Game Changer - Gemini - Diana Badger % %

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Game Changer - Gemini

Things are not as they seem. Nor are they otherwise.
~ Shurangama Sutra [Chan Buddhism]

Breath is the bridge between soul and body, keeping the two connected,
and the medium of their action and reaction upon each other.”
~ Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Master

As the zodiac’s first Air sign, signified by the breath, Gemini does indeed connect the realms of body (earth sign Taurus, the preceding sign) and soul (water sign Cancer, which follows). And while in its highest expression, Gemini as Magician infuses the earthly realm with divine wisdom—without our always knowing it!, at the ‘ordinary’ level it can be dubbed superficial or ”flighty.” (Apt, given that the winged ones are the natural world beings associated with this sign.) As with every sign, Gemini has its shadow, and indeed, when un-centered its inherent restlessness is known to flit like a butterfly in pursuit of each passing whim or connection, be dazzled by surfaces, and lose any intent to focus or stick to its goals.

But while distractible Gemini can be prone to a short attention span and fragmented interests, and its large network can sometimes grow too big to tend, we are many of us captivated by Gemini’s charm, its friendliness, its playful sense of fun, and its shining wit and intelligence. Gemini is also a master connector and learner, seeking to integrate and extend Aries’ actions with Taurus’ grounding, into the wider web of knowledge. Knowledge and information are Gemini’s jam and it uses these to navigate life, whether via the winds of word-of-mouth, education, or various types of media.

I was thinking the other day about my mission to enlighten and inform my readers of the inextricable entanglement of Earth and Sky, as well as the deep value and import, on a soul level, of living with an embedded awareness of the cycles of both nature and the planets, along with their archetypal energies. I’ve been dipping into a big tome called Meditations on the Tarot, which rambles in depth about the significance of the archetypes of each of the Major Arcana (such as The Fool, with which Gemini is associated, being both ‘everything and nothing’).

Even though I am not per se drawing tarot cards for personal insight when I read the book, I always come away deepened and edified by what I discover there. I feel the same holds true for the astrological signs, that each of them, in our coming to know them better, expands our apprehension of what’s going on both within and outside us as we engage with the porous fabric of our rapidly changing World—which at this point we might more accurately call a “Whirled”!

So even if we are not a Gemini Sun, Moon, or Rising sign, we do well to get familiar with this archetype and its dimensions, particularly as Gemini energy will inform culture for the next year through Jupiter’s recent ingress into the sign. And a year from now, Uranus as well will assume its place there, remaining for the better of seven years, informing the realms of higher mind, innovation, change, and much more. While this likely indicates that the distortions of media and over-thinking promise to get even more out of hand, herein lies an invitation to learn to attend more deeply to the mind, such as by training it to work on our behalf through holding positive intentions (thought creates reality, as they say); and when in doubt, by listening to the truth beneath words and messages by checking in with the compass of our inner knowing – such as the heart, or the gut.

[For a deep dive into the Gemini archetype, you can purchase the recording and extensive notes from my Gemini class here.]

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Breath is freedom

Air signs, being of the breath of life, are imbued with spirit. On the personal level, they manifest as detached, rational, and concerned with the mental plane, through which they become in-spired—the Latin root spirare meaning “to breathe.” And speaking of ‘spires’, focusing on the breath is a foundational practice in many spiri-tual paths. In his book, The Holy Mysteries of the Five Elements, PIr Zia Inayat Khan, Sufi Sheikh and grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan (quoted above), writes, “The conscious breath is nothing less than the sacred call-and-response of theophany, the pure essence of worship.” Gene Keys teacher Richard Rudd suggests that “breath is freedom.” To me, breath invites spaciousness, and in turn, spaciousness invites freedom. Allowing more air into our bodies, as well as more space into the rhythm of our days, is liberating. Infusing space into our being creates the opportunity for meeting change.

