Myths and legends about zodiac signs. Myths and Zodiac Signs

Zodiac astrology is based on the myths of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Calling myths mystical fairy tales is wrong. Almost all of them are based on completely earthly events. But the presence of certain VIP characters endowed with a certain power gives these stories a touch of magic. And, of course, each of the myths contains useful information about representatives of one or another zodiac sign.

Myths of the Elements of Fire

All “fire” signs of the Zodiac are male.

Aries (Aries)- lamb (lamb) with golden wool. The history of the Golden Fleece is connected with it.

In Ancient Greece, there lived a king who was widowed and left behind a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Hella. The king was kind, fair, loved by his people and children. But soon he decided to marry a young woman who was an evil witch. She wanted to destroy her adopted children and decided to burn them at the stake in the forest. The children, not expecting anything bad, came with their stepmother and her accomplices to the forest. At the fire they saw Aries, whom the children liked with his golden fleece, and decided to approach him to play with the lamb. Aries, seeing the children, understood everything and decided to save them. He put his back up and the children sat astride him. Aries straightened up, put out his horns and took off over land and sea. But the girl, unable to resist, fell into the Dardanelles Strait. Later, Aries was sacrificed to Zeus.

From a modern point of view, this heroic act turned into a tragedy. But according to mythological concepts, those who were sacrificed to the gods (Zeus and the gods of Olympus) were immortalized, this was considered a good deed. This myth fully corresponds to the character of Aries - he may seem very meek in appearance, but at the decisive moment he is capable of being decisive. After the sacrifice, the golden fleece of Aries hung in the grove of Avis so that those who wished could worship the heroic animal.

a lion- a monster that attacked people in the name of preserving the peace of power. This went on for a long time, but Hercules defeated Leo. From the point of view of mythology, the Lion is a symbol of the storage of royal power, its attribute. And the influence of this zodiac sign is expressed in a sense of pride and great self-esteem.

Sagittarius is a centaur, a mythological creature. Up to the waist, this is a man, the second part of him is a horse. In astrology it is considered a double sign. The myth of Sagittarius is the myth of the centaur Chiron. He knew everything about everything, was a teacher in the Pantheon of the Gods of Ancient Greece, and, in addition to ordinary disciplines, taught the art of healing, sports and other “divine” skills.

Even in mythology, Zodiac Signs are subject to the process of evolution.

The main thing for Signs of the Element of Fire is a bright deed, actions for the benefit of someone or something.

Aries - elemental Martian fire;

Leo is a noble beast, ruled by the Sun - power, and Leo - its symbol;

Sagittarius - fire becomes the controlled element of the planet Jupiter (Centaur denotes the human element).

Myths of the Air Elements

Twins- personify the legend of brotherly love. Once upon a time there lived two brothers - Castor and Pollux. Pollux was the son of Zeus, the main deity of the Pantheon of Gods of Ancient Greece, and Castor was the son of a human king. They were ready to die for each other. In the battle, Castor was wounded and died in his brother’s arms, bleeding. Pollux was immortal, but he turned to Zeus, his father, for permission to die with his brother, motivating his desire by the fact that immortality becomes a heavy burden when alone. Seeing such devotion and dedication, Zeus ordered not to separate the brothers. He ordered the brothers to always be together, but to spend one day in the Kingdom of the Dead near Hades, the other on Olympus, visiting the gods.

Scales associated with the goddess of justice Themis, who had a beloved assistant daughter named Dike (the term "jurisdiction" is associated with her name). This girl walked around the world and weighed people's actions. Dike's eyes were closed, because vision deceives. But the symbol of the myth was not the girl herself, but her instrument, the symbol of justice - Libra.

Aquarius- a divine being with a very real human history. A young man named Ganymede was a cupbearer on earth, treated people at holidays, had a reputation as the most cheerful toastmaster, a good friend and a decent person. For such positive qualities, Zeus took him to Olympus and made him the cupbearer of the gods. Since then, Aquarius has been holding a jug from which water or wine pours. According to another myth, Aquarius has two jugs, one containing living water and the other containing dead water. The living water of Aquarius is the planet Uranus, the dead water is the planet Saturn.

Evolution of the Air Element signs.

The main thing for the Air Element is communication and exchange of information.

For Gemini - communication on an everyday, mundane level;

For Libra - official level communication;

For Aquarius - exchange of valuable information.

