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Castor and Pollux have long been supposed to look after ships
and are particularly associated with storms at sea. The ship
which took St Paul to Malta was named Castor and Pollux, and
probably had the twins as its figurehead. It's all in the
Bible (Acts 28.11)
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The best time to see your own zodiac sign
is three months before your birthday. Around the time of your
birthday, you can't see it because the sun is too bright.
If you wait until the sun sets then your sign will have set
as well, and you won't see it. But about three months before
your birthday, just after sunset, your sign will be high and
bright in the south-west. Over the coming months I want to
show you how to find your sign. Two weeks ago, when looking
for Mercury, we spotted Taurus near Orion. Now it's Gemini's
turn. Look west after sunset. The top of Orion is slipping
below the horizon, taking Taurus with him. Above Orion, directly
west, exactly halfway between the horizon and the sky overhead,
you will find two bright stars side by side, a few finger-widths
apart. These are Castor, on the right, and Pollux, the Gemini
twins. These stars are the heads of the boys; their bodies
are fainter stars below them, as far down as Orion. The whole
constellation is roughly rectangular.
Many legends are attached to these two. Pollux was immortal,
the son of Zeus and Leda, but Castor was not. Both are associated
with fame, but with Pollux you may be notorious rather than
famous. Which kind of Gemini are you?
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