If there is one thing that Gemini has a hard time with it’s stagnation.

If you have Gemini rising, Moon, Sun, or other natal planets in Gemini, you know what that’s like.

Mercury is the planetary host of Gemini, and is at its the most swift and curious in Gemini, so it doesn’t like to stagnate.

But, Gemini or not, we all go through stagnant periods.

Per the image of Hexagram 12: Stagnation, which correlates to this period of Gemini,* heaven and earth are not united.

As above is NOT as it is below.

Workplaces, schools, relationships, religious groups, fitness routines, are some of the main places where we can feel stagnated.

There is likely at least one of these areas of life at any given time where we feel that there isn’t a larger cosmic purpose and the energy feels dense all the time.

As we enter the final stretch of Gemini season, it seems appropriate to ponder stagnation before moving on to Cancer. We kicked off Gemini with Contemplation and then have had Enthusiasm, Progress, and Gathering. As wonderful as those last three activities are, they might have our wheels spinning a bit, and needing a kind of forced return to contemplation via stagnation.

As James Hillman says in Healing Fiction, having more events than we can experience (a common Gemini thing) gives us” “indigestion,” so to speak. When we stand still and process our events through an “imaginative process” we can ease “mental turbulence.”

The New Moon in Gemini on June 17 should help alleviate any psychic indigestion. New Moons represent new beginnings in that area of life in your chart. This isn’t an eclipse, so it won’t be dramatic, but it offers a little bit of an energetic boost.

Working with your typology can also be helpful and narrow down the types of things to help you work with this New Moon. If you know your personalitly type, tapping into your inferior function offers an opportunity to see things from a fresh perspective. For example, for an ENFP type, introverted sensation (Si) is the inferior function. Taking a break from the dominant extraverted intuition (Ne) activities by cooking, organizing a closet, indulging in some aromatherapy, and other Si pursuits could you help break through stagnation.

By focusing on the Below, we can start to feel the Above again.

________________________________________________________________________________________
Astrology Consultations | Monthly Depth Books Newsletter | Contact

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

References:

Healing Fiction by James Hillman

I Ching or Book of Changes translated by Richard Wilhelm

The I Ching Workbook by R.L. Wing

There is much gathering together during this time of Gemini season, at least here in the northern hemisphere.

Cookouts and parades.

School concerts and other end-of-the-school year activities.

Family reunions. Weddings.

Softball leagues, baseball games, outdoor pickleball play, and on and on.

So it seems appropriate that Hexagram 45: Gathering Together is the hexagram for this section of Gemini.*

Those of us who are introverts may feel out of sync with this.

Ironically, even though I have a stellium of natal planets in Gemini, I am an introvert, and sometimes wonder if I can just contemplate the people instead of gathering with them?

Fortunately, we can do both at the same time, as R.L. Wing describes it in his I Ching Workbook:

Note the quality of your interactions. Self-observation within a group can speed you toward an expanded awareness. The original Chinese text points out that ‘by observing the way gatherings evolve, we can perceive the inner tendencies of heaven and earth and of all things.’

Well then.

That almost makes going to a family reunion sound appealing.

We can’t individuate – or become more whole – on our own.

We can do this when attuning ourselves to the energy of the group consciousness without simultaneously being swept up in it. I like how Jungian analyst and psychiatrist Ashok Bedi describes this as “caring detachment:”

Caring detachment comes from living life fully, not from avoiding it. The caringly detached person is a very active participant in the affairs of self, family, community, and the spirit, yet detached from the outcome of his or her endeavors. Work and life then become God’s work, not a personal quest.

Path to the Soul by Ashok Bedi, M.D.

Strengthening the groups we are in, and being unattached to the outcomes, is a practical way to experience that ancient concept of “as above, so below.” Or, as Marion Woodman said, “The deeper you go into your uniquness the more you are connected to everybody else. At the profoundest soul level we are one.”

Quite often progress is gradual and incremental and most noticeable in retrospect.

Sometimes it’s circular like a mandela and the difficulty of going backwards can be the path to progress.

Kind of like how I recently switched my pickleball serve to a volley serve, which is ultimately a more powerful and effective one, but in the short term I’m now missing a couple of serves each game as I make the transition.