What do these six signs have in common:
- brightness and pragmatism;

Indiscipline and coldness;

Devotion to their chosen ones and the shell (conditions, behavior patterns) in which they shackled themselves.

We can imagine mythology as a symbol of the historical era when it was born in the consciousness of humanity, an image reflecting the realities of life. What can this knowledge of ancient myths give us today? Astrology uses the principle of collapsing a number of images into one so that they can later be deployed in a new life perspective, in a different reality of life. Mythology reveals a philosophical vision of the world. And the images of mythology turn a person to the roots of his consciousness.

For example, during the period of acquiring territory, peoples form the image of a patron god, who helps in the process of self-awareness, allows them to receive the fruits of their labor, and controls the fate of their descendants.

Myths allow us to see a system of astrological ideas that are spontaneous in modern life. But the images of gods, traditionally highlighted by mythology, fit into the model on which astrology is built (relationships in the circle of the Zodiac), clarify the signs, ideas of signs and planets.

Myths allow us to see a system of astrological ideas that are spontaneous in modern life. But the images of gods, traditionally highlighted by mythology, fit into the model on which astrology is built (relationships in the circle of the Zodiac), clarify the signs, ideas of signs and planets.

Myths of the Earth Elements

All Zodiac Signs of this element are female.

Taurus- the myth of eternal love

Flying over the city of Sidon, Zeus saw young girls in a spring meadow having fun and weaving wreaths of bright flowers. The most beautiful of all was Europe - the daughter of the local king.

Zeus descended to earth and appeared in the form of a white bull, whose fur shimmered with gold; on his forehead there was a spot in the form of a silver crescent. The girls began to stroke and treat him. But the bull chose Europe, began to lick her hands, and sat down on the grass at her feet. Touched Europe hugged his neck, kissed his forehead and sat down on his broad back. At the same moment, the bull jumped up, rushed into the sea and swam, cutting through the waves with the speed and agility of a huge fish. Europe was frightened, but when she saw that the waves parted in front of her bull, and the Nereids - the daughters of the sea god Nereus, dolphins and other infinitely beautiful sea creatures - were swimming next to them, she calmed down, trusting the will of the divine patron. Soon Crete, the native island of Zeus, appeared on the horizon. There, Europe became the wife of Zeus and bore him two sons - Minos and Rhadamanthus. Over time, she became the queen of Crete, marrying the Cretan king, and later Minos inherited the throne. And Zeus placed the image of the divine bull in the sky (the constellation Taurus is a reminder of his great love for Europe). And the name of the continent is associated with this myth.

Virgo- myth about mother's love

Persephone, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of fertility and agriculture, Demeter. Persephone, whom her mother loved very much, enjoyed the world of beautiful flowers in the meadows of Hellas, the flight of dragonflies and butterflies, the trills of songbirds, green meadows, lush trees, rivers and lakes, on the surface of which the glare of the sun played.

The young goddess adored the bright world of Helios, the sun god, who was her mother’s brother.

But neither she, nor her mother or uncle knew that Zeus promised the god of the underworld and his brother Hades Persephone as a wife.

One day, Persephone was frolicking with her friends, reveling in the beauty of simple meadow flowers. Suddenly, in the grass, the girls found a flower of previously unknown beauty, emitting an intoxicating smell. It was Gaia, the goddess of the earth, who raised him at the request of Hades.

As soon as Persephone touched the strange flower, the earth opened up and a strange cart appeared, drawn by four black horses, ruled by Hades. He picked up the half-asleep Persephone and took her to his palace in the underworld. Heartbroken, Demeter dressed in dark clothes and went in search of her daughter. This happened at the end of August.

Dark times have come for all living things, nature has fallen into depression. Life froze. The gardens did not bear fruit, the meadows withered, the fields did not produce grain. Hunger has set in. All living things were in danger of death. The gods began to ask Zeus to tell Demeter the truth about Persephone. But having learned the truth, the goddess yearned for her daughter even more. Then Zeus sent Hermes to Hades with a request to release his wife to earth for a while so that Persephone could see her mother. Hades did not dare to disobey his older brother, Zeus. And before letting his wife go, he gave her pomegranate seeds to swallow (a symbol of the indissolubility of the marriage bond). Persephone returned to her mother for a while. Seeing her daughter, Demeter rejoiced: tears of joy sparkled in her eyes. The earth was filled with this moisture, and then the meadows were covered with tender grass, and leaves blossomed on the drooping trees. Soon the grain fields began to sprout. Nature has awakened to a new life.

