Gemini: Did you all see the cover of the September/October 2023 issue of Archaeology? The top story is When Lions Ruled the World. No surprise this focus on lions came out in August, the month of Leo “the lion.” If he were here, he’d be loving this.

Aries: Are you jealous?

Gemini: Of course not. Twins feature in many creation myths and also make archaeology magazine covers – think the Hero Twins and Romulus and Remus. In the minds of archaeologists, twins are the duality of creation, the sun and the moon.

Pisces: Even though lions are on the cover of the issue that came out in August, archaeologists are as unconscious as any other person. The collective unconscious associates the northern hemisphere heat of August with jungles and deserts, hence, lions.

Libra: Not to argue, but archeologists confuse duality and polarity, so they are not thinking “astrology” Gemini. You’re reading too much into it.

Gemini: Everyone accuses me of over-thinking until the facts reveal themselves. Then they forget I ever mentioned it.

Virgo: I like your perspective Gemini. I just wish it were more practical. Who cares if Leo, I mean lions, were put on the cover of a magazine? It doesn’t change anything. No one will suddenly think “Oh, magazine editors use astrology.”

Scorpio: And politicians. Yes, some of us see beneath the surface and think just that. The asteroid that will fly by the earth in 2029 is named Apophis, not Charles Manson. Like Pisces said, there is mythology deep in our subconscious that responds to mythological names and images.

Taurus: Which issue of Archaeology is this? I put all my magazine subscriptions in the magazine rack until I finish the last issue. I’m a few issues behind because I was building Cancer a house.

Cancer: Thank you Taurus for the house. It’s really nice. Maybe after I settle in, I’ll read this issue everyone is talking about. But first I have a stack of National Geographics to get through.

Taurus: This one shouldn’t have a leaky roof. Yeah, I get National Geographic  too.

Aries: I already finished the issue Gemini is talking about; sounds like I finished first. Let me know when you’re all finished and then we can finish this conversation. I’ve got other things to do. Not everything is about Leo.

Aquarius: Don’t wait for me. I don’t read the conventional “wisdom” of any popular magazine. All you will get is the prevailing knowledge with some pretty pictures.

Sagittarius: Tell me about it! Every time you get a new archaeology magazine, Egypt is on the cover. Egypt sells, that’s for sure, although there hasn’t been anything new in that area for about a hundred years. Build a lion statue and people talk about it for two thousand years.

Taurus: Bull statues make the magazines, but not always the cover.

Aquarius: I’ve been to Egypt. Fascinating vibes.

Sagittarius: Me too! I have four crystal pyramids around my apartment to channel off negative energy.

Taurus: Are you still renting?

Sagittarius. I travel a lot, why have a house?

Capricorn: Sorry to interrupt, but I did a dig in Egypt for my PhD thesis so know all about Egypt. It’s easy to discount the current, academic knowledge of a subject and think it’s all crystals and magic. But what you know about Egypt comes from archaeology and a host of people dusting off artifacts and publishing the results for the last hundred years.

Sagittarius: Ever hear of intuition?

Pisces: And imagination?

Aquarius: And challenging authority?

Capricorn: Facts are facts. Imagination is a subjective, private affair. Aquarius, yes, you challenge authority when you have new facts that add information to historical facts.

Virgo: Agree.

Taurus: Agree.

Pisces: Imagination is what sells magazines and movies and all the stuff that keeps you captivated by your hand-held devices.

Scorpio: Think of the iceberg – you see a little on top, much lies below that will wreck your ocean liner.

Cancer: I agree with Pisces and Scorpio – much emotion is displayed as fact. I mean, who can tell if Tutankhamen loved his mother?

Libra: Let’s not argue; you’re all correct. It’s balance – facts and imagination. What are archaeological magazines but potential stories built from underlying facts? It’s factual and imaginative and interpretative.

[The door opens and Leo enters]

Leo: Hey, did you all see the recent issue of Archaeology magazine? I’m on the cover once again. There’s a section on Leo, I mean lions, in various cultures. Listen to this cool quote from Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud:

I am king, I am lord, I am praiseworthy, I am exalted, I am important, I am magnificent, I am foremost, I am a hero, I am a warrior, I am a lion, and I am virile . . .