Your Healing Process and Integrating the Gemini Archetypes
Saturday’s retrograding Saturn and a New Moon in Gemini – and their proximity to today’s Summer Solstice - bring numerous insights into your paradigms and processes, and where you are with them. One of the reasons astrology is so interesting for me, is that it can be so helpful in assisting clients with their manifestation process, and with the healing that often is such a key piece of manifestation. The astrological transits, signs and planets show us where to go, when, how, and what to do when the road gets rocky, or the waves get choppy.
The realm of astrological-based healing is best described in terms of bracketing, the higher octaves and the lower octaves that bookend evolved behavior. On a good day you can expect one thing, on a less good day you can expect another, and on a bad day you can expect something altogether different. So, let’s look at some of those. I like to start with the actual constellation, the Gods and mythology of the constellation, the glyph or symbol of the constellation, the planet that rules the sign, the Gods and the mythology of the ruling planet, the archetype of the ruling planet. That provides loads of insight into the spiritual, psychological, intellectual, and emotional aspects of a sign.
The Planet we now know as Mercury was first observed by the Sumerians in around 3000 BCE. Named Enki, both the planet and its corresponding god ruled intelligence, trickery, mischief, creation, healing, and magic. By Babylonian times, its name had been changed to Nabu, and its realm expanded to include literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. As time progressed, the Greeks renamed the planet and the god, Hermes.
The messenger of the gods, Hermes was doomed to go back-and-forth between the gods on Mount Olympus and the humans that inhabited mortal world. Hermes was never entirely comfortable with his job. Part of what made it so difficult was that his time was divided between the Gods on high and the mortals down below. Because of that, he never actually belonged to or was at home in either realm.
When there is a lot of Gemini in the air, you are being called upon to reconcile those differences – to create better communication and integration between whatever you believe to be the organizing forces of the Universe and your life here on Earth. At this time, and especially at the New Moon, when both the Sun and the Moon are in Gemini, you can get a lot of traction here. Where Gemini is in your natal chart will be the place where this integration will be the most important.
In Roman mythology, Hermes became Mercury, but was still the swift messenger between the Gods and mankind. Because of this, Mercury rules messages and messengers, languages and communication, travel, translators, and interpreters. Because the job was so difficult, and he was so good at it, he was considered the cleverest and one of the strongest of all the Gods. However, like his Greek counterpart, Mercury struggled with his job: with the messages he had to deliver and with the people and Gods he had to deliver them to.
When there is a of energy in Gemini, we are called upon to become better listeners, so we can better understand the different communities we belong to. The trouble with listening is that there is always something we don’t want to hear – often several somethings. And the reason we aren’t listening is because on some level we know that. And while knowledge is power, knowledge is also responsibility, and gaining knowledge usually requires some sort of sacrifice, usually involving our egos and the places where ours is rather dogmatically position. Where Gemini is in your natal chart is where jettisoning whatever baggage gets in the way of being a better listener is both karmic and a bit of an imperative.
By the same token, when there is a lot of energy in Gemini, there are things we are being called upon to say to those we love most in the most important communities to which we belong. Often difficult things. Again, when there is a lot of Gemini in the air, we are given opportunities to identify and heal the parts within ourselves that get in the way of saying what we need to say. And then we get to ask between whatever we believe to be the organizing forces of the Universe for help in saying them. Efficiently and effectively. At the right time, in the right way and from the right place, in ways that our words will be most likely to be heard. Where Gemini is in your natal chart is where it is jettisoning whatever baggage gets in the way of being a better communicator is both karmic and a bit of an imperative.
Historically, the struggle this time of year is that each of us is desperately needed by our communities to bring our respective gifts and talents and be a bigger, better part of those communities. We each have a role to play, and we each have messages, data, and information to bring. Each of us has messages, data, and information that our communities – those people and groups that we hold so dear – need to hear but may struggle to hear. That’s where the energy of the archetypes can help.
One of the best things about the different signs of the zodiac is that each one rules an archetype. This is widely considered to be a behavior, a pattern of behaviors, a historical psychology, and/or a stereotypical literary character from oral, written, and now photographic and cinematic forms of storytelling. Some astrological signs only have one. Unsurprisingly, Gemini has three. The archetypes of Gemini have evolved over time to be the messenger, the inquisitive youth, and the wizard/alchemist/magician.
