Mercury in Gemini: Do I Think? What Do I Think?

 The busy milling crowds at Tokyo's Comic Market

are a good parallel to the Mercury in Gemini theme of

many people, much to do, time flying by, busy thoughts

and feeling 'crowded' by situations in the moment or

the repercussions of choices already made.

  (photo credit Lerk, August 2007)

That Mercury enters Gemini a couple of days after a 0 Gemini solar eclipse and not much more before Jupiter enters Gemini sounds either mind boggling or like the dawning of some revelation - all topped with a healthy dose of frenetic mental exercising. Like as not there’s a ton of things going on everywhere (i.e., not just with you) and a lot of brain elves are sweating bullet points as they race hither-thither and jump hurdles in the mazes of our minds.

The non-mercurial Mercury fact here is just this: Mercury moves from Taurus into Gemini on May 24^th at 11:13 a.m. (UT/+0). And Jupiter enters Gemini on June 11^th.

With the Gemini solar eclipse, chances are something thought-provoking or idea(l)-challenging is already going on. How serious that something is depends on whether the solar eclipse has ‘hit’ your natal chart with any acuity...
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(for eclipse information,

see the post preceding this one)

…but given that Mercury rules Gemini (and Virgo - a whole other issue) the timing would seem to be a rather big thing. Not that Mercury is ever that far away from the Sun; due to celestial mechanics Mercury is always within sixty degrees (two signs) of the Sun’s zodiacal position. Still, this particular sequence - in great measure because we’re talking an eclipse on one end and Jupiter on the other - that marks a moment in time.

A shift for all of us and our very world.

In simple terms, Mercury’s exiting earthy Taurus and entering airy Gemini is likely to feel like a ‘lightening’ of the load. Or like brakes being taken off.

 

 A truck drives Colorado's Loveland Pass during winter...

the classic situation where it's bad to lose

control - or your ability to apply the brakes!

 (photo credit Magnus Mansky, October 2006)

Then again, maybe you needed those brakes to stay in place or to slow forward process for your own good? Maybe you’re trying to stop some runaway train? That would fit with the nature of a solar eclipse, eclipses being a marker for huge life changes -especially if they hit your natal Sun, Moon, Saturn, Lunar Nodes or Ascendant. Ultimately eclipse changes generally function for the better but the raw, unbridled feeling of being swept along by some event which has come upon you can leave us feeling raw and rather helpless. Not to mention hapless!

Given that Venus (ruler of Taurus) is currently in retrograde, projects may be stalled, you may be feeling unloved or under-appreciated (whether true or not, you may be feeling that way) and general grumpiness - even your own - is getting on many a nerve. Yes, including yours. And because Venus has gone retrograde in Mercury-ruled Gemini, now that Mercury is entering Gemini that’s the very picture of a mind in spin…having things on your mind…feeling dissatisfied…confronting minor irritations and situational provocations.

With the Sun conjunct the South Node as Mercury enters Gemini, these latter days of May are prime territory for projection. Why? Psychologically, it’s a lot easier to blame others than confront ourselves. Astrologically, Jupiter is finishing its transit of Taurus. As Mercury moves into Gemini, Jupiter is rolling over Algol. And not to put too fine a point on it but, Algol has earned its quarrelsome, snarky reputation.

Things can go well now if you own your own feelings - both in the moment and those which have put you in a bind if you’re in one. Given Algol, that’s a pretty big ‘IF.’ Still, it’s a key which will open many a positive door - especially in the next month or so.

As for Mercury’s Gemini ingress, Mercury is entering Gemini with the Sun and 3 Gemini, the South Node at 5 Gemini, Circe at 4 Gemini and Tantalus at 1 Gemini. Obviously we’d just like life to just get out of our way, let us do our thing and never mind the responsibilities.

Tantalus at 1 Gemini is an indication of being ‘tantalized.’ It may be we’re absorbed in our own thoughts, it may be that we’re envious of someone else, it may be that we’re simply bored silly by some routine. 

