A Gemini Sun, a Taurus New Moon and Mercury Station-Retrograde

A balloon festival in Chateaux d'Oex, Switzerland

(photo credit: Jynus January 2006)

.

Fixed star Algol has a bit of an evil reputation ... one which is associated with how, why and what gets us to respond, whether to others, or something we really don’t like in or about our Self, what we're experiencing, and sometimes in terms of what we need to do, be, accept or recognize our part in (or responsibility for) - maybe as part of some greater relationship with others, but maybe just as part of dealing with our own reactions to our various life challenges.

To put it politely, Algol promotes growling - and this reputation hasn’t been enhanced/made any nicer by its long-term residence at 26 Taurus as 26 Taurus is a degree known for wanting things to be ‘nice’ (which in Taurus reads ‘the way I want them to be’) ... and just as often with little or no regard or though for anyone else or their preferences.

 New Moon at 26 Taurus with Mercury direct and on Station (glyph chart)

May 18, 2015 - 4:14 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

 New Moon at 26 Taurus with Mercury direct and on Station (text chart)

May 18, 2015 - 4:14 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

That would be part of the problem, of course ... with the other part being how wherever Algol is positioned (in the sky or in our chart) that would be an 'area of life' where things (or we are) “designed” to get poked, prodded, prompted, provoked and otherwise rousted from, by or through that devotion to our own perspective from time to time.

After all, how would Algol's presence at 26 Taurus play out if everything was going the way we thought it should?

Another thing about Algol worth mentioning: though Algol is indeed positioned at the aforementioned 26 Taurus, Algol is NOT part of the constellation Taurus.

Instead, it’s part of constellation Perseus. And any time we talk about Perseus, slayer of Medusa, we know there’s some sort of theme in play about being tested against our fears and all we fear most, whether that’s in/about our Self, or otherwise...

-link to post-

Medusa: Through Our Mental Mirror, Darkly

...all of which applies not just to the idea of a New Moon at 26 Taurus (and conjunct Algol) at 4:14 a.m. on Monday, May 18th (UT/+-0), but also to the idea that anything about Perseus refers to times which are going to confront us with some sort of question about our ability ... and (equally) our willingness to get past something we consider ‘fearful’ - whether what matters to us matters to the next person or not.

And that's not all (not by a country mile, as they say ...). That same day ... Monday, May 18th ... is also the date when the North Node arrives at 8 Libra.

-link to post-

To the Degree: 8 Libra

Astrologically, New Moons start cycles - either cycles of activity or cycles of experience, effort, realization or anything which will prompt emotional growth or growth as some sort of ‘maturing’ process which itself may last a month but the values of which (or the values we come to have because of our experiences) last far, far longer.

So just on the surface here, with this New Moon occurring in a responsive, responding, internally testing (and often testy) degree just as the North Node (the ‘do this’ side of the lunar node pair) arrives at 8 Libra ... that would tend to say there is a lot of this next lunar month which is going to be all about how much we’ve really learned in life and how realistic we’re willing to be about things - as opposed to what we want or like thinking, having to say or admit, do or grapple with believing. 

.
Most of us just don’t want to do what we need to do, and with the North Node at 8 Libra, some of us don’t even know how we can do what we need to do - which rather gets back to what side of the Algol line we’re standing. Are we on the side which has been threatened by something in life? Or are we on the side which has been doing the threatening, whether purposeful or otherwise?

Much which exists as a consequence of what we have done (or chosen not to do) will now show up through where our lack of being responsible - ultimately for our Self - has been laid aside or rejected in favor of comfort or short term pleasures. These things - which now reflect through circumstances around us (relationships, situations, confrontations, influences) - they all speak of the Libra connection between who we are and how that affects others.

No human is an island, to nudge the old saying. With the North Node at 8 Libra from May 18th through June 2nd, it’s more than likely that at least a few of the things or issues which we have ignored or put off too long - those things will rise again, maybe in life, or maybe in the inner recesses of our eternally tender conscience.

Evidently we need to feel a little ouch, a little disquietude, a little discomfort. Evidently that’s what life thinks we need to get us past our personal inertia. With Mars having moved into Gemini last week (on Tuesday the 12th), much is in motion and much wants to get done.

Was that our wanting to be “too busy” to deal with the things which are going to pop up now and in the days ahead? Was that life moving to throw so much into our days and onto our mental tables that we would have to stop and make sure we were doing what we needed to do - which would be so very Mars in Gemini both from a ‘doing’ perspective and from the Gemini ‘thinking it through and refining my plans’ way?

.
Plus all of this is happening with Mercury already on station. With Mercury due to go retrograde on Tuesday the 19th (at 1:50 in the morning), it’s station fully embraces the New Moon and the Moon’s North Node moving into a position where it will set off either a slew of learning through the experience of loss, or through the application of understanding what loss is - and what that means not only to us, but to others, maybe even those we have chosen to ignore.

So this would seem to be a turning point of some sort, although not one which will produce its ‘outcomes’ promptly. Mercury won’t be going direct again until June 11th.

Mercury Station-Retrograde (glyph chart)

May 19, 2015 - 1:49 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
.

 Mercury Station-Retrograde (text chart)

May 19, 2015 - 1:49 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Mercury Station-Direct (glyph chart)

June 11, 2015 - 22 33 (10 33 pm, UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

 Mercury Station-Direct (text chart)

June 11, 2015 - 22 33 (10 33 pm, UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

And with that Mercury station-direct moment overlapping Neptune’s station-retrograde (Neptune goes retrograde on June 12th), some things will still be confused at that point while other things will be in the middle of being ‘dissolved’ or revealed as incorrect (false, untrue, non-viable, unworkable, etc.) at that time... and going forward through June.

But so you know, there are just as many positives to Mercury + Neptune as negatives - it’s all in how you use it. The basic idea being that Mercury represents thought, speech or comprehension and Neptune’s actions melt things away while making them diffuse and fuzzy (or foggy and mysterious ... even magical or mystical) along the way, this combination supports the suspension of disbelief (believing) just as often as it leads to a lifting of a veil which reveals a reality which isn’t what we thought it was.

