Zodiac Sign: Capricornus

Original Solutions

Allthough the Capricornus is often mistaken for Zeus’ foster mother, the mythical goat Amaltheia, it’s in fact an homage to the wildlife god Pan. The nature god’s role was crucial in defeating one of Zeus’ most feared opponents: the monster Typhon. It had been close though, and Pan had to jump into a river to escape. He had planned to change into a fish, but he only got halfway… And that’s how he appears at the night sky. True to Pan’s character, capricorns are independent, free-spirited and strong-willed, facing challenges with fearless determination. They are ambitious trailblazers, for whom the destination is far more exciting than the journey. As they live with one eye on the clock, with so many things to accomplish in their lifetime, they may come across as somewhat judgmental. They are bluntly honest and expect the same from their friends. In the end, they will always come up with a unique point of view and the most original of solutions. Back to January overview.

 

Birthstone: Garnet

Immense Energy

The birthstone for January is garnet. This precious stone was extremely popular in ancient times. The Egyptians associated the stone with their war goddess Sekhmet. For the Greeks, it was connected to supreme goddess Hera. The colour and shape recall the little seeds of a pomegranate, litterally “seed-apple”. As apple of love, this was Hera’s favourite fruit. In the old days, garnets were a popular gift between separated lovers, as they were also associated with Persephone, queen of the underworld, who could only stay with her husband Hades for half the year. Young and insecure as she was, Persephone wore garnets to enhance her self-confidence. Its immense energy transformed her negative thoughts into positive ones, and boosted her vitality, as well as her faith in her feminine attractiveness. Today, garnets are still considered powerful gems, both fysically (in stabilising blood pressure) and mentally, as protectors from bad influences. So let’s face it, we all need garnets in our lives! Back to January overview.

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January 01: New Year's Day

Janus, God of New Beginnings

When the Romans built their empire, they took over most of the Greek gods without much creativity. But they did come up with one god themselves. (Though some believe him to be a compressed version of the divine twins Apollo and Artemis.) He was the first to be invoked on every ceremony. His name was Janus, and he was depicted with two faces, looking simultaneously at beginnings and endings, openings and closings, present and past, inside and out, birth and death, war and peace. As god of new beginnings, the first month of the year was named after him, and it was custom to trade good wishes and little gifts on the first day. He had a monument in Rome, of which the doors were left open when the empire was at war. Which was the case most of the time. In the fourth century AD, christianity was imposed as the new religion, and Janus temple doors closed for good. Or so they thought. Two centuries later, someone opened them again, during the Gothic wars. We all know they haven’t been closed since. But we keep on hoping that this might be the year.​ Back to January overview.

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January 02: Science Fiction Day

Loukianos/Lucian, Inventor of Science Fiction

The Greek tragedy writer Aeschulos invented the concept of the “deus ex machina” (literally: “god from a machine”). It involved a god suddenly appearing on stage, with the help of a mechanical device, to solve all problems and conclude the drama. The best known version of the concept is the Disney adaptation of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. Wasn’t it Wolfgang Goethe who composed the original poem in the 18th century? No, it was not. In fact, it was the hellenised Syrian novelist Lucianus, in the 2nd century AD. The same Lucianus who also invented the science fiction genre, in his novel “A True Story”. He describes a trip to the moon, alien encounters and intergalactic battles, two millennia before Jules Verne or Isaac Asimov. What he didn’t invent, were robots. Not because they don’t appear in the novel, but because they were called automatons (“self moving things”). The term “robot” is Czech for “forced labour” and has nothing to do with Greek or Roman antiquity. For once. Back to January overview.

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January 03: New Year

The Calendar

In Roman times, on the “kalendae”, the first day of the month, all festivities and activities would be announced. The first “calendar” in the modern sense, was introduced by the city’s mythical founder Romulus. He divided the year in ten months, starting with one for his favourite, war god Mars. The second month referred to Mars’ partner Venus, Aphrodite in Greek, hence “April”. The spring goddess Maia lent her name to the month of May, and June of course brings in supreme goddess Juno. Romulus’ inspiration dried up after this, so much later, the two following months were attributed to the emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus. Nobody bothered to name the seventh, eigth, ninth and tenth month: September, October, November, December. Romulus’ successors however struggled with his ten month system, and added two more, to put before all others. One in honour of Janus, god of new beginnings, and one for Februus, god of reflection and purification. From then on, Mars only came in third, and the tenth month is in fact the twelfth.​ Back to January overview.

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January 04: New Year

Weekday Etymology

Let’s talk everyday-gods in English, German, Dutch and French. Monday is devoted to the moon goddess: “Montag”, “maandag”, and in French “lundi”. Tuesday brings in German god Tyr: “dinsdag”, “Dienstag”. Except in French, as “mardi” refers to war god Mars. The third day is an odd one. Though German god Wodan sounds in “Wednesday” and “woensdag”, the Germans themselves stay neutral with “Mittwoch”, “middle of the week”. And the French stick with messenger god Mercury: “mercredi”. Thursday brings in Thor: “Donnerstag”, “donderdag”. But the French stay loyal to Jupiter: “jeudi”. On Friday, we add a woman: German goddess Freyja: “Freitag”, “vrijdag”. Again, the French prefer a Roman goddess, Venus: “vendredi”. “Samstag” and “samedi” refer to resting days, like in the Hebrew “sabbath”. While “zaterdag” and “Saturday” are devoted to Roman god Saturn. And two thousand years of Christianism only show in the French for Sunday: “dimanche” or “dies dominicus”, “the day of God”. While the rest of us just crave a sunny day.​ Back to January overview.

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January 05: Epiphany

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

It’s a very old dilemma: would you tell your best friend if their lover was a cheater? The sun god Helios did, informing Hephaistos about the affair between his wife Aphrodite and war god Ares. Aphrodite’s revenge was swift: she cursed Helios to fall in love with a little mortal, Leukothoé. It all went out of hand when Leukothoés father didn’t agree, and punished his daughter by burying her alive. A devastated Helios turned her into a frankincense tree, according to Ovid “so that she would still breathe air, after a fashion…”  And when we think of frankincense, of course myrrh and gold come to mind, especially this time of year. Most of the gold would be found in the river Paktolos, since golddigger Midas used it to wash his curse away. And as far as the myrrh is concerned, this would have originated from the princess Myrrha, who tricked her own father into an affair. When he found out, he chased her away, the gods created a myrrh tree out of her, and as such, she gave birth to the most beautiful boy ever, Adonis. And yes, to the Greeks, all of this made perfect sense. Back to January overview.

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January 06: Epiphany

The Judges of the Underworld

The wise men in Greek myths were king Aiakos of Aigina, Minos of Crete and Rhandamanthus of Boiotia. All three were sons of Zeus, and he made them judges of the underworld. A worthy soul would be sent to Elysium, a wicked one to the Tartaros, but most ended up in the Asphodel Fields, as bloodless shadows of their former selves. Aiakos, “holder of the keys”, would judge the Europeans. He was born from the nymph Aigina on her desert island. To give his son something to rule over, Zeus had changed the ants there in people, with Achilles as a proud descendant of these “ant-people” or “myrmidons”. Rhandamanthus, known as “lord of Elysium”, judged the Asian souls. He was a son of Europa, like Minos, who only came in when the others were undecided. Which is just as well, because he had been a cruel king, sacrificing children to his Minotaur-monster. Zeus appointed all three of them to assist Hades, king of the underworld, because he was often distracted. Understandably, with a young bride like Persephone.​ Back to January overview.