Tag Archives: Gemini

Weekly Forecast May 26: New Moon in Gemini, Venus Enters Taurus

Begonias. © Pat Paquette.

This past week has been weird, almost like a Mercury retrograde period, but with more irritation.

Since Friday, Mercury has been in the “shadow” period before his next retrograde begins on June 7. Sometimes we experience the manifestations of the retrograde during the run-up. Many of you have noted that in the past. I think that will be all the more true this time, with Mars just coming out of retrograde and moving back toward a T-square with Uranus and Pluto. Both Mercury and Mars are moving very slowly (what it looks like from here on Earth), with corresponding events such as delays in transportation, missed and confused communications, errors in telephone and online orders, and so forth. Continue reading →

Gemini Rising: The Gemini Soul

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), by Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The sign of Gemini is associated with all aspects of communication: speaking, talking, writing, also thinking, and all at lightening-speed. Fast-talking, fast-moving, fast-thinking, ever-moving, restless fidgety Gemini!

Conventionally, Gemini is associated with gossip and fickleness, yet there is so much more depth to this highly significant sign than first meets the eye. According to Esoteric Astrology by Alice Bailey, Gemini is the only sign that is connected to the remaining eleven signs of the zodiac. Well wouldn’t that make sense from the sign of connection?

If we think connection, communion and weaving, we are starting to touch upon the deeper spiritual significance of Gemini. Gemini takes the threads of life, the threads of the Universe, and weaves them all together into one cohesive whole. No small task.

I cannot too strongly reiterate the constant necessity for you to think in terms of energies and forces, of lines of force, and energy relationships … The whole story of astrology is, in reality, one of magnetic and magical interplay for the production or externalization of the inner reality…”
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Yet we can go even deeper. In his book The Self-Aware Universe, quantum physicist Dr. Amit Goswami explains how consciousness is the basic building block of the Universe (and all universes). Everything is made of consciousness. The very threads of life that Gemini weaves are threads of consciousness. Now we’re talking! (Or not, as the case may be!) Gemini knows that words are powerful, but that thoughts are even more powerful, and consciousness beyond thought is even more powerful again.

The deeper purpose underlying Gemini’s sometimes incessant chatter is an innate need, not only for connection but for deeper communion. Gemini is the sign of holy communion in the most sacred sense of communing with all that is healthy, healed and whole (holy). Gemini can be thought of as the connective tissue of the Universe, permeating, weaving through, and touching, everything and every no-thing! It is in Gemini that consciousness becomes aware of itself by reflecting itself back to itself through the illusion of another. This is one of the deepest esoteric mysteries of Gemini. As the mutable air sign, Gemini is a sign of mind and changeable mind at that!

If we observe closely (and intelligent Gemini is excellent at noticing things!) we can see how it is the everyday working of the mind that divides and separates. From the all-inclusive experience of this eternal present moment, the mind steps in and begins categorising: That is a tree. There goes a plane. Here is my computer. There is a cat. This is my house. If you really watch your own mind, you will see it does this constantly. From the eternal universal dance of interconnected energy, the mental mind isolates and labels things, and this becomes a habit until all we see are things, and we lose sight of the continuity of the Universe.

The Gemini mind divides and separates, creating polarity and duality. Me and you. Male and female. This and that. Yet we are only ever a moment away from stepping outside of this mental dialogue and becoming aware once more of the universal consciousness that is all that is. This awareness would also be a function of Gemini, through which he has an innate understanding of relationship. Because Gemini is connected to everything, he can see how everything fits together. Gemini can see the big picture and the finer details at one and the same time.

Here then is the key to understanding both the highest spiritual purpose of Gemini, and his lower fear-based expressions. One of the (many) dualities that Gemini needs to resolve is the separation of the head-mind and the heart-mind. Remember, in reality there is no separation. As we mentioned earlier, the separation is an illusion created by the mental aspect of mind. If we really understand Dr. Goswami’s hypothesis of everything being consciousness, then we could in fact say that, in a sense, everything is “mind.” Patanjali, the founder of modern yoga, referred to this higher mind as “Universal Mind.” Perhaps it is also analagous to what Carl Jung called the collective consciousness. This all-inclusive Universal Mind encapsulates the wholeness of our being. In Universal Mind there is no separation.

If you have Gemini Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Gemini soul, and you are here to learn right human relations yourself so you can teach it. To do this, you have to “marry” your head-mind and your heart-mind and deeply understand relationship as the interplay of light. Because Gemini is so curious, you are interested in everything, so your biggest challenge is to stay focused on your soul path and not become distracted by mundane affairs.

The highest octave of Gemini accesses the intelligence of the heart through higher love. You learn this from experience when you spend more time in your heart and realize that when you are heart-centered, there really is no separation. It is the illusion of separation itself that creates fear. The danger for Gemini is that you may weave your own web of thoughts and then get caught in it yourself. The Gemini mind separates, labels, and categorizes. This is a brilliant device that you have created that allows you to process vast amounts of information.

You are an ace at mental processing, but mental processing is only a tool. It is a device that we use, not the essence of our being. If you become identified with your mental processes, you begin to feel lifeless. When you spend too much time thinking, not only do you become identified with your thoughts, but also you begin to notice something is “missing” in your life. You become disconnected from your heart, spirit and soul, and the playful light of Gemini begins to dim.

