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When I was pregnant with my twins I invariably received the same comment from almost everyone I met—”Twins? You’re so blessed!” At the time, I didn’t feel blessed. I felt scared. Today I feel blessed because, let’s face it, I have two cuties on my hands. But I have always wondered what the appeal of twins is all about. Everyone seems to revel in the joy of twins. Well, it turns out that there is a rich history of twins. And it begins with the Bible. Romulus and Remus were twins raised by a mother-wolf. Rebekah, wife of Isaac, gave birth to twins, Esau and Jacob. “And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. (25:23)” I don’t know what all of this means as far as why the LORD presented Rebekah with two babies instead of one. I’m sure He/She must have had something important in Mind. But one thing I do know is that there must be some significant to twins if there were twins even in the early days of Creation.
It turns out that there are mythological twins in just about every culture. In West Africa, for example, there is a myth about twins, Mawu and Liza, whose unity represented the order of the universe. Lisa dwelled in the East, and Mawu in the West. They were born of nana Buluku, who created the world. In Maya mythology, there are the Hero Twins who battled the forces of good and evil. The twins are put through a series of trials and tests by the gods and perform magic tricks which ultimately results in victory. In Greek mythology Artemis, the Virgin Goddess of the Moon, is twins with Apollo. Both are associated with the bow. Apollo had a curved bow and Artemis had a silver bow. When the noble inhabitants of Syria were at the end of their lives, Artemis and Apollo used their bows to painlessly kill them. In Navajo mythology ancestral twin heroes, called “Little War-Gods,” helped rid the world of “monsters and pests, including diseases and vermin.” Twins Romulus and Remus were the mythical founders of Rome. Each was in charge of a section of the city. Romulus eventually killed Remus and the city, Rome, was named after him. The list goes on and on. In some myths twins work together for good, while in others they fight and sometimes one kills off the other. In Africa, even today, twins are believed to have special gifts and are sought after for healing.
As we know, Gemini is the astrological sign of twins and stands for the two brightest stars in its star pattern, Castor and Pollux, the mythological twin brothers of Helen of Troy. “Gemini people have a joy of expression, a quick mind and a certain sparkle which will always help them toward their goals in life. Gemini subjects are the Zodiac’s lovers of language…the poets, the bards and the wordsmiths and verbal magicians. Those born under the Sign of Here, the inherent intellectual gifts often bring great success with no true effort, but Gemini natives are usually hard put to sustain it. Thus, these individuals should strive to learn perseverence and cultivate depth.”
Perhaps this interpretation of the significance of twins in dreams will help us understand better the magic of twins: “Twins in astrology represent opposites, and we may use this symbolism to explain our dream. The twins could suggest a duality in thoughts, ideas, feelings, or states of consciousness. The twins could also represent the balance that is extremely important to our emotional and psychological health. Old dream interpretation books say that dreaming about adult twins foretells of “double trouble followed by double joy.” Are we as a species supposed to be learning about balance and duality from twins?
Many people I’ve talked with agree that there appear to be more and more twins being born these days. Does this have some spiritual significance? Or is it simply the result of more fertility drugs and procedures? I don’t know. But I do know that there is something special about twins…other than the fact that they are so darned cute.
Posted by Cheryl W. (December 23, 2007)
