The Sun enters Gemini III on June 10, 2022, at 5:52 PM EDT. Austin Coppock called this decan The Executioner’s Sword, since it represents the last ten days of the Sun’s greatest power in the northern hemisphere, before the blade falls and the Sun begins to decline from the longest days toward the autumnal equinox and the dark of winter. Hellenized Alexandrians of the first century AD gave it to the goddess Praxidike, the goddess who presided over right relationships in society, and who identified transgressions.

What are the relevant transgressions? child against parent, spouse against spouse, householder against guest, citizen against Polis, mortal against gods. These are the crimes that Praxidike punishes, with the executioner’s sword. And it’s not surprising that this is Mercury’s rulership, but the Sun’s administration. It’s also not surprising that on the eve of this decan, the US Congress’s January 6 Commission began televising hearings explaining its findings just the other day. Praxidike may be blindfolded, but she brings the light of cold rationality and the logic of the law to all that she undertakes. A lot of the targets of her attention, of course, need an undertaker as soon as she’s done with them.

The dodecatemoria of Gemini III recapitulate the signs from Aquarius to Taurus — the cold, stiff formal logic of Aquarius becomes the big-picture thinking of Pisces. The watery and emotional tears and hope for forgiveness, though, turns into the hot fire of Aries separating the quick from the dead — and, as the little old lady in Ukraine said to the Russian soldiers, “here’s some sunflower seeds for your pockets… when we bury you, you’ll at least help the flowers bloom.” Taurus’s wide fields of flowers and grass feeding the cows certainly suggests what happens when the hot fire finishes ‘processing’ the accused and convicted.

In another insight, Twitter user @Omegastrology pointed out that the Gemini-Sagittarius axis of the Zodiac has six decans, representing Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Mercury and the Moon — but lacking the influence of Venus. This “mini-pantheon” of Hellenistic spirits thus includes (in Sagittarius) the Loimos or diseases, Kore the underworld maiden, and Ananke the serpent; and (on the Gemini side) Tethys the world-spanning ocean, Cybele the mother, and Praxidike the keeper of justice. These six-ish figures (the Loimos are a class of spirits rather than a single deity) are all portrayed in feminine ways, and yet not classically beautiful or glamorous in the way we think of Venus (on the half-shell, de Milo, undressing for her bath, calling in spring). Rather, they’re monstrous in form or surrounded with the wreaths of souls in the underworld or engaged in contentious and violent responses to the world: slaying evildoers, rousing storms, or bringing pestilence. This is the season of woman, apparently — but not woman the people-pleaser. This is women not merely speaking truth to power, but women taking power and using it in ways that ordinary (or patriarchal) power structures find frightening or emasculating. If Venus is missing, it’s because this is no Barbie-girl moment — the big girls are taking charge.

Planetary Positions

WE’re looking at a Day Chart see, with both the Sun and Moon above the Ascendant as we approach a full Moon in Sagittarius. The Sun is succedent in the 8th house, neither strong nor weak, but in a position of administrative leadership, ready to exercise responsibility. The Ascendant is in Scorpio III The Crow, promising that shiny toys and dominion of the skies may be prominent themes in the ten days beginning. The Moon’s presence in the 17th Mansion or Crown of Scorpio suggests that a time of security against predatory forces is beginning, and that a series of actions of guardianship are likely to take hold. Scorpio as the first house also rouses Mars to action as lord of the first, in a position of sovereignty over Jupiter in the sixth, cadent but furious — a series of daily activities designed to assure the protection of government and of power are implied here: watch the US Congress and other agencies world-wide as various forces make decisions about how they will exercise power in the future. However, violence is also not always used with restraint or caution; observe what happens in Ukraine as they defend the salient on the eastern front with Russia…

The Nodal Axis also runs between Scorpio and Taurus here, inviting you into relationship with others and being less concerned with self. Gather to yourself the people that help you be your best version of yourself. Try to avoid the company of people who make you feel dull and ill-tempered.

Pluto in the third house, retrograde in Capricorn III The Throne, brings the amplifier’s concerns to familial matters. The applying sextile with Neptune in Pisces promises some big waves shaking up the normal undercurrents of your closest friends’ conversations.

Saturn in the fourth house, retrograde in Aquarius III The Knot, indicates that there are still tangled issues in the home that need to be unraveled and smoothed out.

Neptune in the fifth house, direct but feeling the effects of a sextile Pluto retrograde, suggests that your pleasures or pleasure-seeking activities are being stretched thin by the present era. You may be zealous in pursuing connections with others, or activating the certainty and sureness of Pisces III The Cup of Blood, but take care that your own hopefulness doesn’t get in the way of actual, thoughtful analysis.

Aries is currently home to The Lot of Fortune, Jupiter, and Mars the sign ruler — Jupiter and the Lot promise a fair bit of thoughtful but surgically careful division and separation of problems and solutions, challenges and opportunities. It’s easy to believe that all work or health issues can be resolved with a simple to-do list or resolving concerns one at a time in linear fashion. But Mars is forceful in the decan called The Crown, commanding that conflicts be addressed, seconded, and dueled to victory. Save the uncomplicated decisions for later in the meeting, friends: address the real challenges immediately and resolve them wherever possible — the warrior planet will reward you if you start the fight, and finish it.

The seventh house, the house of the others — our business partners, rivals, foes, and spouses — is home to another stellium or trio of planets, namely Venus, Uranus, and Mercury, although separated by more than a few degrees. Venus is of course the ruler of the sign, preparing for her annual conjunction with Uranus, in the decan called the Lingam-Yoni.While the name may call to mind the Kama Sutra and other equally erotic texts, it’s better to think of this as “upsets to autonomy” and “revolution (or revolt) in the bedroom.” I hope that US readers are aware of what might be coming out of the Supreme Court about Roe v. Wade — but I don’t think everyone has really considered what the response might be, even from our own partners. Something is coming, and it’s likely to be surprising to us all. Mercury is more cold-hearted and rational — I use they/them pronouns when I write about the messenger-planet, and they’re in a position that emphasizes their expertise and friendship with that cautious traditionalist, Saturn, who knows more than a little about being coldly rational. Our most significant others are likely to pull some hard-hearted decisions in the next ten days, and I hesitate to call them stunts, or tricks, though you might. It’s better to realize these come from a place of calculation and expertise, rather than overwrought emotion: no one is out to manipulate you emotionally here; this is precise logic and strategic thinking on display.

The Midheaven in Virgo I The Tree Bearing Fruit urges you to connect with friends, but not necessarily in a padded “I’m going to help you right now,” way, or “let’s make plans for 10 am Sunday at that bring-your-own-booze brunch place; you make reservations and I’ll bring the birthday cake and champagne.” You’re being urged to let things flow smoothly and organically out of genuine need, rather than to check things off a to-do list. Listen to your heart and body about what you want from your friends, and plan accordingly.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Horoscopes for Decan III are sent to Patreon subscribers and mailing list subscribers. You can subscribe to the mailing list here.

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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 much 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, as is my Almanac for 2021. Any errors in these columns are my own.

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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.