When Gemini gets “lost” inside his own head, the illusion of separation becomes magnified. You can become fearful and may spend too much time talking about and processing mental information in a scattered and unfocused way. This can lead to mental overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, and even fatigue. The solution is to go deeper in meditation, learning to focus your attention in the heart, resting peacefully in your heart center. From this place of peace within, you realize that there is no separation, that we are all one and, indeed, all mental concepts arise from the one source.

Energy follows attention, and through the practice of meditation (in other words learning to focus your attention), you begin to access Universal Mind and set yourself free from the “prison” of lower mind and mental processing. Universal Mind includes your heart and soul. Mental processing excludes everything else. Once you perfect the art of keeping your attention in Universal Mind, you resolve the final duality of Gemini: that of personality and soul.

[callout]I recognise my other self and in the waning of that self, I grow and glow. ~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology[/callout]

If you have Gemini Rising, you are here to recognize and teach the interelatedness of all things through loving awareness. To do this, you must first release the fear-based expression of Gemini that comes as a result of being over-identified with your thoughts. You are not what you think. It is vital that you meditate or take up some similar practice for focusing your attention, so you can go beyond mental processing and realize for yourself the reality of Universal Mind. From this higher perspective, you will experience your soul as the truth of your being and experience the highest wisdom that comes through deep connection and communion with higher love and all that is.

Next month, we’ll explore Cancer Rising and the Cancer Soul. If you can’t wait to hear about the purpose of your Soul Sign, you can read a summary of all 12 signs on Ruth’s website, RuthHadikin.com.

Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website, Soul Astrology with Ruth.

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Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).

Weekly Forecast May 20: Uranus Square Pluto, Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius

This week is one of the most astrologically active of 2013, with an exact square of Uranus and Pluto and a lunar eclipse at the Full Moon, which also is the Buddhist festival of Wesak.

I can’t say that the rubber is going to meet the road, because we’re well past that point. For many of us, it feels like we’re spinning our wheels and getting nowhere. Others have been driving and driving, only to arrive at a dead end in the wilderness, wondering whether we’ll have enough fuel to get us back to the main road and moving in the right direction.

Not that dead ends are bad. We often need to go all the way down the “wrong” road in order to learn something, recover a lot piece of ourselves, or just explore and experiment. In the great cosmic lab, as in real-life labs, not all experiments are successful. Indeed, most of them fail. But in failing, we learn what doesn’t work, thereby putting us a step closer to what will.

As I wrote in last week’s forecast, the Uranus-Pluto square is exact on Monday. This will be the third of seven exact alignments between 2012 and 2015. The last one occurred on September 19, 2012, and the next will fall on November 1, 2013. The November square also will be near an eclipse and likely more intense than this week’s. Still, we’re in turbulent waters, and even those who love a wild ride may be getting more than they bargained for. We’re being forced to accept fast and continual change, and it seems that once we embrace it, circumstances come along that force us to accept still more changes. It’s hard for me to give advice these days about how to cope, except recommend doing whatever works best for you in the moment. If balance isn’t possible, do your best to remain standing. If that doesn’t work, crawl on all fours. Or just stay down.

I’m surprised by how people I know (myself included) have gone into a shutdown phase. As bad as that sounds, it may be a good thing. At least in my own experience, I’ve realized that shutting down may be necessary for internal changes to take place. Really, it’s not much different than metamorphosis. The caterpillar has to be entirely shut down for the magical changes to take place. Some don’t make it through, but die in the process. In the alchemy of the soul, this process is called solve et coagula – dissolve and congeal. The idea is to identify the parts of ourselves that need changing and then to “dissolve” them – a process that often involves entirely breaking down. During the breakdown phase, we’re in an extremely vulnerable and even dangerous place. It’s the classic “dark night of the soul,” where fear, hopelessness, and despair can get the best of us. But once the breakdown is complete, we can start to rebuild, with greater strength, clarity, and wisdom. Those of you who have been through this process know what I’m talking about. If you’re going through it now for the first time, try to have some faith that there is a purpose to your struggle.

Breaking down is a big part of the Uranus-Pluto square. Uranus in Aries is a disruptive force that blasts structures apart, often literally. Pluto also is a destructive force, but the point is to release bound-up energies in order to create something new. This concept also was part of alchemy. It takes energy to stay stuck in old patterns. When we break out of those patterns, we release the energy to create something new and stronger. This is true for individuals as well as for organizations and societies.

Click on image to enlarge

The chart for this Saturday’s lunar eclipse (late Friday in Western time zones) powerfully reflects this process. The Sun and Moon are in a close square with Neptune, the planet of dissolution. This also happens to be the last eclipse in the Sagittarius-Gemini series, which began at the solstice in December 2010. The last eclipse in a series represents a close to a chapter, a final outcome. Since this is a lunar eclipse, it does suggest dissolution and endings. However, dissolution is not really the end. It’s just the end of one event, situation, relationship, or phase of life, and in all likelihood, the ending is necessary in order to free up energy for to create something new.

