Myth of Heracles
The myth of the twelve labours of Heracles is one of the most important in Greek mythology. Although Heracles is not explicitly linked to any planet, he repeatedly comes into contact with important astrological symbolic figures. It is also not difficult to see the analogy between the twelve labours and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Wolfgang Denzinger and Olga von Ungern-Sternberg have published fairly recent material on the subject, with the latter being responsible for the following categorisation:
The first labour, to kill the Nemean Lion, corresponds to the sign of Leo. The Nemean Lion was an invulnerable predator that demanded human sacrifices. Hercules was unable to the kill the lion with arrows, sword or a club. He only managed to kill the beast by using his own physical strength, and he finally managed to choke the lion to death. After he had skinned the lion, he wore its pelt and assimilated its power. In Leo we are challenged to become conscious of our own subjective strengths so that in our lives we can apply them in a constructive way which benefits not only ourselves but also the wider community.
The second labour, to kill the Lernaean Hydra, corresponds to the sign of Cancer. They hydra was a multi-headed monster which was half serpent and half dog. As Hercules was fighting the hydra, the goddess Hera, who was an enemy of Hercules, sent a giant crab to help the hydra. The crab bit into Hercules' ankle and didn't let go. Eventually, Hercules managed to smash it with his foot. The sign of cancer is associated with the themes of holding on and letting go. Under difficult circumstances the sign of cancer can find it hard to let go. And sometimes a painful but liberating blow becomes necessary.
The third labour, to capture the golden horned Cerinitian Hind, corresponds to the sign of Aries. The Hind was sacred to the Moon goddess Artemis. Olga von Ungern-Sternberg sees a connection to the ram whose Golden Fleece inspired Jason, Heracles and other heroes to go on epic adventures. The myth revolves around the themes of departure, heroic struggle and the ability to assert one's will in the face of opposition - archetypal Aries themes.
The fourth labour, to capture the Erymanthian Boar, corresponds to the sign of Aquarius. The boar was an enormous beast that lived on Mount Erymanthos and terrorised the surrounding area. Great alertness was needed in order to catch the unpredictable boar. "Alertness as a facet of life originating from the spiritual sphere which hides everything, subdues the instinctive and throws consciousness back on itself. Thought becomes non-judgemental." Astrology ascribes these qualities to the sign of Aquarius.
The fifth labour, to clean the Augean Stables in one day, corresponds to the sign of Virgo. King Augeas was a son of the Sun god Helios. He owned an enormous herd of cattle but his stables were so filthy that they had fallen into disuse. Heracles was given the task of cleaning them. He managed this by striking holes in the stable walls and re-routing the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth. Ungern-Sternberg believes that this represents the emancipated Virgo principle that has been freed from pedantic details to be in the service of larger cosmic ideals and is thus able to achieve inner and outer clarity.
The sixth labour, to slay the Stymphalian birds, corresponds to the sign of Gemini. These man-eating birds had beaks and claws of iron, and they launched their metallic feathers to overcome their victims on the shores of lake Stymphalia. Heracles used huge bronze castanets forged by the divine blacksmith Hephaestus to scare the birds into flight. The birds symbolise the air element and the realm of ideas which, if allowed to run wild, can endanger the clarity and purity of spirit. When this happens sound (symbolised by the clicking castanets) is necessary to bring them into harmony.
The seventh labour, to capture the Cretan Bull, corresponds to the sign of Taurus. Heracles was sent to get the bull which belonged to King Minos and who had promised to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon. But Minos was so captivated by the Bull's perfection that he refused to honour his promise. But after the bull began to cause havoc on the island by threatening land and livestock, Minos gave Hercules permission to take it away and Hercules was able to overcome the powerful beast. The story is an illustration of the power of nature as revealed in spring during the time of Taurus. But this power must be tamed before humans can enjoy its riches.
The eighth labour, to steal the Mares of Diomedes, corresponds to the sign of Capricorn. The Mares were four man-eating horses belonging to Diomedes, the cruel king of Thrace. Diomedes tried to thwart Heracles but was slain by Heracles who fed him to the horses who then became calm. This labour shares parallels with the myth of Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, who devoured his own children and was only tamed after losing his manhood. The taming of the steed is also a symbol for the great challenge of Capricorn to shape and structure the wild, chaotic and powerful world of ideas.