Birds—whose arena of life is of course the air—symbolize ‘aspiration’ on the spiritual path. Few of us humans are not somewhat envious of the freedom with which birds fly, with inner freedom representing the longed-for ‘home’ of spiritual aspirants. Surely these winged ones symbolize an ‘elevated’ life! The Conference of the Birds, a Persian poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar, speaks to this, being a parable about the seeking by a group of bird aspirants of the mythological Simorgh across seven challenge-laden valleys, led by the wisest bird, the hoopoe. The title, more literally translated as The Speech of the Birds, is taken from a part of the Qu’uran in which Solomon and David are said to have been taught the language, or speech, of the birds. How fitting the tale is, then, to the Gemininian archetypal focus, given that Gemini informs the realms of both language and breath, and that it draws down wisdom from above.

Equally fitting, that the gist of the poem is, not unlike The Wizard of Oz, that that which we are seeking is doing the seeking; that it is our own shadow selves that seek our ‘Creator.’ We learn that in the end, we ourselves are the ‘Sun,’ or wear the magic red shoes! So, it’s rather a trickster tale, which befits Gemini the Trickster. The following excerpt from the poem offers some pithy Gemini advice regarding superficiality!

The shadow and its maker are one and the same, so get over surfaces and delve into mysteries. [Translation by Sholeh Wolpé.]

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Like the birds, Gemini is an explorer of horizons. Both learning and magic serve to help expose the limits of the horizons filtered by our own perceptions. Interestingly, in the past month or so, we’ve had a number of ‘big sky’ events that have indeed altered our perceptions of the night sky: the total solar eclipse at the Aries New Moon, which afforded a rare view of ‘totality’ from across a swath of the US; the spectacular Northern Lights, which made their way strikingly far south in areas across the globe (including Sebastopol!); and a recent comet fragment that brightly illuminated the night sky in Spain and Portugal while zipping along at 100,000 miles per hour.

It’s cool of the night sky to have been stepping up in this respect! Down here on earth, the closer and deeper we look, we find magic abounding everywhere in nature, especially in early summer in the Northern hemisphere, when flowers get serious about their seductive undressing. The other day I was gazing with loose focus across a distance at a young bud on my hydrangea bush, a bud surrounded by a single, looming pointed leaf above her and two lesser leaves on her sides, which delivered to me a sudden flash of ‘royalty!’ There she was, the Fairy Queen with her tall collar and puffed sleeves, making her yearly entrance! These nature beings really DO speak to us, if we but let down our expectations about what communication needs to sound like. (It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been enjoying the first episodes of the new season of Bridgerton, which features an overly done-up queen!)

Joy on the wing

Along these lines, these warming days I’ve been experiencing the excited rushing about of birds en route hither and thither through my yard and around my windows, as if in a fairytale – always off in haste on a noble mission they seem to be, invested (by me!) with benevolence and fierce ambition. As I will mention later, it could simply be that they are in a hurry to get back home to their nest, to feed their young and sit in contemplation among them, but this too is noble work.

I’ve been struck this year by how much these winged ones, like us, rejoice in summer’s blue sky days. No doubt they too feel the (Northern hemisphere) Summer Solstice nearing, and are warmed and enlivened by the growing, intensifying heat and light. I’ve been visited with mirthful displays of playful Geminian twins several times, watching pairs of lesser yellow goldfinches, small butterflies, or big fat bumble bees chasing each other in artful, perfectly synced patterns. Witnessing such a joyful spirit of play, one can’t but feel blessed. (No tickets needed!)

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Learning new languages and switching out the lenses through which we view the world are certainly two invitations that Gemini offers us. With Pluto the transformer newly transiting my 3^rd House, naturally ruled by Gemini, learning the language of the birds has become a deepening preoccupation. Living on my own, with my beloved cat Venus having died almost two years ago, I have had signs that Venus has dispersed herself into my beloved backyard birds, who are ever in communication with me, bringing a smile to my face. A few months ago, in a difficult phase of fear and uncertainty as I faced a big transition, while standing in my kitchen I was called away from my upset by the distinct and pointed buzz of the hummingbird, beckoning insistently from the garden. I looked out the kitchen sink window to see little Anna perched high on a wispy little cottonwood tree branch, looking my way. I grabbed my binoculars and proceeded to witness a Cirque due Soleil caliber act.