The “something new” is represented by Saturn, the planet of form and structure. As you can see in the chart, Neptune and Saturn are in a very close trine, a positive aspect representing a non-resistant path along with energy can flow. This tells me that whatever breaks down will quickly be able to reform. Moreover, Saturn is in mutual reception with Pluto, so even though there is no apparent “outlet” for the Uranus-Pluto square in this chart, there is an invisible and very powerful one. The difficulty, though, is as I stated earlier: new forms come into being and may quickly disintegrate, keeping us in a constant state of anxiety.

The ruler of this Full Moon is Jupiter, who is close to finishing his year-long tour through Gemini. Jupiter is in detriment in Gemini but next month will enter Cancer, the sign of his exaltation. Moreover, he’ll form a grand trine with Saturn and Neptune, so we’ll have even more opportunities to create what we most want and need, especially in terms of what connects us with each other and sustains us emotionally.

Mercury, the ruler of Gemini, is in his own sign, and he’s conjunct Venus and approaching conjunction with Jupiter at the eclipse. This is a vibrant configuration that favors intellectual creativity of all kinds, but especially writing. It’s also a good opportunity to examine the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. With an eclipse squaring Neptune, this is a great time to release illusions and delusions. Whether you’re underestimating yourself or misjudging your limitations, now would be a good time for a reality check.

Wesak occurs at the Full Moon in sidereal Scorpio. Sometimes this is the same as in the tropical system, which is the form of astrology most of us in the Western world use. This year, however, the dates are different. You can read more about sidereal and tropical astrology in a recent Q&A post. Wesak is a major “download” time, when a portal opens to higher consciousness and enlightenment. It’s my belief that a big part of the turbulence happening in the world now is related to awakening consciousness in large groups of people. Just as giving birth is painful, waking up can be painful, too. When we understand how connected we are, depending on how we’ve structured our lives, we might suddenly realize that we need a complete overhaul. Humans are hard-wired to maintain the status quo, so being in a constant state of flux can rock us to our very foundations.

Personally, I’m going through a difficult process that in hindsight began well before I got sick last week. As many of you know from reading my blog, I experienced adrenal fatigue last summer as a result of a grueling academic schedule. I never fully recovered, and it appears I’ve had a relapse. I saw my doctor last week, and we’ve formulated a plan, but healing is going to take many months, especially since I’m not able to eliminate the worst causes of stress in my life. All I can do is give in to the process and have faith that, as in past situations, I’ll come out of it stronger and wiser. After all, it was through similar circumstances in 2001 that I became an astrologer. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next. In the meantime, I offer my sincerest apologies to those of you who have written e-mails and ordered reports and who haven’t received a response from me. For the past two weeks, I’ve spent most of my time sleeping or lying down. I don’t know how long this will last. In the meantime, my mind is working very slow, and it takes me all day to write what I used to be able to do in an hour or two. It’s humbling, to say the least.

Next week is going to look a lot better on many levels, so hang in there with me, all of you.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast November 26: Mercury Direct, Lunar Eclipse in Gemini

Astrologically, this is a huge week, with three important conjunctions, Mercury turning direct just before a lunar eclipse in Mercury-ruled Gemini, and everything connected.

We’re already seeing the effects of the planetary configuration in the eclipse chart, which is complex and exceedingly rare. The Mars-Uranus square peaked on Friday, and right on cue, there was a huge explosion in Springfield, Mass., followed by a tragic fire on Saturday at a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

A small gate. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

I predicted in last week’s forecast that the Mars-Uranus square might be mitigated by the conjunction of Venus and Saturn, favorably angled to Mars and Pluto. In the case of the Springfield explosion, this seemed to be the case. How likely is it that a blast that size in a major city like Springfield would result in no fatalities? According to a story by The Associated Press, officials marveled how the “blast occurred when a day care center next door was closed. The center’s building was heavily damaged.” In the chart timed for the explosion, Venus and Saturn were in the fifth house, which rules children. Vesta, an asteroid named for the Roman goddess who protected the community, was on the Ascendant.

And yet, the chart for the Dhaka fire has almost the same Ascendant, with Venus and Saturn in the fifth house as well, and as we know from news reports, at least 124 people died, most of them women. The only apparent difference in the charts is the position of the Moon, which in the Dhaka chart is at a near-exact inconjunct with chart-ruler Mercury, stationed (stopped) in preparation for returning direct tomorrow. According to news reports, emergency exits were blocked, and the workers were trapped.

This is a good reminder that astrology can’t tell you “what’s going to happen to you.” Our actions do count, and we can affect the outcome of situations. According to news reports, the Dhaka factory was tagged more than a year ago for unsafe conditions – by, of all ironies, Wal-Mart, one of the factory’s leading buyers and a corporation not known for great working conditions. We can choose not to heed warnings, and sometimes we even get away with it. Then, when astrological conditions change, we pay.

What’s so tragic here is that the people who paid with their lives had no voice. That, in a nutshell, is what the Uranus-Pluto square is all about. The more people rise up and protest, the more forceful the backlash from the authorities becomes.