So while Mercury (plus) Neptune can equal deceit and self-delusion (lying to ourselves), it can also represent anything which is all about ‘letting go’ of some hard or fast shell. Or some illusion about something or someone which really needs to go. This Mercury/Neptune period for some will no doubt be and become a time of joy, of pleasure of all those things we look back on as that memory we so treasure. It can represent a time when we indulge in some ‘suspending of reality’ which is entirely harmless, such as when we read a book or watch a movie, ‘forgetting’ the “real world” outside as we indulge in the story or excitement in the tale.  

As for the planetary ‘layout’ of Mercury’s station, it’s both interesting for what it is, and interesting in what it isn’t - as diagrammed here:

.
The above pictures the astrological ‘planetary picture’ known as a kite. This being a day after the New Moon, the Moon (which moves more-or-less a half-degree per hour) has already left Taurus for Gemini. In fact, as Mercury goes direct the Moon is in conjunction with royal star Aldebaran, lending either the specter of hope or need to priorities, actions, statements and choices made in conjunction with this station - and by implication, with all which would be connected to how we deal with and what we do with this entire period ... and all which comes from its influence(s), whether in terms of what happens in the world, what we do because of what happens around us, or who we are to be in this world, part of this world, and a member of the great family of mankind which - whether we like it or not - is charged with the care of our planet and everything about our world, including ourselves, each other and everything other part of Creation.

After all, didn’t we all get taught that what we don’t make we should be responsible for - and certainly not going around breaking?

As for that idea - breaking, breakage or however else it wants to be conjugated, while we tend to think of that as bad, it doesn’t have to be. A ‘breakthrough’ breaks the barrier presented with equal destruction as that which merely damages, it’s just one we like and one we don’t like.

But that very idea - the what we like versus what we don’t like - that is, in part, the very lynchpin being operated on now. So what is good and what is bad - and will we know right now?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not. About the only ‘clue’ we have is that end-of-Mercury’s-retrograde fact that there is a Neptunian moment of ‘letting go’ of (or losing) something which is going to happen or take shape as we move towards and into the middle of June.

As usual, it depends on where we are starting - a position we would find and outline by using your natal, solar and current lunar charts. But barring that (and the particulars of nuance which come with your personal and individual data), one thing we can say: the emotional underpinnings of this month are still going to have a Taurean flavor, whatever else they become. And because of that, considering the New Moon and its Algol-ian ‘ill flavor,’ we are all and every each one of us more than usually prone to being (or at least acting) in ways others will react to (because remember, they’re busy reacting to things in their own Algol-North Node/8 Libra-tinged ways  in ... well, maybe not the most positive of manners. And if we’re not conscious of who we are and why anyone and everyone is doing what they’re doing (including our first person Self), we’re going to respond to their responses with something which will just make everything worse - all because we all tend to have so much trouble with understanding how anyone could like what we don’t like, be it a way of life or a flavor of ice cream.

You know, that Taurus/Scorpio polarity thing.

-link to post-

Sun in Taurus

So let’s think ... are we going to like this process?

Probably not. Between the North Node (which represents that we don’t want to HAVE to do) being at 8 Libra (not the zodiac’s happiest transit point) in a moment when Algol’s snark-snap-bite is being evoked not just for a day but as a background ‘theme’ which lasts the entire lunar month (read: until the Gemini New Moon of June 16) ... it doesn’t exactly sound like a summer peaches-and-cream sort of delight.

Still, that doesn’t mean good can’t come out of these days - or the month which flows from them. It’s just that it’s not going to be easy (for us) to get there ... or rather, it’s not going to be easy for us to want to do the thing which will get us there.

And is that about the difficulty of the moment - or about simply who we are?

Answer: yes.

In other words, your guess is as good as mine here, as that information would come from your personal chart. So alas, only time will tell. And when time does ‘tell,’ (time speaks to many things) those who are listening will have the opportunity for a kind of personal insight which stands us very well in the long run for freeing us from unworkable preconceived notions. 

As for that planetary picture (ye olde kite) Mercury is in a grand trine with Ceres/Chaldea and the North Node, the idea of guarding old ways and general ‘guardianship’ (responsibility of some type) is presented as an ‘ongoing’ issue. But when you come right down to it ... as we start zeroing in or focusing in on things, what we are likely to find is the “full kite” effect - that being a kite which doesn’t include Mercury, but which is valid using the Moon and royal star Aldebaran, the star which guarantees success only where we have not compromised (never mind violated) some integral standard of integrity.

This suggests the possibility of somewhat divergent impulses. One one hand, the Mercury station grand trine speaks to ongoing ideas, standing agreements and existent ways of doing things. On the other hand, there is a need (read: requirement) that we maintain our integrity (particularly our emotional integrity) in our efforts - represented by the kite’s two sextiles, to deal either with our own propensity either for outbursts of aggression or the experience of violence resulting from any other viable, acceptable or applicable skill ... or the finding of something which can harness the ‘untapped’ energies currently manifesting in-or-as something undesirable. Both are ‘sides’ of 8 Aries, a degree which in this moment is conjunct Medea (obsessive, often self-destructive energy) and which even after Medea moves away is going to influence life matters for the next while (until June 2nd).

Lore speaks of this degree as being one which is ultimately bent on getting us to clarify who we are - which would be very consistent with Aries’ typically first person “I/me” energy. The problem lies with getting us there - which given how 8 Aries is being activated by the South Node suggests the way forward is at least in part about working to understand what that North Node at 8 Libra ‘loss’ factor is.

After all, with Diadem involved, there is something of incredible value to be learned - or simply gained. But it’s going to take time. Considering how the ruler of Libra (in which the North Node and Diadem sit) is Venus and how as of May 17th (the date Mercury’s station begins) Venus will be in opposition to Pluto-Vega-Kassandra in Capricorn there are unbelievable (Kassandra) potentials and much fervency and passion being felt on the part of some.

