Astrological Signs

Athamas, a king in the land of Croneus, had a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Helle, by his first wife, Nephele. Eventually he grew tired of his first wife, as kings often did and still do. He sent Nephele away and married Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes. Ino also bore two children to the king, and over time she grew hideously jealous of Nephele's children. She wanted the kingdom for her own sons and decided to use treachery and deceit to get it. Corn was the major crop of the kingdom at the time, and a good corn harvest meant that the people and animals of the kingdom would be well fed in the months to come. Knowing this, Ino convinced the women of the kingdom to roast the seeds of corn before the men planted them in the field. She managed to hide what she had done from the men. Naturally, when the ruined corn failed to grow, no one thought to blame her. As was the custom at the time, the king decided to consult an oracle to see what he could do to appease the gods and bring back the crops. He sent messengers to the oracle, and the devious Ino paid off the messengers, bribing them into lying about its advice. According to the messenger, Phrixus and Helle were the cause of the famine. They would have to be sacrificed to the gods before the kingdom would have corn again. Of course, although the king was in despair, he did not want to disobey the gods and cause his kingdom to starve, so he decided to follow what he thought was the oracle's advice. Luckily, Nephele was fearful for her children's safety, and had sent a protector into the castle walls to watch over them. This protector was not a person, but was a ram with fleece made out of gold. The ram had been given to Nephele as a present from Zeus, and was faithful to the former queen and her children. As the day of the sacrifice dawned, the ram approached the children. It spoke to them, telling them that they must flee the kingdom immediately. It told them to climb on its back, which they did. It warned them to hold on tight, and then the ram sprang into the air and flew away, across the ocean. Helle, who was weaker than her brother, fell off the ram's back and to her death in the sea. The place where she fell is called Hellesponte. Phrixus survived, and ended up marrying into the royal family of Colchis, thus maintaining his noble status. In thanks to Zeus, he sacrificed the golden ram that had carried out the god's wishes on earth. Phrixus hung the ram's fleece in a special spot in Colchis, where it would be the theme of legends to come. Zeus hung the ram's likeness in the sky to commemorate its bravery, and it shines there to this very day.	M y t h o l o g i c a l   O r i g i n s	The Scorpion was another monster summoned at the will of a wrathful goddess. Instead of Hera, though, it was Artemis, who called upon the creature to destroy Orion. Orion was not a human, but a giant. As such, he was more than mortal, but less than a god or goddess. He was the son of Poseidon, the sea god, and is often supposed to be the son of Gaia, as were all giants. Orion was prodigiously strong and very beautiful, but he shared the fatal flaw of many traditional Greek heroes. He thought much too highly of himself and forgot to show proper respect toward the immortals. It is not clear what Orion did to anger Artemis. According to one version, he tried to rape one of her handmaidens. According to another, he may have tried to force himself on Artemis herself. Perhaps he simply boasted that he was a better archer than she was. Of all the goddesses, however, Artemis may have been the worst one to cross. She was the goddess of the hunt and the goddess of revenge, and she was ruthless and violent once angered. She became furious with Orion's impudence and commanded a giant scorpion to attack him. The scorpion stung Orion and killed him. Artemis placed her servant in the heavens as a reward for doing her bidding. Because of Orion's parentage, he could not go to Hades. He was placed in the heavens as well, where he continues to flee across the night sky, away from the poisonous scorpion.
ARIES	In the Beginning...	SCORPIO

ARIES = "The Warrior"

That upright bearing, firm stride and rugged bone structure — the Aries hero often has a military air. With it comes a certain raw power that's incredibly appealing. In fact, he tends to turn feminine heads and give Scorpio a run for the "Sexiest Sign" title. His wooing can be a bit on the primitive side, though. Aries's natural style is along the lines of "see it, want it, drag it back to cave." Be firm and insist he treat you like a lady. When urged toward civilized behavior, he improves rapidly. He'll soon turn into a passionate, ardent and surprisingly steady hero. He'll take a creative approach to keeping the flame of romance burning.

I wold like to thank, Kagaya for the wonderful pictures, and astrology.com for the historical overview.

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