To Everything, There Is A Season
We are just about a little under a week away from the Summer Solstice which officially marks the transformation of spring into summer. We are in the final week of Gemini season 2024.
All of the mutable signs carry the energy of transition, of moving from one place to another. Historically these signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, were also known as the “moveable signs.”
The cycle of death and rebirth, the cycle of change is the essence of Gemini. It is a sign of passage, from one place to another. When one part of our ends, essentially dying, thresholds are crossed and a portal to a new life is opened.
Yet as we move forward it is essential that we honor the parts of us that we leave behind, the parts that at one point in our lives we didn’t believe we could live without, whether they are people, a job we have loved that has grown too small for us, a creative project or a dream that we have somehow outgrown.
We live in a culture that pushes us to “get on with it,” most often urging us to bypass even a small fraction of melancholy. It can be even harder for those who are grieving a larger loss. I have had client after client share with me how exiled they feel in their grief as those around them have grown impatient with the timing of their process. It often seems as though people fear that their grief might be contagious and thus they defend against it.
We have forgotten the power of grief and grieving. Grief is about passage. It is about grace. It is about honoring our own experience. Being in flow with our lives means we must be with all of the events of our lives and we tend to forget that. Learning to be our own best ally as we move through our experiences is a practice.
As most of you know, Gemini is the sign associated with twins. Haven’t we all had periods of yearning for our “twin,” the one who we hold an unspoken connection with? At its core, this is about the yearning for kinship. Someone who we can be ourselves with because we feel deeply seen and met, someone who fully accepts even our most messy human self. Someone who can accompany and witness us through our various griefs as we move through the chaos of life.
Gemini's archetypal ‘twin’ consciousness has its roots in Greek myth. Twins Castor and Pollux, also known as the Dioscuri, are forever immortalized when the mortal twin is killed in battle and the immortal twin goes to his father, Zeus/Jupiter because he feels he cannot live without him and they strike a bargain; that from that moment forward they alternated each day, one twin brother being alive, the other dead and then vice-versa the next day.
This theme originated in Babylonian myth, here the Great Twins of Gemini guard one of the two entrances to the underworld, in particular, the route new souls use to rise to the world of the living.
Accompanying the passage of grief is a vital part of Gemini. Honoring what we have lost. Respecting the cycle of death and rebirth, the cycle of change is the essence of Gemini. This is how we clear the path before us so that we are able to tread more lightly upon it without having to lug old baggage with us consciously (the alive twin) or unconsciously (the twin in the underworld.)
A couple of years ago a dear friend became a mother for the first time. She loves her child with a ferocious depth, yet also she acknowledged to me that part of her had to mourn the loss of the freedom she had held previously.
Wherever we find ourselves at this moment in time, the passage of Gemini season illuminates this recollection of a timeless truth: The wheel of life is always moving. Our lives are always in motion, dancing to an ever-mysterious rhythm of change Gemini reminds us to be in awe of the enchanting beauty of this. The best of Gemini is to always be listening to our lives from a place of discovery as we move toward renewal.
As we close Gemini season this week ask yourself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life is there something or someone I leaving behind? How can I honor this moment?
If you slow and center yourself just a bit, versus getting distracted by the busyness of everyday life, you can feel the shift within the air, within the light that surrounds you. Even if you haven’t consciously paused and taken this in, take a moment and listen; you can feel the change afoot.
And if you are in the midst of a deeper passage, it is profoundly important to remain open to that ever-changing cycle rather than become resigned or cynical about your current circumstances. It is a powerful practice to cultivate being open and receptive to the possibility of change, even when the things that have broken our hearts leave us feeling hopeless.
The season is changing.
As John O’Donohue said, “To acknowledge and cross a new threshold is always a challenge. It demands courage and a sense of trust in what is emerging.”