The closer we get to Wednesday’s Full Moon eclipse, the closer the planets will align, with the Sun right at the midpoint between Mars and Pluto on one side and Saturn and Venus on the other. I can’t get over how extraordinary this alignment is, and I expect that the manifestations of it will be equally as remarkable. I see the possibility that it is a small window, a narrow gateway, to accomplishing the impossible and finding resolution to the greatest conflicts facing humanity. I was thinking “war and peace,” when a link popped onto my screen for indie films about war and peace. I just love synchronicities.

In that context, my “big news” is relatively minor. Nevertheless, it was a major accomplishment for me to complete my first video for RealAstrologers. It’s a week later than I planned, with several problems I wasn’t able to resolve, despite several all-nighters. I definitely was tempting fate trying to do work requiring exacting detail during Mercury retrograde, but there was no way around it. With better planning, I’d have had the video done by the first of November, but I’ve also had a backlog of reports. Some of the things that went wrong in the video-making process would have been laughable for an astrologer, if not for the time and frustration – we know that this is exactly what happens with Mercury in “reverse.” I was seriously not amused that my program kept crashing when I was nearly done. Right up until the 11th hour, problems made mountains out of small, routine tasks. But I did have some fun, too, and I learned a ton – a major function of Mercury.

For sure, I’m not the only one who’s been tearing my hair out. On Wednesday, I got the following e-mail from a client:

Normally I heed well your warnings on Mercury retrograde. A week and a half ago I decided to purchase a new fridge, to replace the 30-year-old one in the house … After many problems it was delivered last Saturday and has yet to freeze an ice cube. I have had to toss much food, lose a day’s pay to a repairman, who said he can get a part in December, and lose my mind to the point of getting sick. As it stands right now I will be getting the useless one hauled out and new one in tonight. I will never blatantly disregard your warnings again!

The good news is that we have only one more day of this, and then we’ve got the green light … and how!

Click on image to enlarge

Most of this week’s aspects appear in the chart for the eclipse, starting with Monday’s Sun-Uranus trine. This is where I see the biggest potential for good surprises. We’ve had enough bad ones lately – then, nothing really surprises us much anymore … OK, maybe I shouldn’t have written that. As we found out with Hurricane Katrina, trines can be “good” for something other than humans. Nature is neutral and couldn’t care less how weather affects us. Likewise, the Universe is neutral. Our limited notion of “benefit” is just that – limited.

Also on Monday, Mercury returns direct. This is critically important, given that Mercury is the ruler of Wednesday’s eclipse. Mercury went retrograde in Sagittarius but returns direct in Scorpio, the sign of backroom deals, spies, and corporate secrets. It’s hard to imagine what kind of shocking information will come out in the next two weeks. Will any election results be overturned? The United Nations has declared Washington and Colorado in violation of international treaties for voting to legalize pot. This is just too bizarre for words. And what about Petraeus and Benghazi? I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop – namely, confirmation that the U.S. “consulate” in Benghazi was a CIA outpost, that this was not a secret in upper echelons, and that the Republicans’ faux outrage is a diversionary tactic. As for the impending “fiscal cliff” – well, who knows what surprises lie in store?

Later on Monday, Venus conjoins Saturn, immediately followed on Tuesday by the conjunction of Mars and Pluto. There is some deep symbolic significance here in that Venus and Mars are the quintessential male and female, that each is aligned with a “superpower,” and that those superpowers are virtually indistinguishable, due to their mutual reception. How much difference, really, is there between the one political party and another, one country or another? The polarities anymore are not between political parties or countries, but between social classes – those with political and economic power, and those without it. Protest movements around the world seem to identify more with one another than they do with their own national identities, with fast global communications as a means of connecting. This is the wave of the future.

Venus formally aligns with Pluto on Wednesday and with Mars on Thursday. The one factor that may make an immediate difference in U.S. national affairs is the number of women in Congress. In general (note emphasis), our values are different, with relationships being more important than dominance. I know that there are countries ahead of us in this regard – Iceland, for example. The vanguard is followed by the mainstream.

The one planet I didn’t discuss in my video was Jupiter, who is not far from the Moon in the eclipse chart. The conjunction is a bit wide to have much impact, and Jupiter is retrograde and in the sign of his fall. But there’s a little extra “luck” here nonetheless, plus some amplification of the power of the energies of the eclipse in general. So, even though it’s only a penumbral eclipse and you may not even see it, there’s a better chance that you’ll feel it in some area of your life.

I’m really excited about this week, and I’m especially looking forward to getting my work back on track. One of my first tasks (after taking care of client e-mail and some backlogged reports) will be to create the template for the StarGuide Winter 2013 Forecast. I just love it that some of you have pre-ordered before I even announced it. I’ll have an update in next week’s forecast.

In the meantime, much love and courage to all,
Pat

Lunar Eclipse in Gemini, November 28, 2012

I finally finished my video on the upcoming lunar eclipse. Yay!

Trying to do this kind of detailed work during Mercury retrograde has been a challenge, to say the least. Anything that could go wrong, did – everything from compatibility issues between my editing program and my new camera to a bad bathroom bang trim. The setbacks and delays were so numerous that I almost gave up a couple of times. All I could do was laugh, knowing that everything that happened was a supreme validation of astrology. And it was great fun to create the motion graphics, complete with exploding Gemini and imploding Pluto.

