New Moon in Gemini

New Moon in Gemini: Winds of Change

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Sun-god Shamesh (1792 – 1750 BC) The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

New Moon in Gemini

The New Moon in Gemini on June 13 opens us to a season of immense change in which having faith in the unknown will be necessary. We often talk in astrology of being open to the mystery, and this will certainly be apt advice in the coming months. During the forthcoming waxing phase of the Moon the fiery red planet Mars will station retrograde on June 26 just as the Capricorn Full Moon (that will be conjoining Saturn) culminates on June 27. The following three lunations after this will be eclipses, and so the coming lunar cycle prepares us for the crossing of the threshold into eclipse season. Its not a normal eclipse season as it will be aligned with the Mars retrograde transit exactly, and so promises an intensified version of the eclipse pattern in which dynamic new forms come into our life as others pass away. Mars in Aquarius will be making three pivotal unions with the transiting South Node of the Moon in Aquarius (June 7, July 20, September 25) as well as three decisive square aspects with Uranus in Taurus (May 16, August 1, September 18) which illuminate dynamics that will take at least the next three months to fully take shape. The curious, explorative, and synthesizing nature of the Gemini New Moon is ideal for making the necessary connections and beginning to discern the patterns taking shape in our life in correspondence. Yet there is an unpredictable quality to the coming months we will ultimately have to surrender to.

The New Moon in Gemini is applying to a sextile with Ceres in Leo, having recently separated from a quincunx with Pluto in Capricorn. These aspects highlight the psychopomp nature of Gemini, the penetratingly deep soulful Twin you don’t always hear about in pop astrology. This aspect of Gemini brings its ability to mediate polarities and weave wisdom from interconnections to the depths of subject matter. There are innumerable crises taking shape on the global stage that have frightening potential given the upcoming astrological transits, and indeed are provoking fear in many. The Gemini New Moon with Leo Ceres brings the space to process, grieve, and release hard feelings as well as the vitality needed to step into the unknown with bravery and open eyes. The New Moon in Gemini calls us to be a witness to both the oppression as well as the inspiration rising and falling around us. The New Moon in Gemini wants documentation, nuanced interpretation, direct communication, and a willingness to not only listen but to reach out to those in need of sharing their story.

Lammasu (721 – 705 BC) The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

Mercury in Cancer rules the New Moon while applying to an opposition with Saturn in Capricorn. Mercury is on the threshold of reappearing as an Evening Star, which will happen two days after the New Moon on June 15 just as Mercury perfects its tense aspect with Saturn. The opposition between Mercury and Saturn brings decisiveness and the need to make clear choices of what to focus on with available time and space. As Mercury reappears in visibility as the Moon also grows in light greater clarity will be gained regarding events of recent weeks. Mercury in Cancer is more about the processing of emotions and feelings than external verbosity, and so the influence of Saturn brings strong capacity for deep inner contemplation rather than the chattering side of Gemini. This will be the first opposition between Mercury and Saturn since their drawn out union involving Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius at the end of 2017 (November 27, December 6, and January 12 were the dates of their three conjunctions), and so reflecting back on what has been brought to fruition since that time can help formulate new plans to develop in the season ahead.

Mercury is separating from a sextile with Uranus in Taurus and applying to a square with Chiron in Aries as it enters its face off with Saturn. This brings an unorthodox vibration for Mercury to transmit in relationship with Saturn, insights and messages that open us to meaning and visions outside our normal frame of reference. Yet the opposition from Saturn brings a cutting reality check to whatever exciting ideas come to mind. Innovative, pioneering ideas are called for that also have a practical, grounded impact. We may also feel the excitement over something new pull us toward taking action despite warning signs of becoming restricted or blocked from full manifestation. It will be best to utilize the limitations and tempering of Saturn to fine tune and hone plans under development rather than rushing forward impulsively. This is a time to commit yet our devotion to whatever we want to create requires patience and capacity to shift with flexibility as needed with the unforeseen changes on the horizon.