But none of that is what Hexagram 35: Progress in the I Ching, an ancient book of Chinese wisdom, is about.

Here it’s about rapid, easy progress.

We’ve contemplated the people and fostered enthusiasm within them with the intent of creating meaningful change.

Now that change is here.

The image of Hexagram 35: Progress is the sun rising over the earth.

The sun represents clarity and spreads its rays over a large area. The I Ching compares this to the clarity of vision of a leader who is both an “enlightened ruler and an obedient servant” all at once.

That combination isn’t always so present in the leaders of our society today. But we can cultivate it within ourselves.

How so? R.L. Wing gives some practical advice in his I Ching translation: “Communication is now of vast importance during a time of rapid PROGRESS. It is wise for you to stay in close touch with all levels of your social world. Monitor the needs of others and be supportive of progressive improvements. Take an active part in the affairs of society now in order to refine and enhance your inner worth.”

How appropriate that this takes place in airy and social Gemini season.*

Once again this brings to mind the extraverted feeling function, which Dario Nardi calls the “friendly hosting” function: “Empathically respond to others’ needs and values, and take on their needs as your own. Check for respect and trust. Give and receive support to grow closer to people.”

All of us have access, in varying degrees, to extraverted feeling. It is one of the eight energy pathways of our personality types.

We all have a Gemini area of life, too, as represented in the natal chart. It’s being lit up right now by the transiting Sun and will more naturally be an area of focus for you, even if you don’t have natal planets here.

Wing says that taking an altrustic approach and becoming influential with people helps us progress in our inner development. If you can progress in both your relationship with yourself and with others “you are on your way to an enlightened destiny.”

________

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

To receive my blog posts by email, please click here to subscribe.

References:

I Ching or Book of Changes translated by Richard Wilhelm

The I Ching Workbook by R.L. Wing

Whenever I hear thunder, I don’t tend to feel enthusiasm. Yet the image of thunder over the earth is associated with Hexagram 16 (Enthusiasm) in the I Ching, an ancient Chinese book of wisdom that is important in the Jungian world.

Thunder is a symbol of sudden change and transformation, while the earth represents stability and grounding. Together, they represent the power of enthusiasm to inspire change and create something new.

This requires getting others on board, however. This is why hexagram 16 is also sometimes referred to as “harmonize.”

How best to generate this enthusiasm and harmony? You could start by “contemplating the people” and then aligning yourself with their values.

I can’t help but notice that these are extraverted feeling kinds of activites. Extraverted feeling adjusts itself to external conditions and social, rather than personal, values. R.L. Wing’s description of hexagram 64 could also serve as a description of extraverted feeling:

If you can grasp the direction of the tendencies around you, you can parallel them and accomplish great deeds. …Penetrate the popular sentiment of society, anticipate what will be needed and supported, and choose able helpers who will be enthusiastically attracted to your compelling inspiration.

R.L. Wing, The I Ching Workbook

All of us have extraverted feeling as one of our eight energy pathways. People with ESFJ, ENFJ, INFJ, and ISFJ tendencies have it as one of the top two, where it is more easily accessible.

This adaptability is also charateristic of Mercury, the planetary host of Gemini.

And speaking of astrology, here is. R.L. Wing again: “Obey your inner voice if you wish to behave correctly in the current situation. If there is a decision to be made, surrender to the impulses of your true nature. Choose the path of least resistance. Move with the rhythm of the moment. In this way you will be relieved of tensions and open to inspired accord with the cosmos.”

Astrology is a practical way to form an inspired accord with the cosmos. Hexagram 16 correlates to these next 5-6 days of Gemini season.* If you have natal planets in Gemini, tune into them this week and access your inner voice. If you don’t have natal planets in Gemini, the Sun is currently in Gemini and lighting up the area of life that Gemini represents in your chart.

We don’t always know when thunder will arrive, but a greater awareness of your extraverted feeling energy pathway, and the Gemini area of your life, will better prepare you for it. Then you’ll experience the joy and relief that follows after the thunderstorm refreshes nature and relieves the tension that had built up.

________

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

Sources:

I Ching or Book of Changes translated by Richard Wilhelm

The I Ching Workbook by R.L. Wing