This Venus opposition to Pluto (inclusive of oppositional orb) lasts from the 17th through late on May 27th (in the UT/+0 zone). And while they’re feeling that, others are experiencing a few days of passionate disbelief - or perhaps the disbelief, even the rejection of a level of some passion, should they be an observer.

One other perhaps miscellaneous Mercury note: when Mercury goes direct on June 11th, it will be doing so at 4 Gemini, the degree in exact opposition (polarity) to 4 Sagittarius - which is the degree Saturn went retrograde at back on March 14th.

-link to post-

Saturn Retrograde - Phaethon Direct

Did some sort of (Phaethon) haste ... or determination concreted hastily ‘back then’ lead to where we are now, making the whole of the impending Mercury retrograde somehow about working out where we were and how far we have (or haven’t) gotten since March 14th?

Maybe that’s why we’re going to make a change about something? Or now change something about whatever we were working with or on back then?

It could be. Then again, we could just be doing something more normal and mundane with our Mercury retrograde - like cleaning out the garage or doing our filing (mental, digital or otherwise). Mercury retrograde represents a chance to ‘catch up,’ either with our Self or others, which is why we often hear from people we haven’t heard from in a while under Mercury retrograde, and why Mercury retrograde is also a time to stop and ‘fill in the gaps,’ whether that means doing research, making plans or working on something you need in order to move ahead once Mercury does go direct.

Apart from all that however, is a whole other way to see the kite. Kites often represent a new way to ‘see’ or approach things - and if you think of that  as grabbing the ‘kite string’ which would theoretically be tied to the tail of a real kite, that suggests that there are options and opportunities which require or depend on our willingness (or ability) to go through some sort of North Node, 8 Libra, Diadem sort of experience - maybe in our own mind (we are talking about air sign Libra here, so this could all be a mental escapade) ... or maybe with regards to a relationship, or our ability or inability to relate to some external thing, person, organization or situation.

As Mercury goes retrograde, two other celestial objects are also on station, too. One (Damocles) is going retrograde at 25 Aquarius, a degree which complicates the Damocles nature, that nature being all about the very human habit we all have to critique, criticize and think we could do a better job with something UNTIL we’re the one in the hot seat - at which point we suddenly recognize how what we were being so glib about critiquing is a whole lot harder and far more complicated than we had thought.

And maybe that means we should think a little more before speaking? Or that we should learn a little more about what we’re taking a position on (or talking about) before taking that position? This goes to both the stationing degrees of Mercury and Damocles in that 13 Gemini (Mercury’s position) is all about abilities which though substantial are frustrated by mechanisms/people which are defined (astrologically) as being quite possibly ‘less qualified’ on the specific subject but more ‘acceptable’ and ‘easily grasped’ or accessed. 13 Gemini asks that we bridge some gap, and that gap starts within our Self. To be truly and fully successful, we need to understand within our Self (the retrograde pointing to this being an inner comprehension being sought).

And yet, will we want to? Where we have already done this sort of thing, is that what is now coming to the surface for us to explore and learn from?

In adding in Damocles 25 Aquarius, we begin to see something more of the dynamics here as 25 Aquarius is a social/non-personal third-decanate degree in the airy sign of Aquarius, a sign which is social, systemic and which turns brittle, fracturing wherever and whenever we attempt to bend the universal Aquarian whole into some shape which suits our individual (Leo) ego-defined preferences.

This polarity - the Leo/Aquarian polarity - is about using our ego to develop our Self so that we find a place in society, with the finding part of that process being the Aquarian part. So when we speak of Damocles going retrograde in the latter part of Aquarius, we are speaking of a difficulty we are finding with or in society as we are trying to go about our business or find our personal place/space in this world ... or we are realizing that something about the world’s issues (and our conviction that we can ‘fix that’) is ... well, a bit more difficult and complicated than we thought it was.

And all the experiences which will get us into this space? That’s what we will be experiencing as both Damocles and Mercury go into retrograde on Tuesday, May 19th (UT/+0) ... just as the motion of dwarf planet Orcus turns to direct.

Roman god Orcus represents all that can no longer be changed, and in going retrograde at 5 Virgo, Orcus speaks to several things, all of which are going to operate under the auspices of royal star Regulus, the star which tells us that what we do (our choices, actions, priorities, methods) is only successful when our actions (thoughts, choices, positions, etc.) are in no way connected with any desire for revenge.

At 5 Virgo, Orcus’ current ‘finality’ concerns all which has been done and all the many people and other forms of life which have been operating out of a sense of doing what was required or asked of them.

Something is done ... or something has come to be done. Those who have done the ‘doing’ are either ‘done’ themselves, or they are done ‘doing’ or they are ‘done’ with whatever has been formerly regarded as a serviceable duty. And now all of that is coloring the need to bridge some gap in terms of whatever cannot be changed (or perhaps carried on with or continued in its current form/format) even as Damocles goes into retrograde at 25 Aquarius, a degree which in adding a very distinct and sometimes violently determined energetic speaks to some gnawing at the bit, a bit of biting the hand which feeds us and a whole variety of merry variations on feeling torn about something on the inside while needing to keep moving on the outside.

And yes, those two impulses could be about the very same thing. They don’t have to be about the same thing ... but they could be, in which case the frustration being felt by others would be understandably felt by us, speaking of Algol.

Then again, we could be at a loss. Or thinking about what we may stand to lose ... or need to lose, which with Damocles in Aquarius and the North Node in Libra like as not refers to some (Libra) relationship we have - whether to others, our ability to relate to others, or something having to do with how we feel about our (Damocles) chances of making something work, either in our own mind or in some more interactive or public situation.

And again - all of this is happening under a lunation (lunar month) influence which will tend to make it difficult for us to even want to see things from any other perspective apart from our own, even if that’s where our answer is.

All of this is what it is and takes place within forty-eight hours (between May 18th and 19th). Then we get a day of dealing with Mercury just having gone retrograde at a moment when the Sun is at 29 this-could-be-sticky degrees of Taurus, that being what the Sun has to do before it then enters Gemini at 8:46 in the morning on May 21st (UT/+0).

