Calling Gemini
Gemini travels at an exhilarating pace. He makes the most of unexpected opportunities. Just last week at a wine auction in Province, he picked up some wild gossip that soon brought down a minister. This morning, in the jungles of Brazil, he discovered a plant that can cure the terminally serious of their deficient humor. His words are sharp as a quill’s point. His hands turn quick as the pages of an absorbing mystery. His eyes flash like twin stars.
Just think of what you can accomplish in alliance with this archetype! Gemini’s New Moon brings the year’s best opportunity to stretch your mind. Challenge yourself to learn something new. It doesn’t have to be complicated or deep—catching up on the latest cultural memes or mastering five new options on your Android or iPad could have surprising benefits for your brain. Succumbing to gossip or sarcasm are signs that your mind is bored, in need of more interesting stimuli. If you’re nervous, stressed or scattering your energy, can you turn the present moment into a learning opportunity?
While the rest of the world is sleeping, Gemini is often reading. He speaks all languages and manages to know a little bit about everything. He’s a brilliant storyteller and frequent Wikipedia contributor. He’s playful too. He loves shooting marbles and tonight he’s building a glow-in-the-dark kite. As a toddler, he palled around with that mischievous monkey, Curious George. Once they were supposed to deliver newspapers. It was Gemini who pointed out the river in the distance: "Aren’t you curious what it’s like over there?" At the river, it was Gemini who figured out how to fold their undelivered papers into a clever fleet of little boats. And later that day, it was Gemini who fed the bugle to the ostrich—after the circus owner warned them: "An ostrich will eat anything!" "Well…aren’t you curious to see if that’s true?"
One year I discovered a secret about Gemini: he loves silence too. This perpetually busy messenger loves what you can learn by listening. When the Sun entered Gemini that year, I was invited to a living room satsang. I sat for a long while in silence with a group of other seekers, each of us sinking into our own pools of dark treasure. One meditator began crying, another felt a strange buzzing in her body, another discovered old insecurities. "There is something to explore, right here, right now," urged our Zen teacher. "Nowhere to go," she said, "you’re already here." And to each physical sensation or emotional wounding that came up, she would offer a Gemini message: "Get curious. Be with it. Observe it, without trying to manipulate it into anything else." We all learned plenty that night.
As we head into the next few turbulent weeks of eclipses, silence may be the smartest way to get Gemini on our side. Not a dull silence, but an expectant one, fueled by fresh curiosity. Sit quietly with whatever is true right now. Whether you’re happy, sad, harried, wounded, or somewhere in between, before you ride on the wings of Mercury toward something new, and you will, because that’s what we do in Gemini’s cycle, sanctify your experience of this New Moon with some quiet curiosity. Spend five or fifteen minutes to just be. Close your eyes. Listen to the sounds coming from the street beyond your door. Feel the air. Can you notice how it’s gently touching your skin? Tune into your body. Is there tightness anywhere? Numbness? Or are there pleasant sensations? Let your body communicate. It’s telling you exactly what’s going on in your life right now. Ah… how nice to be the one who is listening.
Gemini’s Response
Of course Gemini always adds a few surprises of his own. Waiting for his response is the fun part. No way can I predict how he’ll arrive. Gemini frequently appears as youths and travelers—also liars and thieves! He rules siblings, neighbors, tradesmen, journalists and gossips—an encounter with any one of these might be particularly significant. Gemini is a Trickster too. To keep you from settling into humdrum views, he just might pull the rug out from under you—which is one way to keep your world fresh and new. Those who accuse Gemini of being fickle misunderstand him. The ancients used to swear their honor by Gemini, ending their oaths with "By Gemini!"(which later became "By Jiminy!") This cycle, end your promises this way too. And keep an eye out for the winged messenger.
Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere see the Sun now heading toward its northernmost limit on the horizon. Appropriately for Gemini, North is the direction representing "knowledge and wisdom" in cultures around the world. At the Summer Solstice (June 20), the Sun will slow to an imperceptible pace. That’s what "solstice" means—to stand still. Gemini brings us to a turning point, when summer (or winter in the Southern Hemisphere) officially begins. As the days lengthen or shorten in Gemini (depending on your hemisphere), reach for new information, enjoy stimulating conversations, and take your curiosity everywhere.
Click this link to view
No comments:
Post a Comment