gemini

mars in gemini: messages of momentum

Mars in gemini (March 31-May 15) is an active reminder of how everything is energy. like thoughts, the temporary & the recurring ones. like words, the ones you say to them & the ones you don’t. Mars in gemini can feel attention scattering but with intentionality, brings invigorating clarity about the connections between everything. the choices we don’t realize we’re making & the ones we do.

be attentive to the messages even if they’re not saying what you’d want them to be. that’s where forward movement happens. deceptions & delusions keep us stuck. the kindest thing we can do for ourselves & others is to be honest. because what is too fragile for the truth is too fragile for the future.

Mars wants to ignite you into deeper agency in the gemini area of your chart/life. gemini wants to talk to you about what you could learn & how you could adapt in ways that strengthen you rather than deplete you. 

(hot tip: I have only a few spots left in April for 1:1 sessions where we can work through this or any other transition!)

practice, don't preach: the spiritual ethic of sagittarius

image from Unsplash by Karina Vorozheeva. chosen because ferns are fractals, which is a Mercury gesture and glitter is light & emphasis, a Jupiter gesture.

image from Unsplash by Karina Vorozheeva. chosen because ferns are fractals, which is a Mercury gesture and glitter is light & emphasis, a Jupiter gesture.

the messages, lessons, & practices of this Mercury retro in sagittarius are directly tied to how we will experience Jupiter in sag for a year. for everyone. this is because the same house (area of life) that Mercury retro is transiting (going through) right now is the same one Jupiter is amping up. there is a direct relationship here between Mercury & Jupiter because they rule opposing signs: gemini & sagittarius. Mercury/gemini has all the questions: what can we learn? what information have we gathered? what more do we need? Jupiter/sagittarius goes about expounding on the questions & finding the answers.

one of the challenges of mercury in sagittarius, especially retrograde, is that we’re more inclined to share what we believe (or don’t) & why…and then stay there, sitting in the answers we believe we’ve already found when actually there is always more to learn. sagittarius, being ruled by Jupiter, is inclined to expand through theology, philosophy, & higher thinking. self-awareness through ethics, religion, political ideology, & spiritual analysis are some examples. Jupiter/sagittarius is a teacher, wanting to share THE TRUTH, enlighten with wisdom, & lead with light. this is beautiful, necessary work and, without embodiment it becomes hollow.

embodiment here means integration. integration happens through praxis: the practical application of theory. sagittarius is a fire sign, so embodiment (earth) is a skill that this sign needs to develop to continue growth. when embodied, what we’re practicing is congruent with our beliefs & ethics because the practice is what creates tangible, sustainable expansion (Jupiter). we can spiritualize/intellectualize (Jupiter) our way through some of the most difficult shit. but what will really carry us through what we can’t control is embodiment. because then beliefs, perspectives, truths, and understanding aren’t just talk, they’re the step-by-step walk. commonly known as wisdom. it’s like “moving at the speed of trust”, as adrienne maree brown says.

Jupiter (which Mercury will exactly pass over this Tuesday) inflates, enhances, & amplifies whatever it touches. when there isn’t any meat (earth/embodiment), it’s like a balloon. it’s totally there, you can touch it but it’s also empty & very susceptible to being popped by sharp objects, such as clarity or reality checks. when a balloon POPS, it’s LOUD. perhaps even painfully so. Mercury retro in sagittarius is like the pin, pointing towards what is fragile & must POP. perhaps you’re feeling the loudness of this in yourself or witnessing it in others. signs an issue/person is inflated & about to pop: self-pity, lots of vague talk, gaslighting or bypassing, avoidance, lack of response-ability, feeling attacked, self-righteousness, scarcity. if you’re familiar with astrology, you’ll notice these are also often listed as signs of unhealthy sagittarius behavior.

with this energy, it’s easy to look at the big picture & become overwhelmed or seduced by it without tending to any of the micro moving parts. Mercury retro is kinda putting a wrench in those gears, a pin in the balloon, inviting us to bring our attention to the small scale of things- to the thoughts, patterns, & energies that might actually be in the way of or the way towards our future.

it is important to name that embodiment takes time, and time is nonlinear here. it is comprised of learning curves, of overlapping cycles, of mistakes & readjustment, of going back to begin again. it’s not a point of arrival. however, embodiment is an energetic climate that we all feel the presence or absence of, even when we don’t know how to name it. embodiment is a spiritual ethic. it is a practice of integrity. not leading in what we are not being, not claiming awareness where there is no commitment, not using our own experiences or contexts as the only measure of reality. preaching what we don’t practice makes it hard for us to trust ourselves & to be trusted.

we recognize the need for this kind of movement when leaders disappoint us. when people turn out not to be what their talk indicated they were. when we have all these glorious ideas but end up over-extending ourselves. when symptoms are treated rather than causes. when gaps in integrity, alignment, & truth-telling become clear. when shit goes wrong or gets confusing & there is a regression to a way of being that is counter-productive to what we claim our visions or beliefs are. in other words: embodiment is the medicine for hypocrisy.

how do we hold any kind of measure or accountability within this? fortunately, the stars highlight the dynamics & give the support. on an individual (gemini/Mercury) level, our spiritual/emotional praxis is where we can hold ourselves accountable, measure our own integration. however, Jupiter/sagittarius is self-awareness in a universal context. we must return to relationship, to communion. knowing that others may identify what we cannot, will not, or don’t want to. trusting that vulnerability & transparency will take us deeper, make us realer. there is no real accountability outside of relationship because it is only arrogance that would have us think that the only insight & understanding we need is our own.

