Time for another column, this time as the Sun enters Gemini I. At 9:49 AM, the Sun crosses the boundary from Taurus to Gemini, and the sign most famous for duality begins. With the Ascendant in Leo, we can expect that the next ten days will carry a certain sunny fixity from beginning to end: a degree of optimism, certainly, but also a certain plodding changelessness.

Gemini is called the sign of mutable air, and represents the “Sons of Thunder” in Greek mythology: Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus, and the half-brothers of the famous and beautiful Helen of Troy who was queen of Sparta. Dismayed by their destinies, one to die and one to live forever, they asked Zeus to re-distribute their fates, so that each of them was half-divine and half-mortal — doomed to spend half of eternity in Hades, and blessed to spend half of eternity on Mount Olympus with the undying gods. Zeus granted their request. The Greco-Roman world, in adapting the Egyptian calendar to a broader Mediterranean project, assigned the festivals of Tethys to these ten days in late May — a goddess of the chaotically and perpetually rolling Ocean, Tethys was both immortal and ever-changing. She could not remain the same, but was destined to be eternally in tumult and restlessness. Unlike the other deathless gods, she shared none of their stability. In coming up with images for a modern interpretation of the Decans, Austin Coppock called the first Decan of Gemini The Apple of Eden. From these three images — Castor and Pollux, Tethys, and the apple with a deep bite in it — we can understand that this is a time in which we experience phase-shifts of our underlying reality or essential nature; and change through choice (through re-combination, redistribution, re-organization, and re-visioning) is a core component of our time in this Decan. Let’s look at planetary placements and then consider horoscopes.

Planetary Placements

The Ascendant of this chart is in Leo, in the part of the sign adjudicated by Saturn (and which Austin Coppock called “the Spotlight”). Saturn shines her malefic ray from a position at the opposition in Aquarius — promising limitations and ongoing exile from others. The Sun in Gemini meets both Ascendant and Saturn through the favorable aspects of trine and sextile: we’re likely to find people seeking to mark themselves as outcasts or rebels in the next ten days, while others are merely hankering for stage-time.

The second house, representing wealth and property, is defined by Virgo, and the placement of Mercury in Gemini in the 11th house. All of us are likely experiencing an odd combination of wealth and poverty, and aware of the challenges of our friends in social distance: we may be rich in stuff, but poor in allies; or poor in material goods, but prosperous with friends. We may be counting our pennies and lavishing our dollars, or the other way around; but however we slice it, we’re burdened by an unhealthy degree of self-knowledge about the complications of our finances.

Libra, ruled by Venus in Gemini, governs the third house — which also contains the Imum Coeli. Our dreams and aspirations seem to revolve around managing and connecting our neighborhood and extended families, and solving some of the schooling challenges for younger children. We’re getting creative as we evaluate the webs of relationships that govern our lives, and as we try to decide which links can bear the weight of our needs… and which will snap under the strain.

Scorpio, ruled by Mars in Pisces, govern’s the fourth house, literally our houses and homes. A pressured intensity has settled over daily lives at home, and we’re engaged in lots of secret projects. Some people may be channeling their efforts effectively, others not so much.

Sagittarius governs the fifth house, ruled by Jupiter in Capricorn. It’s hard to see the big picture of our happiness right now, when we’re simultaneously grounded, harvesting wild yeasts for our sourdoughs, and trying to score enough toilet paper for our bums on the throne. Everything seems less fun than usual.

Capricorn governs the sixth house, ruled by Saturn in Aquarius. The relationship is inconjunct — the planet of age and responsibility is turning back, retrograde, but still not focused on the old homestead, but a wider theater of operations. The result is that workplaces, and the risk of illness, are flummoxed and empowered by the presence of Jupiter and Pluto here, offering simultaneous grace and poison in all situations.

The seventh house, representing partners, is governed by Aquarius and ruled by Saturn present in the sign. Those of us who have partners, are likely experiencing challenges and difficulties around their relationship with responsibility; those without partners are likely experiencing a significant dearth of assistance and need as a result of solitude.

