See and see again at the Gemini New Moon

Here in Montana, it is finally spring and we are turning the corner into summer. It is the time of year when the days seem to stretch on forever, the flowers weave a tapestry of color, the air is filled with a cacophony of birdsong, and the wild creatures are giving birth all around. The air is lighter as it dries out from the deluge of snowmelt and spring rains. The fields are planted and fertilized. It is time to look around, connect with our neighbors, and gain a fresh perspective. It’s Gemini season.

The New Moon in the mutable air sign of Gemini marks the transition from spring into summer. After the stable, heavy energy of Taurus, the light, changeable energy of Gemini can feel unbalancing if we don’t find ways to stay grounded. As an air sign, Gemini operates in the mental realm. It is the sign of the twins, who delight in discovering themselves through each other. Its hallmark is curiosity. Gemini, its planetary ruler Mercury, and the third house denote the stage in the zodiac phases of development in which we learn to perceive the other and what’s around us.

Mercury is known in mythology as the messenger; it represents mental processes, connection and communication. At the New Moon, Mercury is in the water sign of Cancer. As Cancer is ruled by the Moon, Mercury and the Moon are in what is called “mutual reception”, activating and reinforcing each other by residing in each other’s home signs. This arrangement can help us to integrate our emotions with our thoughts. Maybe we can even notice that it is often thought that generates emotions, and learn to find some space in between them. A powerful way of creating the gap between thought and emotion is by applying Geminian curiosity as we sit quietly and pay gentle attention to our mental churnings and arising emotions.

While Gemini supports curiosity, exploration of our environment, and perceiving in a new way, there can be too much of a good thing if we over-think, over-analyze, and begin to confuse our thoughts and stories with reality. Have you ever had the experience of making up a reason for someone else’s behavior – and believing it – only to find out later that the truth was something else entirely? I notice my own tendency to think I know what others are thinking when Mercury goes retrograde (appearing to move backwards in it’s orbit from Earth’s perspective). In a recent example, I thought up all kinds of motives, mostly having to do with a fear of rejection, for why a friend wasn’t calling me back. When we finally talked, it turned out that the friend was dealing with a family crisis. 

Another shadow of Mercury-ruled Gemini is the tendency to be so focused on telling our own story we forget to listen to others. But learning requires listening, whether it is learning about ourselves and what motivates us, learning a new skill, or understanding someone or something. We can practice true obedience to Reality and Truth by listening “with the ear of the heart”. This is the original meaning of the word “obedience”, which has nothing to do with control and everything to do with a primary form of love: our open, full-bodied attention. We can start this practice of obedience, or love, with something we think we know, such as a tree or a flower. Through deeply listening, we open ourselves to a wider perspective beyond our story.

With Mercury in a hard angle with wounded healer archetype Chiron in Mars-ruled Aries, perhaps what we need to listen to is specific to what we are working to heal, particularly in relationship to our sense of identity, our will, our drive to get things done. I’ve been noticing a real challenge in letting go of the idea that I can make my life unfold the way I want it to by sheer force of will. As the ancient yoga scripture of the Bhagavad Gita points out, we have the rights to our actions but not the fruits of those actions. Better to do what we know is right for us, with a compassionate eye to the potential consequences, and ask for a certain amount of grace for the outcome. I am practicing finding the balance between effort and grace.

At the same time, Mercury is opposite Saturn, planet of authority, dedication, and simple reality forming a t-square with Chiron. The combination of the three planets challenging each other reinforces the theme of seeing things as they really are in order to heal.

Whether it is a friend, a tree, or our own body, this Gemini New Moon invites us to see and see again, perceive what and who is around us in a new way.

At the Gemini New Moon:

Ask more questions;

Look for the space between thoughts and emotions;

Listen with the ear of your heart;

Practice obedience to something or someone you love.

Want to know how this New Moon might be affecting you? Book a Moon Magic reading with me!