This is how the annual life cycle of plant nature appeared. From then on, by order of Zeus, Persephone could spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. When Persephone is in the kingdom of Hades, despondency attacks Demeter, nature freezes, and winter comes on earth. But every return of the daughter to her mother in the world of the Sun-Helios fills all living things with energy, the juices of life, and brings with it spring. This is how the alternation of seasons arises.

That is why Persephone is depicted as a young beauty with an armful of flowers and ears of flowers and is considered the goddess of spring, the sister of the goddess of the kingdom of flowers and plants - Flora. The wonderful constellation of the sky is dedicated to her - Virgo. And the brightest star in the constellation Virgo is called Spica, which means “ear of corn.”

Capricorn- mythological creature: half goat, half fish

The god of winemaking and holidays, Dionysus, conquered everyone with his fun and breadth of character, love of life and charm. He taught people to grow grapes and make from them a drink that warms the soul and heart - sparkling wine. To the sounds of flutes and pipes of a cheerful retinue, he traveled through the forests, meadows, fields and mountains of Hellas. He was surrounded by beautiful girls decorated with wreaths - maenads who knew how to amuse Dionysus with dancing, charites - nymphs of female charms and femininity, Euphrosyne - the goddess of joy, as well as goat-footed satyrs competing in funny practical jokes and well-aimed rhymes, and the god Pan who led them.

One day, Pan woke up a monster - a dragon named Python - by cheerfully playing the pipe. Out of fear, Pan rushed into a deep stream. And Dionysus, in order to hide him from Python, turned Pan into a goat with a large fish tail instead of legs. But tragic circumstances regenerate personality. And cowardice was reborn into courage. The goat began to take part in the battles of the gods. He appeared on the battlefield in the form of a half-goat, half-fish creature, which terrified those around him. This is how Capricorn appeared, which the gods later placed in the sky as a constellation with the same name. The development of abilities and rebirth is what Capricorn symbolizes. His planet, Saturn, is very gloomy and colors many things black. But from a chemistry point of view, coal and diamond are one and the same, and Capricorn is able to make coal sparkle and sparkle in the sun like a diamond.

Evolution of Earth Element signs

Taurus- a neat pedant and esthete, a lover of everyday comfort, striving for harmony in everything that surrounds him.

Virgo is a neat person and a pedant on a “spiritual” level, more concerned about the harmony of the inner world than about solving everyday problems. The desire for mental balance shapes his way of thinking and sometimes gives rise to some oddities in his habits; for many representatives of the sign it even turns into a religion.

Capricorn– a realist who knows what he wants and how to achieve it. He is distinguished by his determination and hard work. Capricorns do not expect gifts from fate and make efforts to get what they want.

What unites representatives of the Earth signs:

Attempts to hide your weakness under isolation, rigidity, aggressiveness;
- a combination of strength and openness.

Virtues of people of the Earth element:

Reliability, practicality,
- ability to manage money wisely,
- fairness, consistency.

Flaws:

Boring disposition, pessimistic view of reality,
- stinginess, callousness, harshness towards oneself and others.

Myths of the element of Water

Our ancestors believed that all life had its source in water.

Water symbolizes:

The basis of all things;
- fullness of opportunity, abundance and fertility;
- fertilizing ability of the male principle;
- mixing of elements and primordial chaos;
- ability to transform (steam, hail, snow, ice).

In various divination systems, people often resorted to the interpretation of images appearing in water. This ancient tradition became the rationale for the use of crystal balls and “magic crystals” in esotericism.

Cancer. The Myth of the Monster Conqueror

After the first feat, King Eurystheus of Mycenae begged Hercules to kill the Lernaean Hydra. This monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon, generated by Typhon and Echidna, lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and, crawling out of its lair, devastated the surrounding area. The fight with the nine-headed hydra was dangerous because one of its heads was immortal. Hercules set off on the journey together with Iolaus, the son of one of the local rulers. Arriving at the swamp, Hercules left Iolaus with his chariot nearby, in the grove, and he himself went to look for the hydra.

