Element: Air
Mode: Mutable
Gender: Masculine
Modern and Traditional Ruler: Mercury
Anatomy & Illnesses: The arms, hands, fingers, nerves, lungs, bronchi, breathing.
Body parts that relate to the immediate environment through what we breathe in and touch.
Glyph
The Gemini glyph’s two identical sides or poles represent duality and polarity, as shown through the myth of The Twins, Castor and Pollux. Yet these poles are fused together, creating oneness.
Astronomy
Gemini is easily identifiable by its brightest star, Castor, and second brightest, Pollux. These stars form the heads of the twins and another two stars create the twins’ feet, making up the distinct lines that resemble the Gemini glyph. The constellation Gemini is close to the ecliptic, and in both the northern and southern hemispheres is best seen in the midheaven at midnight when the Sun is in Sagittarius in November and December.
Theme/Quality
What began in Aries and was stabilized in Taurus now becomes expressed and released through Gemini.
Gemini, the first air sign, uses the logical mind to seek explanation and meaning.
Gemini signifies ideas, information, curiosity and discovery, represented by a mind full of questions yet not enough answers.
Gemini shows how we understand ourselves through our surroundings, especially our immediate environment (family, siblings, relatives), neighbourhood and schooling.
Gemini indicates our flexibility; our ability to change and adapt.
The search for a ‘twin soul’ is represented through Gemini, symbolising the need to integrate our other half, or shadow side, in order to become whole.
Gemini represents equality, separateness, duality and polarity (eg. divinity/mortality, black/white, good/evil).
Gemini is rational, functional intelligence whereas Sagittarius, Gemini’s opposite sign, represents symbolic, philosophical intelligence.
Traits
Expressive, inventive, quick-witted, changeable, clever, theatrical, funny, curious, restless, inquisitive, versatile, moveable, willing.
Glyph
Mercury’s glyph comprises the Crescent of Receptivity above the Circle of Spirit
on top of the Cross of Matter. Combined, these symbols represent the conscious and unconscious realms and Mercury’s ability to bridge the two by adapting, relating and communicating between them. Mercury also represents the bridge between above and below, the messenger of the Gods and the divine child. The circle of spirit is linked to both soul and matter.
Astronomy
Mercury is never further than 28 degrees of longitude away from the Sun. It is a fast moving inner planet and is therefore seen in phases. Mercury is hard to see because of its proximity to the Sun, visible for a period of weeks in the evening (occidental) or the morning(oriental). Due to its weak gravity, Mercury has no protective atmosphere and, like the Moon, is full of craters. Mercury rotates slowly making only one and a half rotations for each cycle around the Sun.
Diameter: 4878 km
Mean distance from Sun: 5,910,000 km
Rotation: 58.64 days
Orbital period around Sun: 88 days
Atmosphere: None
Energy/Archetype
Mercury’s energy is fast, unpredictable, quick, changeable and flexible.
Mercury is known as the messenger planet, representing the formulation, exchange and movement of ideas through speaking, writing & networking.
Mercury is known as a hermaphrodite: neutral and asexual, as is the mind.
Mercury is logical, reasonable and rational, and embodies the principle of intellect.
Mercury collects thoughts, words, information, facts, trivia and evidence, and is ‘in-the-know’.
Mercury symbolises our functions of perception (i.e. what we think and how we learn) and communication (i.e. how we speak, write and express ourselves).
Mercury is the ‘psychopomp’ who can bridge the gap between Mount Olympus and the Underworld, and therefore bridges the gap between separate experiences, eg. mind and soul, reality and unreality, knowing and not knowing.
Mercury is known as the trickster planet and represents versatility, flexibility, curiosity and fun.
Mercury changes from malefic to benefic and from masculine to feminine depending on which planets it connects with.
- Astrological cycle
- Mercury is closely tied to the Sun in its movement around the astrological chart, with its furthest distance from the Sun never more than 28 degrees. It takes either less than a year or just over a year to movea round an astrological chart, depending on its retrograde cycle, which happens every three months for about 3 weeks. Mercury retrograde begins as Mercury moves closer to the earth and toward an inferior conjunction, then moves behind the Sun to a superior conjunction when it is not retrograde.
Diurnal (Day-time) Mercury, Ruler of Gemini
- When rising before the Sun, Mercury is known as Diurnal, Promethean and Oriental.
