Here we are almost half-way through this fascinating 2020. Personally, I see it, at the same time, passing by in slow motion and moving on as a high speed train. Shifts in life can be quickly integrated, yet there is this pulsating slowness of descending deep into the dark earth of my inner being, composting, listening, resting and germinating, creating a possibility for the shadow to come to the surface.
We are now in the season of planetary retrogrades. Retrogrades can bring disruption. It is a good period for observation and shifting perspectives. Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Venus are already in retrograde, and within a few weeks Neptune and Mercury will follow suit.
Venus retrograde in Gemini square to Neptune
Venus retrograde offers a possibility to re-ignite and re-consider our relationships, with ourselves, with others, to review our values, as well as our beliefs about money.
The questions to contemplate during this period:
How do my environment and connections reflect me?
What needs to change in my environment so that I feel more myself, more comfortable, and more alive?
What is it that I really like?
Each one of us is unique. Each one is valuable. Each one is a resource sharing something unique with the world. During this period, there is a possibility to come into greater alignment with our own unique set of values, interests, our inner truth, and the sense of self, so that we can really establish connections with the like-minded.
This time invites us to stay open and investigate our interests and values, to explore diversity, try out new things, flavors, tastes, new connections, and learn about our interests from the feedback we receive. This exploration holds great creative potential. Different sides of us may be fulfilled and nourished through different groups, connections, activities, and environments.
Enlivening gifts of the mutable Gemini
This is officially a Gemini season! It is time to lighten up, be flexible and apply one’s curiosity. Venus is currently moving retrograde in Gemini. The Sun has been in Gemini since May 21st, and on May 22nd we celebrated the new moon in Gemini, marking the beginning of a new lunar cycle, the period of sowing seeds to sprout in the coming weeks.
Some say, it is the strongest that survives. I say, those survive who can adapt the best to the changing circumstances. Gemini is a mutable sign and a great teacher of adaptation.
No matter one’s astrological sign, one can grow and enrich one’s life experience by evolving in the qualities of other signs.
Gemini experience is about the duality of existence in the world. The above and below. The celestial and the earthly. The beauty and the beast. Our highest virtues and our darkest shadow. Selfishness and empathy. Right brain and left brain. We learn by experiencing the opposites. And yet opposites and polarization can be accompanied by judgment (for example, a tendency to interpret ”positive” emotions as better). How is it possible to come out of polarization to experience everything as merely some expression of Creation, to understand that there is unity beyond polarization?
Gemini is ruled by Mercury the messenger, ruling our communication. It is the language we use to connect to each other and understand each other. It is the mind, the thinking function, discussion, questioning, conversations, and changing perspectives. Mercury is the Sage, driven by his insatiable desire to learn, to put the surrounding world apart into smaller pieces of information so it can be better understood.
Evolving with the higher qualities of the Gemini-Sagittarius polarity
One of the most important transits of the year was initiated on May the 6th with the lunar nodes switching signs. We passed from the Cancer-Capricorn axis to the Gemini-Sagittarius axis. This polarity marks the quality of our collective evolution. The north node of the moon will remain in Gemini through January 2022 (respectively the south node will be in Sagittarius). The north node is often associated with future development, the opportunity to change and re-write our destiny. The south node is what is familiar to us, our past, the unresolved to deal with, the unfinished business. The south node often illuminates the shadow side of a sign, so here look for places of solidified beliefs and the rigidness of mind (as a reflection of the shadow side of Sagittarius).
Having stepped into the Gemini-Sag polarity, one is invited to contemplate on the higher expressions of the archetypes of these signs.
How do they show up in one’s life?
Where can one recognize an opportunity to grow and evolve in life in alignment with these archetypes?
In one’s search for truth and meaning, there is great importance in applying discernment of information, putting things into context. Only then can information become elevated into wisdom and meaning.
Calling on the virtues and teachings of these signs!
Sagittarius,
Bring us wisdom, expansion, exploration, connection to truth, and the laws of nature. Let us experience transcendence, honesty, intuition, love for life, great energy, and the sense of beauty.
Gemini,
Bless us with curiosity, knowledge, your mental flexibility, your wit, your learner’s mind, vitality, and the ability to change. Teach us how to adapt, be sociable, stay youthful, bring playfulness.
based on the reports by Rasa-Lila, Kaypacha Lescher, Christina Caudill, as well as personal experience
Photo by Brad Mann on Unsplash