Hercules found the monster in a cave. Having heated his arrows red-hot, Hercules began to shoot them one after another at the hydra. The attack infuriated her. The hydra crawled out of the darkness, rose menacingly on a huge tail and wanted to rush at the hero, but Hercules stepped on its body, pressed it to the ground and began to knock off its heads - one after another. The hydra wrapped its tail around Hercules' legs and tried to knock him down. Cancer, the disgusting monster Kraken, crawled out of the swamp and painfully dug its claws into Hercules’ leg. And in place of each knocked-down head, the hydra grew two new ones. Hercules called Iolaus for help. Iolaus helped Hercules kill a huge crayfish, then set fire to part of a nearby grove and, with burning tree trunks, began to burn the hydra’s necks, from which Hercules knocked off the heads. New heads stopped growing - and the hydra resisted less. Finally, her immortal head flew off. The Lernaean Hydra was defeated. Hercules buried the monster's immortal head deeply and placed a huge rock on top. Then he cut the hydra’s body and plunged his arrows into the monster’s poisonous bile. Since then, the wounds from Hercules' arrows have become incurable.

In memory of this feat of Hercules, Zeus placed the Cancer Kraken in the starry firmament, and one of the zodiac constellations is now called Cancer.

Scorpion. The myth of victory and betrayal

The most beautiful southern constellation, which can be seen in our latitudes in winter, is the constellation Orion. This was the name of the son of the god of the seas, Poseidon. Once, on behalf of the gods, Orion cleared the island of Chios from wild animals. Grateful residents staged a magnificent celebration of the hero, during which he was crowned with a laurel wreath and presented with expensive gifts. The holiday was accompanied by the singing of hymns and dancing of girls. Among the dancers, Orion saw the beautiful Merope, the daughter of the local king. The young people liked each other, and Orion began to ask the king for his daughter’s hand in marriage. However, the beauty's father had completely different plans, and he refused the hero. Then Orion kidnapped his beloved.

The king resorted to a trick: having caught up with the fugitives, he pretended to agree to the marriage and returned the couple of lovers to the palace. And at night, having drunk Orion, the king blinded him. Poseidon, having learned about the betrayal, became angry and asked Helios to restore his son’s sight. It seemed that the question of the wedding had been resolved, and after all the misadventures happiness would come, but the goddess Hera intervened in the matter.
Once upon a time, Orion accidentally killed the goddess’s favorite bull. Knowing that Orion is a dexterous hunter who has no equal, she unleashed Scorpio on him, whose bite was fatal.

Orion died during a hunt, but at the request of the inconsolable Poseidon, Zeus placed his son in heaven and even made sure that Orion could not meet the terrible Scorpio. Indeed, the constellations Orion and Scorpio are never visible in the sky at the same time. The brightest star in the constellation Scorpio is called Antares. This is a red giant, which is 15 times larger than the Sun and thousands of times brighter than our star.

Star Antares- one of the brightest stars in the night sky, in Russia it is best observed in the southern regions.

The manifestation of the star Antares in any horoscope promises great success (on a global scale), but it also speaks of the danger of self-destruction. With this star, people can go to extremes, achieve everything they could only dream of, and then lose everything at once. According to astrologers, this star rewards its bearers with glory, enormous strength, fearlessness, success in battle, the ability to lead, brings male sexuality, promises numerous offspring, rewards with hypnotic abilities and wealth gained in military campaigns. Antares promotes expansion (like fire, it captures space), but can punish with destruction, fires, disasters and violence. Antares is associated with the element of Fire and enormous energy. Therefore, Scorpio partly bears the qualities of the Signs of the Element of Fire. By the way, Antares plays a leading role in the horoscope of Osama bin Laden.

Fish. The myth of all-conquering love

The first beauty of Olympus was rightfully considered the goddess of beauty and female attractiveness, Aphrodite, a golden-haired and cheerful beauty.

The most beautiful legend of Cyprus tells about her birth in one of the bays of the island from a pearl shell washed ashore. When it hit the shore, the shell opened, and a girl of divine beauty emerged from it. The gods took her to Olympus and gave her the name Aphrodite, and the island began to be considered her homeland. Aphrodite often went to her native places. And her love was given to the son of the king of Cyprus named Adonis. In beauty and intelligence, the groom was not inferior to the legendary heroes and young gods. Aphrodite was conquered and begged the gods to be favorable to him. She, everyone's favorite, was forgiven for her misalliance. But Artemis warned that Cypriots should not hunt boar and boar - her sacred animals.

