY: The sign of Sagittarius represents the wise Centaur Chiron, protector of hunting and hunters. He was the son of Cronus and the Oceanid Philyra. Cronus had transformed into a horse to unite with her, so as not to be seen by his wife Rhea. Chiron was immortal and lived with his mother in a cave on Mount Pelion, known as the Chironian cave. Trained by Apollo and Artemis, he mastered botany, medicine, astronomy, music, archery, and hunting. He became the greatest teacher of mythological antiquity, with students such as Jason, Heracles, the Dioscuri, Achilles, Asclepius, Peleus, and many other heroes.

Chiron’s death came accidentally when Heracles wounded him with an arrow dipped in the poison of the Lernaean Hydra. Unable to bear the pain, Chiron offered his immortality to Prometheus in exchange for death. Zeus, moved by his sacrifice, placed him among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius, honoring his skill in archery.

SYMBOLISM: Sagittarius is the sign of purity and spiritual innocence. Through knowledge, the mind rises above instincts and human passions, leading the individual toward honesty and higher understanding.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : Zeus (Jupiter)

SYMBOL:   A semicircle raised above a cross.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: Triumph of mind over matter.

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 777,600,000 km, Mass equal to 316.94 times the mass of Earth. Composed mainly of hydrogen and helium gases and has no solid surface.

The god Zeus

MYTHOLOGY: Zeus, also known as Dias, was the son of Rhea and Cronus, who devoured his children so that none of them could usurp his power. To save Zeus, Rhea secretly gave birth to him in a cave on Crete and gave Cronus a stone to swallow in his place. There, in the Idean Cave, the divine infant was nourished either by the milk of the goat Amalthea or, according to others, by the Pleiades, who brought him ambrosia from the edges of the Ocean. A great eagle would also draw nectar from the rock with its beak and bring it to him to drink. He was guarded by the Corybantes (or Curetes), who, in order to prevent Cronus from hearing the baby’s cries, danced noisily in armor, performing the so-called Pyrrhic war dance. During his childhood, the Curetes moved him to Arcadia for greater safety, where the local nymphs took care of him. Later, as a young god, Zeus began to travel across the world, disguised in various forms. During one of his wanderings on Samos, transformed into a cuckoo, he met and fell in love with his sister Hera. He promised that he would make her his wife when he became king. From their secret union, the god Hephaestus was born.

When Zeus became strong enough, he overthrew his father Cronus and forced him to regurgitate his siblings, Hades and Poseidon. However, to seize control of the heavens, he had to fight fierce battles in a war known as the Titanomachy. On one side stood Cronus and the Titans, and on the other Zeus and his siblings, who had as allies the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, whom Zeus freed from Tartarus following the advice of their mother, Gaia. The Cyclopes gave each brother a weapon: to Zeus they gave the thunderbolt, to Poseidon the trident, and to Hades the “helm of darkness,” a cap that made its wearer invisible. When the Titans were defeated, the three brothers divided the world by lot: Zeus took dominion of the sky, Poseidon of the sea, and Hades of the Underworld.

Once he assumed power over the heavens, Zeus took as his wife the goddess Metis, who knew all divine and human matters. However, when Uranus and Gaia warned him that if Metis bore him a son, that son would overthrow him, Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis. When the time came for the birth, he gave birth—with the help of Hephaestus—from his head to the goddess Athena. Afterward, he had relationships with various goddesses and, among others, fathered: with Themis, the three Horae; with Demeter, Persephone; with Mnemosyne, the Muses; with Phoebe, Apollo and Artemis; and with Maia, the god Hermes. Finally, he declared Hera his lawful wife, with whom he had Hebe, Ares, and Eileithyia. He also had relationships with mortal women, such as Alcmene, who bore Heracles; Semele, who bore Dionysus; as well as Leto, Leda, Europa, Antiope, and others. Zeus was the god of the sky, the “father of gods and men,” who wielded the thunderbolt and gave life to all things.

SYMBOLISM: Zeus symbolizes future material transformation as a result of active will, originating from youth, passion, and initiative. He encourages the observation of relationships and the laws of the universe, the pursuit of order, higher knowledge, justice, and happiness.

ASTRONOMY:
Αριθμός αστέρων που το αποτελούν: 48

“Zeus and Pan in front of Hadrian's villa.” Giovanni Falconetto Palazzo Arco, Mantua.

MYTHOLOGY: The zodiac sign of Capricorn symbolizes, according to one version, the goat Amalthea, whose milk nourished Zeus in Crete when he was an infant. Out of gratitude, Zeus, after her death, placed her among the stars as a constellation and gifted one of her horns to the Nymphs, Helice and Cynosura, who had cared for him in the Idean Cave. This horn was called the “Horn of Amalthea” or the “Cornucopia” (Horn of Plenty), because it could grant whatever one desired. Zeus used Amalthea’s invulnerable hide to cover his shield, which was therefore called the Aegis and provided complete protection to whoever held it. From this comes the modern expression “under the aegis of…,” meaning under someone’s protection.

