#26 The Water Bearer and Twin Fish

Hello Fellow Stargazers!

It really brings up a lot of feelings realizing that this is the last post on the zodiac constellations.  All that is left to share with you is the month of December and the constellations that tell the story of Perseus and Andromeda, as well as the story of the name of the full moon of December.  Things are coming to a close this year, and as the Farnsworth household prepares for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the heat is turned on in the house, the tree and decorations bring a warmth all their own, and the evenings are a quiet and blissful time of warm drinks and cozy activities indoors.

I picture myself this December spending some time outdoors walking the lake and reflecting on the gifts poured out over myself and Cassie this year.  As soon as the Christmas lights start appearing on the houses, I find time to enjoy the twinkling stars not only above us, but around us.

Speaking of pouring out, the first of the constellations we will share is Aquarius.  Aquarius is one of the tougher constellations to trace out due to dim stars as well as the area of the sky that it occupies.  The ancient Greeks aptly named this area the "celestial sea" and was the source of all the waters of the night sky.  You can see that the Milky Way seems to spring from this area.

Ganymede is the celestial water bearer, a young man holding either the celestial urn or cup of immortality of the gods.  A young shepherd boy that Zeus judged as the most beautiful of the mortals, he claimed him as the water boy of the Olympian gods and goddesses.  As you will remember when we talked about Jupiter, Ganymede is one of the four Galilean moons, along with Io, Europa, and Callisto, and one of Zeus' many trifle jaunts with the mortals.  He granted Ganymede immortality for his service and symbolized in the night sky as Aquarius.

Pisces is the other of a pair of water signs/constellations which can be seen wrapped around the bottom of the great square of Pegasus, which we will observe in December.  The easiest part of this constellation to view is the circlet of Pisces, which is one head of the two fish that make up this constellation.

 This pair of fish was believed to symbolize the gods Aphrodite and her son Eros (Venus and Cupid) as they transformed themselves into fish to escape the monster Typhon.  Typhon was the largest and most feared of the monsters/Titans by the Gods, and when Typhon led the waged war of the Titans on the Gods for control of Olympus, most of the great ancient gods and goddesses transformed into animals and fled.  Zeus was able to confront and defeat Typhon and seal him under Mount Etna, which is thought to this day to be the source of the mountain's eruptions.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!