I’ll post my regular weekly forecast later today, so check back this evening. There’s so much going on this week! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my first video for RealAstrologers.

Mercury, Venus, and the Inner Journey of Gemini, Part II

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

There are many ways to describe the long journey from the head to the heart, but the simplest way is probably to think of it as a shift from fear to love.

The fear-love polarity is just one of the polarities resolved in Gemini. Gemini has a unique role to play in the spiritual awakening and evolution of planet Earth, and this happens through the conditioning effect of Mercury-Venus on an awakening humanity, such that humanity recognizes its unique and vital role as custodian of Earth. We are here to be lovers of our Earth home. Just like nurturing mothers or spiritual midwives, we are all here to hold our Earth home in love as she goes through her own birthing process.

Esoteric Astrology* tells us of the unique relationship between Earth and Venus, sister planets, and the unique relationship that Gemini has with the heart of the Sun. (Esoterically Cancer is associated with the physical Sun, Aquarius with the central Spiritual Sun, and Gemini with the heart of the Sun). Of the Seven Rays, Gemini is only associated with Ray Two: love-wisdom, otherwise known as the path of love.” Since Gemini rules humanity, this gives us a clear indicator of the divine purpose of humanity, the reason we are here.

In exoteric astrology the sign of Gemini is not usually associated with love and romance, and that is because it is not romantic love of which we speak here. It is the highest love that connects all sentient beings. It is said that God is love, and that is the highest mystery of Gemini and why Gemini is the sign that permeates and touches everything.

Gemini’s highest purpose is, through the conditioning effects of Mercury and Venus, to bring real, tangible, love into everything he touches; to love everything in existence, through right relationship, and the dissolution of all polarity – love-hate, male-female, friend-enemy, us-them, etc. – until we experience ourselves living as one body, the body of humanity, a “brotherhood” of individuals breathing vitality and love into the earth.

The symbol for Venus (and our contemporary symbol for the female), a circle above a cross, is similar to the Egyptian ankh. The ankh is known as the breath of life, and in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, the deity can often be seen holding an ankh to the nose of the deceased pharaoh to give him the breath of life. It is said that midwives in ancient Egypt carried ankhs for this reason, so they always had the breath of life for the newborn.

This is a reminder of the conditioning effect of Venus in Gemini, connecting us all with love-wisdom and the breath of life. It is also a reminder of the importance of Gemini for the spiritual awakening of humanity and, ultimately, the evolution of planet Earth as she transcends and transforms into a sacred planet like her twin sister, Venus. The journey begins as humanity bridges the gap from our heads to our hearts.

Gemini season is especially important for all humanity, in terms of spiritual awakening, and if you have Gemini or Sagittarius strongly placed in your chart, it takes on a note of personal significance for you. It is potentially a time to open your heart and make the greatest shift in perception: to that of heart-centered living.

The year 2012 is of great significance, as on June 5/6 (depending where you are in the world) we have a transit of Venus crossing the Sun. This is a great alignment of the loving, sacred feminine energy of Venus (Gemini’s Soul ruler) with the heart of the Sun (Gemini) and the Earth (Gemini’s Hierarchical ruler) in the sign of Gemini (humanity/love-wisdom) for the purpose of a great influx of love-wisdom. Its purpose? To awaken a sleeping humanity to heart-centered living and divine purpose as a living expression of love-wisdom.

Ruth

* Esoteric Astrology, the wisdom of The Tibetan (Master DK) as channelled through Alice Bailey.

About the illustration: Karen MacKenzie has been working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art. Her prints are very affordable!

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Mercury, Venus, and the Inner Journey of Gemini, Part I

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Gemini Season is here again bringing with it the interplay of light through form.

The Soul, which began its journey in Aries as a “point of light in the mind of God,” became a beam of light in Taurus and now divides into multiple beams of light in Gemini. Think of the quality of sunshine playing through the leaves or the dancing sparkles of light on water, and you have the light, playful, fairy-like quality of Gemini. The one becomes many, and the Divine dance has begun.

Don’t misunderstand the playfulness of light; indeed, a sense of play is in the nature of light and is inherent in the whole of creation. The apparent superficial quality of Gemini belies his deepest mysteries: the mystery of life and the mysteries of our divine purpose as a spiritually awakened humanity. Gemini is associated with the breath, and indeed the divine use of the breath, through words and sound, is a clue to the deepest mysteries of Gemini.

Gemini has three planetary “rulers,” each of which is important in understanding these deeper mysteries of Gemini. The personality ruler of Gemini is Mercury, the Soul ruler of Gemini is Venus, and the Hierarchical ruler of Gemini is the Earth herself. (Esoterically, Venus and Earth are said to be sister planets.) It is through Gemini that humanity fulfills its divine purpose as custodian for Earth and the elemental kingdoms. Gemini connects us to the etheric and the elemental at one and the same time. This apparent sign of duality is actually a sign of multiplicity, connection, and communion. Through Gemini we realize our interconnectedness with one another, Earth and her creatures, and all sentient beings.

