Mythological Zodiac Collection

The new Mythological Zodiac Collection arrives today on the SteamVoyage shop: diary covers, keychains, and bookmarks in laser-engraved leather, hand-painted with artist's images, one for each zodiac sign!

The project was born during our participation in Maker Faire Rome (we talk about it here). We chose the theme of the zodiac signs and their connection to Greek and Roman myths and asked our friend Miriam to draw the images.

We then laser-engraved the images on each item: an A6 diary cover, two keychains, and two bookmarks for each zodiac sign. Each item is hand-painted to bring Miriam's beautiful drawings to life: we took care to choose the typical colors of each zodiac sign to also highlight their unique character traits.

The greatest satisfaction, however, is telling an ancient myth with a handcrafted object, made from a durable and elegant material like leather. Here are all the zodiac signs and the Greek and Roman myths they are inspired by:

• Aries - According to Greek myth, Aries is the ram with the golden fleece sent by Nephele to save her children Phrixus and Helle from their stepmother Ino, who wanted to sacrifice them. Only Phrixus managed to escape and sacrificed the ram to the gods, who honored him by placing him among the stars.

• Taurus - Zeus saw the Phoenician princess Europa and fell in love. He transformed himself into a white bull to capture the girl's attention and kidnap her, taking her with him to the island of Crete. To honor their meeting, the father of the gods recreated the shape of the white bull among the stars.

• Gemini - Castor and Pollux were born from Zeus's union with Leda, who, in the form of a swan, gave birth to two eggs: one fertilized by Zeus and the other by her husband. Only Pollux was Zeus's son and therefore immortal, but upon Castor's death, he asked Zeus to share his immortality with his brother. Zeus agreed and decided to immortalize their bond by placing them in the heavens.

• Cancer - Legend has it that among Hercules' twelve labors was that of facing and killing the Lernaean Hydra. To thwart him, Hera sent a large crab named Carcynus, which began to pinch Hercules's toes until he crushed it with its heel. Hera later, to glorify the beast's battle against the hated hero, placed it among the stars.

• Leo - The Nemean Lion was a huge lion, with a hide so tough it was impenetrable by any weapon. Hercules was tasked with tackling this beast and managed to strangle it with his bare hands, breaking its back. Zeus, admiring the lion's valor, placed it in the firmament as a constellation.

• Virgo - The myth of Virgo is often associated with Astrea, goddess of justice and innocence. She was the last immortal to live on Earth during the Golden Age, but she abandoned it due to the growing wickedness of men and took refuge among the stars.

• Libra - Themis was the goddess of justice, merciful to the good and implacable to the wicked. Her daughter Dike, armed with her mother's scales, was tasked with protecting the courts. Zeus placed their scales in the sky to show it to all the people as a warning.

• Scorpio - Orion, a giant hunter, boasted of being able to kill all wild animals. To punish his arrogance, the goddess Artemis sent Scorpius to kill him; then, to reward his dedication to hunting and as a warning to others, she transformed Orion and Scorpius into constellations.

• Sagittarius - Chiron was a centaur, a creature half man and half horse, known for his wisdom and skill in the art of hunting. He was accidentally shot by Hercules with a poisoned arrow. To free him from his suffering, Zeus stripped him of his immortality and transformed him into the constellation Sagittarius, in eternal memory of his wisdom and deeds.

• Capricorn - During the fight between the gods and the monster Typhon, the god Pan threw himself into a river to escape the monster, but in his haste, his transformation was incomplete: his upper body remained that of a goat, while his lower body changed into a fish's tail. Zeus, struck by this transformation, decided to include this figure in the stars.

• Aquarius - Zeus fell in love with the beauty of Ganymede, a Trojan prince, and kidnapped him. Ganymede became the cupbearer of the gods, pouring nectar and ambrosia from his cups. The constellation Aquarius was created to honor Ganymede and to console his parents, who saw in the sky a confirmation of their son's place of honor alongside the gods.

• Pisces - During the Titanomachy, the monster Typhon threatened the Olympian gods. To save themselves, Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, and her son Eros transformed into two fish and dived into the Euphrates River, tying their tails with a rope so they wouldn't get lost in the water. As a reminder of this escape and this act of love, Zeus placed the two fish in the night sky.

Luckily, there's no need to remember them all: we'll accompany our handcrafted accessories with a card summarizing the myth related to each zodiac sign.

Plus, bookmarks are available that can be personalized with a name or word—a perfect gift idea for anyone.

If you come to Maker Faire Rome 2025, you can consult the complete Portfolio with all the images from the Zodiaco nel Mito collection: whatever object comes to mind, we can make it especially for you!

We're delighted and proud of the result: our collection is bursting with character, color, and history. We can't wait to present it at Maker Faire later this week and hope to meet other people who, like us, love craftsmanship and the ancient art of leatherwork.