We established wholeness during Taurus season and now, Gemini enters the chat to examine the parts of that whole. For this week’s post, we are analyzing the energy of Gemini, it’s wisdom expressed in Tarot, and how we can best lean into its lessons for the season.
Terminology:
Decan: A 10-degree section of an astrological chart
Domicile: Place in the zodiac where the planet is ‘home’
Detriment: Opposing sign to the ruler (domicile); uncomfortable energy
Exaltation: where a planet functions at its strongest
Fall: opposing sign to the exaltation; weakest positioning
Femininity: passive, receptive, still energy
Masculinity: active, action-oriented energy
This is the Tarot deck I’ve used for many years.
Mercury Symbolism
Mercury is the planet of communication, intellect, short travels. It is the only planet whose state depends on its condition in the natal chart, such as being a morning or evening star in Hellenistic astrology. It is mutable energy at its finest; constantly seeking to move, refine, analyze, and shift things from one state to another.
Hermes is associated with Mercury in Greek mythology as the messenger god who is the protector of herds, travelers, liars, thieves, commerce, and trade. As the trickster god, he was also known to take on many different forms to influence his will amongst others.
You’ll also notice Hermes carrying the caduceus, which literally means wand of Hermes. It contains two snakes coiling upward on a rod with wings at the top to symbolize regeneration and rebirth. And yes, it is also the same symbol for the medical field often associated with healing. I may write another piece on this symbol alone, so much history with it.
Gemini Symbolism
When I think of Gemini, I think of the division that takes place here. As the twins, we see two different expressions of an energy that come from a single source. Think of Taurus, the zodiac prior to Gemini, as the mother and Gemini as the children. If you know of any twins (or siblings in general), they may look alike on the outside and share DNA. And still, they’re uniquely different in their own way.
Gemini governs communication, writing and social media. It’s the process of taking an idea, analyzing it, then recording it in the way we understand it best. Remember, Mercury rules both Virgo and Gemini. Virgo, the feminine expression of Mercury represents more of the way we digest that information. Gemini as the masculine represents we communication it at its simplest form.
Take religion, for example. Spirit itself, is the whole piece. Religion is how we documented our own experiences with Spirit by way of human behavior and symbolism. In polytheistic religions, each deity often has an element of nature associated with it, so the temperament given is often based on the temperament of what it signifies.
Places like Ancient Kemet believed strongly in the art of writing and documentation. Tehuti, the deity of wisdom and intelligence, is known as the original scribe and most important deity of the pantheon. His symbol takes on the form of a man with the head of an ibis, often carrying scrolls or a quill feather from Ma’at for writing.
Without records, we wouldn’t have no knowledge on their technologies, the culture or what they believed in so future generations can advance upon what was built. It is Mercury, by way of Gemini, that gives us the language to take what is observed and translate it in our own way.
Tehuti is a great influence of mine in my tarot studies, as well as others like Aleister Crowley who wrote The Book of Thoth alongside illustrator Frieda Harris to examine the Kemetic influences within the Tarot system. Tarot may have started as a game, but that game has turned into the most introspective illustration of the human psyche I’ve ever come across.
Gemini is also a sign associated with building. Ruling the arms and hands, Gemini comes to use those hands best by taking those individual bricks to build structures that speak to the language of the times.
Gemini and Mercury in the Major Arcana
The first place we experience Gemini and Mercurial qualities in Tarot is literally at the beginning of the Major Arcana: The Fool (Key 0) and The Magician (Key 1).
With Key 0, we are introduced to the journey we are following through the Major and Minor Arcanas and that is The Fool. Ruled by Air, I find Key 0 to represent thought, itself.
Here, we see the traveler transitioning from higher grounds to the edge of a cliff where it has to make a decision. Judging by the frivolous body language and closed eyes, his intentions are left to our own interpretations or by way of any signifier cards in your tarot spread. Here, it is the very process we utilize to transition from one card to the next: do we fight, fly, or freeze?
From that transition, we pause at Key 1 to take inventory. To see what we have at our disposal and what those things mean to us. At the Magician’s table, you’ll notice the four elements of the minor arcana lying on the table in front of him (wand, sword, cup, pentacle) surrounded by lilies and roses. I wrote about rose symbolism in tarot here. This is exactly what Mercury is all about. How can I divide components to their simplest form to observe how it relates to the whole, then communicate that to the world?
When you receive the Magician in a tarot reading, think as above so below. All that exists on Earth contains an energetic signature reflected in the higher realms. Here is where we work through Mercury to communicate, document, and navigate life and all it has to teach us.
Final Thoughts
While writing this piece, I’d go as far as to say Gemini is the symbol that represents…symbols. It’s the energy that asks us to look both up and around. How do symbols depict the energy it represents?
Stay tuned for next week’s article where we jump into the first decan of Gemini and analyzing the 8 of Swords.
Hope this helps!
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