Gemini is a zodiacal constellation consisting of 85 primary stars that are visible from Earth without a telescope. The brightest pair of stars Castor and Pollux, which make up the heads of the twin-based shape. Gemini is the Latin word for ‘twins’ and it is this appearance that influenced the myths surrounding the constellation throughout […]
Myths of the Zodiac: Taurus
The constellation of Taurus is one of the oldest to have been labelled as such in human history. Evidence suggests people have been associating this patch of sky with the image of a bull for upwards of 10,000 years. Babylonian astronomers called it The Bull of Heaven, and it was the first constellation in their […]
Myths of the Zodiac Constellations Part 1: Aries
Most of you will know the Zodiac signs, and hopefully their associated constellations in the sky. But lesser known, among many people, are the mythological stories associated with these constellations around the world. Many cultures identify the same patterns, or at least similar ones, as constellations and have corresponding stories. The legends most usually associated […]
Astrology and Poetry: Famous Poems About Astrology
Poetry and the stars have been metaphorical bedfellows for nigh on as long as humans have been writing in verse. The astounding natural beauty of the heavens makes them an obvious choice for symbolising love, wonder, scale and many more poetic devices. However, poets have not always been so keen on astrology. Many have been […]
Astrology and Shakespeare
The world’s most famous playwright had an ambiguous relationship with the art of astrology. Like many themes running through his work, William Shakespeare can be seen to at times affirm and deny the astrological worldview – often in the same play or sonnet. Born in 1564, the influence of astrology would have been seen all […]
Astrology in Literature
The world of astrology proved fertile ground for literary writers of all persuasions for many hundreds of years. As we have previously mentioned on these pages, astrology has been an integral part of human culture for a long time too, so it is only right that many important figures of literary history featured it heavily […]