At the personality level Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods. Esoterically Mercury is responsible for the Rainbow Bridge, or Antakharana, connecting lower and higher mind. It is through Mercury that we learn to connect and commune with our higher selves and hear our spiritual calling. It is ultimately through the activity of Mercury, conditioning, expanding and awakening our perception, that we attune to higher consciousness and perceive our divine purpose. It is through Mercury that we realize our interconnectedness to one another, that the brotherhood (or sisterhood) of humanity becomes the body of humanity as we transcend separatism and realize the divine task of humanity as custodian of the Earth and her creatures.

At Soul level, Gemini is ruled by Venus. Once the activity of Mercury has expanded our perception, we are open to the activity of Venus through the heart center. This brings a spiritual awakening in the form of a deep sense of communion and connectedness with all sentient beings. There is an awareness of love, not as an idea, but as a living energy which permeates and radiates throughout all life. This shift in perception brings us to the realization of our interrelatedness with one another and all living things.

Mercury opens portals of communion between lower and higher self, so we connect with our inner “guru,” coach, or our own, wise self. However, there is still a perceived duality, a separation, as experienced from the side of the personality. In last month’s article, we looked at the harmonizing aspect of Venus as experienced through physical matter in Taurus. Venus achieves harmony through the law of right relationship. What makes the difference between music and a collection of disharmonious sounds? It is the relationship between each note. When each note sounds in right relationship to the others, the human ear (and indeed all of existence) recieves it as music: in other words, sounds that are played in harmony with one another.

As Venus begins her work, Gemini moves from the lower octave to the higher octave and begins harmonizing all perceived duality. It is the conditioning effect of Venus and the law of right relationship that allow Gemini’s higher octave to resolve all duality. Gemini has a unique role in the zodiac and, esoterically, it is the only sign that is connected with each of the other eleven zodiac signs. This is because, according to the Tibetan,* Gemini will play a vital role in the future astrology, be resolving all duality and polarities so that eventually we have six zodiac energies rather than the currently perceived twelve as Aries-Libra, Taurus-Scorpio, and so forth, synthesize into one energy. This synthesizing effect of Gemini is due to the unique relationship between Mercury and Venus, opening a pathway to higher love.

As this Mercury-Venus connection grows, clarifying and strengthening the Rainbow Bridge, the Soul presents ever more clearly and strongly to the individual. Hence the Soul keynote for Gemini:

I recognize my other self and in the waning of that self I grow and glow.

This speaks to the individual process of Soul recognition and identification, whereby eventually the Soul experience is so strong, the connection is such that the individual realizes, “This is who I am.” At that point, the grip of the personality is loosened and the individual lives freely as a fully Soul-centered being.

Next: Gemini’s role in awakening humanity to the power of love.

Ruth

* Esoteric Astrology, the wisdom of The Tibetan (Master DK) as channelled through Alice Bailey.

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Weekly Forecast June 13: Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius, Venus Trine Saturn

This week is dominated by the lunar eclipse at the Full Moon on Wednesday.

The eclipse in the middle of the week brings us to the halfway point between the inter-eclipse period of June 1 to July 1. It’s hard to predict what will happen at eclipses, except to note that they often bring sudden and unexpected change.

It seems to me, though, that we pretty much know the nature of the changes, if not the specifics. Also, the last eclipse in a series tends to mark the wrapping up of an issue that has been the main focus of your life for the past couple of years. So, what I think we’re going to see between Wednesday’s Full Moon eclipse and the solar eclipse on July 1 is a new path coming into view, with a clear message that it leads to a very different place than where we’ve been for the past two years.

That said, eclipses aren’t a time to initiate new ventures or start a new relationship. We’re in a state of disorientation and adjustment. What feels right to you now may not seem like such a good idea in a few weeks. If an opportunity arises, go for it. But don’t try to force something to happen that isn’t unfolding naturally on its own.

Planetary aspects that occur at an eclipse provide us with additional information about how things might shake out. As I mentioned in my eclipse post, there’s a trine from Venus to Saturn, who has just turned direct – a powerful moment. The trine is exact on Saturday, so it will be in the dynamic applying stage at the Full Moon. Saturn is in Libra, the sign of relationships, and Venus rules Libra. So, Saturn is sending his structuring capacity to the planet of love. Commitment among equal partners is a theme here, and I sure hope it spreads.

Mars, unfortunately, is sitting on malefic fixed star Algol, and he’s in an irritating inconjunct with the Full Moon. The planet of war isn’t very strong in Taurus, which also is ruled by Venus. I see this theme playing out in the Weiner scandal. The congressman surely is going to find out that being in a committed relationship with a woman who by all accounts is extraordinary beats the pants off screwing around on the Internet. Men on this planet are learning that their power isn’t diminished by a powerful woman, and women are learning how not to give away their power to “save” the relationship.

Much of what goes on in relationships happens under the surface, and it’s hard to resolve differences if one or both people suppresses their true feelings. On Monday, Venus squares Chiron, signifying painful exchanges. Often this is what it takes to break through to higher ground – and there’s every indication that this is possible now. The inconjunct from Venus to Pluto on Tuesday suggests that sex may be a major source of resentment and will have to be addressed.

Mercury enters Cancer on Thursday and forms favorable aspects to Jupiter and Neptune on Friday. Here’s our chance to connect on a soul level by speaking from the heart about what we want and need. And be sure to listen to what your partner, friend, or family members say they need. You may have to compromise, but at least everything’s above board.