- Mercury’s outward, exposed, forward-moving, future-oriented nature is highlighted here – these are all masculine, solar energies.
- Diurnal Mercury starts a new cycle when Mercury is closest to the earth in an inferior conjunction and finishes at a superior conjunction, rising before the Sun.
- When Oriental, Mercury is a Hot and Moist energy, ie. outward-moving and sociable.
- Promethean Mercury challenges dominion and authority, seeks independence from social conventions, searches for new qualities, strives for effective ways to implement new ideas, and is eager, impulsive, spontaneous, full of vision, restless with creative expression and concerned with real world issues.
Noctural (Night-time) Mercury – Ruler of Virgo
See Zone 6.
Traits
Youthful, curious, witty, clever, cheeky, tricky, quick, changeable, flexible, androgynous, informative.
Shadow - Gossiping, chattering pointlessly, hyperactive, glib, ‘foot-in-mouth disease’ (speaking before thinking), ‘monkey mind’ (wandering thoughts), two-faced, fickle, restless
Rulership
Wednesday, Mercury/Quicksilver, thieves, merchants, words, writing, borderlines, crossroads, speeches, times of decision making, Marjoram, Hazelnut, Bean, The occult (as bridge between material and spiritual worlds), Astrology (traditional).
In the body
Nervous system, thyroid gland, nervous activity.
An unfortunate Mercury retrograde experience for someone! Mercury Retrograde feb 2008 .
General & Natal
Siblings. Neighbours. Short journeys. Local environment. Communications and Transport. Languages. Newspapers and other periodicals.
Mundane
The Media. Transport and telecommunications networks. Education systems, especially at elementary, primary and secondary levels. Neighbouring countries.
Horary
Querent’s siblings. Communications. Short journeys. Visitors. Written contracts. Cousins. Elementary education and knowledge. Rumours. One’s students. One’s neighbours.
CIA GLOSSARY
Air |
… see elements |
Anima mundi |
from Latin: anima, soul; and mundi, world. It translates to "the soul of the world". The idea is said to have originated with Plato but the concept has been discovered to be of more ancient origin, and prevailed in systems of certain eastern philosophers. |
Ascendant |
the zodiacal sign and degree ascending on the eastern horizon at the specific time and location of an event. |
Aspect(s) |
Describes the angular relationship and the energy exchange of planets and points to each other. Ptolemy defined the aspects listed below via the Pythagorean theory of musical harmony. These aspects are based on the principles of sacred geometry, and the inner, spiritual meaning of the underlying numerical structure of our lives. |
Astrology |
from Greek: astro, constellation; and logos, knowledge. |
Astronomy |
from Greek: astron, star; and nomos, laws of naming. The word astronomy literally means "law of the stars". It is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere. |
Cardinal |
… see mode |
Circle |
The circle is a symbol of divine spirit and can be used in combination with other symbols to create a glyph |
Co-creation |
The direct and active involvement of people in making something. |
Constellation |
There are 88 constellations. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) divides the sky into 88 official areas with precise boundaries. The term is traditionally used to denote a group of stars visibly aligned in a particular configuration. |
Crescent |
The crescent is a symbol of the receptive mind or evolving human spirit and can be used in combination with other symbols to create a glyph |
Cross |
The cross is a symbol of matter and can be used in combination with other symbols to create a glyph |
Cusp |
Where one zodiac sign ends and another begins, a person may be born very close to this point. The day and time of the change varies slightly every year. Some astrologers say this person will embody the characteristics of both signs, especially when born close to the end of a sign, eg. 29 degrees. |
Earth |
… see elements |
Ecliptic |
The apparent path of the Sun across the sky. More accurately, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun. |
Electional astrology |
The application of astrology to selecting the timing of events. An astrologer determines the best time to perform an activity in order to get the best possible results. |
Elements |
The building blocks of life and nature – there are 3 signs per element. Each sign embodies one element and one mode. |
Ephemeris |
from the Greek word ephemeros, daily. In astrology, it is a book of tables containing data on the daily position of the planets, as well as other astronomical data of interest to astrologers. |
Equinox |
Implies equal length of day and night, spanning sunrise to sunrise, or sunset to sunset. It occurs twice a year, around March 21 and September 21, denoting the Aries ingress and the Libra ingress. |
Feminine and |
A sign is either feminine or masculine. |
Fire |
… see elements |
Fixed |
… see mode |
the galactic centre |
The rotational centre of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located about 26,000 light years away from the Earth, in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, where the Milky Way appears brightest. |