There’s a clear opportunity to invest ourselves in something new and useful signaled here, and those who extend their borders constructively with an eye to building for down the line have only to mind their p’s and q’s regarding where their interests compromise the rights, well-being or efforts of someone else. Tantalus is notorious as a signal that our lack of regard for others will (not may - WILL) come back to haunt us!

 

 How ghostly images do return to float through our mind...!

('Time to let go!' by Fish Gravy/June 2008)

The Sun at 3 Gemini has all of Gemini’s dualities and plural considerations built in. Whatever we are confronting, it’s many-faceted and complicated. This says that those who don’t deal well with the organizing of details and priorities will have a harder time than those who may sigh heavily when confronted with them, but who handle them well.

South Node at 5 Gemini favors communication, but also points to elevated levels of mentally driven nervousness and anxiety. Some will babble, some will evade, some will chit chat until your ears fall off - and plenty of people will take all sorts of time to say nothing. The positive use of this combination is to confront the ‘many choices’ now in the offing and to sort through them (maybe in conversation with your Self?) and figuring out what needs to be done in the days or weeks ahead. Taking the time to set things up so that they WILL BE easy as you move along is the high road here. 

But that will take some thinking about what you’re thinking about.

Mercury being in its own sign of mentality is akin to a ‘closed mental loop.’ We aren’t likely to be in the ‘listening mode’ at the moment and many will be disinclined to deal with input or critiques until the end of May rolls around. Some will want to just ‘get away from it all.’ And this can work well providing you’re not planning on lounging and relaxing. A hiking vacation might work. Or using your free time to work in the garden or catch up with projects around the house.

The one caveat here is to watch what you’re doing. Whether driving or using tools, problems result from lack of focus. Some will abandon all else and focus totally under this influence, some will get distracted and end up compromising their own best interests.

Lastly we have Circle at 4 Gemini, a combination which points either to increasing awareness and deft insights or the being (or having been) ‘lured’ into something which compromises us now through appealing (or having appealed) to our most base, intrinsic natures. 

 

Representing all we would like to succumb to

and that which we find ourselves enchanted by

to the point of being 'reduced' to someone...

or even something less than we might

be otherwise: Circe.  

Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse (1892) 

 /

The sum of all is a quartet of attitudes. On one hand we have the people who will arrive at this Gemini Mercury ingress with a ‘what the hey…’ laissez faire attitude. Group two will be deeply involved in something they want to get done. A third group will want to know how they got into this pickle. And group four is just bored.
 

Three overarching issues need considering as you set forth on your Mercury-in-Gemini path - a swift sort of romp which lasts only until June 7^th.

One: Venus is in retrograde. So don’t splurge where you can’t afford to, whether that means time-wise, monetarily, or in terms of your emotions. Don’t bet the farm and maybe this isn’t the moment to shave your head and get scalp tattoos.

Under Venus retrograde we get some pretty odd bugs under our bonnets…it’s as if the one side of Venus retrograde is not feeling appreciated enough (no one does under this influence) with the other being the very real possibility that your not feeling fully validated by others may translate into a sort of lack of tether… as if you don’t have to care what others think. This can lead to doing odd things you live to regret once Venus comes out of retrograde (on June 27^th).

Two: Jupiter is about to enter Gemini. We are moving from a year all about how we feel about ourselves into a year all about choosing what to do with our time and abilities.

Oh yes…did I mention that Mercury is known for being a bit of a ‘trickster’? Yes…so this can lead to us trying to fool others now. Then again, maybe we’re fooling ourselves?

Three: Saturn is retrograding back through the latter degrees of Libra. This means our greater concerns are who we are being in the world (and how the world is reacting to who we’re being) and relationships - in general. Saturn will go direct on June 25^th in opposition to Eris, so the question is will you innovate or will you deal with disruption being thrust upon you? In the end the result will be the same: this is a time for learning better about who we are and who we need to be in this world. No one is exempt from the lesson - the Free Will part is whether you choose to respond to life’s prompting now or not.

Mercury’s transit of Gemini is going to be incredibly quick. It enters Gemini on May 24^th and moves on into Cancer on June 7^th.