Imagination will also need to be integrated into upcoming decision making, since Neptune stations retrograde about five days after the New Moon on June 18, saturating the lunation with its dreamy, oceanic influence. The influence of Neptune brings powerful inner feelings and sensations that can override our ability at times to make clearcut decisions. Yet the otherworldly nature of Neptune holds important insights we need to open awareness to, allowing the boundaries of Saturn to harbor the poetry of graffiti and willingness for synchronous signs to guide choice.  There is growth and expansion to be found in the domain of Neptune since Jupiter in Scorpio will be engaging in a drawn out trine aspect over the upcoming months, remaining within a three degree orb into September. Jupiter in Scorpio calls us to pierce through material illusions to discover the deeper reality, wielding the courageous determination to face the reality of both surface and shadow, embracing change with full presence rather than attempting to manipulate situations out of possessiveness or fear of loss.

An image bringing all these ideas of Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, and Neptune together is the iris tenax flower that now graces the banner of this website. A tenacious flower of flexibility whose leaves have an ancient tradition of being fashioned into ropes and containers for resources, the magical, colorful bloom of the Iris flower  inspires illuminated vision according to author Julia Brayshaw:

Habitual exposure to artificial environments erodes our awareness of the patterns of nature- patterns of harmony, connection, and wholeness. When we lose sight of the unity of creation and perceive ourselves as separate pieces in a disjointed world, responses such as fear, depression, and mistrust are understandable. These states of constriction attempt to block pain. Even our eye muscles become constricted; therefore, under the influence of a negative emotional state, the amount of light that enters our eyes is reduced . . .

Radiant colors are nourishment for the iris of the eye. They feed our souls as well, breaking through the dark cloud layers that confine our vision. Iris, whether in the form of a rainbow, the messenger of a goddess, or a flower, is the archetype of the beauty and color that successfully penetrates our dreary, constricted states. Iris, in her multi-colored guises, pierces the illusions of a disconnected, senseless world and floods us with inspiration. Her divine messages are elusive and fleeting, often just a momentary shimmer that melts with the rainbow. Yet they reorient us to the eternal truth of our souls, of a coherent world infused with meaning and color. Through restoring clear vision, Iris awakens the artist, whose expression helps others to glimpse the beauty of creation.

— Julia M. Brayshaw, Medicine of Place: Patterns of Nature and Psyche in the Wildflowers of Cascadia

Processional Way Lion of Ishtar; The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

Venus is at the very end of Cancer at the time of the Gemini New Moon, shining brightly as an Evening Star. Only a couple of hours after the lunation, however, Venus leaves the sensitizing waters of Cancer for the fierce fires of Leo where she immediately sets her gaze upon the North Node of the Moon, striding her way boldly toward a tense opposition with Mars in Aquarius. However, the first aspect Venus makes upon entering the sign of the Lion is a square aspect with Uranus in Taurus. Since Uranus is in Taurus, it means that Venus is receiving Uranus with her emboldened sense of courageous passion she can find in Leo like nowhere else. Venus receiving Uranus demands the freedom to connect with relationships resonant with our inner essentiality. Space may need to be created in relationships that are not fulfilling certain needs for connection with those that do. The brave and vital heart of Venus in Leo that is willing to resist and fight to protect essential values can be utilized in collaboration with others as well as infused into collective movements.

Gary Caton recently made a social media post breaking down the coming opposition between Venus in Leo with Mars stationing retrograde in Aquarius as a collective tipping point in values. Caton astutely noted that once Venus perfects its opposition with Mars on June 21 it will enter into a superior position relative to Mars based upon diurnal rotation. The point being, the brightly shining Venus will gain astrological leverage over the brightly shining Mars, and though there will be fierce tension stoked between them, in the end the harmonizing significations of Venus can win out. The night sky will be a beauty to behold as Venus will shine brightly as an Evening Star after sunset, and after Venus sets on the western horizon we will experience Mars ascending into visibility over the eastern horizon. Though likely ripe with conflict, this can also be an incredibly fertile time for creativity and dynamic breakthroughs. Venus will be near the North Node of the Moon, while Mars will be near the South Node of the Moon; its as if the purification of the Mars archetype can feed into an expansion of the Venus archetype.