Sun in Gemini (glyph chart)

May 21, 2015 - 9:44 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

 Sun in Gemini (text chart)

May 21, 2015 - 9 44 am (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Sun in Gemini is much like Sun in Taurus in the sense that it’s about the ‘me’ of life. It’s basic and like all three of the first quadrant zodiac signs (those signs being Aries, Taurus, Gemini), it’s about learning to be the person we are (part one), and in time, learning how to be that person to our benefit.

(Yes, we all have things to learn about being who we are - at least metaphysically!)

So as fire sign/first sign Aries is about learning how to ‘be’ and operate our body (eat, sleep, walk, smile, pee, etc.) so that we can in time have a good (Libra) effect on others (or at least the effect we want to have on them) ... and just as second zodiac sign Taurus is where we learn to recognize that now that we exist we have to take care of our Self (leading to all of those Taurus ‘desires’ which tend to manifest as ‘gathering to our Self’ everything we need while working out how to control enough life factors that we feel secure) ... Gemini, as the first of the zodiac air signs is all our experience of ideas - initially as input from others and then as the process of thinking for our Self. Gemini experiences - and all of the many ‘Gemini options’ are about learning how to think, how to think about those things, and about learning to choose from our options those which will work for us. Gemini is about learning to learn and learning what learning how assembling ideas creates knowledge and how putting plural ideas to work in the form of a ‘plan’ can teaches us ever more interesting things - such as how to succeed with others and in the world.

That part of the puzzle (as with all signs) is expressed by Gemini’s polarity sign - in this case,  Sagittarius, a sign which to the Gemini process represents not only another “source” of ideas and options (all of which will test whether we have learned to discipline our thinking and stay on course, on subject, on schedule and on top of things) but reactions to what we say, reactions to what we do and responses from all the way around the mulberry bush with regards to our plans, our goals, our efforts and whatever else we “put out there.”

So with the Sun in Gemini, we live in our heads more than usual. We’ll talk about things in ‘idea form’ more than usual. We’ll discuss what we think of things, we’ll debate the merit of things, we’ll want to see and think through options ... and we’re likely to be both more frustrated - and frustrating - when it comes time to make a decisions (“There are just too many options - I can’t decide!!!”). With the Sun entering Gemini in opposition to Saturn (at 1 Sagittarius), there are things which matter to us and no doubt at least a few things we need to attend to. And as  Mercury in retrograde as the Sun is starting into its annual game of Gemini hopscotch, we’re likely to be ‘stuck’ on something or about something in some way. This doesn’t have to be a problem, but it could be, especially where we (Gemini can sound disoriented when it isn’t, sound organized when it isn’t and otherwise change tack or tactics with the speed of the wind)

Around the end of the month (on the morning of May 30th in the UT/+0 zone) the Sun - in direct motion - meets up with Mercury, still in retrograde, at 8 Gemini, turning the Mercury/Moon kite formation we’ve already discussed into one with the Sun instead of the Moon and Mercury now folded (origami style, no doubt) into the kite. The ‘tail’ of any astrological kite image always being the thing we are supposed to ‘take hold of’ and use for ‘steering’ purposes, this again points us back towards all those things we should be doing or accepting as part of (North Node) life (even if we don’t want to) and either the application or learning about things through difficulties and (most often) loss, whether or not that really ‘costs’ us. The grand trine between North Node, Sun/Mercury and Ceres being an airy one, much of this operates on the mental level, which given Mercury retrograde and its well-earned reputation for making things difficult and requiring us to work through difficulties ... or to wait for them to clear up ... that could help as we hold firm to things we believe in.

Then again, it may make things harder if what we’re holding onto isn’t true or doesn’t work - whether it has before now or not.

About the time Mercury goes direct and Neptune turns to retrograde is when the Sun catches up with Mars at 21 Gemini, a degree which is known for a dissipating or scattering effect, which with perspective-oriented Pallas in opposition may indicate feeling scattered, having disconnected or ‘scattered’ things on your mind or plate to get done. The Mars side of things may speak to a (Mars) impulse or effort to ‘scatter’ or perhaps split something into parts or pieces ... is this because of some (Pallas) perspective we have come to have as Mercury goes direct and Neptune turns to retrograde? Is it because we get some sort of (Sagittarian) feedback or input from someone or some source which gives us some enlightening or possibly important form of Pallas ‘perspective’ on what we’re doing?

With Sun in Gemini what we learn about our Self always (at least over time) puts us in a better position to be productive - however we define that term. There's a nonce of a negative which goes with this ... namely how we’re not likely to be in the mood to be told things, so if you happen to be someone who's been told that you come off 'tougher' than you mean to ... or if you're just natively of an authoritarian bent (or too assertive) ... especially after Mars and the Sun come into orb of conjunction around May 29th (and escalating on from there)... you may want to make an effort over these next weeks (until the Sun moves into Cancer) to soften your tone, lest it set off ill feelings or cause someone to think you’re saying something you don’t mean to be saying at all.

And just to give you a preview, after Mars in Gemini comes Mars in Cancer, an entire month plus (read: six weeks) filled with touches of moodiness. (In other words, plan on dealing with the need to modulate energies and responses through the beginning of August).

The irony of the ‘flip side’ to all this is how we are (for the greatest part) open to conversations and dialogues. And if, or to the extent that we can keep some “Pallas perspective” on what we’re doing without needing to get poked (gently and/or otherwise) by others, we’re likely to find that a light touch and willingness to free ourselves up to hear things we may have been resisting talking about just a short time ago. And give or take the fact no Mercury retrograde ever runs in a straight line (and how by the end of Mercury retrograde the Sun and Mars running in Gemini sync (a fact which from there is going to go on for a while) energies are going to be running high.

Some will use this freewheeling, ultra-airy energy (think: 'free as the wind...') to work through complicated problems. Some will experience this energy as an easy-running period which for whatever reason feels as effortless as the flight of birds riding the passing breeze.