At first the little Anna’s Hummingbird flashed me with her glistening, rose-fuchsia feathers beneath her throat—already dazzling. But then, with the subtlest of turns, she showed only her dark, bark-brown side, and her sharp, black beak. She double-flashed me twice more, and I marveled at how with such a slight turn, her entire appearance transformed from sparkling ruby gem to flat, somber darkness. Sensing my fascination, she continued for a prolonged performance of this shape-shifting dance. Amazing was the precision of her flicker between dazzle and drab. Here was the Messenger bearing sage advice not to take anything at face value. Even the most cheerless of experiences hides beauty and brilliance within—another emanation of Trickster energy, reminding me that it’s up to the angle through which we look at things, or the ‘setting’ of the mind, as to what we see.

I was heartened by the poignant timing of her display, which came just when I needed it. Now after a truly bounteous Spring, I find my life to be pretty darned fuschia-toned! Not that the dark, bark-brown days won’t return, but it is just so touching that the other beings with whom we share this Earth can bring awe and delight to us when we waiver, with archetypal messages in hand!

The spirit of playfulness, another of Gemini’s great gifts, has been showing up with other feathered friends of late. At the feeder one day I spied a friendly chickadee perching facing one direction and then, imperceptibly fast, flipping a full 180° to face the other. Another trickster move! As I watched, she kept doing it…and doing it! She looked at me, clearly enjoying the delight of her audience. I laughed, and called out, “I love your 180’s, they’re so impressive!” A few weeks later, I saw her high-pitched young fledglings chirping at the feeder with great excitement, doing the same 180 dance! Maybe we should all practice ‘doing the 180’ in these taxing times, considering the view from the other side more often.

Curious and light-hearted

Gemini loves diversity. It inspires us to build bridges with others, and to consider multiple angles on an issue—a much needed counterbalance in our polarized, divisive times. I’ve spoken in other blog posts about the big shift with Pluto having entered Aquarius , and now Jupiter, newly into Gemini, is trining that Pluto. Aquarius, with its strong ideals can sometimes get rigidly polarized in us/them thinking (Saturn, known for its strictness, being a co-ruler of Aquarius), so with Jupiter now in open-minded Gemini, in a harmonious trine to Pluto, we can hope to experience a toning down of violent hostilities, and more of an availability to treat people with different views, beliefs, and backgrounds with tolerance and respect. At least we can find this within ourselves, even if what we’re reading in the headlines indicates otherwise.

Through its extended webs of exchange, Gemini seeks to diversify the gene pool of life, to cross-pollinate, just like the birds do with seed, and the bees with pollen. In a healthy ecosystem, diversification is key, as it increases fertility. The practice of mono-crop agriculture has been killing off the soil for too long now, literally stripping it of the multiplicity of life that originally teems in any indigenous natural system. The result is ‘dead’ soil that now must be remediated and regenerated. This is part of the work of the time, both at the soil level, and at the level of inclusive thinking and speaking, a mindset that needs regenerating in our times!

Tearing myself away from Birdland (the 70’s throwback piece of this title by Weather Report surely puts us in the up-beat mood!) for a spell, I also have some gleanings from the language of humans! Curiosity and openness to change being two other valuable features of the Gemini playbook, I was struck by a statement from Jungian astrologer Judy Balan in an article on the connection between astrology and psychology (my favorite vibe). Balan asserts that “the goal [of both these pursuits] is not perfection or some arbitrary idea of goodness,” arguing that “if we would just approach ourselves and our patterns with more curiosity, as opposed to trying to fix them once and for all, we can bring the ego into a more balanced relationship with all that is unconscious.” I love that she calls out curiosity as a way that we can ‘lighten up’ in our attitude towards the inner work of integrating shadow and light.

