Gemini New Moon, May 22, 2020, 12:38 pm CT
Photo courtesy of Evan Gorham. To see more of Evan Gorham’s lovely and nuanced photography, click this link.
Blue Deep Blue
What should be said? How should it be expressed?
Many words could be used, or few. The message could be a simple and straightforward statement or it could be elaborate and effusive like a storyline which winds and weaves through space and time. The string of words could be woven into a ladder like the strands of Rapunzel’s hair, providing ascension or descension. Words may be cast like a lifeline connecting and encouraging others. They may also become like a snare, entangling unwary souls into alluring knots.
Usually, Gemini doesn’t inspire me to go into such dark corners, but here I am, writing from a rather cautious vantage point. Words, thoughts, symbols, and images convey messages to us on all levels. Whether or not we realize it, they sink and seep into every cell of our being. Once absorbed, they may become agents of healing and cleansing or flashpoints of inspiration. Conversely, they may be like insidious emissaries, planting seeds of doubt and unease.
It’s so odd, this feeling in my throat, this reaction I’m having as I write, because I adore Gemini. I love Gemini’s buzzy energy. I love the information gathering, the sign/symbol recognizing, the back-and-forth communicating, the intuitive flashes, and all the multi-leveled connecting which occurs under Mercury’s (Gemini’s ruler) auspices. Gemini season is ripe for casting multiple practical and metaphysical fishing lines and seeing what you catch – just because!
Gemini co-rules the Vishuddha chakra (throat chakra) along with Virgo. The color associated with this chakra is a deep, dark blue. Vishuddha means “pure”, or “especially pure” and it carries the energy of authenticity and truth. There is a completely different vibration when we speak and act from this energy center in a balanced manner as opposed to an unbalanced one. Balanced, there is depth, wisdom. Communication at this level becomes an extension of one’s individual truth and aligns one with a higher, more universal truth. The honesty and earnestness conveyed are not meant to sway or influence, but rather, connect through genuine expression. Unbalanced, the communication may become unintentionally misleading or misplaced or intentionally gossipy and deceptive. To this end, words, thoughts, and images may be used to bombard and petrify your consciousness or set it careening off course.
Luckily, you have a map… you always have a map…
Blue Sky Blue
Gemini is the first air sign of the zodiac and it is a time to go outside and breathe the fresh, spring air! The bright blue sky above is a canvas upon which you can paint ideas with the passing shapes of clouds. In true Gemini fashion, these ideas don’t need to “stick”. That’s not their job. They arise to inspire you, to “unstick” you… just like your internal air, your breath.
Mercury/Gemini rule the interchange of gases in your body, the lungs, the nervous systems. Becoming conscious of your breath is a simple, powerful, and always accessible way of connecting back to your Self. “Out of breath… took my breath away… knocked the wind out of me… take a breather… with bated breath” – are everyday phrases which point us back to the importance of breath. Even the word “inspire” comes from the Latin inspirare meaning “blow into, breathe upon.”
Breathing practices don’t have to be anything fancy or complicated. They can be, but it’s not necessary. Simply noticing your breath and welcoming what is present can provide enough information to land you gently and squarely back home at your beautiful center. In times of overwhelm, anxiety, unease, I do like to use the technique of extended exhalation. Here is a link to an article by Christopher Bergland discussing the benefits of extended exhalation. In my Gemini new moon podcast, I also guide you through an extended exhalation practice.
New moons symbolize the beginning of a cycle. At this new moon, Mercury and retrograde Venus are also in Gemini. With this extra energetic emphasis in the heavens, it is a great time to begin rewiring and rebooting your system and re-writing your story. Invite the story to connect all the components of Self - body, mind, and spirit. Gather the information that you would really like to include in your narrative. Let yourself wander down any and all pathways that may be calling, beguiling you into an adventure in consciousness. If you get lost and follow those breadcrumbs down a dark and dusty alley, simply remember to breathe… you always have a map and you always know your own way home…
This song “So I Can See” by Dagne Gorham has been going through my head during the writing of this article. Its notes hauntingly casting reflections of glimmering light and dark.