swords10

10 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Gemini 3 Decan

The New Moon in Gemini falls in the third face of Gemini associated with the Ten of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. Pixie’s illustration of the Ten of Swords took on new meaning for me when I read Austin Coppock’s book on the decans, 36 Faces, and realized that since ancient Egyptian culture made the Cancer solstice the beginning of the year, and Egyptian culture is the source of the decans in astrology, it means that the third decan of Gemini would be the end of the cycle, the final of the thirty-six faces of the zodiac. Coppock ascribed the image of “An Executioner’s Sword” to the third decan of Gemini, writing that though “the other decans of Gemini involve discovery, exploration, and simultaneity, in the third wait choices- judgments that must be made. To achieve actuality, a multitude of possibilities must be sacrificed” (p. 99). This symbolism aligns perfectly with the opposition formed between Mercury in Cancer with Saturn in Capricorn.

Thus the image of a dead man with ten swords plunged into his back resonates with surrendering to the end or death of a cycle. While the card’s image contains dark skies and death, there is also brilliant light present in the sky revealing the new beginning of a cycle to come.  The Sun is the ruler of the third face of Gemini, and since the Sun is moving through this zodiacal terrain en route to its glorious appearance at the Solstice on June 21, we likewise will be experiencing the death of one season of light for the birth of another. The Hellenistic text 36 Airs names Praxidike to this face, goddess of judgment and exactor of vengeance, signifying the complex karma encountered here in decisions made, actions undertaken. Fascinatingly, the Orphic hymn to Persephone connects Praxidike to the subterranean queen, signifying the psychopomp side of Gemini previously mentioned and holding space between worlds, between cycles.

The coming lunar cycle will take us across the threshold of Summer in the northern hemisphere, Winter in the southern hemisphere, as well as into the initiation of Mars stationing retrograde in Aquarius. We can surmise from the transits of coming months that more than the usual amount of change is on the way. With an open heart and focused mind we may not feel carefree within the tumult of these times, yet can still muster the confidence required to meet the strange times ahead with strength and creative resolve. As Rainer Maria Rilke once mused:

This is not to say that one ought to weaken the impact of what is difficult or take it less to heart so that it can be properly assimilated. On the contrary, the more fully we experience what is difficult, the more it pulls and drives us with its weight toward the center of life . . .

In life one cannot awaken often enough the sense of a beginning within oneself. There is so little external change needed for that since we actually transform the world from within our hearts. If the heart longs for nothing but to be new and unlimited, the world is instantly the same as on the day of its creation and infinite.

—Letters on Life translated by Ulrich Baer

References

Brayshaw, Julia. (2007). Medicine of Place: Patterns of Nature and Psyche in the Wildflowers of Cascadia. Alchemia Publishing.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Rilke, Rainer Maria Rilke. (2006). Letters on Life. Edited and translated by Ulrich Baer. The Modern Library.

 

Gemini New Moon

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spiral-shell

Spiral Shell (1921) by Edward Steichen

New Moon in Gemini

In the darkness of the New Moon on June 4, 2016 there is a pulsating syzygy of creative force, breaking open new vistas amid the falling apart of forms that had previously felt secure.  From the dark womb of the Gemini New Moon, the twins who have been communing in watery nourishment are separated with shock into their distinct existence.  Instead of oneness the awareness of duality emerges, along with a sense of the contrast between the wants and needs of the Self in comparison to the Other found in relationship.  The constellation of Gemini holds the binary stars Castor and Pollux, the immortal twin and the mortal twin.  Gemini twins can also be found in the twins of darkness and light, twins of good and evil, twins of materialism and spiritualism, and our own twin nature of having a conscious personality that senses its own deeper essence.  The astrology surrounding the Gemini New Moon is a whirling dervish within which we must find a center of balance as the illusions we have been carrying about our reality spin off, and the swirling intensity pulls us in disparate directions.

The yearning of Gemini for its twin is the aching desire for a soul mate to merge and unite with, yet what is called for in the lunar darkness is a descent into the wetness of one’s own Soul to rediscover the primordial purity underlying motivation and decision.  Mercury in Taurus rules the Gemini New Moon as it is applying to an opposition with Mars retrograde in Scorpio.  Mercury in Taurus is also separating from, but still in range of, a Grand Earth Trine with Pluto in Capricorn and Jupiter conjoining the North Node of the Moon in Virgo.  As a result there is a dense, earthy quality to be found within the New Moon’s stormy tides opening access to the full range of feelings we have regarding the current state of our desires.  Perception through Mercury can penetrate into the deepest recesses of our sensual nature and its interplay with the fresh desires emerging into awareness as well as the older desires in need of release.  The enlivening snake within is shedding its skin to reveal a consciousness both solid and flexible, capable of slivering through the sweeping currents and ranging over the rocky divides of these times.