According to another version, Capricorn is Aegipan, a being with the body of a goat and the tail of a fish, who helped Hermes steal and restore the sinews of Zeus, which had been removed by the giant Typhon. In this way, Zeus regained his strength, managed to defeat his formidable opponent, and, to show his gratitude, placed Aegipan among the constellations.

SYMBOLISM: It symbolizes the soul of the world, the central fire of the Earth, the sacred goat of temple tradition, and the wheel of fate. The individual uses knowledge with prudence and gains experience.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

ΟΝΟΜΑ : Saturn

SYMBOL:   A cross above a semicircle.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: Matter dominates the mind.

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 1,425,600,000 km; mass equal to 94.90 times the mass of the Earth.

“Ο Κρόνος κοιτάζει ένα νεογέννητο.” Αναγεννησιακό ανάγλυφο

MYTHOLOGY : Cronus was the youngest of the children of Uranus and Gaia, among whom were also the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires. Uranus, fearing the great power of his children, bound them in chains in the depths of the Earth. Seeing the suffering of her children, Gaia persuaded Cronus to cut off his father’s genitals with a sickle and take control of the heavens.

When Cronus took power, he freed his Titan brothers, but not the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, whom he feared, and he took his sister Rhea as his wife. Because Uranus cursed him to be overthrown in the same way by one of his sons, Cronus, to protect himself, swallowed every male child the day after it was born. First were born Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and then Hades (Pluto) and Poseidon, all of whom he swallowed. When Rhea saw her husband’s cruelty, she decided to save her next male child, Zeus. Following the advice of Uranus and Gaia, she gave birth to Zeus in Crete, hid him in a cave, and wrapped a large stone in swaddling clothes, which Cronus swallowed instead of Zeus.

Once Zeus had grown, in cooperation with Metis, he gave Cronus a potion in his wine mixed with honey, causing him to vomit up his siblings, Hades and Poseidon, and then began a war against his father known as the Titanomachy. On one side were Cronus and the Titans, and on the other Zeus and his siblings, who had as allies the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, whom Zeus freed from Tartarus on the advice of their mother Gaia. The three brothers held a war council and decided to use the weapons given to them by the Cyclopes. Hades, made invisible by the magical power of his helmet, entered Cronus’s chamber and stole his weapons; Poseidon threatened him with his trident; and thus Zeus seized the opportunity and struck him down with his thunderbolt. Meanwhile, the Hecatoncheires hurled enormous rocks at the remaining Titans, and finally Pan the goat frightened them into flight with a terrifying cry. From this cry comes the modern word “panic,” meaning intense fear. Zeus imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus, guarded by the Hecatoncheires, and punished their leader Atlas by condemning him to hold up the heavens on his shoulders for eternity.

SYMBOLISM: Cronus symbolizes the transformation that has taken place in the individual’s spiritual world because of dialectical thinking. He leads to the formation of tradition, the development of deep thought, concentration, seriousness, diligence, endurance, and discipline on the path toward destiny.

ASTRONOMY:
Number of stars that make it up: 100

“The Rape of Ganymede” Rubens Prado, Madrid

MYTHOLOGY: The constellation of Aquarius represents Ganymede, who was the son of Tros and Callirrhoe and the most beautiful man ever born by Nature. Zeus, enchanted by his unparalleled beauty, transformed himself into an eagle, descended to the plains of Troy, and abducted him in order to take him to Mount Olympus and grant him eternal youth and beauty. To his inconsolable father, Zeus gave his famous horses, which later became the cause of the death of Laomedon, king of Troy, at the hands of Heracles. Zeus made Ganymede the cupbearer of the gods, replacing Hebe, which caused the displeasure of her mother Hera. Eventually, the pressure and complaints of the two women forced Zeus to transform his favorite into the constellation of Aquarius, granting him immortality.

SYMBOLISM: Ganymede symbolizes the spirit that pours and disperses the heavenly waters upon the Earth—the nectar, the drink of immortality. The individual is governed by the world of ideas, and their idealism leads them toward humanitarianism.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : Uranus

SYMBOL:

MEANING OF SYMBOL: The spirit is governed by the mind and, operating within matter, synthesizes the qualities of all the planets.

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 2,868,100,000 km; mass equal to 14.66 times the mass of the Earth.

“Uranus, wearing his cloak, drives his chariot drawn by four horses.”

