GC10VC5 The Zodiac Killer (Multi-cache) in Ontario, Canada created by The Fossils

This cache has been archived.

CacheViewer: Since the current owner has made no status change or updates on this geocache following the previous Reviewer Note/Disabled Log, this listing is being [red]ARCHIVED[/red]. You may request that this listing be unarchived by email, as provided below, once you have addressed the issue of previous note and as long as it meets the current Listing Guidelines.

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GC10VC5 ▼

A cache by The Fossils Message this owner

Hidden : 2/8/2007

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This cache is not at the posted coordinates. The given coordinates are for one waypoint. The farthest WPs are placed approximately 22km apart, but all are basically drive-bys, including the final cache.

Each WP for this cache is related to a sign of the zodiac. At each WP, look around for the most likely building/business/whatever that fits the sign, and find the required information. Most answers can be deduced from the surroundings, but please let us know if a business is defunct. WPs can be done in any order and most clues are very obvious.

Where there are alphabetics, A = 1, B = 2, etc. The digital root of a number is the number obtained by adding all the digits, then adding the digits of that number, and continuing until a single-digit number is reached.

The Zodiac Killer

Our vernal signs, the RAM begins,
Then comes the BULL, in May the TWINS;
The CRAB in June, next LEO shines,
And VIRGO ends the northern signs.

The BALANCE brings autumnal fruits,
The SCORPION stings, the ARCHER shoots;
December's GOAT brings wintry blast,
AQUARIUS rain, the FISH come last.
E. Cobham Brewer: The Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (1894)

The word zodiac comes from the Greek word zodiakos, which means circle of animals. The twelve constellations of the Zodiac all lie within a narrow band along the ecliptic, which is divided into twelve equal parts of thirty degrees each.

Beginning with Aries, there are six northern and six southern signs; that is, six on the north side and six on the south side of the equator. Beginning with Capricorn, there are six ascending and six descending signs; that is, six that ascend higher and higher towards the north and six that descend lower and lower towards the south. The six northern signs are: Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, which are spring signs; Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, which are summer signs. The six southern signs are: Libra, Scorpius, and Sagittarius, which are autumn signs; Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, which are winter signs.

In former times the vernal equinox, the point where the Sun crosses the celestial equator when moving from the south to the north, lay within Aries, but due to the effect of precession this point is now located to the west in Pisces. For historical reasons, the vernal equinox is still referred to as the First Point of Aries. The astrological dates can vary by as much as two days from year to year, depending on the cycle of leap years.

Aries: The Ram; 21 March-20 April; brightest star: Alpha Arietis
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, represented as the Ram (Chrysomallus, the son of the sea god Neptune and Theophane). The ram was given by Nephele (wife of the King of Bootia, Athamas) to her children Phrixus and Helle who, to escape the wrath of Hera, fled across the sea on the back of the ram. Helle fell off and was drowned, giving her name to the Hellespont, but Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis. Once in Colchis, Chrysomallus told Phrixus to sacrifice him to Zeus. He gave his golden coat as a farewell present and after his death he immediately went up to the stars and Zeus placed him among the constellations. Because he has no longer his golden coat, he is not very conspicious. Later, the Golden Fleece would be the quest of Jason and the Argonauts.

WP: N45º 20.506 W 075º 43.003
Number of skeins in the logo: ___ (A)

Taurus: The Bull; 21 April-21 May; brightest star: Aldebaran
Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, represented as the fore part of a bull. It is the snow white Bull which took Europe across the sea to Crete. The bull was Zeus in disguise and Europe bore him three children: Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon. Minos became king of Crete and his queen, Pasiphaë, gave birth to a bull-headed son, called the Minotaur, who was later slain by Theseus in the Labyrinth. The red star, Aldebaran, represents the glowing eye of the bull and the white star, El Nath, is thought to be the pushing horn. The open cluster of the Hyades forms the head.

