Hercules 3rd Labour (Gemini)...

STORY: Hercule's 3rd labour was to bring back the famous Appples from Far West (Esperides in ancient Greek). These apples were hanging on a tree guarded by a fearsum dragon and there were three virgins who took care of the tree. The tree was not to be harmed. These Apples were seeked and wanted by many many heros cause they brought the aility to distinguish right from wrong (reminds me of something similar in the Bible). Hercule was warned by the king he was doing these labours for that it would not be easy to find these Apples, that he would lose his way many times and that this labout was more a work for a wise person and less for a strong or daring one. Despite this warning Hercules was very confident of his wisdom and knew he could complete this task soon too. He also wanted these Apples for himself, he wanted to experience the knowledge of right and wrong. So he startes his journey aiming north and walking long distances to find the Apples, asking around and many times he went of course because of what people told him and the advice they gave him about where to head to in order to find the Apples. As we was travelling north he met upon Prometheus the famous Titan (Giant) who was chained by Zeus the father of Gods because he had given fire to the humans as a gift. He was very depressed hearing Prometheuses tears for he was not only chained he was also punished by a craw, which ate his lever every day and during the night his lever healed again as he was immortal and the other day the craw came back again. Hercules was so depressed by the cries and the suffering of Prometheus that he momentarilly forgot his purpose and stopped to free him from his chains. At a certain point he rested on a crossroad not knowing which way to take and an old man closened him and gave him a mysterious advice that he actually knew inside him where the Apples where, an advice he couldn't figure out. He thought the old man told him to head directly south exactly the opposite of what his was doing so far. So he started going south and on his road he came upon a teacher called Vousiris, a person who seemed very wise and promised to help Hercules. Hercules trusted him and stayed on his side helping him for some time hoping to learn from him where the Apples were. But he also liked the words Vousiris told him, they were nice words, so seemingly wise and he was somehow bewitched by him, so much that after a while he forgot his purpose and stayed with Vousiris. Vousiris knew the infulence he had over Hercules and after some time managed to have him completely inslaved first mentally and later he also made a servant out of him. At the end he treated Hercules as a slave and he even put chains on him. Time was passing by and Hercules began to remember little by little what the old man had told him some time ago on that crossroad. And the more he remembered about the old man, the more he realised now that he had the time to think that what the old man was saying was tru, he knew inside what he had to do and he was wasting his time with Vousiris. So one day he decided to break his chains and put them on Vousiris himself. He broke himself free and went his road to find the Apples listening to noone anymore. He didn't listen to advices but he followed his own path. At a certain point as he had met Prometheus before he met upon another Titan, Atlas. Atlas was carrying on his shoulders the whole world!! and he seemed to be suffering by the weight he was carrying but even more by the responsibility and the lack of freedom. Hercules could not help himself to take the weight from Atlas shoulders, although he knew that in doing so, he would take a responsibility that would permanently keep him there and so he would never be able to complete his labours. Atlas was so thankful of Hercules, he asked him what he was doing there and once he found out about the Apples he went along himself to get them for Hercules. Indeed Atlas came back with the Apples and offered the to Hercules releaving him from his weight. Hercules didn't want the Apples for himself though. He brought them to a Holy Place and went back to the king to report his doings.

SYMBOLS: This story carries out many many symbols and is a very important story for everyone of us who is trying to distinguish in this world we leave in, that full of information and words of what is right and what is wrong. And the usual thing we do is follow other persons advices, not listening to our own inner voice, which most of the times knows right from wrong already. This is also a lesson about the sign of Gemini, the sign of people who spent most of their time or rather waste it along the side of "teachers" like Vousiris, teachers who actually are only full of words and have no essential help to give but distraction from the inner purpose. This is also a lesson for all of us and Geminis the most for not valuing advice that comes from apparently unworthy people like the old man, advice that seems most of the times like a riddle and that has to be figured out in time in order to understand it and follow it. But usually we only take credit of this advice when it is too late when we are already chained by false beliefs and misjudgment and we need so much help because we are helpless and it is only than that we decide to listen to our inner self who all the time has known the truth but we didn't listen to him. It is finally a lesson for service. The most important lesson we and most of all Geminis have to take is that words are not important, actions are. Along his journey Hercules never refused to forget his quest for knowledge if it was to help a person in need. Practically this shows that to do something good NOW is much much more important than to chase a distant dream of wisdom. Gemini's duty is to recognize the fact that his life MUST be given to serve others and his longing for wisdom can wait because it is actually throuth this service that the actual the GREATEST knowledge comes without effort the same way it happened when Atlas brought Hercules the Apples he was searching for so long. The Apples came out of nowhere, they came as a gift from heaven (Atlas was carrying the sky, Uranus connects to this) exactly when Hercules decided to do his greatest service sacrificing his own freedom to carry out a seemingly endless duty. So the story ends like this my fellow friends, through service will come the greatest knowledge, exactly when you least expect it, you don't have to seek it with your mind, you'll just have to be ready to carry on and take over more and more responsible tasks. Knowledge comes through EXPERIENCE, not through words.

Regards
Vas

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