as the Sun directly passes over Jupiter this monday, carve out space & time to be receptive to the messages that are surrounding you at this time. they matter so, so much regardless of your sign or chart placements. your upcoming expansion won’t resonate, align, or be sustainable if you’re not practicing embodiment of your fundamental guiding principles. use tarot, use oracles, use journaling, use conversations with those you can trust, use silence, use ritual, use movement, use prayer. use your tools. the messages are always there. sometimes we’re really just not listening. mercury retro wants to help us change that.

oxo
saltwater & stars

p.s: thank you to Priestess of Liberation for recently reminding me of the term & importance of spiritual ethic.

 
 

learning to trust

Full moon in gemini | Friday, NOVEMBER 23 @12:39AM EST | ZERO DEGREES

chosen because gemini rules the hands, arms & the color yellow. from UNSPLASH by NICOLE HONEYWILL

chosen because gemini rules the hands, arms & the color yellow. from UNSPLASH by NICOLE HONEYWILL

keep things as short, sweet, and as simple as you can because this full moon is not playing around. or actually, it is totally playing around & seeing if you are fluid enough to keep up with what it means to be learning & unlearning, celebrating & disseminating at the same time. don’t over intellectualize shit that is really about feelings, and don’t use feelings to bypass the truth.

Jupiter in sagittarius, shined on by the glorious sun for 30 days starting today, is here to expand our capacities for wisdom, truth, & abundance. this means our work over the next year but especially the next 30 days is outgrowing stagnant beliefs, deep learning, & being willing to be wrong. the sun & Jupiter are opposing the full moon in gemini, bringing us to a moment of integration. if we use our listening skills in every dimension.

the full moon in non-binary gemini allows us to enter into sagittarius season with an awareness of how complex & fluid things really are, while asking us not to get stuck in the in-between. sagittarius can get stuck in binary (either or, never both) thinking or in the fire of righteousness. this full moon is a proactive present-future reminder of how micro humans are, how slowly change happens, & how much we’ve changed over the last six months (when the new moon was in gemini).

gemini is ruled by mercury, which is currently retrograde in sagittarius. layers & threads are overlapping & weaving. messages are flowing in the undercurrents. truth is overflowing. time is being warped. insecure egos or toxic beliefs are seeping out & into communications. this can lead to feeling disembodied if we’re not micro-managing our reactivity.

pisces energy is at play here too, because of mars & neptune in pisces squaring gemini/sagittarius. squares show up as tension that we cannot go over, under, or around. we must find a creative, generative way through. there may be disappointments or disillusionments that come to your attention. use your imagination, your compassion, & hold onto your spiritual practices. they are life-rafts that channel the transcendent surrender of pisces into possibility, rather than delusion or passivity.


trust your adaptability.
trust your clarity.
trust your flow.

oxo
saltwater & stars

you can get access to full moon horoscopes + ritual recommendations in the Commune

gemini full moon {mermaid musings}

It's interesting to watch projects, connections, or collaborations come to an end while we approach this full moon. And they're not even so much endings as recalibration. New downloads, fresh software. Not coming from an external source but the utilization of all the data you've accumulated- since the new moon in Gemini in May or the new moon in Scorpio two weeks ago. 

I was talking about experiential learning (something I've been thinking about since reading this and this) earlier today and I'm struck by how little room there has been for that in my life. Process has been learn + implement= perfection. But there is so much in between that actually happens. Jupiter/Sagittarius is concerned with the big picture, the goal, the aim. I feel like in the midst of the sun, saturn + mercury (ruler of Gemini and going retro on full moon day) being in Sagittarius, the full moon is like a DEEP BREATH of air so you can keep walking through the fire.

It's a reminder of all the little victories, tiny steps, incremental movements, and most of all the layers + layers of learning that have happened. That do happen, with or without our tender loving attention while we're focused on the VISION. I find myself craving less clarity as I realize that yes, it will come but sometimes it is not an epiphany or moment. Sometimes we cultivate clarity, as we leave room + make space for experiential learning. 

Wisdom can be harvested in so many ways but if we don't use it, we deny ourselves. See if you can interrupt patterns of questioning that leave you frazzled + stuck. See if you can lean into what you've learned, what you already know, in moments of confusion instead of seeking new answers. And, because the sun IS in Sagittarius, ask yourself deeper questions. Like, what do you actually believe is possible? What is your relationship to hope? Like, fuck. We need these things to breathe, especially when we're so underwater we're forgetting how to. 

The reason I work with the moon-cycles so much is because it requires intentionality + there is so much fucking power in that. Slowing down, getting in touch enough to notice what is hiding or has been lost in the hustle. It's reclaiming our choice, our awareness. To quote the beloved adrienne maree brown
"i don’t want to spend my life reacting to other people’s cycles, their mistakes, lies, or ignorant projections, or the domination cycles of those who measure their humanity in false supremacy. those things will continue. but what we pay attention to grows. so i pay attention to the places we as a species are learning, changing, getting free, experiencing pleasure and joy."

So, my Gemini full moon + sun in Sagittarius question for you is: where is your joy + what wisdom can you trust? 

oxo
saltwater & stars