WP: N45º 19.504 W 075º 49.582
Large aluminum numbers on a pole: ___ ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (B)

Gemini: The Twins; 22 May-22 June; brightest star: Pollux
Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac, represented by the Greeks as two children, although the Egyptians thought of it as two kids and the Arabs as two peacocks. The Greek twins are usually Castor and Pollux (Latinised from the original Greek, Polydeukes). One day Zeus seduced Leda, the wife of the King of Sparta, Tyndareos. To get Leda, Zeus changed himself to a swan, after counting to seven (not really), which is the answer to this question. Leda became pregnant and gave birth to the twins Pollux and Castor and to a girl named Helena, who was later robbed by Paris and brought to Troja (this was the reason for the start of the Trojan war.). Pollux is a red giant of 1.1 magnitude, while Castor has a brightness of 1.6 mag.

WP: N45º 12.238 W 075º 47.549
White numbers on a green background: ___ ___ ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (C)

Cancer: The Crab; 23 June-23 July; brightest star: Beta Cancri
Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac, represented by the Greeks as a Crab. The goddess Hera sent this enormous creature from the swamp to fight against Herakles (Hercules) during his battle with the Lernaean Hydra, his second labour. The crab nipped his foot and Herakles stomped on it, crushing it beneath his heel, whereupon Hera set the crab in the zodiac as one of the twelve signs. The Greek year began in Cancer, on the new moon after the Summer Solstice, and the story is of each new year following on the heels of the old.

WP: N45º 22.246 W 075º 42.982
Kinds of seafood: ___ ___ ___ ___ and ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Convert alphabetics to numerics and subtract the smaller from the larger. The digital root is: ___ (D)

Leo: The Lion; 24 July-23 August; brightest star: Regulus
Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac, represented by the Greeks as the terrible Nemean Lion, which had a skin that no weapon could penetrate and which had depopulated Nemea. As the first of his labours, Herakles strangled the lion, though lost a finger to it in the struggle, and thereafter used its skin as armour and its head as a helmet. Zeus raised the lion to the heavens in honour of Herakles. The brightest star of this constellation, Regulus (“the little king”), is a blue-white star of 1.35 mag.

WP: N45º 20.586 W 075º 42.823
Unit number: ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (E)

Virgo: The Virgin; 24 August-23 September; brightest star: Spica
Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac, represented by the Greeks as a Virgin or maiden. She could be the daughter of Jupiter and Themis, the Arcadian nymph whom the Romans and later Greeks associated with Libra. Or, she may be the virgin Lustia, the daughter of Astraeus and Ancora, or Erigone, the daughter of Icarus, or even Apollo's daughter, Parthene, whose name means 'virgin'. She is Eve in Genesis who originally crushed the head of the Serpent, Scorpius. Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky, the largest being Hydra.

WP: N45º 23.949 W 075º 44.485
Numbers that end in PM: ___ ___ : ___ ___ and ___ ___ : ___ ___
Ignoring punctuation, add them together. The digital root of the sum is ___ (F)

Libra: The Scales; 24 September-23 October; brightest star: Beta Librae
Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac and is remarkable for being the only sign not represented by a living creature. Early zodiacs did not recognise the sign for it was only created in Roman times to separate and maintain the balance between the Virgo-Scorpio pair who are, according to Genesis, Eve crushing the Serpent's head and the Serpent, or Scorpion, striking at the Virgin's heel. The story has its basis in the turn of the year at the new moon, following the Autumnal Equinox.

WP: N45º 20.774 W 075º 45.836
Number of parking spaces for persons with disabilities: ___ (G)

Scorpius: The Scorpion; 24 October-22 November; brightest star: Antares
Scorpius is the eighth sign of the zodiac, represented by a Scorpion. Until separated by Libra, the scorpion stung the heels of Virgo at the Autumnal Equinox, while she crushed it underfoot. Scorpius is the Serpent in Genesis. In Greek myth, Hera placed it in the zodiac by as reward for killing Orion, the Hunter; Orion had boasted of his hunting prowess to Artemis of Latona, bragging that he could kill any creature on earth. Zeus placed them both in the heavens to serve as a reminder for men to curb their hubris, or at the very least, to show their strength and power. When Orion is in the sky, the scorpion is below the horizon, that is, beneath the earth. As the scorpion rises, Orion goes beneath the earth to his death. Antares is one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky.