Such lightness is especially needed given the strong Chiron in Aries influence we’ve had so far this year (still operative as Chiron is now conjunct Mars), which inspires us to the work of healing our woundedness around self-assertion. This in combination with the call of Saturn in Pisces, to focus on unknowing, and surrendering the parts of ourselves that no longer serve or make sense, means many of us are covering some sensitive shadow-work territory these months. It will be a helpful balm to have meaning-making Jupiter in light-hearted, detached Gemini as we continue to face our grief, our shame, and our unconscious, inherited patterns, in order to make ourselves available to the new and yet unknown that beckons on the horizon.

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Changing the game

Here we come to the crux of the Gemini gift: openness to change. A phrase I heard myself saying today, which fits into my Game Changer take on Gemini, is “I’m game!” A recent article in Emergence Magazine by trainer/researcher/engineer Dana Karout takes an open-minded look at ChatGPT, considering its oft-feared cons, and winds up concluding that she’s ‘game’ to partner with this form of AI as a tool for challenging and transforming our inherited frameworks of cognition and creativity, for seeing how not to think! “But to do this we first need to allow our own habitual responses to be disrupted so that we might unlock new potential for our world.”

We need to learn, experiment, collaborate, and find new forms of consciousness and new ways of living that are more resilient and regenerative. And we need to learn how to better understand people whose beliefs are very different from ours. An adaptive process like the one I’m describing is messy—it involves psychological losses for all human stakeholders involved. This process unfolds amidst the “salt of life,” and requires a type of intelligence that is relational and mutual, deeply anchored in the humbling fact that our individual perspectives cannot capture the whole. Working with groups in seemingly intractable conflict, I’ve come to deeply believe that engaging in messy work across boundaries results in something that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.

As a model of resilience, Karout points to a standout “cognitive alertness” present in a particularly versatile and creative species of ape, the hoolock gibbons, who ‘sings improvisationally’ in creative reply to environmental cues, rather than spitting out pre-formed modes of response (such as humans are prone to). “Our awareness needs to become more embodied, to develop a new—or perhaps return to a much older—state of mind that is not trying to produce quick answers but is instinctual and can stay with “I don’t know.”

With big changes in the realms of thought and cognition coming down the pike indicated by transpersonal planets Pluto in Aquarius and and Uranus in Gemini next year, not to mention Saturn in Pisces, learning how to expand our minds, and not believe everything we think—in effect rejigging our default paradigms—seems in order. And we should continue to expect the unexpected – a good phrase for innovative, “higher mind” Uranus, the higher octave of Mercury, Gemini’s ruler.

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Along these lines, I have one more ‘unexpected’ bird siting. While it’s been warm enough to do my online QiGong class outdoors for many weeks now, I was forced back indoors recently because of hecka loud tree work in the neighborhood. I had my computer perched on a table, surrounded by plants (of course), just in front of a bay window looking to the south—this being my usual Qi Gong spot during the colder months. Towards the end of class, I suddenly spied right through a hole in the leucodendron bush outside the window a scrub jay sitting on a nest. At that very moment, a second adult jay few out.

I was struck by how the nest was positioned precisely such that I could see it through the shrub’s many crowded branches from where I stand doing Qi Gong. Just as I was about to share this revelation at the class’ end, the teacher announced, Oh! A bald eagle is circling! My bird thunder was kind of stolen with that one, but I’ve been excitedly watching my jay parents at work—even though ‘work’ involves just sitting there much of the time! For all their flitting about, our feathered friends do have quite some patience!