ClavisArtis.MS.Verginelli-Rota.V1.002

From the Clavis Artis

Solar Venus

In the dark of the Gemini New Moon, the Queen of Heaven is close, ever so close to reuniting with her solar consort as Venus is within a degree of a conjunction with our Sun.  This is the Superior Conjunction of Venus in which Venus is on the other side of the Sun from Earth in orbit, and so the Gemini New Moon embodies the finale of the previous Venusian solar cycle.   The last time Venus was conjoining the Sun was during the Venus retrograde on August 15, 2015 when Venus was in between the orbit of Earth and the Sun at 22º51′ Leo, as close to Earth as possible in her orbit.  When Venus goes into the heart of the Sun by exact zodiac degree, all things Venusian are purified in the fiery heat and regenerated.  As a result, in recent weeks Venus has been undergoing a molten metamorphosis in which the old has been burned off while the Venusian values, needs, and relationships which will bloom in the forthcoming cycle have been reseeded.  This regenerative process could feel disorienting and frustrating for those not already in desired Venusian circumstances, as the fruits that will eventually ripen are not yet visible.  The last time there was a Superior Conjunction of Venus was on October 25, 2014 in Scorpio at 1º49′ and so this is the close of the cycle that began then.  Within the dark of the Gemini New Moon we feel both the fear and elation of standing on the precipice of a new cycle of Venus in our lives.

Venus uniting with the Sun on the other side of our Solar Light brings a quality of far off yearning, a sense of becoming reacquainted with transcendent Venusian desires that inexorably magnetize us toward the horizon where Venus will eventually emerge again as an Evening Star.  An allegory can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, in which the noble outcast Zal is consumed with otherworldly love for the glimmering Rudaba, a woman whose circumstances brought barriers obstructing their union similar to the obstacles placed upon later lovers of literature such as Romeo and Juliet.  The mesmerizing Rudaba’s name has etymological roots in both the “shining child” as well as “she of the river water,” a meaning apt for the Venusian atmosphere of reconnecting with our inner radiance within currents of dramatic change.  At one point in the drama, similar to the later echo of Rapunzel, Rudaba lowers strands of her dark hair so that Zal may climb and cross the threshold between them:

About her silvern shoulders two musky black tresses curl, encircling them with their ends as though they were links in a chain.
Her mouth resembles a pomegranate blossom, her lips are cherries and her silver bosom curves out into breasts like pomegranates.
Her eyes are like the narcissus in the garden and her lashes draw their blackness from the raven’s wing.
Her eyebrows are modelled on the bows of Teraz powdered with fine bark and elegantly musk tinted.
If you seek a brilliant moon, it is her face; if you long for the perfume of musk, it lingers in her tresses.
From top to toe she is Paradise gilded; all radiance, harmony and delectation.
(Shahnameh 1:21-3 courtesy of Wikipedia)

The release of old longings within arising passions will not necessarily be focused upon a lover, but rather in any manner in which Venus is operating in your life.  The Venusian correspondence will have to do in some way with recreating livelihood and a revivification of the seeking and reception of pleasure.  Venus will enter her Superior Conjunction on 6 June 2016 at 16º36′ of Gemini, a day that may be seized for fertile intention setting.  As Venus in her synodic cycle possesses exquisitely ordered timing, you may gain further insight through reflection upon the recent years that Venus united with the Sun in Gemini:  6 June 2012 with Venus retrograde at 16 degrees, 9 June 2008 with Venus direct at 19 degrees, 8 June 2004 with Venus retrograde at 18 degrees, and 11 June 2000 with Venus direct at 21 degrees.

