Moon enters Gemini, Mercury opposes Chiron-Neptune

Somewhere along Route 17 in western Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Today is Monday July 25, 2011. The Moon leaves Taurus today for chatty, divided, airy Gemini at 12:34 pm EDT. How are you feeling today? It may be Monday, but hopefully a weekend with the Moon in good ol’ earthy Taurus has left you feeling a bit more grounded after last week. Did you find yourself managing to downshift to a more humane speed? Were you able to take a moment to actually feel the solidness of the soil beneath your feet? Did you notice the light of the newly-Leo Sun shining just right between the trees or reflecting off the water?

Earth & water - photo by Eric.

Adapting to the working week can be a stretch sometimes, especially during the summer when weekends are spent outdoors. Stretch gently, without trying to impress anyone. Before leaving Taurus, the Moon makes aspects to Venus (a sextile), to Mercury (a square) and finally to Juno (a trine). There is a reminder here to keep small matters small; to keep a handle on your emotions and proceed from one task to the next without attachment. You’re likely to be able to slip easily out of an issue that threatens to evoke jealousy. Remember that commitment is demonstrated over years, not just days or weeks.

The Moon in Taurus is a reminder to stay in contact with the sensory world, something it’s easy to forget to do when we get mentally (or emotionally) involved, even in making breakfast. Take a moment now to remember that moment with every sense you have. Close your eyes: feel the grass or the breeze; hear the birds and the waves; smell the warm earth or the cool pond in the woods; taste the salt spray or the berry fresh from the bush; see the sunrise or the sunset. Are you there? Notice. Let the sensation of your own presence sink in and permeate you, so you can call it up again should you need it later in the day or in the week.

When in early Gemini, the Moon makes squares to Neptune in Pisces, then to Chiron in Pisces. This is a classic setup for slippery feelings, self-deception and potentially, over-reacting to something that may not be true, or may call for an entirely different angle of approach. The Sun in Leo can be amping up your sense of pride or deserving to be at the center of things — easy does it with that.

Once the Moon moves to Gemini, it may mean your emotions find their way out of your mouth very easily, for better or for worse. Or you could find that Mercury-ruled Gemini gets you thinking about how you feel more than feeling it, giving the afternoon a bit of a mental slant. There’s plenty in the world to feel and think about. I’m willing to bet the tragedy in Norway hit a lot of us pretty hard, especially if you’re fairly sensitive and empathetic. If this has had you feeling unsettled despite that Taurus Moon, know that you’re not alone, and the Moon’s shift into Gemini may draw you to talking or writing about it. Many others are feeling disgust at the debt standoff situation in Washington, DC, which is starting to influence financial markets.

In fact, any kind of processing of emotional material — whether verbally, visually or through some other mode of creative expression — is indicated by another aspect that’s beginning to warm up this week. Mercury is slowing down in the last couple degrees of Leo and is opposite Neptune and Chiron in early Pisces. Something needs to be expressed by you about yourself. And the relationship between Neptune and Pisces to the 12th house suggests this something is coming from one of those deep inner nooks or crannies that tend to hide a bit out of sight.

Chiron’s part in the equation says it’s something you need to hear for the sake of healing; and that means it may be a bit uncomfortable — downright painful, even. But it’s coming out to the light of the Sun now for a reason, and I think this Gemini Moon is one of the tools the universe is providing to help us express it and process it. The other tool is Chiron in Pisces. That little centaur planet may bring up wounds with a painful level of focus, but as Eric has often mentioned, Chiron also rewards documentation.

So write it out, paint it out, see what your dreams tell you the next several nights and follow the narrative wherever its symbols lead. If things start to get heavy, call in your trusted reinforcements (i.e., friends, therapist, the PW blog community) for a helping hand in working things through. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and let yourself open back up to that sensory memory you’ve tucked away for just such an occasion. You’re still here on solid ground, no matter where the Moon is.

The truth is, we’re in a supportive environment. There are limits, there are boundaries, there are natural transition points — all indicated by the Sun’s sextile to Saturn, which will be influencing us for the next week or more. Therefore, you can afford to trust; you can afford to assume other things are possible other than your worst concerns. Make the stretch and visualize the best possibilities happening. Better yet, focus on them, make some decisions and do your part to make them real.