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Language of symbols

It’s interesting to consider how Gemini works in concert with its polarity partner, Sagittarius. (Here’s how we astrologers incorporate “the 180”!) Gemini collects and gathers information through its busy doings and exchanges in the seemingly mundane world, and Sagittarius reflects and makes meaning out of them, from a higher, ‘mountain top’ perspective. When working with symbols in astrology, or in our lives, to glean their significance (the Sag job) we are called to allow ourselves into relationship (the Gemini job) with these symbols or ‘messengers’ such as I do with my birds. Being in relationship means not defining, but sitting with the thing/image/vision/memory (as a bird on her nest!) in an open, curious, non-judgmental way. This allows the soul to be heard…or hatched!

Symbols can be images that strike us in nature, art (including film, dance, music), a dream, a tarot card, or a memory. All are emissaries from the unconscious, potentially calling for our attention, offering us a new take on ourselves, our situation. The process of understanding them is not about defining, but about sitting with them in an open, curious, non-judgmental way. This process allows soul to be heard. In the end, we need Gemini in order to help us make a relationship with things whose ‘underside’ can provide access to our visions and higher meanings.

Working in this way with the symbolic imagination can invoke magic in our own lives—not just leaving it to ‘the magicians’. We can access our own personal magic through intuition, energetic or sensory awareness, and our unique type of sensitivity. On the relational level, our magic helps us connect deeply to ourselves, and others, through compassion, kindness, wisdom, mental brilliance, and humor. Bringing it close to home, Richard Rudd suggests that “magic is doing nothing outside of our own nature.” In other words, our freed authenticity is our magic.

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Astrology of Now

The upcoming New Moon in 16° Gemini on June 6 features a strong lineup of Gemini planets: in addition to the Sun-Moon conjunction we have Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. Picture a fountain of words and images being showered from above, some of them seducing, some of them upsetting, distracting or confusing, some of them enlightening, asking perhaps that we call in our discriminatory powers, with help from Virgo, the other Mercury-ruled sign besides Gemini. If overwhelmed by TMI, or too many items on the buffet, this is a chance to source our own inner compass of knowing, whether that be our heart, or the lower Dan Tian (sacral center) as it’s called in Qi Gong. It will be important to learn to stay focused on what really matters to us in these changing times. (For a deeper inquiry into this, consider booking a session with me.)

With Jupiter in Gemini now until July ’25, we can expect to see expanded cross-pollination in our networks, and may find ourselves exploring new belief systems—perhaps even several at once (Gemini loves multiplicity). There is also great potential for increased bridge-building, collaboration, and forming of new alliances. We may open to new forms of communication and guidance, and not just with words. Plants and animals, or dream messengers, may appear to help us feel our belonging. For instance, I feel the trees greeting me regularly when I step out into my garden, with the breezes tickling their leaves to shimmy hello. I shimmy back!

Jupiter is both sextiling Neptune and trining Pluto right now – both of these are harmonious, helping aspects. This can mean the energies of transformation (Pluto) and visionary guidance (Neptune) are more accessible this summer. But we are cautioned to not get carried away with top heavy ideas or dreams that can’t be practically landed. Jupiter risks its fall in succumbing to excess. Excess high-minded vision, excess thinking it knows, excess appetite. Mars enters Taurus on June 9, which can help us stay grounded. Venus and Mercury will then move into water sign Cancer on June 17, followed by the Sun on the day of the Summer Solstice, June 20, inducting us into the deeply reflective ‘feeling’ vibe of mid-summer, one which I personally love, with my natal Cancer Moon. The Full Moon in Capricorn follows on June 21.

Along the Gemini theme of how we can use our minds to change our game, I will close out with an offering from Bruce Lipton, bridge-maker between science and spirit, and a respected pioneer in the field of challenging the mechanistic/scientific worldview we’ve inherited from the past. In his article, Embracing the Immaterial Universe, he quotes physicist Sir James Jeans on the power of thought:

The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter . . . we ought rather hail it as [matter’s] creator and governor.” Think about it!

And while you do, enjoy this innovative bird language piece, Runner Messenger ii, by sound recordist and electronic composer Joel Pike, aka Tiny Leaves.

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