Mars and Neptune occupy Pisces as the eighth house, ruled by Jupiter in Capricorn. The king of waters, manifesting as strange delusions gradually becoming real, passes from the realm of the Net to the cup of blood; the next ten days are likely to see swirls of controversy around the cures and treatments of Covid-19, with little clarity or certainty about the effectiveness of testing. However, the red warrior puts his blade upon The Knot in the early part of the sign, preparing to cut through a tangled mess of confusion with a solution that is simple, easy and likely wrong. Distrust black-and-white, yes-and-no answers, but recognize that sudden tensions released produce whiplash.

The Midheaven (MC) is in the ninth house, governed by Aries ruled by Mars in Pisces. Likely you’re out there, stirring up trouble on your social media accounts, burning bridges and firing off angry opinion pieces masquerading as nuanced research — or denying nuanced research as falsifiable opinion. Remember nothing is cut-and-dried but you make it so; everything truly touches everything else, and it is only in a fever that you can deny this. Quench the fury if you can.

In the tenth house, at the height of the sky, we find the Moon and Uranus in Taurus ruled by Venus in Gemini. From the tropical perspective, relative to the Sun’s course, the Moon is in the third mansion, dispensing gracious radiance from the Pleiades and promising good health and well-being to all. From the sidereal perspective, where we track her against the backdrop of stars, the Moon is in the first mansion, promising creation and destruction of careers and fortunes and public honors; the dichotomy provides an interesting perspective here — in the abstract sense, we’re all going to be fine… but in a more precise and particular way, the next ten days see us tearing down the old and building the new in our careers and public lives — regardless of what served us before or not. Try to remember you’ll come out the other side of this changed, but likely whole. Uranus indicates almost-trickster-ish quality to this shift.

The Sun, Mercury, Venus and the North Node occupy the 11th house governed by Gemini itself, and ruled by the herald-planet here in their own sign; quick communication and hot takes and swift data-processing (with numerous statistical errors) rule our thinking in our activity. We’re promised changing relationships with friends and allies, professional colleagues and casual acquaintances; and opportunities to see them all again real soon-like. Yet the powers of all three decans are at play here: the Sun indicates that we are biting into forbidden knowledge; Mercury invites us to sit with both our active and receptive intelligences; Venus and the North Node invite us to perform some creative blood-spilling among our more-oblivious friends.

Finally, the Lot of Fortune is in the twelfth house, governed by Cancer, and ruled by that creative/destructive Moon. If we’re making money, it’s likely at home and on our own, rather than in conjunction with others. Our finances may be in need of imprisonment, or monastic reflection… one way or another, they need nurturing and motherly care.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Now let’s look at the horoscopes by rising sign. The rising sign is indicated by which house or sign holds your Ascendant at the moment of your birth —and the Ascendant shows the stars on the eastern horizon. I write my horoscopes based on the relationship between the ‘natural’ chart, as shown here, and the chart as it might be turned to show your rising sign on the horizon. Why not a Sun-sign, or a Moon-sign column? It just didn’t seem to fit right.

Leo: The temptation is to play your whole hand, or to seize the spotlight right now. But it’s a good time to keep more of yourself under cover. Are you helping your partner enough around the house? Have you reached out to friends and tried to support their needs? Focus on reproducing good work or repeating old processes well, rather than ploughing new ground; you’ll gain more accolades for replicability than for innovation.

Virgo: We’re supposed to be more than we have or own, but it’s a good time to take inventory of what you possess, and what you value, and see where disconnections may be obvious. You may want less “home time” and more social experiences, but both the highs and lows of your life are likely to be found where you’re currently grounded. Intentionally focus on building a legacy the next ten days, thinking through and reflecting both on what has been given to you from the past, and re-shaping it for those who follow in your footsteps.

Libra: Family and neighborhood needs are probably in the forefront of your mind, and home is a hotbed of daily effort to administer grace and keep sickness at arm’s length or more. Staying apart from friends is likely difficult, since everyone is sharing in the trouble, but you have a chance to make some real money right now. A friend is undertaking some potentially-hazardous travel, and may ask you to help them think through appropriate protocols.

Scorpio: Home life is probably cooling your relatively hot-headed intensity right now, but knotty problems are not immediately yielding to the attempt to cut through them. Instead rest in the comfortable buoyancy of this present bloodbath — and use the time to get fired up about some of your learning projects. Your partner, if you have one, is likely going to have to burn some professional bridges before she can build new ones; and in order to do that, your shared finances (or even your management of your own money-making endeavors) are going to have to be thought-through in greater detail.

