Twins
and Astrology
Question:
"I've noticed that some twins seem to be very much alike
while others are not. Twins usually have almost exactly the same
birth chart, don't they? So if astrology is for real, then why
aren't all twins more alike?"
Answer:
In asking your question, you're in excellent historical company.
One of the earliest recorded accounts of this particular "twin
question" being asked is that of St. Augustine of Hippo (Born:
November 13, 354 AD Old Style) in his book The City of God.
The
Short Answer
The short answer to this long asked question is that many twins
"live out" and identify with differing Zodiacal energies
contained within their birth charts. In my experience, knowing
and working with twins, many twins appear to "split up"
the energy potentials contained within their birth charts.
Confirming
this... mainstream genetics research in 2005 found that identical
twins differ in how their genes "express themselves."
Now... geneticists have just, hot
off the press in 2008-2009, discovered that identical twins
(in spite of having incredibly similar DNA) inevitably respond
differently to the same environmental stimuli. All of this really
just confirms what astrologers have always known… that no
one “lives out” their birth chart in exactly the same
way that another person would.
As
with everything in astrology, the way a particular Zodiacal energy
might (or might not) manifest itself... we’re talking about
the 4 P’s: potentials, probabilities, predisposition, and
propensities.
And,
further, each twin may end up "living out" the other
twin's "shadow." This may be a part of why a great many
twins experience such great difficulty in separating from one
another, physically and/or emotionally.
I'm not a twin, and so I won't claim to know what goes on in the
head and heart of twins. There often seems to be an extraordinary
psychic/emotional bond shared between many twin siblings that
the rest of us "non-twin" folks will never be able to
experience, and we "non-twin" folks can never be fully
initiated into the deeper mysteries of "twinship."
Because
"identical" and "mirror image" twins look
so much alike, casual onlookers often naively assume "identical"
and "mirror image" twins share the same basic personality
characteristics, traits, and needs.
For
most of us, it's only after getting past the surface of physical
appearance that we discover "identical" and "mirror
image" twins that are raised together often express themselves
(and their birth charts) in very different ways - splitting up
the energies contained in their charts.
Gemini,
The Twins
The Greek mythology behind the Zodiac sign of "The Twins,"
Gemini, helps in demonstrating this (arche)typical scenario of
twin-ship and the "splitting up of energies."
As
the story goes there were once two brothers, Pollux – Castor.
One twin was immortal – and the other twin was mortal. Pollux
and Castor were the twin sons of a mortal woman Leda – however
they had different fathers. Pollux was a son of the chief Olympian
god Zeus, and thus Pollux was immortal and would live forever.
Castor was the son of a mortal man, and he could die.
The two brothers, Pollux and Castor, took part in many adventures
(i.e. they were involved in the Jason and Argonauts Golden Fleece
thing). Their love for one another was legendary, and they never
separated from one another. At the point of Castor's impending
death in battle, Pollux asked his father, Zeus, for the permission
to die along side of Castor. It was Pollux's great desire that
the brothers might remain united even in death.
Instead
of allowing Pollux to die, Zeus decided the two brothers would
now share in the immortality of Pollux and remain together forever.
However, in order for this to happen, Pollux and Castor would
have to forever alternate between the light and the dark. For
the rest of eternity, the brothers would spend one day on Olympus
and then the next day in Hades.
(Please
be aware there are several different variants of the Pollux and
Castor myth.)
So...
what does it mean that many twins appear to "split up"
the energy potentials contained within their birth charts - and,
for that matter, is there anything to the myth of the "good
twin/bad twin?"
Individuality
In the basic core psychological need to establish a sense of separateness
and individuality, it appears that each twin may end up "living
out" the other twin's shadow.
In
fact... in worst case scenarios, in the dynamics of the twin's
nuclear family unit one of the twins may have been unconsciously
identified by the family unit as being the "good" twin;
while the other twin has been unconsciously identified as being
the "bad" twin. Notice, I said this process of identification
is "unconscious" and that it occurs in "worst case
scenarios."
Most
of the time, the typical process of "living out" the
other twin's shadow might be as simple as one twin unconsciously
choosing to primarily "own the energies" contained in
their birth Sun's placement and "disown the energies"
in their birth Moon's placement.
In
response, the other twin might then unconsciously choose to "own
the energies" contained in their Moon's placement and "disown
the energies" contained in their Sun's placement. etc. etc.
etc.
Separated At Birth - No Juxtapositioning
The truly fascinating thing is that there have been several case
studies focused on identical twins that were separated at birth.
Parallels and similarities in the separated twins in regard to
life events, choices, and external behaviors have often been found
to border on the verge of "Ripley's Believe It or Not."
One especially interesting case that of male identical twins,
separated at birth, who are both now (or were at the time) living
in the state of Ohio. (Based on information from The Paranormal:
Beyond Sensory Science by Dr. Percy Seymour)
Some
of the many things these two men had in common were:
-
both
had been named Jim by their adoptive parents.
-
Both had married twice. Their first wife was named Linda and
their second wife was named Betty.
-
both named their sons - James Allen.
-
both enrolled as Police Officers at the same time.
-
both named their dogs "Troy."
-
both vacationed each year on the same stretch of beach in
Florida.
-
both drank the same brand of beer and smoked the same brand
of cigarettes.
-
both had the same hobby, which is woodworking.
A
little more about the two Jims at Suite 101
Astrological
Twins?
Case studies have also been done on "astrological twins."
Astrological twins are those folks (although not related) that
have almost identical birth charts. Many interesting parallels
and similarities have been found with them, as well. For more
on this, check out the book: The Case for Astrology by
John Anthony West and Jans Gerhard Toonder.
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