Hey there,
How are y’all feeling after that full moon last week, now that we’re week into Gemini season?
Full moons can often leave a bit of a hangover. and last Thursday’s full moon was a pretty powerful one, as it was opposite the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. Now the sun, Jupiter, and Venus have all moved into the sign of the twins, really ushering us into big Gemini energy. Uranus and Mercury are still Taurus, and with Mars in Aries, and Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, there’s a lot of planetary weight on one single side of the sky right now. It’s a bit lopsided energy, a concentration in a single side of your chart. So if life is feeling heavy or imbalanced right now, that could be part of why.
The Gate of the Now was our focus last week, and I decided to start re-reading and doing the breath practices from the book I referenced, The Presence Process. My therapist last Monday mentioned how she’s noticed I’m often multitasking when on a call with her, and I took it as a real sign to lean into the assignment of the Gate of the Now.
My natal Chiron, the asteroid known as the wounded healer, is in the first degrees of Gemini in the Gate of the Now, so I spent a lot of time thinking about how this particular energy brings up a lot of wounds from my past. It also feels that leaning into that wounding and difficulty is also a great path toward healing my pain, like the Chiron myth.
True presence is hard for me, I have to admit- I think it’s hard for a lot of us. It’s so easy to feel preoccupied with how our time could be better spent in each moment that we end up clucking around like anxious chickens. I notice that the more I spend time on a singular thing at a time- playing with my kid with no distractions, taking a bath without reading a book, writing an email with only the email tab open in my browser- the more quickly I get positive feedback from that act.
How did your Gate of the Now week go? I do believe that as we enter more fire and yang energy in the wheel of the year, along with the airy nature of Gemini, it’s a great idea to take the reminder of the power of presence as a talisman in our pockets.
Let me know how Gemini season is feeling for you so far in the comments!
Alison
This week’s highlights:
Gemini season continues
The season of Fire in the Medicine Wheel and the Wuxing 5-Element Cycle
Human Design/I’Ching:
Sunday, May 27: the Sun entered Gate 16, the Gate of Skills, where it will transit through until Saturday, June 1
Sunday, the sun will enter Gate 35, the Gate of Change, which we’ll dig into next week
This week’s themes:
The link between Enthusiasm and Skills
Deepening into your passions
Remaining in the Now (Jupiter and Venus are in the Gate of the Now)
Our Place in the Wheel of the Year
Medicine Wheel Direction: Early South (Fire, Youth)
Wuxing Cycle Element: Fire
Pagan Season: Beltane
Zodiac Season: Gemini (May 20-June 20)
Moon Phase: Waning
I Ching Hexagram/Human Design Gates: 16 (Monday May 27-Saturday June 1) into 35 (Sunday the 2nd-Friday the 7th)
16 = Thunder over Earth (Yú: “Enthusiasm”) or The Gate of SKILLS
35 = Fire over Earth (Jin “Flourishing”) or The Gate of CHANGE
Enthusiasm & Mastery
This week’s Human Design Gate is Gate 16, the Gate of Skills or the Gate of Mastery. This mini-season within Gemini season is all about mastering a craft through repetition, and attracting others with our enthusiasm due to becoming immersed in our chosen craft.
There is an air of experimentation with this gate. This week we are reminded that perfection is the opposite of good, so we must have courage to take action, take the first step and see what opens up. We need to is trust in the process of practice to hone our skills, and know that we’re not born knowing how to do everything!
Because of the time it takes to master a skill, it’s important to ponder this week what it is you are most curious about and fascinated by, so that we have the enthusiasm to practice our interests until we become skillful at them.
This gate is known as “Enthusiasm” in the I’Ching, and is represented by the trigrams Thunder over Earth. The symbolism of this hexagram is one solid yang line among 5 broken yin lines.
The I’Ching website iFate states: “One strong line exists among many weaker supporting lines. In matters involving group decisions, consensus will be reached, and a single point of view will be shared among many. Unity is referenced here. Many act as one, because the one acts with confidence and clear leadership.”
The one solid line in the hexagram is like a thunder bolt of creative energy that sparks and inspires the more receptive nature of the earth. The enthusiasm contained in this thunder can be described like a singer or dancer who is so passionate about their art that they inspire a crowd of people to rise to their feet, which in turn inspires the singer or dancer to perform their very best.
The word enthusiasm derives from the Latin and Greek meaning “to be possessed by the breath of God.”