MYTHOLOGY: Uranus was born from Gaia, just like the Mountains and the Sea (Pontus), without sexual desire. Gaia made him her royal consort, and together they gave birth to the Titans (Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, and Iapetus), the Titanesses (Rhea, Tethys, Phoebe, Theia, Themis, and Mnemosyne), the Cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes, and Arges), the Hecatoncheires (Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges), and lastly Cronus. Fearing the great power of his children, Uranus bound them in chains deep within the Earth. Seeing the suffering of her children, Gaia urged the Titans to take revenge on their father, but only the youngest, Cronus, had the courage to do so. Then Mother Earth fashioned a sickle from flint, gave it to Cronus, and hid him where Uranus would lie with her. When Uranus came at night and embraced Gaia, Cronus suddenly leapt out and cut off his father’s genitals with the sickle. Drops of Uranus’s blood fell upon Mother Earth, and she gave birth to the three Erinyes (the Furies)—Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera—who avenge crimes such as patricide and perjury, as well as the Giants and the Meliae (ash-tree nymphs). Cronus threw Uranus’s severed genitals into the sea, and wrapped in the foam, they drifted from Cythera to Cyprus, where on the shores of Paphos a beautiful goddess emerged—therefore named Aphrodite.

SYMBOLISM: Uranus is the planet that guides inventors and innovators to create a new era of life on Earth, characterized by humanitarianism and sensitivity. It produces individuals who are independent, free from tradition, spontaneous, and inclined to live beyond material concerns and human laws.

ASTRONOMY:
1. Number of stars that make it up: 76
2. Most important: The Knot of the Cords (Alrescha)

“Aphrodite and Cupid” Frederic Boucher, André Museum, Paris.

MYTHOLOGY: The two fish represent Aphrodite and Eros, who, during the Gigantomachy, in order to escape the pursuit of the fearsome giant Typhon, son of Tartarus and Gaia, abandoned Olympus along with the other gods. They transformed themselves into animals and fled to Egypt. After many wanderings, they reached the Euphrates River, where Typhon discovered them. Terrified, they jumped into the river and transformed into fish, which were later placed among the constellations by the gods.

SYMBOLISM: The two fugitives, although gods, are unable to confront evil and, in panic, flee to hide. Their only salvation is the fish, which symbolizes pure and unconditional faith. The individual subdues the ego and attains faith.

THE RULING PLANET OF THE ZODIAC SIGN

NAME : Poseidon

SYMBOL:  Trident, an inverted cross, and a semicircle.

MEANING OF SYMBOL: A warning that only the spiritual individual can safely approach the deeper knowledge represented by the distant planets.

ASTRONOMY: Average distance from the Sun: 4,494,100,000 km; mass equal to 17.16 times the mass of the Earth.

“Ο Ποσειδώνας πάνω από τον γιο του Τρίτων.”

MYTHOLOGY: Poseidon was the son of Rhea and Cronus, who devoured his children, and he was saved when Cronus was forced by Zeus to vomit him up along with his brother Hades. He then allied with his siblings, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, against Cronus and the Titans. The Cyclopes gave Poseidon the trident as his weapon, and when the Titans were defeated and the three brothers divided the world by lot, Poseidon was declared ruler of the waters—that is, the seas, rivers, and lakes.

On Olympus, he was second in power after Zeus, but when he once conspired with Hera and Apollo against Zeus, he was punished and sent to live as a mortal, building the walls of Troy and tending the cattle of Laomedon. When, after completing his punishment, he asked Laomedon for his reward, the king insulted him and drove him away violently. For this reason, Poseidon hated the Trojans and took an active part on the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War.

He was quick-tempered and quarrelsome, and thus inspired more fear than devotion among humans, though he often helped them in shipwrecks and floods. He fell in love with the beautiful Nereid Amphitrite when he saw her dancing with the Nymphs on Naxos and sought to unite with her. She refused and fled to Mount Atlas to avoid him. Poseidon then sent the Dolphin as a messenger, who persuaded her of his intentions, and she agreed to become his wife. With Amphitrite, he had three children: Triton, Rhode, and Benthesikyme. However, through various transformations, Poseidon had many love affairs, from which numerous monstrous beings were born, such as Otus, Areion, Polyphemus, Antaeus, Procrustes, and others, but also gods and heroes such as Aeolus, Nausithous, Proteus, Orion, Machaon, Podalirius, Delphus, Taenarus, and others.

With his trident—equivalent to Zeus’s scepter—Poseidon performed all kinds of wonders. The trident, with its three prongs, symbolizes the three forms of water: the salty water of the sea, the fresh water of rivers, and the brackish water of lakes. According to myth, from a single strike of his trident upon a rock sprang the first horses, and Poseidon harnessed them and showed humans their usefulness, earning him the epithets “Hippios” (of horses) and “Gaeochos” (earth-holder). Whenever he struck the earth with his trident, it trembled violently, and thus he was also considered the god of earthquakes.

SYMBOLISM: The trident is equivalent to the universal symbol of the triad, the fundamental principle of the world. Poseidon fosters intuition and the gift of prophecy, and cultivates the aesthetic spirit.