Hiroshige,_Rough_Sea_at_Shichirigahama_in_Sagami_Province,_1852

Hiroshige (1852) Rough Sea at Shichirigahama

Mutable Grand Cross

The New Moon in Gemini forms a Mutable Grand Square with Saturn in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Virgo, Neptune in Pisces, and the transiting lunar nodes in Pisces and Virgo.  Sudden emotional swings could overtake us as we question why we are pursuing this over that, as it is likely that numerous potential paths can be seen in misty focus.  Saturn opposing the New Moon brings concrete realization of the limitations of time and space, and a need to prioritize what we can actually achieve and manifest within the time and space currently available to us.  With so much unraveling, fear is liable to become an unwanted influence on our dreams and desires if we allow ourselves to spin out in the spiraling currents.  There is a strong element of simply not being able to know what will happen and a need to have faith in the unknown while centering our decision making within intuitive resonance.  Creating a blueprint to follow or a list of objectives to achieve will bring clarity as long as you remain open to the necessity of modifying the blueprint when demanded by the needs of the changing moment.

Similar to the “hopes and fears” space in a Celtic Cross tarot spread, the twin nature of the Gemini Moon contains the duality of hopes and fears ebbing and flowing.  While there can be great confusion and disorientation felt within these aspects, they simultaneously hold extraordinary power to completely reshape your path and surrounding structures.  If you have managed to get yourself into the right place at the right time, these aspects hold incredible inspiration that can be applied into any endeavor. Take the time to reflect on the house and aspects made by each corner of the Grand Square, as each of these areas of your life will be pulling you in different directions based upon the planetary influence.  The more you can draw upon the frantic, radical energy of the Grand Cross in order to purge emotional hangups that have been limiting your ability to declare and go after what you truly want, the more you can realize the potential being opened by the Gemini New Moon coinciding with a rebirth of Venus within incredibly catalytic Mutable aspects.

Asclepius_and_hygieia_relief

Asclepius and his daughter Hygieia. 5th Century B.C. Greek marble relief.

Asclepius

The asteroid Asclepius is opposite the New Moon and conjoining Saturn in Sagittarius at the time of the lunation.  Asclepius has been moving retrograde and now joins the Mutable Grand Cross, being in square to Jupiter in Virgo, Neptune in Pisces, and the transiting lunar nodes (Asclepius stationed retrograde at 7 degrees Capricorn on April 22 and will station direct at 25 degrees Scorpio on July 22, 2016).  Asclepius is an intriguing archetype to include in the mix, as he embodies a centered focus which integrates all four axes of the Mutable Grand Cross.  Rooted in Earth, Asclepius is a healer who emerges in times of crisis and cathartic change, reverent of Mother Nature, in balance with masculinity and femininity,  and reliant upon ritualistic incubation to find healing cures.  Asclepius is associated with healing through dreams, an incubatory process that reveals the connection between external symptoms and the underlying unconscious.  With his hermetic staff planted in the ground, Asclepius weaves together meaning from celestial and chthonic realms through discernment centered in his sensual nature, applied to his work through disciplined spiritual practice.

In addition, Chiron in Pisces is forming aspects at the Gemini New Moon that further enhance an appearance of the Asclepius archetype, as Chiron is in sextile to Mercury in Taurus and in trine to Mars retrograde in Scorpio.  Chiron was a mentor and foster parent of Asclepius, and in astrology holds similar meaning of being able to bridge connections between mind, body, and spirit to find whatever is out of harmony for healing.  Asclepius and Chiron as part of the Gemini New Moon call us to stand resolutely and face whatever is occurring without denial and escapist distractions that are more of an illusion than medicine.  The fertile, regenerative snakes of Asclepius are activated and by opening to what wants to emerge from within, while acting with nurturing integrity with yourself and those in your surroundings, the changes necessarily manifesting may be handled in a way that facilitates eventual healing of the associated ruptures.

swords09

9 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Gemini 2 Decan

The second decan of Gemini is associated with the 9 of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  An image of nightmarish worry and anguish, the 9 of Swords reveals the danger of the mind running in negative circles of repetitive thought, a fitting image of the difficulties found in the Gemini New Moon being surrounded by a Mutable Grand Square.  Tarot writer Kelsey Lynore stated that when one pulls the 9 of Swords, “you are suffering from obsessive thoughts, unable to let go of myriad abstractions over which you ceaselessly fixate . . . a victim of your own mind’s relentless machinations and meanings.”  If you find yourself entering this state of mind, use whatever resources are available to nurture yourself back to center, calming and relaxing your anxiety.  The astrology of this time is overly stimulating with unknowable change, and unless you are fortunate to be in ideal circumstances, you will not be alone in facing a dark night of the soul.  Again, the archetypal figure of Asclepius is fitting here in terms of opening awareness to what meaning and guidance can be found within the psyche, rather than fearing it.

Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Hermaphrodite” to the second face of Gemini, as it is a decan of “continuing duality” in which “we must learn to reconcile angels and demons within a single soul” (p. 92).  Coppock wrote that the 9 of Swords image connects to this decan through its revelation of an “inability to reconcile dualities within oneself, within the world . . . the moments of despair which occur within this face, the irreconcilable places” (p. 93).  Coppock concluded that both the “arts of union and separation, love and war” are found within this talented, complex decan:

Within this decan are two- and these two in turn relate to each other in a pair of ways- love and war, solve et coagula.  The mind which accepts these oscillations comes to understand the whole of interaction- they are unbothered by either, knowing the other waits in turn.

— Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, p.94

Mars is the ruler of the second decan of Gemini, adding to the emphasis of Mercury in Taurus, the ruler of the New Moon, applying to an opposition with Mars retrograde in Scorpio.  Mars rejoices in Scorpio and has its full arsenal at its disposal, and so will simultaneously be seen in great creative works as well as horrific conflicts in the external world.  The mission of the second face of Gemini to reconcile dualities is important to consider, as the polarity between Mercury and Mars retrograde holds the danger of creating conflict out of opposing forces and viewpoints.  If you can instead use the tension of opposites between Mercury and Mars retrograde to make the deepest recesses of your feelings fully conscious, no matter how painful,  Mars retrograde is in position to midwife a vital regenerative process reconnecting you with the desires that bring you most alive.  In the end, the pain and difficulty felt today will be part of the creation of a personal matrix from which the extraordinary gifts and talents you possess to share with the world will emerge.

GeminiNewMoonWRIGC4

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Gemini

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Emblem 10 as New Moon in Gemini

Emblem 10 in Atalanta Fugiens by Michael Maier. “Da ignem igni, Mercurium Mercurio, et sufficit tibi. (Give Fire to fire, Mercury to Mercury, and you have enough.)”

New Moon in Gemini

The New Moon in Gemini on June 16, 2015 has a charged atmosphere of enlivened desire, an intensification of feeling that can bring clarity to the direction we are choosing to initiate and follow.  Mars in Gemini is closely conjunct this New Moon, and just as we experience a new lunar cycle with our Sun, we also have entered a new cycle between Mars and the Sun.  It follows that both our identity and consciousness (Moon) as well as our will-force and ability to focus our consciousness on a desired goal (Mars) are simultaneously being purified and regenerated by our Sun in the sign of the Twins.  Just like the ruler of Gemini, Mercury, bridges dualities such as light and night, conscious and unconscious, so in Gemini we have the mortal twin and the immortal twin, the rational twin and the irrational twin, the magical twin and the mundane twin, and an inquisitive spirit that can connect us with the underlying source that unites and transcends binary dichotomy.  There is extraordinary depth to the sign of Gemini that is sometimes glossed over by astrologers, a quality of inquiry that can see through to the essential and thus holds this same potential for us at this New Moon.

Further electrifying the cosmic environment is the trine between Jupiter in Leo and Uranus in Aries that is almost exact (and we can also add in the goddesses Eris in Aries and Juno in Leo). Since the Gemini New Moon is in sextile to both Uranus and Jupiter, these aspects are a gift to seize and open awareness to sense the full spectrum of options available to choose from in the path ahead, without any restrictive limitations of perception present.  If you have been reading my blog and feel like you have been hearing me write about this concept repeatedly, over and over again, it is because this first quarter trine between Uranus and Jupiter has been building for months and we now only have less than a week left of it applying before it begins to separate for good in this cycle.  In other words, from now through the upcoming Solstice in Cancer is the most powerful time left to take advantage of this dynamic, inventive aspect of procreative force- and it is making a sextile to this New Moon.

