Tag: Gemini

Mercury Retrograde May 11, 2022 – June 4 (18), 2022:

Facing the unknown (and the unknown unknown)

PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Ghosts and Gremlins

The effects of Mercury retrograde are unmistakable.

If our society is a machine, then the Mercury Retrograde period is when ghosts and gremlins are unleashed. It is the open season for mindless blunders, delays, glitches, cancellations and reschedules.

Mercury retrograde exposes the lapses in our judgement. Our assumptions and automatic response become unreliable, and we are prone to skip and stray from our normal decision-making process. Our brains seem to slip out from under us. We can’t remember the words at the tip of our tongues. We blurt out what we don’t mean to say. We give and receive incorrect, incomplete or irrelevant answers (especially when contacting the tech support). Even handling a phone number can be dicey.

This period calls for a healthy dose of skepticism of everyone – ourselves included. Most consequential of all are contracts signed and agreements made under this influence. Every word needs to be scrutinized with a magnifier, (even then…) It is likely the information presented is not truthful and complete. Our judgement could be temporarily impaired, and we will need to retract and reconsider afterward. The arrangements may not come to fruition.

When in doubt, withhold or delay major decisions as much as possible. If a decision must be made, be prepared for some revision or reversal in the future  – the probabilities are significantly higher. The shining object of your desire  – be it the dream car, house, job, vacation, or romance – could lose its luster after Tricky Mercury resumes his forward motion.

For the pessimists, give some slack for pleasant surprises, for Mercury retrograde’s plot twists go both ways. A negative outlook could unexpectedly turn around. Salvaged junks may reveal themselves to be priceless treasures. Delays allow extra preparation, and cancellations open up space to regroup and realign. One major advantage of this special phase is that if we make an agreement under external pressure or coercion, we can expect to rescind or rearrange it down the road.

4th Degree of Gemini: Boundaries and Obstacles of Self-Expression, Information, and Mental Power

The Mercury degree at the beginning of a retrograde carries predominate influence encompassing the entire period. During this Mercury retrograde, we will be presented with the lessons of the 4th degree of Gemini and retracing our steps back to the 26th degree of Taurus. My working degree symbol for the 4th degree of Gemini is:

A reporter is disciplined and passed over for promotion because he refuses to dumb down and sensationalize his reporting.

The 4th degree of Gemini is about working with limited information and the confine of our minds. It asks us to build a robust framework to withstand, organize and disseminate massive inflow of data. It also implies the struggle to think and express freely, as well as the hardship resulting from such actions. The Sabin symbol for this degree is “a radical magazine”. In this case, truth is revolutionary.

Under this strong influence, we are supported to restate our truth. If we ever were too intimidated to say it out loud for fear of rejection and prosecution, here is our second chance to put our feet down and set the record straight.

This is the time to stare at the enormous complexity we are living in and recognize the limit of our knowledge and mental capacity. We don’t know. Moreover, we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t know what questions to ask, and what we don’t know to ask. The experts and authorities have not provided satisfactory answers, but they want us to go along. We cannot consent to what’s happening and what is prescribed for us. How do we give informed consent when vital information is withheld from us, anyway? We should not and we will not. It is time to say “stop this madness” before the momentum carries us cross the Rubicon. It’s okay to change our minds. To pause, reverse, or put a hard stop to define and defend ourselves – especially during Mercury retrograde.

As Mercury retrogresses, we will be asked to return to the childlike inquisitiveness (3rd degree of Gemini) and look at our word with fresh eyes. The picture may not be pretty, but we can no longer turn a blind eye and just move along the predesignated path. It is the time for heart-to-heart conversations and ask real questions, however stupid they would seem (2nd degree of Gemini).

Dane Rudhyar symbolized the beginning degree of the Gemini as “a glass-bottomed boat reveals under-sea wonders.” We will sure be swimming in the infinite sea of information, disinformation, and malinformation. If we stay afloat, a quietness will dawn, and we’ll see that information, ideas, and thoughts shape our world; their malignancy our poison, their censorship our prison. Only when we take command of our full mental capacity and secure unrestricted access to information are we truly free to interface and shape our world.

©Brave New Real 2022. All rights reserved.

17-18 Degree Gemini: Two Chinese Men Talking Chinese In A Western Crowd (and Donald Trump’s Xenophobia)

Mundane keywords: social misfits, cultural diversity, minority groups, multilingual, multiple ethnic and cultural identities, one who has difficulty assimilating, foreign languages or specialized languages/codes, China and the Chinese people, cultural ambassador, segregation.

Social and psychological keywords: being singled out for what one says or how one acts, determined to express oneself at the risk of being ostracized, being in and out of mainstream, juggling multiple cultural identities yet never quite at ease in one’s own skin, being a foreigner in one’s own country, the “you and me against the world” mind set, lost in translation, standing out from the crowd, speaking to an exclusive crowd, doubts and suspicion, xenophobia, elitist and inferiority complexes.

The 17-18 degree of Gemini locates in the Libra decanate and sits across the Sagittarius and Capricorn dwads. It describes a mental and communication process (Gemini) concerning personal relations (Libra) in a foreign (Sagittarius) society (Capricorn). The number 8 (1+7=8) and 7 (7th degree of the decanate) denotes the struggle (7) for power and wisdom (8).