Enthusiasm leads to mastery of a skill which leads to unifying people into passionate support. This power comes from the heart, rather than the head, arising out of taking true joy in our work. This is akin to last week’s Gate of Presence, with enthusiasm in the moment creating an environment where leadership happens through energetic flow, like wind filling the sails of a boat. There’s a special particular electricity to the shared moments in the presence of a masterful person that allow things to move forward through collective feeling rather than logical persuasion.
Skills, Flow States, and Attraction
This week, the assignment is to allow yourself to get lost in your passions. I had a conversation about the idea of “Flow states” with some friends the other day, each of us sharing the moments where we feel like we’re in flow, so deep in a hobby or work or play that time seems to disappear. For me, I have found flow states in dance, in snowboarding, and in painting. These are all things where I have unapologetically given in to both the repetition and practice of an action and also experimenting with the movements or expression naturally as they arise.
I have noticed that I feel more attractive to other people during and right after being in these states. When I reflect on it, I can see how skillfulness and mastery leads to a personal attractiveness and also inspiring others works. It’s not because you’re showing off or trying to impress someone, but because the energy you emit from your very being is like that thunderbolt of contagious creativity because you’re deep in your heart, body, and mind.
With this type of energetic feedback between the skilled enthusiast and the people they attract, it’s also very possible to be multi-faceted, multi-passionate, and able to cross-pollinate talents across a number of different crafts and fields.
My partner’s dad was born with this Gate, and I have to say he’s one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. He’s not overly enthusiastic about everything, mind you- I think that the word enthusiasm can sometimes evoke a person who is always smiling and positive and almost unrealistic. But his enthusiasm feels more like the enthusiasm that arises out of true passion for an interest, from architecture to watercoloring to e-biking. He’s not set in his ways, and is always up for experimenting with something new and trying his best to achieve mastery and skill in it.
If your birthday is this week, Happy Birthday! Let me know: How does the Gate of Skills/Enthusiasm resonate with you?
The Enthusiastic & Skilled Twins: Gemini’s Ancient Origins
In Greek and Roman mythology, the constellation Gemini is associated with Castor and Pollux. These twin brothers, who were also often referred to as the Dioscuri, were thought to have been born out of the same egg, the sons of Leda, queen of Sparta. Castor was the son of Tyndareus, the King of Sparta, and Pollox was the son of Zeus (Jupiter in Roman mythology), who transformed into a swan and seduced Queen Leda the same night as she copulated with the King.
The royal human Castor and the demigod son of Zeus Pollox were inseparable in life, and they were known as great heroes, incredibly skilled, masterful, and enthusiastic beings in many ways.
Early in life, Castor became famous for his skill with horses, and Pollux became known for his fighting as an unrivaled boxer. Like the archetypical Gemini, they were both known to be curious and passionate about all life had to offer, and showed off their skillfulness across all corners of the globe.
They joined Jason and the Argonauts in their seafaring adventures to find the Golden Fleece, among many other heroic adventures. In this process, they became the patron saints of sailors, and were often called upon to get sailors out of sticky situations in their sea voyages. The glow that emits from tall objects like sail masts during storms at sea, known as St. Elmo’s Fire, is thought to be spirits of Castor and Pollux protecting the ships.
Not only were the twins skillful in their persistence toward mastery of various crafts like boxing, horsemanship and sailing, but they were also incredibly enthusiastic in their desire to share their mastery with each other and bring together the world at large.
After their many adventures, the two fell in love with twin sisters who were already betrothed to their cousins. They carried the women off to Sparta, pursued by the cousins, and Castor was mortally wounded in battle. The demigod Pollox could not stand to be without his brother, so he begged Zeus to make him mortal so that they could be reunited.
Zeus took pity, and gave Pollux the option to give up half of his immortality and share it with his brother. The brothers then took turns dwelling in Hades and with the gods on Mount Olympus, sharing a body in the underworld and up above. On one day, Castor would be with the gods and Pollux would be in Hades, and the next day they would switch. After some time, Zeus cast both brothers up to the sky to form the constellation Gemini, immortalizing them forever.
This week, as we deepen into the season of these twins, I encourage you to follow your curiosities and fascinations, and allow yourself to experiment and also be enthusiastic about your choice of what you’re spending your time on. Who knows, it might lead to mastery, and even to attracting the right people into your life!
Have a lovely week ahead y’all, and I’ll see you next week for the Gemini new moon and the Gate of Change. This Gate is represented by Fire over Earth, and like the Sun rising at the dawn of a new day, you will find yourself adventuring to new heights, where you can apply your skills and mastery to climb taller peaks!
All my love,
Alison
The Skills & Enthusiasm of Castor & Pollux: Weekly Forecast for May 27-June 2