With Mercury traversing Gemini for the whole of the time the Sun is illuminating each of Gemini's degrees, each of them a chance to see a different facet of life through our mind's eye. The restlessness of Gemini energy can have us chasing paperwork or dreaming up fabulous plans at the same times that we're having to look for our car keys because we've gotten distracted (but you know ... who cares?) and when waiting for so-and-so to get back to us with that VERY important information even while attending to ninety-two other things can be terribly irritating - or just the excuse we've been looking for. It’s the sort of combination which can have us thinking we’ve heard what people are saying when we’re really only hearing what we want to hear not out of malice, but because we want so much to bounce ideas around with someone. Like the zodiac’s other three mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) Gemini speaks to situations and processes best served by being flexible enough to change a few things along the way even while continuing to aim for a previously determined goal. With Gemini being Mercury’s ‘home’ sign, having the Sun in Gemini through June 21st (when it moves on into Cancer) may be a time when there’s too much in our heads and seemingly too much noise to concentrate.

But it’s all meant to get us closer to knowing who we are. Gemini provides options so that we learn how to think and how to put together a life which ‘works’ for us. In doing so, first we ‘set’ our eyes on some far (Sagittarian) horizon ... which may or may not be what we think it is, which may or may not be desirable if and when we get there.

All of which teaches us what our mental priorities are ... and sometimes what they should be instead. When that happens, we react to what we’re learning about our Self, we deal with the million thoughts and questions about what this new information ‘means’ to everything else we know of and work it in among all our other affairs ... or not.

And that’s the Gemini influence, one which this year (at least for a time) will surely be affected in some way by all we associate with the North Node at 8 Libra. With regards to Sun in Gemini, the ‘loss’ implied by 8 Libra may refer to thoughts like ‘last time I tried that and it didn’t work - I’m going to try something else.’ Or maybe someone you are working with isn’t there, meaning you’re going to have to work by yourself and therefore do that Gemini ‘thinking thing’ by yourself since you’ve ‘lost’ the opportunity (at least for the moment?) to do things as you’re used to doing them.

And how does that apply to the myth behind Gemini? Well, to condense the myth from a gallon of text down to a verbal  teaspoon, the story behind Gemini centers largely on this constellation's two hallmark stars: Castor and Pollux.

Constellation Gemini

(image generated using Stellarium software)

.

In the story, Castor and Pollux are twin brothers. And when one of the brothers (Castor) tries to win his point using brute strength, he gets utterly struck town - only to be saved by his brother Pollux, a quick thinking (not to mention well-spoken) type who so impresses head honcho Olympian god Zeus (aka astrology's Jupiter) that Zeus agrees to save Castor by turning both brothers into stars, where each would be able to shine in their own right.

The thing to remember about this myth is that we are both Castor AND Pollux: we often try to lead with our ‘strong’ points and strengths, only resorting to more intellectual (read: air sign oriented) solutions once the fact we are going to pay some price (in other words, absorb some loss) has become evident.

All of which makes thinking through this conglomeration of symbols - and all which flows from them - all the more serious, all the more worth thinking through (that would be very Gemini, after all) and exquisitely woven with possibilities.

So ... what are we willing to try?
.
.
.

Mercury in Gemini

Mercury riding Pegasus by Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720)

(Carrara marble, Louvre Museum, Paris - photo credit: Jastrow, 2007)

.

For everyone whose wickets have been stickier than usual over the past couple of weeks (that would be most of us), a little good news: Mercury is about to leave Taurus and enter Gemini.

The date? May 1st (at least in the UT/+0 zone), with Mercury doing this deed as of 2:01 in the morning, which makes this ingress later in the day as you move east... and earlier as you think ‘west’ (with the whole of the Americas beginning to take up the many facets of the many things which tend to arise under Mercury in Gemini during the evening of April 30th).

And lest we forget, all of that means Mercury will be at 29 Taurus (after having crossed over Algol, a star of ill temperament earlier in the week) prior to reaching Gemini - meaning we may have a headache even before Mercury, symbol of thought, communication and mentality, even reaches its most "personal" (basic) home sign of Gemini.

The aspirin may come soon enough though - once we reach the ingress, I mean, as this is one of those shifts we tend to 'feel' as a subtle shift in our perspective on ...or our feelings about whatever is on (or going through) our Mercurial mind. Mercury in Gemini is a little less intense than Mercury in Taurus - and more speculative. Even when things get bad, a Mercury in Gemini moment will tend to trend more towards a lot of yelling, screaming and slews of (sometimes highly creative) insults, where Mercury in Taurus says less and breaks more - that 'more' being either physical or more or less about what we might just term as "confidence" (all meanings implied).

Mercury in Gemini also has a reputation for being a busy time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything gets done.  Sometimes Gemini’s ‘busyness’ is all intake or input - which fits with the function of Gemini as this is the sign which is all about thinking, learning how to think, learning that thinking can help us make good choices - and all that comes from learning how to learn, learning how to think (i.e., critical thinking) and how what we know is just as important as what we don’t know, as one is the voice of experience and the other provides us with the opportunity to expand our knowledge, and therefore our effective use of our life, our brain, our time and whatever resources we have (or can get) which can be focused on some challenge.

Plus there is always the fact that Mercury is about to go retrograde. The date of Mercury’s station is May 19th, but Mercury will be rolling into its shadow (the point at which it’s then in the ‘retrograde zone’) as of May 3rd. Generally speaking, from that date (the 3rd) until Mercury’s station tends to get ‘focused’ on one or more particular subjects - and that’s likely to be particularly true this year, what with this retrograde occurring entirely in Gemini, the most basic of Mercury’s signs of rulership.

.
By ‘basic,’ we mean everything about our thinking - or even we even are thinking. Or if we’re capable of thinking something through - does our brain work? Do we have enough information? Do we understand the parameter of the situation?

Mercury is not the astrological Sun here, so this is more about our considering how life works, or how its working at the moment - this isn’t about life itself. With the Sun (and Mars) still in Taurus, Mercury’s shift into Taurus suggests attention being paid to details and values and a sorting through of reasons and rationales, new, old and outdated. With  Mercury going retrograde at 13 Gemini, we can be good at something but not successful at it due to a lack of balance. Or we may become aware of someone else who is good at something ... or something which we think deserves to succeed, but which isn’t getting the attention it deserves.