Mercury in Gemini is the ruler of this New Moon and has now emerged from its time in the underworld to herald our dawn as a Morning Star again.  Mercury in this position has a strong capacity for rational analysis combined with inquisitiveness, and ability to focus on the setting and achievement of goals.  Mercury here is curious and likes to explore, and can integrate the new level of perception gained from this past Mercury retrograde period.  Whatever we discovered during the Mercury retrograde we had to realize about our circumstances, no matter how difficult it could have been to acknowledge past mistakes, misfires, or miscues, we now have an opportunity to set intentions informed with the wisdom gained from our recent experiences.  As Mercury in Gemini begins to move direct again, it also begins to apply to a sextile with Venus in Leo that will be gaining in strength over the next three weeks, eventually also coming into range of a sextile with Jupiter in Leo.  As a result, out of the dark, hidden depths of its recent travels, Mercury is now regenerated and able to facilitate our awareness of opportunities and receive support for deeper creative actualization.

Mars conjunct New Moon in Gemini

Bird in the Spirit by Morris Graves

Mars conjunct Sun in Gemini

The synodic cycle of Mars creates the atmosphere of this Gemini New Moon, as the New Moon is conjunct Mars.  Two days before the New Moon on June 14, 2015 the Sun and Mars united at 23°17′ Gemini.  The previous cycle between Mars and the Sun began on April 18, 2013 at 28°08′ Aries.  If you are like me, life has completely transformed since that time, and the great desire that arose then and may have seemed out of reach today is closer to manifestation or has already been experienced. When Mars unites with the Sun, Mars is infused with the solar force and the symbolic arrow shooting out of the circle of spirit in the Mars glyph is revivified to shoot off with focused desire in a new direction. In the past weeks with Mars under the beams of the Sun, the Sun has been burning off whatever has needed to be released in relation to Mars in our life.  This could have felt like an agonizing process at times, engulfed in the fires of our own discontent in moments, but if we have been doing this work we now can be present with a more authentic use of Mars in our life. We have shed the inessential and our desires are now rooted in the essential.

Understand that in the coming weeks you will most likely feel vulnerable in this new direction you are wanting to take, and that it will take time to build the forms and structures in your life to support this new Mars direction.  If you have felt called to pursue a new course or project in some form, this is a great sign that is in sync with the Mars and Sun cycle.  In case you have not felt a new sense of direction yet, wait for it because it will be on it’s way.  In any case, this all means that this is an especially auspicious New Moon for intention setting.  And who is that arriving now to facilitate a re-structuring in support of our new path?  Why, if it isn’t that dark and devilish master, Saturn in Scorpio.

crow japanese

Crow and Reeds by a Stream, by Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, ca. 1887)

Saturn in Scorpio

Saturn returns to the sign of Scorpio just in time for this New Moon in Gemini.  Saturn was previously in Scorpio from October 2012 through December 2014, and as we retrograde back into it’s dark waters, we gain a final opportunity to process these years of tumultuous transformation.  Moving from Sagittarius to Scorpio can be jarring, as our taskmaster Saturn shifts from a fiery, expansive, optimistically visionary sign into a watery, intense, secretive, condensed, and decomposing sign of depth. With Saturn freshly retrograde into Scorpio at the time of this New Moon, it means that our initial impulses, feelings, and experiences associated with the shift into Scorpio inform this Gemini New Moon. So just as the Sun and Mars are adding a shifting tone, so does Saturn, and Saturn moving retrograde with this shift means it is fitting to set New Moon intentions to restructure the aspects of our life demanding attention, as well as restructuring our consciousness at a bottom-line level.  With Saturn moving into Scorpio we will be realizing the why behind not only the recent experiences from Saturn in Sagittarius but also dating back to 2012 and the transit of Saturn through Scorpio.  Saturn in Scorpio wants us to be a witness without escapism and denial.  As we witness our own inner motivations and realize what the underlying patterns of our motivation have been, we will likewise gain penetrating insight into the motivations driving those we have been in relationship with.