The ninth labour, to obtain the girdle of the Amazon warrior queen Hyppolyte, corresponds to the sign of Pisces. The daughter of King Eurystheus, who served Heracles, desired the warrior queen's girdle as an extravagant wedding present. Heracles set off in search of Hyppolyte who was prepared to voluntarily relinquish the girdle to Heracles after laying eyes on him. In some version of the myth, the goddess Hera, who bore hostility to Heracles, was unwilling to grant him such an easy victory. She therefore incited the Amazons to attack Heracles for trying to abduct their queen. Heracles then suspected that the queen had broken her word and he slayed? her and tore the girdle from her corpse. Ungern-Sternberg does not speculate on the further course of events, but interprets the labour as "entering a realm which transcends a world in which life is defined by sexual differentiation". Pisces symbolises the dissolving of all boundaries, including sexual ones.
The tenth labour, to obtain the Cattle of Geryon, corresponds to the sign of Sagittarius. Geryon was a fearsome three-headed monster who owned a large herd of cattle close to the Straits of Gibraltar which represented the boundary of the known world in ancient Greece. Heracles was given the task of driving the cattle to Argos in Greece. The outbound journey proved to be more adventurous than expected. Heracles was given help by the Sun god Helios, who lent him a golden bowl that he used to cross the sea from East to West each night. Having arrived at his destination, Heracles drove the cattle onto the bowl and shot Geryon down with an arrow that had been dipped in the venomous blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The journey back was even more adventurous. After Heracles had returned the golden bowl back to Helios, he crossed Spain and France on foot and lost his way, ending up on the shores of the Black Sea. From there he travelled to Italy and finally via Sicily back to Greece. He was ambushed many times and one night the herd was stolen from him. But Heracles managed to overcome all these dangers. When he finally arrived at the palace of King Eurytheus, who had given him the task, the latter was surprised to see the hero again after his long absence. An analogy between the tenth labour and the sign of Sagittarius would seem to be close at hand. Gaining experience in far away lands, broadening one's horizons and overcoming all obstacles in order to discover one's roots.
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The eleventh labour, to steal the Golden Apples of Hesperides, corresponds to the sign of Scorpio. The Hesperides were daughters of Atlas, the bearer of the celestial sphere. The apples were found in a garden situated at the edge of the Western world near the Atlas mountains that was guarded by a dragon. They were a wedding present from Gaia to Hera. This time Heracles resorted to cunning rather than strength to achieve his task. He tricked Atlas by offering to carry the heavens for a while if Atlas would retrieve some of the golden apples in return. Atlas gladly accepted the offer because it gave him temporary relief from his arduous task. His daughters willingly gave him the apples. He began to enjoy his new role and decided that he would rather take the apples back to Greece himself. Heracles tricked Atlas again by agreeing to the reversal of roles on the condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily so that he could make his cloak more comfortable. Atlas agreed and Heracles seized his chance to take the apples and make his escape. The labour takes place at the boundary between the known world and the hereafter which astrology ascribes to the sign of Scorpio/Pluto. Some things are achieved by resorting to cunning or even deception, themes traditionally associated with the sign of Scorpio.
The twelfth labour, to capture Cerberus the hound of hell, corresponds to the sign of Libra. Before his encounter with the three-headed dog, Heracles had already met and overcome many challenges, including facing Hades, the personified god of the underworld. He was aided in this task by Hermes the divine messenger. In the end, Heracles managed to capture the dog and present it to King Eurytheus who had only given Heracles the task because he felt certain that he would fail and remain trapped in the underworld. Ungern-Sternberg equates this labour with the sign of Libra which she considers to be a "symbol for the experience of death, or more precisely with the higher self... Osiris was the Egyptian god of life, death and fertility. On the one side of the scales he laid the heart of the deceased, on the other a downy feather. The heart needed to weigh less than the feather, symbolising the necessity to renounce all earthly desires before the deceased can rise up to the heavenly spheres.