Over the weekend, Mercury forms a cardinal grand cross with Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. Sunday is Father’s Day, and it’s probably not a good idea to get in a discussion with dad or anyone else about politics. As it is, someone else may confront you about an unresolved issue or a secret you thought no one knew. Fortunately – at least for the coming week – Venus remains the “out” via the trine with Saturn. Love may not conquer all, but it sure goes a long way. It doesn’t take an astrologer to tell you that.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Gemini-Sagittarius: The Sacred Marriage of Love and Wisdom, Part II

Gemini, from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410. Although the "twins" in the constellation of Gemini represent two brothers in classical mythology, other traditions depict them as twin flames, male and female.

At Soul level, Gemini is ruled by Venus, a sacred planet (according to Esoteric Astrology).

Venus’ higher octave awakens us to truth, beauty, harmony and the highest unconditional love. The Gemini Soul is here to unite the head and the heart, creating a bridge to Higher Mind and Higher Love.¹

The fully integrated Gemini resolves polarity at every level.² All opposites merge in Gemini: self-others, personality-soul; Higher Self-lower self; mind-heart, etc. This happens through a deep understanding of energetic relationships. Through Mercurial connection to Higher Mind, consciousness, and Venus, Gemini governs the Breath of Life, the movement of Spirit in Form. This awakens us to conscious relationship on all levels.

The Gemini personality, lacking the wisdom to comprehend the complexity of these relationships, has a tendency to become scattered, distracted by an array of duality. The deep, truth-seeking focus of Sagittarius is needed for Gemini to find (and stay on) the path leading to its higher Soul purpose:

To teach Right Human Relations, between
self and others, personality and soul, anima and animus,
higher mind and lower mind.³

In its exploration of energetic relationships, Esoteric Astrology discusses the subject of the Seven Rays.³ Earth is on the evolutionary path of the second ray of Love-Wisdom, otherwise known as the “path of love. In Buddhism, the ultimate wisdom is the “wisdom realizing emptiness” and is written in a text called “The Heart Sutra.” The ultimate wisdom is therefore considered to be “heart” wisdom or “Love-Wisdom.” Thus the spiritual path of Gemini-Sagittarius is inherently linked to the spiritual evolution of the Earth and of human consciousness.⁴

The spiritual path of Gemini-Sagittarius is the path of heart-wisdom leading to the realization of ultimate truth. It is the spiritual path of realizing Love-Wisdom through the revelation of truth. However, where Sagittarius is seeking truth, Gemini is asking, “What is truth?” To fully understand Gemini’s Soul Path, we need to understand the concept of “two truths.”

The “two truths” refer to conventional truth, as we experience it in our everyday, and the ultimate truth of reality. This can be explained by a paradox, I’m sitting on a chair. The chair does not exist. Both statements are “true.” Conventionally, the chair exists. We can see it. Yet on the atomic level, there is nothing. There is certainly no chair and indeed there is more space than there is solidness at that level. So it is also completely true to say that the chair really does not exist.

Because of a deep realization of the relationship between energies and an ability to experience many dimensions of Being, the Gemini Soul realizes that all “conventional” truth is relative and depends upon both our perspective and our capacity for perception.

The integrated Gemini teaches others through the creation of wonderful “stories,” weaving thought, information and ideas into magnificent concepts – “mental structures” that point towards ultimate truth – and by creating new systems of thought, or sciences.⁵

Our problems arise when we confuse those mental concepts with ultimate truth. As soon as we put truth into words, it is no longer truth, but merely one expression of it – which reduces it to the level of conventional truth. It is not, in ultimate reality, a chair just because we label it as such.

[quote cite=”Lin Yutang”]He who talks about truth injures it thereby;
He who tries to prove it thereby maims and distorts it;
He who gives it a label and a school of thought kills it;
And He who declares himself a believer buries it.[/quote]

When we start believing our own stories, it confines us to a narrow and limited experience of Spiritual Truth. This is the ego-trap of Gemini: over-identification with thinking, and the mistaken belief that we are what we think. If we believe the philosopher Descartes who said, “I think, therefore I am,” then who are you when you are not thinking? The integrated Gemini is aware of many multi-dimensional aspects of our Selves as Spiritual Beings, way beyond thinking.

If you have Sun, Moon, or Ascendant in Gemini, the challenge for you is to experience your Self beyond your thoughts. There is literally more to you than what you think! This world is very distracting for a Gemini, and it is all too easy for you to get lost in trivia, missing the magnificence of your inner being. With the sustained focus of Sagittarius, you are capable of travelling beyond your thoughts into multiple inner dimensions to the very depths of your Soul.

During Gemini season (May 21-June 21), the energy of Gemini is available to all of us. It is our annual opportunity to connect with the wisdom of our hearts. Will you use the extensive power of Gemini to divide or unite? To build walls or bridges? Will you scratch beneath the surface, discover worlds within worlds, and realize the deepest truths of your Soul and the ultimate relationship of Love-Wisdom? It all depends upon your ability to choose where you place your attention and maintain your focus.

