Thank you all for taking part in the poll — and especially for your active participation 🙂 Now for the confirmed answer: the photo shows the zodiac sign Gemini.
I came across this depiction at a seaside hotel in Egypt, where each guest building is named after a zodiac sign. Every building also features a symbol corresponding to its sign. Naturally, I ended up in the Gemini building (naturally — because I’m a Gemini myself). And yet, it took me a moment to realize where I had landed. At first, I even mistook it for a pair of slightly humanized Pisces, but once I spotted the “real” Pisces sign on the neighboring building, I realized my mistake. Stereotypes really do have a firm grip on our minds… This mixed-gender, tailed version doesn’t fit the standard European or post-Soviet idea of Gemini at all.
Two sexes — a man and a woman. It makes sense, even if it’s unfamiliar for those of us used to the Greek prototype of twin brothers. The constellation Gemini, after all, includes two stars named after the famous twins: Castor and Pollux. But of course, the Gemini sign isn’t limited to the image of two brothers. Mythology gives us plenty of twin pairs, and many of them are male-female duos. In fact, some are even husband and wife. In ancient Egypt, for example, the divine pair Shu and Tefnut played this role.
Gemini is, above all, about duality — the union of two forces, including male and female. What could be more opposite and yet more perfectly complementary? The sign’s open-mindedness stems from this very ability to embrace opposing ideas and values. Geminis can hold totally contradictory notions within themselves — and yet, all their lives, they search for wholeness, trying to reconcile those inner opposites. A happy Gemini is a whole Gemini. The only thing I still don’t get is… what’s with the tail?
Now, about those tails — it’s complicated. I couldn’t find any clear answer in the books, though I genuinely tried. The hotel management didn’t give a definitive explanation either. They joked that it’s a seaside theme — like people grow fish tails by the sea. My own theory? Possibly the restrictions on depicting the human form in Islam. But… there’s a catch. Of the zodiac signs, three traditionally depict human figures: Gemini, Virgo, and Aquarius. At this hotel, Virgo is also shown as a mermaid — but Aquarius? A full-on human, arms and legs and all. Then again, maybe there’s a tail hidden behind all that flowing water…Anyway, this artist’s mystery remains unsolved for now. If you have any theories, I’d love to hear them! I’ve already lost sleep over it