What is that about?

According to the lore for this degree, the difference between success and lack of success is metaphysical balance - which in the case of genius (or heavy-duty talent) is often the case. In fact, it could be argued that in this day and age of specialties, we’re producing a lot of ‘genius-level’ people and understandings which can’t stand on their own or succeed in a ‘wholesome’ way  simply because such skewing of interest isn’t metaphysically ‘wholesome’ simply because it isn’t ‘whole.’ (You know, balanced and therefore integrated as a balanced whole.)

This makes particular sense to me as I’ve been wrestling with this idea for a while now. And if I’ve been wrestling with it, I expect you or someone you know have been too. We can’t keep on ‘heading’ in a direction we don’t want to go, as metaphysics teaches us that the thing you invest your energy in is the thing you get ‘back.’ So if you prepare for a war (or you spend all your time thinking or talking about how difficult or dangerous things are, whether personally or globally) the laws of metaphysics virtually guarantee that life will oblige and provide some sort of danger to suit the subject you’ve been investing all that energy - be it mental, emotional, physical or otherwise - in.

It's something to think about - and you get my drift, I expect. We all deal with these (im)balances, and this trend towards balance is only going to increase, but become a premium going forward (that's the 'in the coming years' version of going forward) not because we aren’t each and every one of us capable of being many things (a very Gemini concept) but because social forces are looking for personal labels.

No, we don’t like labels. But (part one) the metaphysics of a label is both the reaction we have to it (plus) the reaction we come to when we understand why it has been assigned to us, whether by someone in particular or some blank societal force. Increasingly we are all labeled either by the people we know or by the statistics we represent - just as we increasingly tend to label others, most often without even knowing who they really are.

Or aren't.

And the metaphysics of that is how the less we know about others, the less we want them to know about us.

Yes, we're all living with that, too... (welcome to the Age of Aquarius!).

This is a time when all the things in life which we don’t want to think about, which we don’t even think we should have to think about or concern ourselves with - when all those things are making themselves evident. They may not be so ‘in your face’ that we are forced to deal with them ... but they're moving up on life’s lists.

And for many of us, this Mercury in Gemini and the Mercury retrograde passage which comes with it is going to be a time when we have an opportunity to get perspective on some of these issues. When with a little thought, we may come to some recognitions, realizations and decisions (or at least a few pre-decisions) about what we are going to be, support (or not support) ... and maybe more importantly, what we are going to get ourselves to do.

For a lot of us, balance can be achieved through a little cutting back. For others, it’s their relationship to what is ‘lacking’ (in their personal balance) needs more familiarity, more ‘friendliness’ on our part about things we’re not comfortable with, on some level.

The Sun won’t be entering Gemini until just after  Mercury’s station, so during the run-up to that station (a period often noted for pressures, lots of things needing to be sorted out and a desire to get XYZ ‘done’ so its off your plate) we’re still going to be dealing with our own insecurities even where we want to be at the top of our game.

This is the Gemini combination and the story of the two stars - Castor and Pollux - we know as the Gemini twins. Our brain works to think through (Pollux) something even as we try to (Castor) mange the situation or ‘bully’ through it based on personal presence (representing Aries strength + Taurus instinct, those being the only two signs of the zodiac which precede Gemini).

Mercury moving into Gemini is bound to ‘lighten the mood’ and increase the pace of communication, travel and general activities, along with the number of people involved (or getting involved) in such activities.

It also increases our need to care about how we go about doing all those things ... and the need to cope with whatever happens as we do them and in response to what we do. That’s the Gemini polarity: the ideas we get under Gemini get tested and reacted to under Sagittarius, hence all the ‘course corrections’ and ‘did you forgot that part...?’ moments which come through Sagittarian channels.

With Saturn currently transiting Sagittarius (in opposition to Mercury’s position in Gemini) some of what we meet up with in the next few weeks is going to be hard. Or it may seem harsh. We may even be tempted to not believe it or to reject it out of hand simply because it doesn’t ‘work’ with how we want things to work.

For those willing to commit to owning why they do things (the Mercury choice we make to do or not do something for reasons which make sense to us), things are likely to change - or at least you’re likely to come to a different set of parameters or realizations just after Mercury goes direct again on June 11th.

And yes, that is a common comment with Mercury retrogrades, at least in part because of Mercury’s association with communications, whether spoken, in text, in digital form or otherwise. Under Mercury retrograde (or even as Mercury goes into its station to go retrograde) its common for messages to go astray, for letters to not get sent, for personal schedules to get off track and for cars and computers to act up.

Often it takes the whole of the retrograde (plus a couple of days) to get such things straightened out. And given how retrogrades tend to internalize energy, during that time we end up (Mercury) thinking about such matters.

Yes, it can be annoying. People are often annoyed or frustrated under Mercury retrograde. Either they can’t think of something, are being held up because someone else can’t think of something (or can’t seem to get around to doing it) or we’re trying to decide what to do.

Given all this, you may think it’s odd, but there are some people who thrive and do hugely well under Mercury retrograde. Some are people who simply have Mercury retrograde in their natal chart - a natal Mercury retrograde does seem to indicate a degree of ‘immunity’ to the feelings of being ‘pent up’ which so many experience under Mercury retrograde. But others where we get involved in making a choice which by its own nature isn’t the ‘end’ of the process, such as when or where something gets bought for the express purpose of reworking and eventual resale.

. 
With Mercury coming out of retrograde at 4 Gemini just before Neptune goes station-retrograde at 9 Pisces (on June 12) gives us a square between the two stations - and an indication that some of us are in for a few surprises. Things will be revealed and things will melt away during these days, affecting choices, plans (especially long term plans) and opinions or estimations of ... (as opposed to our feelings about) ... others or their choices, opinions and plans.