We have two Chinese men speaking Chinese in western crowd. Being out of their native environment, they rely on each other for companionship and understanding. We don’t know if this is a chance meeting or a partnership, all we know is that they speak the same foreign language and they are naturally drawn to each other in such a setting. There might be a sense of comradery, a sort of “you and me against the world” mindset. Understandably, from the westerners’ point of view, the language barrier naturally arouses curiosity, mistrust and suspicion.

On the surface, this degree signifies one who is determined to drive home the point in a foreign, even hostile environment. For those living with this degree in their charts, to assimilate or not to assimilate is the question. Acutely aware of the shifting sands in a multicultural society, they hold on to their cultural traditions, abide with the mainstream as needed, and at the same time is mindful of the stark contrast between themselves and the norm. Nevertheless, they are compelled to speak out and are fully aware of the risks.

Martin Goldsmith went one step further and has the degree as “In a crowded Midwestern diner, two Chinese-Americans watch a television newscast, then argue about it in Chinese”. Here, against the all-American Midwest dinner backdrop, the social convention is conservative, commonsensical, and has a respectful distaste for outre behaviors. When the two Chinese-Americans watched the news and argue about it in Chinese, undoubtedly they would draw attention to themselves for their appearance and their foreign tongue, yet, their argued on. There is not only disagreement between the two, there is also glaring difference between the pair and their environment, with no compromise in sight. This degree points to conflict in the interpersonal relationships and one’s relation with the society as a whole.

The depiction of “two Chinese men” is interesting. If we were only to depict foreigners, there would be so many different nationality to choose from, why Chinese? Chinese culture is the longest consecutive major culture in the world. It is formidable in its depth and breadth; it is mysterious and exotic to outsiders yet its heritage directly influences roughly one quarter of the world population. The Chinese language is difficult for westerners for the enormous number of characters that are composites of meanings, pronunciations, and images. The Classical Chinese is often incomprehensible even to native speakers. Therefore, we can reasonably assume the symbol’s emphasis on cultural barrier to a colossal body of esoteric knowledge, at least to the western minds.

Incidentally, number 7 not only resonates with specialized knowledge and non-conformist tendencies, it also points to the path of mysticism. From a higher perspective, Dane Rudyar mentioned being “in” the world but not “of” the world. Ultimately, this symbols asks us to detach ourselves from what’s familiar and taken for granted, seek out the exotic, the esoteric, and a new approach that reconcile the contrasting polarities. Do we abide by the convention or risk the dirty looks? Do we eat at the same diner, or leave the comfort zone? Do we dare to suspend our ingrained prejudice and walk in others’ shoes? More than just choosing sides, we overcome the limitation of duality, and build a unified perspective –we become both the “two Chinese men” and the “western crowd,” at home with the world.

Some famous people and events that shares this degree are:

  • Barbara Bush (Sun): American First Lady and matriarch of the Bush political dynasty. After touring Houston Astrodome, one of the relief center in the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she shared her observation of the refugees who have lost their homes and possessions, and were cramped into the crowded facility:

“Almost everyone I’ve talked to says, “We’re going to move to Houston.” What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them”.

  • Jason Alexander (Moon): American actor famously known for his portrayal of George Costanza, a neurotic man suffering from low self-esteem and habitual lying, among many other personality flaws. He goes to great length to start and maintain romantic relationships but always falls short.
  • Jim Carrey (Moon): Canadian American actor and comedian. Famous for his maniacal brand of comedy, Carrey suffered from depression for significant period of his life and overcame it through spirituality.
  • Donald Trump (Uranus): American business man and presidential candidate. His has strong appeal to so called “angry (white) republicans,” and routinely offends various ethnic minorities during his presidential campaign. He is seen as xenophobic.
  • December 5, 1955 (South Node): Trial of Rosa Parks and the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks was arrested for refusing to yield her seat in the colored section to white riders when the white section had filled up. The boycott was the first large-scale civil right protest in U.S. history. It was successful in removing the seating segregation on Montgomery buses.
  • June 3, 1946 (Uranus): The United States Supreme Court ruled in Morgan v. Virginia that a Virginia law requiring segregation of white and African-American bus passengers was illegal for interstate travel.

Sources:

“Barbara Bush Calls Evacuees Better Off.” New York Times. N.p., 5 Sept. 2005. Web. 12 Dec. 2015. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/us/nationalspecial/barbara-bush-calls-evacuees-better-off.html?_r=0]

Astro Databank: [http://www.astro.com/astro-databank]

Wikipedia: Montgomery Bus Boycott [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Hand_Laundry_Alliance#cite_note-9]

Wikipedia: Irene Morgan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Morgan]

“Montgomery Bus Boycott.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2010. Web. [http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott]

Leung, Rebecca. “Carrey: ‘Life Is Too Beautiful'” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 8 Nov. 2004. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/carrey-life-is-too-beautiful/]

Goldsmith, Martin. The Zodiac by Degrees: 360 New Symbols. Boston, MA: Weiser, 2004.

Rudhyar, Dane. An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases. New York: Random House, 1973.

©2015 Brave New Real, all rights reserved.