The original archetype of Gemini was that of the Messenger. One of the reasons Gemini can be so hard to understand is because the world has changed so much since the time this original archetype evolved. In ancient times, especially before there was any sort of written communication, a messenger played an important role in any kingdom, city, tribe, or other sort of community. A messenger was a courier, the one who carried important information from one community to another. He had one job: to convey data.
And that leads us to the second archetype of Gemini, one that was quite popular in the renaissance: the Magician, the Wizard, and the Alchemist. At this juncture I am not entirely clear as to the through line between this archetype and that of the messenger. I think part of it has to do with the rise of the use of ambassadors, diplomats and diplomacy for messages and communications between communities. When those roles became delegated to other people, that left this archetype the realm of communicating with the Gods in order to unlock the mysteries of the Universe.
Now, many modern astrologers have expanded their definition of the Gemini Archetype to also be the resilience, curiosity, versatility, mental agility, boundless energy, and the ability to understand and embrace diversity that is so typical of youth, of the young. There are a variety of schools of thought on how this evolved. The most logical one being that in order for a messenger to be really good at his job, he had to also embody those qualities. The realm of the messenger is, in the immortal word of Cormac McCarthy, no country for old men.
With that in mind, today’s Summer Solstice is the official marker for the middle of the year. The solstices are the axis that the Wheel of the Year rotates on. The axels that it revolves around. The solstices are the hinges that hold the doors between the planting season and the harvest season. We have now stepped through that doorway and are beginning to shift our focus from planting to harvesting. That’s where all the community and communications – and the archetypes of Gemini – come into play. We can harvest more together than we can separately, and in order to harvest more together, we have to figure out how to level up our communications. So, keep your focus there. And if you get stuck, call me.
We’ll figure it out.
calendar
Here are the significant astrological dates in the coming month, and how to best work with them:
June 17 – New Moon in Gemini
June 18 – Father’s Day; Saturn retrogrades at 7° Pisces
June 19 – Juneteenth holiday observation
June 21 – Sun moves into Cancer; Summer Solstice; Litha
June 24 – Summer Solstice celebration in Santa Barbara
June 26 – Mercury moves into Cancer
July 1 – Neptune retrogrades at 27° Pisces
July 3 – The first Super Full Moon of 2023; Full Moon in Capricorn; also known as the Full Buck Moon, the Hay Moon, the Thunder Moon, the Wort Moon
July 4 – American Independence Day holiday observance
July 10 – Mars moves into Virgo, Mercury moves into Leo
July 17 – New Moon in Cancer
July 18 – Islamic New Year
Everybody’s natal (birth) chart is different. These differences reflect our individual souls—their journeys and evolution, their triumphs, and their tragic flaws. As such, the specific impact of each of the following dates will hit each person differently. But there are some general themes.
Holy days, holidays, and astrological transits are opportunities for us to experience grace. But remember how grace happens: sometimes it comes through discomfort. The gifts aren’t always immediately apparent. All of the days on this list ask you to be more compassionate with yourself and others, to try and be more awake, and to be more open to synchronicity and messages from Spirit. On days when more than one astrological event, holiday or holy day occurs, know that the power of that day will be even more profound. The more events in a day, the more powerful that day is, and the more intentional you should be.
Again, in general, full moons are a good time for ending things, wrapping things up, conclusions, and closure. New moons are opportune times for new beginnings: starting a new chapter of some aspect of your life, tackling a new project, or launching something new. Retrogrades are always about slowing down and paying more attention to aspects of your creative, spiritual, and social lives. The eclipses always reveal; sometimes it is something others have hidden from you, sometimes it is things you have hidden from yourself. Usually, it is a little bit of both. To go deeper, look to the planetary signs and the houses they fall in, and, of course, to your natal chart. Or give me a call. I can help you with that.
Retreats, Rituals, Services, Ceremonies, Journeys, and Deep Healing Work
Choosing the best day or days for your event is a very personal thing. You have to feel your way into it. But there are some generic rules that can help you in your decision-making process. Full moons and new moons are considered the best. Holidays and holy days are as well. Full moons and new moons that occur during or over a period of holidays and holy days are extraordinarily powerful.
Factor in a retrograde or two and you pretty much cannot avoid leveling up and becoming a much more masterful magician. Especially around anything that has to do with your faith, your trust in it, your ability to serve your faith and serve with it. Seriously.
With that in mind, your best days in the next month for deep, transformational experiences are the following: June 17-19, 21, 25-26, 30 – July 4, July 10, July 17-18, 22-23.