And with Mercury conjunct Industria, there’s effort involved - whether this pertains to your actual work (career, job) or not. So maybe you don’t want to think about ‘this.’ Or perhaps you don’t want to think that all the effort you’ve already put into something now has to be reworked or tweaked in some manner.

With Saturn in opposition from 0 Sagittarius, there is some ‘danger’ of getting caught up in a debate or the energy of competition (against our Self or others). Or even that we may dig our mental heels in during these days, refusing to listen to sense because we don’t want to be seen as anyone who ‘doesn’t know’ ... or because we believe we have somehow been endowed with the right to act pig-headed.

And yes, you may have that right. But if that amounts to the right to defeat yourself in the long run, is that a right you want to exercise?

Why we do what we do (and don’t do what we don’t do) is of course probably the biggest part of why our lives - and our world - ends up being what they are. And the idea of Mercury in Gemini, whether in direct motion or retrograde, is about learning how to learn. Mercury’s annual passage through Gemini (which for 2015 doesn’t end until July 8th) is all about just that - which is why we tend to run into so many new ideas and new perspectives on things we already know (or think we know!) during this passage. That old wives’ tale which starts out with ‘I’m a Gemini, I’m supposed to be into all sorts of things’ is just that - a tired old story which doesn’t get anyone where they want to go. Yes, Gemini is about learning what the options are. But after that, Gemini is about making an informed choice which, by how it works or doesn’t work over time teaches us ever more about how to choose, think ... and for those who happen to also have a Moon in Gemini - how we can choose to deal with, or with regard to our emotions considering they are emotional and thus are not ever precisely entirely manageable.

Once we get through this Mercury cycle, we will all probably have a greater sense of what we’re doing. By the time that happens (i.e., by the time Mercury moves into Cancer come early July) we will have sorted through the recent eclipse-timed upheavals we are all still wading through the many repercussions of.

By then we will have hopefully realized where we’ve been fooling or compromising our Selves of late, and how in light of who we really are and aren’t - and who we know we need to (Gemini) choose to be and become, how so much of that depends on whether we really know what we're 'up against' - not so much in life but in our own mind.

And some of that we will understand because of all we experience under Mercury in Gemini, which if nothing else is a suggestion about the thinker - one who thinks about both their thoughtless and thoughtful thoughts.
.
.
.

Saturn in Sagittarius

Taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, Saturn looms large in the foreground with

our beloved Terra Earth but a distant dot in space.

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, 2013)

.

As Sagittarius is the 9th sign of the zodiac, Saturn’s entering Sagittarius indicates a shift into the 9th derivative phase of everything which requires focus, discipline/self-discipline, structuring, responsibility, dedication and/or diligence.

It’s also the place in our individual Saturnine process where (and when) we come to feel like we can finally see our goal. It’s right there. It’s right ...

And then something happens.

Why would something happen? No, it’s not because Saturn is out to get you (even when life feels like it) and it’s not because anyone just wants to rain on your parade.

So why would something happen? That’s because Sagittarius, being the 9th sign in the zodiac is the sign right behind Capricorn (zodiac sign number 10), Capricorn being the sign of accomplishing the success which then ‘pays off’ in Aquarius (zodiac sign number 11). And that’s important because Saturn rules Capricorn, which makes Sagittarius the 12th derivative sign to a sign Saturn rules.

The 'natural zodiac' wheel

To work with derivatives, start with the sign you are looking to find the derivative of. Counting

that as "one," go counter-clockwise around the wheel (as the signs are numbered here) until

you arrive at the 'derived' sign of influence.

. 

Sagittarius is about expansion - the expanding of what we know, what we want to know, our sphere of influence, our understanding of our Self. In being the opposition sign to Gemini (the sign where we are asked to think things through, make a choice and construct priorities and plans) Sagittarius is also the sign where we meet up with people and things which may further contribute to our (Gemini) choice-and-plan ... or which may challenge it or point out it’s chinks or flaws, causing us (more often than not) to go back and review all our Gemini (and 3rd house natal) choices.

Sometimes we return to Sagittarian mode and stand up for ourselves, which wouldn’t be unlikely moving forward as Saturn is all about standing up for Self and the ‘standing’ of the Self as Saturn is astrologically all about structure (including backbones, real and proverbial) and the process of re/structuring ... some of which will happen over the next couple of years as we (Sagittarius) expand what we know or understand and see the benefit of building for a future, or bringing our past up to date.

(Or at least working on it.)

And about that ‘Sagittarius as the 12th sign to Capricorn’ which was cited because Saturn rules Capricorn. First of all, ‘rules’ are a big thing with both signs: Sagittarius covers the theory of law and Capricorn (hence Saturn) represents the reality of it - the rewards and consequences both for breaking a law and whatever the consequences for a given law may be whether planned or otherwise.

What isn’t in this mix however is politics, politics and all of its highly verbal operations being Aquarian and 11th house. (Which yes, does mean that the age we are now entering - the Aquarian Age - is going to end up being highly political and less based on the universal faith or the universality of faith, that having been a ‘last Age’ theme).

However ... Saturn itself (as opposed to Capricorn) is quite often a tinge political - and being the ‘in door’ ruler of Aquarian, that makes sense.

Why bring all this up? Because Saturn will be traversing the 12th house to its ‘sole ownership’ sign of rulership (Capricorn) at the same time as Saturn is - by moving through Sagittarius - also in (and therefore activating the 11th derivative to the other sign it rules: Aquarius.

What this amounts to is a crib sheet which says that during the whole of the period which starts on December 23, 2014 (at 4:34 p.m., UT/+0) and which ends on December 20, 2017 (when Saturn moves on into Capricorn) we can expect substantial successes and structural challenges where/when we test our own limits and our own (Gemini) ideas. And since wherever we see Saturn we earn what we get and get what we have earned, there are likely to be any number of debates both with our Self and with others - often in public as the public airings of opinions and getting ‘out there on the record’ are essentially a Sagittarian forms of sport.