Ruth

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Footnotes:
1. Read more about the unique Gemini-Venus relationship and its vital significance for 2012 in Ruth’s article, Venus 2012: The Apocalypse and the Power of Love.
2. A fully integrated Gemini would be a future human who already has full Soul/personality fusion.
3. Esoteric Astrology. The teachings of Djwhal Khul (Master DK) as channelled through Alice Bailey.
4. In Esoteric Astrology, the Earth is the Soul Ruler of Sagittarius and the Hierarchical ruler of Gemini. This shows the importance of the Earth for individuals under these signs and the importance of the Divine Intelligence of Gemini-Sagittarius, in the evolutionary process on Earth.
5. Alice Bailey, author of Esoteric Astrology, had Sun in Gemini, as does this author!

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Gemini-Sagittarius: The Sacred Marriage of Love and Wisdom, Part I

Today’s post by Ruth looks at the signs of Gemini and Sagittarius – very timely, with upcoming eclipses in this sign pair. ~Pat

Gemini, from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410. Although the "twins" in Gemini are named for two brothers in classical mythology, they often are depicted as twin flames, male and female.

“In the beginning was the Word …”

Gemini rules the breath, speech, languages, writing, communication, networks, and communion on all levels. Hidden within Gemini are the deepest mysteries of creation and destruction. The energy of Gemini both creates and dissolves polarities, in the Universal dance of Creation which was known to the Ancient Rishis of India as the “breathing in and out of Brahma.”

Welcome to one of the most complex and contradictory signs of the Zodiac.

Six core energies are symbolised by the Zodiac. However, because the human mind (ruled by Gemini) has a tendency to “polarise” (divide and separate into opposites), we experience these energies as 12 separate Zodiac signs, and thus we have the polarities. In the future, when human consciousness is evolved, it is said that the 12 signs will merge into six, and we will experience them as one energy pole – for example, Gemini-Sagittarius.*

Gemini has a vital role to play in the process of resolving these polarities in human consciousness. One mystery of Gemini – and there are many – is the resolution of polarities into Divine Union. Because of this unique function, Gemini is the only sign that has an esoteric connection with all the other signs of the Zodiac. Just like spinning an enormous web (or story), it is through Gemini that all will be woven together at the end.

Whatever sign you are, your Gemini friend will be able to relate with you on some level. Gemini has the ability to visit every sign in order to experience and understand the energies involved. Ultimately, it is in the sign of Gemini that we realize the multi-dimensional aspects of our whole being.

By the time the Divine Intelligence of Gemini has filtered through a human mind, it becomes one of the most complex, restless and difficult to handle energies of the Zodiac. You could be forgiven for thinking your Gemini friend has ADHD or is just crazy! As the mutable (changeable) air sign, the nature of Gemini is one of constant movement. Gemini has to touch everything and hold onto nothing. Freedom to move is essential.

Gemini is associated with the lungs, and we can use the analogy of breath to understand what is going on with Gemini. In breathing, there are two stages, breathing in and breathing out. This explains the two (apparent) sides of Gemini. Gemini has a need to first gather information – this is breathing in. Our Gemini friend may be very silent and contemplative during this stage. Information is being received and processed. Then comes the breathing out … hold onto your hat!

Depending upon the level of consciousness of our particular Gemini, this is where we may experience a profoundly inspired message or, at worst, simply gossip. Their innate compulsion to share information has no built-in quality control. The information you get seems to be whatever happens to be flitting through their head in any given moment. For this reason, Geminis have an unfair reputation for being empty-headed and superficial, yet this in itself shows a lack of understanding of the importance of Gemini.

To avoid being distracted by trivia, Gemini needs the determined focus and follow-through of its polar opposite, Sagittarius. Only then will you be able to sustain your inner journey and recognize your “twin self” – your Soul.

[callout]I recognize my other self and
in the waning of that self I grow and glow.*[/callout]

The Twins represent the dualistic aspects of Self: our personality and our Soul. In the myth of the two brothers, Castor and Pollux (which comprise the constellation of Gemini), Castor is mortal (personality) while Pollux is immortal (Soul). Another duality is that of “two minds,” the head and the heart.

At the personality level, Gemini is ruled by Mercury, which has an important role to play in the development of the antakharana (or Rainbow Bridge). This is the mysterious “bridge”’ between lower and Higher Mind, that develops once humanity has evolved to a certain point in consciousness, whereby we can fully live from Higher Mind.

At the level of our lower mind, it is the influence of Mercury that creates polarities, by focusing on our differences and creating the illusion of separation. At one stage of our development this is a necessary precursor to the process of individuation – development of the individual. If it were not for our ability to separate for example, we’d never cut the umbilical cord and stride out on our own, separate from our mothers!

Once we begin our inner journey toward Soul identification however, it is also the influence of Mercury which bridges the (illusory) gap, connects us with our Higher Self, and brings us home to wholeness. This dual role of division and reunion contributes to the seemingly contradictory nature of Gemini. But seen from a higher perspective, it is just one road; we travel out on the road and then we use the same road to travel back home.

In Part II, we will explore the role of Gemini’s esoteric ruler, Venus, in awakening the deeper mysteries of Gemini.

Ruth

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* Esoteric Astrology, the wisdom of Djwhal Khul (Master DK), channelled through Alice Bailey.

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”