Gemini (Constellation)

Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins," and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. Its symbol is (Unicode ♊). Gemini lies between Taurus to the west and Cancer to the east, with Auriga and Lynx to the north and Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south.

The Sun resides in the astrological sign of Gemini from June 20 to July 20 each year (though the zodiac dates it May 22 - June 21). By mid August, Gemini will appear along the eastern horizon in the morning sky prior to sunrise. The best time to observe Gemini at night is overhead during the months of January and February. By April and May, the constellation will be visible soon after sunset in the west.

The easiest way to locate the constellation is to find its two brightest stars Castor and Pollux eastward from the familiar “V” shaped asterism of Taurus and the three stars of Orion’s belt. Another way is to mentally draw a line from the Pleiades star cluster located in Taurus and the brightest star in Leo, Regulus. In doing so, you are drawing an imaginary line that is relatively close to the ecliptic, a line which intersects Gemini roughly at the midpoint of the constellation, just below Castor and Pollux. The constellation contains 85 stars visible to observation on Earth without a telescope.

To look at Gemini is to look away from the Milky Way; as a result, there are comparatively few deep-sky objects of note. The Eskimo Nebula and Medusa Nebula,Messier 35, and Geminga are those that attract the most attention. The Eskimo and Medusa nebulae are both planetary nebulae, the one approximately 2,870 light years away and the other 1,500 light years distant. M35 is an open star cluster which was discovered in the year 1745 by Swiss astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux. And Geminga is a neutron star approximately 550 light years from Earth.

Babylonian Astronomy
In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins (MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL). The Twins were regarded as minor gods and were called Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra, meaning respectively 'The One who has arisen from the Underworld' and the 'Mighty King'. Both names can be understood as titles of Nergal, the major Babylonian god of plague and pestilence, who was king of the Underworld.[11] In Greek mythology, Gemini was associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux, the children of Leda and Argonauts both. Pollux was the son of Zeus, who seduced Leda, while Castor was the son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta and Leda's husband. Castor and Pollux were also mythologically associated with St. Elmo's fire in their role as the protectors of sailors. When Castor died, because he was mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality, and he did, by uniting them together in the heavens.

In Meteorologica (1 343b30) Aristotle mentions that he observed Jupiter in conjunction with and then occulting a star in Gemini. This is the earliest known observation of this nature. A study published in 1990 suggests the star involved was 1 Geminorum and the event took place on 5 December 337 BC.

Galactic Zodiac
Fixation in alchemy refers to a process by which a previously volatile substance is transformed into a form (often solid) that is not affected by fire or heat. It separates the substance or object and rearranges it back in the same or different shape at a subatomic level. So this is the process which transforms the subatomic levels of the body's energetic blueprint. It is a continual progress of polarity synthesis of unstable forces which are then transformed into a higher more stable form. Fixation is one of the processes required for transformation of a base substance, or one level of completion of the alchemical magnum opus through the subatomic structure. This is the process of polarity integration between the newly reassembled parts of adding (or subtracting) the required patterns being synthesized into the body consciousness.
 * Stage 3 - GEMINI - June 20 to July 20
 * Alchemical Theme: Fixation, Synthesis
 * Element: Air