But more to that derivative concept: the 12th to any sign being where we are emotionally tested or tested on our ability to accept our own feelings and our feelings about emotions (got that?), with Saturn moving through the 12th sign to its own Capricorn ‘home base’ (so to speak) is to virtually guarantee that we will - each and every one of us - have, or run across some sort of gap or glitch which we will react to for however short or long a time depending on your personal relationship to that which is hard for you to face. When that happens, the extremes of response will be at one end a fervent sort of frigid rejection and at the other a determination to accelerate some process in the name of necessary in spite of how we may or may not feel about it or about how it might affect us personally.

At the same time that that’s in play we will also experience Saturn being in the 11th derivative sign to its other sign of rulership (Aquarius) makes a reference to earning results, inclusive of whatever might prompt us to want to work towards some particular result and all that we are challenged by along the way. As with all eleventh derivative signs we will all be called upon to balance that which distinguishes us against that which distinguishes us from others. And at the same time that we’re doing that, we’ll also be having to satisfy that uniquely  Aquarian requirement that we balance the idea or ideal against everyday practicality and universal functionality - all without fracturing or breaking society’s structures into layers, classes, castes or anything else which embodies some sort of exclusion.

Saturn enters Sagittarius (first ingress, glyph chart)

December 23, 2014 - 16:33:59 (4:33:59 p.m., UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Saturn enters Sagittarius (first ingress, glyph chart)

December 23, 2014 - 16:33:59 (4:33:59 p.m., UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.
As Saturn enters Sagittarius it may well also be useful to note that Saturn will be making this ingress not once but twice, as Saturn will reach 4 degrees of Sagittarius by next March, go retrograde, and then back into Scorpio...

Saturn retrogrades out of Sagittarius (glyph chart)

June 15, 2015 - 1:35:31 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Saturn retrogrades out of Sagittarius (text chart)

June 15, 2015 - 1:35:31 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.
...for just about three months between mid-June and mid-September before going direct on August 2nd (UT/+0) and re-entering Sagittarius on September 15, 2015.

Saturn's 3rd (final) Sagittarius ingress (glyph chart)

September 18, 2015 - 2:49:12 a.m. (UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Saturn's 3rd (final) Sagittarius ingress (text chart)

September 18, 2015 - 2:49:12 a.m. (UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

.

Looking just at the first ingress, Saturn is conjunct dispassionate Pallas in a degree which speaks to ‘mastery’ (28 Scorpio) whether we have it or not - which again points back to that Saturnine ‘have you earned it?’ quotient. With Sedna at 24 Taurus (and retrograde) in opposition to Pallas but not Saturn, we all have something we’re unwilling to give up which is holding us back, just as we’re all perfectly able to see someone else doing the exact same thing - and guess who we’re pointing fingers at?

Right ... probably ‘them’ for something we are in our own (perhaps distant) way equally enmeshed in, consumed by or (self)righteously devoted to - probably for reasons which go back to the basics of who we are, how we were raised and with what values and so on.

This ‘inner’ knowing or perspective on something we are doing ... and probably something we’ve done in the past as well ... to some degree this holds us to standards now just as to some degree we are proceeding in spite of not yet having sufficient experience or ‘maturity’ with something to be completely sure we know either what we’re doing - or that how we’re doing it is going to get us where we really want to get to.

We also know (this being purely Saturn) that it’s going to take time to get anywhere ... even if once we get there we realize that’s not where we want to be, at which point we’ll pack up our lesson learned and move on.

In keeping with regular astrological theory, retrograde passes (such as the one we’ll see this next June as Saturn moves back into Scorpio) tend to be personal - and this one is unlikely to be anything different, although with Saturn itself now in opposition to Sedna while also in opposition to the Moon and Mercury at 4 Gemini (a degree known for insight and interactive perception) even though Sedna isn’t conjunct the Moon and Mercury suggests being of ‘split mind’ - or at least attention - though why that is would be up to specific circumstances, specially as Saturn is also trine Vesta and the lunar South Node as this ingress gets made.

It would seem a moment of inner caution, though why that would be is entirely personal. It could be something small like dreading having to clean out a garage or going to the dentist. Then again, it could be something which - especially with a lunar node involved - plays on or through some relationship, be it person or that you have to some subject, effort or avenue of undertaking which has for good or not-so-good gotten out of hand.

It will take a couple of months from June for Saturn to finish retrograde and get back to it’s Sagittarian ingress, but once it gets there come September 18th, we will certainly know some form of ‘workable versus unworkable’ (Saturn trine South Node at 0 Aries) and that we are either ready to proceed with some furthering of some cause or that we need to proceed according to some new tact or tactic, the Saturnine reality of which we are ready to begin working on now. However ... that Saturn is not just opposition Sedna (which in its own grand trine to Ceres and the Sun reads rather as a status quo, personal allegiance (or) vision or tradition which we don’t want to let go of but may need to)... but that Saturn is also in square to Mars at 25 Leo?

Saturn and its largest moon, Titan, which is some 3200 miles or 5150 kilometers across.

(photo credit: Cassini - NASA, JPL, Caltech, SSI)

.

Well, this is Saturn coming into Sagittarius and ‘committing’ to the full transit of Sagittarius as the object of a t-square with a Leo Mars as some ‘hurdle’ we have to get past - and in this case the hurdle is related to not just an individualistic highly biased (whether pro or con) Mars expression with regards to problems of pride, ego and luxury and/or luxurious self-indulgence, often to such an excess that the gift itself runs out.

Thus some come to Saturn in Sagittarius to forge ahead while others come to Saturn in Sagittarius to pay the price for what they’ve done ... a thought which leads to why those responsibilities spoken of in connection with Saturn must be those we owe others because we owe it to our Self.

That's the Saturn if Sagittarius premise - that we owe it to our Self to be someone who not only learns what they need to learn (i.e., to survive or get ahead) but how to their utilize skills, knowledge and conviction such that by the time Saturn reaches Capricorn and Aquarius, things we have put to work (and worked through) during this learning phase become the foundation for becoming someone capable of manifesting greater successes as a human being ... not merely as someone others see as manifestly successful. 
.
.
.