The New Moon in Gemini on June 12 is all about communications, ideas, and bigger bandwidth.

Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communications, intellectual exchange, and business negotiations. Not only does Mercury rule this New Moon, but all of the other planets send their energy to the Messenger. That’s a lot of concentrated focus! So if you’ve got something to talk about, an idea to pitch to the boss (including your request for a raise or promotion), or a contract to sign, this is the time to do it!

We may start seeing developments related to this New Moon as early as Thursday, when Mercury enters his home sign of Gemini. He has been in Taurus since early April, favoring slow, deliberate thinking. Enough of that! It’s time to get those neurons firing and brainstorm new solutions to old problems. In Gemini, Mercury’s first order of business will be to contact Uranus and Jupiter in Aries and give them some ideas for speedy action.

A few hours after Mercury enters Gemini, the Moon follows, creating the setup for the conjunction with the Sun, exact at 7:15 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Whereas Mercury’s aspects to other planets provoke thought and discussion, the Moon puts feeling behind those thoughts.

Unfortunately, both the Moon and Mercury square Mars on Thursday and Friday. Mars in Virgo looks at everything with a critical eye. If honest feedback upsets you, you might want to stay out of the line of fire for a few days. Likewise, if you’re too attached to your ideas, you can assume that the other guy is, too, and one or both of you could end up bruised if you get into a debate.

If you can accept some criticism, though, you’ll be in good stead to start a new venture at the New Moon. Nothing says you have to take all of it to heart. You just have to listen and make an honest attempt to determine whether it has any merit. If it does, take the time to modify your plans accordingly.

Uranus and Jupiter in Aries may have you chomping at the bit to get moving, but an opposition from Saturn wags a finger in your face and tells you to cover all your bases, unless you’ve got so much time and money that you can afford to throw a big chunk of it down the drain.

In any case, we can expect new initiatives to come into our lives in rapid-fire succession, and we may need to burn the candle at both ends for a few days to get everything done. A Mars-Pluto trine supports personal and global transformation. At the very least, we can recognize what needs to change and come up with a viable plan.

As I mentioned in my weekly forecast, we may read about new solutions for some of the sticky problems in the news lately, most notably the gulf oil spew (I didn’t coin that phrase, but I think it describes the situation much better than “spill”). These developments may cause a flurry of excitement, but don’t be surprised or disappointed if the results are just temporary. There are more big changes ahead, and every time you change one element of a situation, something else gets thrown out of balance and needs readjustment.

The New Moon is at a wide trine to Neptune in Aquarius and Chiron in Pisces, both of which went retrograde last week. Healing comes out of the recognition that we’re all connected. Even a seemingly trivial act such as throwing away a plastic bag instead of recycling or reusing it has consequences when millions of other people are doing the same thing.

Venus, nearing the end of her tour through family oriented Cancer, is sextile Saturn, reminding us that committed relationships are hard work and come with duties and responsibilities. It’s also a good idea to take stock of our finances and set some limits. When Venus enters Leo on June 14 and trines Uranus and Jupiter, we may be tempted to run wild, overindulge, and gamble. Knowing your limits will help you decide how much risk you can afford to take, whether it’s with your money, relationships, or something else you hold dear.

Pluto remains in a tight T-square with Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn. Technically, it’s not a cardinal T-square yet, because Saturn is in mutable Virgo until July 21. We’ve never been through anything like this in our lifetime or, for that matter, in recorded history. So we don’t know exactly how this is all going to play out. However, I suspect that Saturn in earth-sign Virgo may be acting as an anchor, preventing volatile situations from exploding completely out of control. That could change in another month.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Sun and Moon at 21°24′ Gemini is a barn dance, with the keyword GREGARIOUSNESS. As the environmental consequences of mindless overconsumption force us to make tough choices, it’s a good time to remember that happiness doesn’t depend on a 4G cell phone. Ultimately, our fulfillment comes not through the quantity of our communications, but through the quality of our interactions with others . We’ve gotten ourselves into a big mess, and the only way out is through organization, cooperation, and sharing. If we step on each other’s toes from time to time, it’s part of the process.

The next lunation will be a Full Moon lunar eclipse conjunct Pluto. I’ll be writing lots more on this as the date approaches.

Until then, wish you all much love and courage,
Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmond Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in the early 1920s. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.