There is a natural sextile between the signs of Capricorn and Scorpio where Pluto and Saturn currently reside, and Saturn retrograde in Scorpio is now in a balsamic semi-square aspect to Pluto retrograde in Capricorn.  This is a strong indication of a lot of material surfacing from past years to be processed, decomposed, and then ultimately used as fertilizer for new growth.  Saturn in Scorpio is in a quincunx by wide orb to the New Moon in Gemini, meaning that this Gemini New Moon gives us an opportunity to adjust to the shift of Saturn into Scorpio by creating a Mercurial bridge that links the root qualities of Gemini and Scorpio.  While the natural quincunx between the signs of Gemini and Scorpio are ignored by astrologers focused on traditional Ptolemaic aspects in astrology, there is nonetheless a deep connection between these signs that can be seen in the fact that Gemini is the eighth sign away from Scorpio.  It is the deeper, penetrating side of Gemini that connects with Scorpio, and the ability of Gemini to connect across boundaries can stimulate the Scorpio talent for merging at a core level with everything from bodies of knowledge to bodies of intimate partners.  While Gemini and Scorpio at first glance may seem to lack common ground, this New Moon initiating Saturn’s return to Scorpio is a strange gift that can utilize the Gemini talent for synthesis and shifting to dislodge any fixation we are feeling from Scorpio such as our fears, so that we can open ourselves to experience a deeper level of Scorpio transformation in the end.

10 of Swords

10 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Gemini III Decan

The image of the 10 of Swords as illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith took on new meaning for me when I read Austin Coppock’s book on the decans, 36 Faces, and realized that since Egyptian culture is the source of the decans in astrology, it is significant that ancient Egyptian traditions as well as the Hellenistic astrological tradition viewed Cancer as the first sign of the zodiac in some of their astrological arrangements.  For example in the Thema Mundi the Hellenistic chart said to represent the birth of the universe, it is Cancer that occupies the first house and Gemini that occupies the twelfth house.  Therefore, if we conceive the zodiac as beginning with the Cancer Solstice, or the first decan of Cancer, it means that the Gemini III decan would considered to be the end of the cycle, the final of the 36 faces of the zodiac.

Since the 10 of Swords is the tarot card connected with the third decan of Gemini, it is therefore fitting that the image is of a dead man who has surrendered to death, with ten swords plunged into his back- representing the death of the cycle.  While the card embodies dark skies and death, there is also brilliant light present in the sky, as well as an upturned hand that seems to indicate contentment with this release from bodily form.  In addition, there is a deep body of water behind the body, resonant with the symbolism of lakes as a portal to the underworld, as well as the current transit of Saturn returning to the sign of Scorpio.   Austin Coppock linked the death of the Gemini III decan with the necessary death or sacrifice of one of the twins of Gemini:

It is important to understand the precise nature of the death which occurs here properly, for it is not the self-sacrifice of Jesus, nor the cognate immolation and rebirth of the Phoenix. The third decan of Gemini sees Castor fall, Cain slay Abel and Set slay Horus.  It is the climax of a story of polarity.  The death which occurs here reduces a warring pair back to a stable unity . . .

For by the third decan of Gemini, dualities have permutated far beyond the shades of grey previously explored.  The ultimate extremities are present here, taken to the point that they cannot truly coexist.  Day and night must split time-  they cannot take place simultaneously.  Good and evil must do the same.  In the end, the conflicting wills of the body and spirit cannot be wholly equilibrated.  While the other decans of Gemini involve discovery, exploration, and simultaneity, in the third wait choices-  judgments that must be made.  To achieve actuality, a multitude of possibilities must be sacrificed.  Though such burnt offerings are a necessary inevitability, it does not spare those who walk this face difficult decisions  (p. 98-99).

The Sun is the ruler of the third decan of Gemini, and so it is further fitting that the recent new conjunction between the Sun and Mars initiating a new cycle also occurred in the third decan of Gemini.  At this New Moon we are experiencing the death of an old self and the emergence of a new self, in an atmosphere of intensification thrusting what was previously undifferentiated into sharp relief and realization.  In this burgeoning gale of a Gemini New Moon we set our new course with faith in the unknown before us.

GeminiNewMoonWRIGC1A

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.