In the interim, tongues will wag, thoughts will whirl and we will or won’t harness our mental abilities. The five days between May 29 and June 2^nd (midday, UT/+0 time) will have Mercury moving through Gemini’s second and most emotional decanate, indicating evocative, provocative, even confrontational times. The old slogan ‘make love, not war’ seems apt here as this is a prime time for human drama positive and negative. With Mars in Virgo and Venus retrograde, responsibilities feel weighty and it pays to watch what we say. Even the well-meaning critique can hurt; everyone seems hyper-aware and yet…strangely …also very preoccupied.

Then we come to the final third of Mercury’s Gemini transit. Mercury enters Gemini’s third and most worldly decan on June 3^rd, signaling an uptick in the amount of input coming in and the chances that we need to respond to same in order to stay on course...

...which is exactly when Jupiter reaches 29 degrees of Taurus. This doesn’t actually happen until the morning of June 7^th (UT/+0) but when it happens, Mercury will be at 29 degrees of Gemini.

 

Rembrant's 1659 image, 'Jupiter and Antiope' reminds

us that there is a knowing beyond what we conceive

of today...and a knowingness which, though it lies

 beyond our ability to fully understand, it's so valuable

that we are - or probably should be motivated to

attempt to learn it for the betterment of our Self and life.

That is what we call a semi-sextile. The thirty-degree semi-sextile aspect tends to indicate ego-bruises. It doesn’t have to be intentional - it just happens. Add in the ongoing splendor of Venus retrograde and you may say ‘I like chocolate ice cream,’ the person next to you may say ‘I like pistachio ice cream’ and you’ll feel insulted, invalidated or otherwise critiqued.

When we look at these kinds of aspects, the applying planet is the one which moves the fastest - which in this case is definitely Mercury. So it’s a mental or informational ‘thing’ which creates the issue. It’s the ‘medium,’ the means, the method by which things happen. Think conversation, news, driving in your car, walking along the street, text of any sort, mail, opinions, notices (etc.)...

The other side of the rule here is that the symbolism connected with the planet-most-outer (in this case Jupiter, since Mercury is closer to the Sun than Jupiter is) is in many ways the object of the transit. So considering that Jupiter is all about knowledge and whether we ‘know’ ourselves and our capacities (or realize what we’re capable of), the real point of getting offended about the ice cream flavor is to realize it’s nothing to get bugged about.

So what if someone likes pistachio and you like chocolate? Differences of opinion or perspective are not negatives. In fact, sometimes someone will bring up something you can (Jupiter) learn from. Maybe you’ve never tasted pistachio ice cream. So maybe you avail yourself of the opportunity now and find you love it. 

Maybe yes, maybe no - the point is, life is about learning.

However! With all this loveliness now espoused, lore tells us that 29 Taurus - as a degree - is one which tends to reveal our vulnerabilities (most of all to us) and we don’t tend like that feeling of vulnerability. Those who know the least, are most insecure, or who would rather never take charge of their own life are the most likely to resort to snarky superiority and even bullying at this time.

And with Jupiter as the engine here? That can be a lot of bad behavior.

Part one: the activity only lasts a day - though the wounds may run deep and take much time to comprehend, and even longer to heal. Part two: if you sense someone getting defensive, or recognize defensive-aggressiveness coming to the fore, don’t try to ‘explain’ someone’s problems to them. They don’t want to hear it - particularly now. They feel vulnerable. Your trying to ‘fix’ that will only make it worse.

So what to do? You may be able to get to the heart of the issue. MAYBE. But what may be better for you to open up about your own vulnerabilities. Don’t talk about them, talk about how insecure you feel. Or how you wish you knew how to do better.

Sometimes knowing someone else is struggling is what we need the most. Mercury in Gemini can be ‘thinking my thoughts’ for a constructive purpose. But then again, it can feel very isolating.

We need to know we’re not alone. That counts now…and it will count even more as Mercury moves on into watery Cancer and Jupiter launches into a year of residence in Gemini - it’s sign of detriment.

More on that later. Right now, it’s enough to invest ourselves in our mind and humanity.