Sagittarius: You’re not likely to be having a lot of fun in the next ten days, although digging in the dirt or lighting stuff on fire may provide some entertainment. Home-life is in need of some rigorous, imaginative purification; and you may need to burn some of your work-habits to make room for new growth, and to reap future rewards. Your partner may be waking up to some new possibilities, which may put strain on household and demand more from you; still, your talents and treasure and skills may make possible the transformation or execution of plans more easy.

Capricorn: Every decision you make these days seems to have both toxic and graceful consequences — someone gets what they want, and someone else gets a “shit just hit my fan” moment. The trouble, though, is how many people you like and respect seem to get collateral damage rather than a generous helping of happiness. Your partner’s financial straits are starting to constrain your choices as well —but it’s still true that your economic well-being is joined with theirs. Think through your professional colleagues and community — Does someone need a bite of the apple? Is someone being two-faced? Does someone need to be axed?

Aquarius: You may be experiencing a range of tangled opinions about a significant person in your life, who simultaneously requires a great deal of attention and focus — and seems to be hell-bent on making themselves odious to a community you care about. It may be worthwhile, though, to take your partner’s side here —hold off on judgements both public and private until matters become clearer. You’re trying to keep your career on track from home, and manage home like a business — but really, accepting a little direct instruction like a child would be more valuable than keeping your efforts a secret.

Pisces: You’re probably going to need to be more assertive about claiming your share of shared resources in the near future, in order to find clarity about a nebulous, boundary-less and ongoing challenge. You’re likely trying to figure out how to bring friends into your home, even as you’re helping a family member with a big career decision… and if people would just leave you alone for a few hours, you might even get enough enjoyable work done to make some money. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be time to do things that look like pleasure, even if they are work. Sometimes, you’ll have to shut the door.

Aries: It’s a great time to show off your skills, your learning, your upcoming travel plans… wait, you’re traveling? You’re likely to find greater fortune at home alone than on the road. Money matters are going through a bit of a career change, too — What you have and how you gain or release it is going to have to get shaken up and re-plowed. Work demands some hard labor, too: shrinking down what’s gotten too big, and growing what was formerly small.

Taurus: Put the plough in the furrow of your career, and have a bull-in-china-shop attitude about getting stuff done: sometimes it takes a crisis to carve the path to your desired outcome. At the same time, put on a two-faced approach to your money and possessions — some version of “show me the money” to clients and customers, and some version of “my clients aren’t paying, so you’re not getting paid” to vendors and creditors. It’s not an easy double-posture to hold, especially with family members — but stay grounded and learn from past history, both the trouble and the mercy that have been shown to you before the crisis began.

Gemini: As you scroll through social media, you’re likely to encounter people in three categories: those with whom you want to share deep knowledge; those who awaken a desire to create mutual support, and those who should get the axe. The decapitation strike is more satisfying when public, but sometimes a stealthy end is better. Focus some of that ambitious, creative force on eliminating blockages in your career path, though: you get no points for cutting off a few suspected meatheads, and too much gleeful slash-and-burn may attract unwanted attention from co-professionals.

Cancer: Solitude must feel deliciously nurturing: at last, alone time! Just… recognize that your partner’s work assisting with, the service you’re providing, is granting mercy to some and doom to others. Your hands are not clean here, even if you’re doing noble and justifiable work. It’s also time to take up some of the essential learning you’re going to need in order to advance along your present career path, and it’s worth taking the time to start publicly staking a claim to the next step on your journey. Enjoy this isolation where your friends are on call but not in your face while you can; your next steps will require asking them for some tedious repetition of formalities.

Colophon

I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces as the basis of some of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me. My own book, A Full Volume of Splendour and Starlight, is now available as PDF download from my Etsy website. 

Any errors in these columns are my own.

If you’d like to schedule a consultation with me, you can find additional information on the Services and Classes page.

If you want to read some of my other astrologically-oriented poetry, To the Mansions of the Moon is a collection of hymns to the angels of the Mansions mentioned in these columns. For the Behenian Stars is a collection of hymns to the first/brightest sixteen stars. The Sun’s Paces are hymns to the thirty-six Hellenistic-era deities and ascended souls of the Greco-Egyptian Decans-calendar. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.