Glyph |
A pictograph: a visual symbol |
Hermetic doctrine |
Hermes Trismegistus's axiom, "As Above, So Below" is a key metaphysical concept. It implies that all things are connected whether seen or unseen, on Earth or in the Heavens. |
Horary astrology |
The application of astrology to questions. An astrologer constructs a horoscope for the exact time and place at which the question was asked. |
Horoscope
|
Is a diagram of the heavens, constructed using the exact date, time and place of an event/birth, showing the relative position of the planets and the signs of the zodiac. It can be circular, square or rectangular, and is divided into 360 degrees, and 12 signs of 30 degrees. |
Humours |
In traditional astrology, there are four humours or temperaments formed from a combination of heat or cold and moisture or dryness. Establishing temperament (akin to element) describes a person's demeanour and imbalances. |
Ic |
Imum Coeli – Latin for "bottom of the sky". The point in space where the ecliptic crosses the Meridian in the north on northern hemisphere (and the point in south in the southern hemisphere), exactly opposite the Midheaven. It marks the fourth house cusp in most house systems |
Masculine and Feminine signs |
A sign is either masculine or feminine. |
Mandala |
Sanskrit for circle. The astrological mandala has the 12 signs of the zodiac around a circle, symbolic of the universe. |
Meridian |
Latin for “midday”. It is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations with a given longitude. The position of a point on the meridian is given by the latitude. |
Mc |
Medium Coeli – Latin for “middle of the sky”. See Midheaven |
Midheaven |
Also referred to as the “Mc”. The point in space where the ecliptic crosses the Meridian in the north in the southern hemisphere (and the point in the south in northern hemisphere). It marks the 10th house cusp in most house systems. |
Modern astrology |
The period of astrological study that commenced near the beginning of the 20th century after nearly two centuries of disregard. Typically, it draws on psychological theories to interpret the natal or birth charts of people. |
Mode |
The quality of a zodiacal sign - there are 4 signs per mode. |
Mundane astrology |
From Latin Mundus, the world. The most ancient form of astrology, applied to world affairs through the observation of ingresses, lunations, eclipses, conjunction and comets |
Mutable |
… see mode |
Natal astrology |
The application of astrology to the individual personality. |
Occidental |
A planet that rises after the Sun, visible in the evening. According to Ptolemy "when occidental, the influence is feminine." |
Orb |
The number of degrees from exactness within which an aspect operates. |
Orbit |
The path that an object makes around another object while under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. |
Oriental |
A planet that rises before the Sun, visible in the morning. According to Ptolemy "when oriental, the influence is masculine” and also “more powerful, especially when increasing in speed”, plus Oriental planets add "more height and hair" to the appearance. |
Solstice |
from Latin: sol, sun; and sistere, to stand still. At the Solstice, the Sun reaches a maximum or a minimum (of declination). For the Southern Hemisphere, near June 21, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day, where the Sun reaches its minimum. Conversely, around December 21, the Summer Solstice, the Sun reaches its maximum, the longest day. |
Traditional astrology |
With its roots in Chaldean and Babylonian astrology, it was practised in Europe between 1200 and 1700. It is scientific and philosophical in nature, and has four basic aspects or branches: horary, mundane, electional, and natal. |
Transit |
The dynamic angular relationship that planets form with each other as they move around the zodiac. Similarly, the dynamic aspects they make to the planets, angles or points of a static horoscope. |
Water |
… see elements |
Tropical |
There are two, tropical (planet-based) and sidereal (star-based). The tropical zodiac is a symbolic system based on the Sun-Earth relationship and the seasons, a phenomenon that occurs due to the earth’s tilt on its axis. The sidereal zodiac is based on the actual astronomical positions of the planets against the backdrop of the fixed star constellations. The two zodiacs are moving apart at a rate of 1 degree every 72 years, a cycle of 25,920 years. They were in alignment with one another about the year 285 CE and in 2007 they are 24 degrees apart. It could be said that the tropical chart is more “earthy” and represents the personality and the sidereal chart is more “heavenly” and represents the soul.
The North and South Nodes - the points where the orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic (which is the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens against the background stars). The north node is where the moon crosses to the north of the ecliptic. The south node is where it crosses to the south. North Node is called the Dragons Head, South Node also called the Dragons Tail
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