WP: N45º 20.544 W 075º 42.969
Unit number: ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (H)

Sagittarius: The Archer; 23 November-22 December; brightest star: Epsilon Sagittarii
Sagittarius is the ninth sign of the zodiac, represented as a Centaur loosing an arrow. The Centaur is the hunter and horseman Crotus, the son of Pan and Eupheme, who was nurse to the Muses and lived on Mount Helicon. Sagittarian Crotus is often confused with the famous Cheiron, king of the Centaurs and tutor to Apollo's son, Asclepius, the god of healing, but Cheiron's constellation is Centaurus. Because he was gifted as a musician, the Muses asked Zeus to place Crotus among the stars. The center of our Milky Way galaxy is located in the direction of Sagittarius; therefore, Sagittarius contains more notable deep sky objects than any other constellation including the minor constellations of Lyra (the harp), Aquila (the eagle), and Sagitta (the arrow).

WP: N45º 14.007 W 075º 40.436
Green numbers on a white background: ___ ___ ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (I)

Capricornus: The Horned Goat; 23 December-19 January; brightest star: Delta Capricorni
Capricornus is the tenth sign of the zodiac, represented by a goat with crooked horns and the hind parts of a fish. According to Eratosthenes of Cyrene (284 - 202 B.C.), this constellation represents the son of Aegipan. He lived with Zeus on Mount Ida on Crete and accompanied Zeus against the Titans. He found the horns of the sea, Conchas, and taught his companions how to use them. When they faced their enemies, the Titans, they blew on these horns instead of using trumpets. Hearing this, the Titans ran. To honour Capricornus, Zeus placed him under the stars in a way that he was part goat/part fish, as a sign that he found the horn of the sea. Alternatively, this constellation represents Pan, the lusty and licentious god normally portrayed as a bearded, curly-haired human with the legs, tail, and horns of a goat. When Pan fled from Thyphaon to Egypt, he plunged into the Nile to escape from the mighty Typhon, the father of dangerous winds, and his upper part became wholly goat but the submerged parts changed into those of a fish.

WP: N45º 17.823 W 075º 44.019
Panes of glass in the storefront: ___ (J)

Aquarius: The Water Bearer; 20 January-19 February; brightest star: Beta Aquarii
Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the zodiac, represented by a young man bearing either a pitcher of water or a cup. The young man is Ganymedes, son of Tros who gave his name to Troy. Zeus took a fancy to Ganymedes and took him to be the cup-bearer to the gods, previously the duty of Hera's daughter, Hebe. Hera's pique at this insult to her daughter annoyed Zeus, who set Ganymedes in the sky as Aquarius.

WP: N45º 19.356 W 075º 49.866
Nearest bus stop number: ___ ___ ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (K)

Pisces: The Fishes; 20 February-20 March; brightest star: Eta Piscium
Pisces is the twelfth sign of the zodiac, represented by two fishes. The Greek myth tells how the erotic love gods, Eros and Aphrodite, were turned into fishes when they leapt into water to escape the wrath of the storm god Typhon. The usual images of Pisces show the two fishes head to tail, like the oriental yin-yang symbol, to emphasize the male and female aspects. This hides the true constellation image of fish tied by their tails and hanging like plumb lines divided by the square of Pegasus, which was seen by the Babylonians as the Ark of the Deluge.

WP: N45º 19.095 W 075º 50.410
Date on the sign: ___ ___ ___ ___
The digital root is: ___ (L)

¤ The Cache: N45º MN.OPQ W 075º 4R.STU

Where:
M = J – G
N = (B + C) – G
O = (A – I) + E
P = B
Q = K + H
R = I
S = F – E
T = D
U = L – E

Sources: (visit link) (visit link) (visit link)
et. al.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Lbhe ubebfpbcr sbe gbqnl: Ernqvat vf gur fubegphg gb fhpprff.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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The Zodiac Killer Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

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