One day, holding hands tightly, Aphrodite and Adonis walked along the shore. Suddenly, the ugly face of a sea monster - the fire-breathing Typhon - appeared from the water: he was once again encroaching on the beautiful Aphrodite. Aphrodite squeezed Adonis' hand. They rushed along the shore in fear, and out of helplessness threw themselves into the sea waves. And at that very moment the couple turned into nimble fish by the will of Poseidon, and their clasped hands became knotted with ribbons. And since then, Aphrodite almost never left Adonis, and reminded Adonis, who was leaving to hunt, of the prohibitions of Artemis. But one day, Adonis’s dogs, sensing the beast, rushed into the bushes and drove a huge boar out of there straight towards the young man. The enraged beast rushed to attack. Adonis grabbed a spear to pierce the animal, but, remembering the prohibitions, hesitated. At the same moment, the animal tore the young man’s chest with its sharp fangs. Having learned about the tragedy, Aphrodite rushed to the aid of Adonis, not noticing that sharp stones injured her bare feet. But everywhere where drops of blood fell, rose bushes grew - the flowers of Aphrodite's love. When she found Adonis, he lay dying and asked Zeus to give him the kiss of his beloved at the last moment. Aphrodite begged the gods to send death to her too, so as not to be separated from her beloved. And then Zeus ordered the god of the underworld, the Kingdom of Shadows, Hades, to release Adonis to earth every year and made him the god of the resurrecting spring nature.

And so it happened: Adonis spends winter and late autumn in the Kingdom of Shadows, and the remaining months with his beloved in the kingdom of light of Helios. In anticipation of the meeting, Aphrodite every year awakens to life the delicate flower of mutual love, anemone (otherwise known as adonis). And in the sky the gods established a symbol of all-conquering love - the constellation Pisces.

Pisces are seekers of the unknown, not of this world. Pisces are mysterious, but quite adaptive in everyday situations. They flow with the flow towards other signs, but they are vulnerable and vulnerable. In the alchemical works of ancient astrologers, the sign of two connected fish is considered as a symbol of the unity of Spirit and Soul.

Water is associated with the mother's womb, correlated with the feminine principle; It is believed that a person should become like water and a well. At the same time, the strength and stability of water acts as an image that embodies both the beginning and the end of the world. “There is nothing more pliable than water, but the hard cannot defeat it,” says the Tao Te Ching.

Water in general is seen as both life-sustaining and hostile. The connection between water and death is reflected in Scandinavian mythology, and in other legends water appears as the highest value, while at the same time something meaningless is called water. In the Christian tradition, water is the main thing in the rite of baptism. It symbolizes purification and sanctification, and the washing of the deceased means a return to the original state, implying death, but also rebirth and strengthening of life force in the new world. In many traditions, water was considered a conductor of the will of the gods, a mediator in communication with heaven, and a herald of fate.

What unites representatives of the Water signs?

Subject to emotions, have a fairly strong receptivity, inner instinct, changeable mood;
not lacking in compassion;
- react sharply to criticism, have a hard time withstanding the insult caused;
- have good adaptability and the ability to find a way out of a hopeless situation on an instinctive level;
- have a remarkable understanding of people, which is why others attribute otherworldly abilities to them.

Disadvantages of people of the element of Water:

Unbridled, dramatic nature;
- inconstancy and variability of state of mind;
- tendency to idleness, lack of will;
- inability to understand everyday affairs, a tendency to see only the bad in everything;
-susceptibility to nervous excitement.

Advantages of people of the element of Water:

Sociability, friendliness;
- balance, patience;
- commitment to high moral ideals;
- a tendency to create;
- the ability to understand the intentions of others;
- responsiveness, attractiveness, charm.

Evolution of Water signs:

Cancer - water vapor (enveloping and actively penetrating);
Scorpio - frozen water, pieces of ice (the ability to hide intentions and pacify passions);
Pisces - interground water, source, stream (they try to go around obstacles without entering into confrontation, they have the ability to seep into any spheres).

Suitable partners for watermarks are representatives of the same element, as well as “earthlings” - Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo. Relationships with representatives of the fire element are bad; relative harmony is possible only for people born in the last ten days of Pisces. Representatives of water signs will be able to get along with Air people, but a lot depends on the individual horoscope.

Spiritual and esoteric concepts that our ancestors left us about the Element of Water:

The guardian of life, circulating throughout nature in the form of rain, plant sap, milk, blood, etc.;
- heavenly waters, helping to support life, irrigate the earth;
- ritual ablution of clergy and rulers;
- the flood destroys the wicked and spares the righteous;
- redemption by water, after which a new world is created.