— Amanda Painter with Eric Francis

17 thoughts on “Moon enters Gemini, Mercury opposes Chiron-Neptune”

  1. Eric, thank you for these extra observations on Amy Winehouse’s chart, whose surname did give me food for thought when thinking of her at the w/e. All that heavy karmic energy around her moon and the GC with Neptune does explain a lot about why there seemed to be such inner conflict. That coupled with her Sun/Mercury in Virgo would have been torture for her attempting to make sense of herself. I hope she’s passed on to instant relief from it all and that her amazing voice is echoing around the heavens and in our hearts with lyrics of courage and freedom. She was a tiny wee thing with a powerhouse of a voice that illustrated, as you say, overwhelming mastery of her craft.
    ……………………………………
    Carrie, interesting to hear that you worked in the garden at the w/e. No better activity to help assuage a heavy heart. I want to share with you that all day long on 9/11 I also worked at gardening and planted a brand new garden that has since then been the source of joy and contentment for all who pass by it on a daily basis.

    The healing powers of nature are the best place to lose one’s self when the going gets tough. I’m with you on that one.

  2. Gosh I love all you guys! Reading your comments helps to process the pain of recent events. V interesting what you say about Amy Winehouse, Eric. Think such people also absorb and carry the unprocessed crap of their family and society without realising it, and it’s just too much for them to bear. Almost sacrificial- sounds rather Christian – but can’t help thinking that- perhaps I’ve had too much beer this evening (talking of spirit). And I love the cartoon, Amanda. xxx

  3. Was Amy coming up to her first Saturn return? If so maybe it was just a leap too far, especially under the current skies and given her sensitivity…My son’s dad was a little less generous re the Saturn angle – suggesting it was another example of a self-defined demi-God unable to grow up. There’s probably some truth in that too!

  4. We planted in the garden. It was as though we created life in order to cope with the loss of life. Very Taurean, working in the dirt and with slow growing living things.

    It was for me the only way to cope with the weekend’s deep losses and pain.

  5. Eric and/or anyone who has a thought about the Oslo chart aspects,

    There is a duplication of an aspect in the attack chart (7/22/11) and the chart for Norway (6/7/1905) between Isis and Nessus; both are oppositions and both are in the intriguing range of degrees 21-22. For Norway it is between Virgo and Pisces and for the attack it is between Leo and Aquarius. Isis is in Leo and Virgo and Nessus is in Aquarius and Pisces. Isis is in the 21+ degree in both charts and Nessus is in the 22+ degree in both charts. In this week’s chart both are in fixed signs and in 1905 they were in mutable signs. There’s gotta be a message in there but I’m at a loss.

    In the attack chart the nodes form a grand cross with the Isis/Nessus opposition in the other chart for Norway, while the nodes in the Norway chart form a grand cross with the attack chart’s midheaven and nadir( conjunct Neptune/Chiron). The nodes of each chart aspecting the other chart in some way implies opportunities for both soul growth and release I would think, and maybe also in the area of feelings and/or habits, or whatever it is that is unconscious and needs to become conscious. Would really like your thoughts if you have them.
    be

  6. Eric:

    There is a pattern here world events revealing what is going on behind the scenes ā€” and I mean psychologically.

    I’ve had that feeling too. Like somehow, one by one, pieces from a giant mask are falling to the ground. In fact, its the only way I could digest what has happened in Oslo, Texas, and Washington. Absorbing it is a whole other story — there’s plenty of detritus to sift through.

  7. Here is my Amy Winehouse commentary, cross posted from a Facebook discussion

    Her life amounted to a death watch. You will hear relatively little of what was said about Winehouse said about anyone else; Kurt Cobain was an exception, but when your photo shows up in the newspaper with a shotgun pointed into your own mouth (which it did a few months before he died) that’s another issue.

    Winehouse was not violent — her issues specifically walk the line where drugs and alcohol meet spirituality. She was born with this situation, whether you take it as a family pattern or as karma. The chart picture is South Node + Moon + Neptune on the Galactic Core. There is overwhelming mastery coming through, and it can be corrupted by an obsession with drugs and alcohol. Her own life felt heavy to her, made all the heavier by what she knew; by what she understood about existence. I believe she used substances to ease the pain of that knowledge. Honoring it consciously demanded too much responsibility.

    Her name was Winehouse. Has anyone noticed that? Paraphrasing what Jung said to Bill W, you have spirit, or you have spirit — spiritual growth is the only thing that can supplant alcohol, which is why AA was founded as a religious movement.

    The other factor pointing directly to substances is Pholus conjunct Eris. Pholus (a centaur that shows up in the Murdoch scandal as well as in the shooting spree by Jared Loughner) does not always involve drugs or alcohol but when it does, it can show up as uncontrolled abuse — conjunct Eris will fuel it with chaos. Most drug-using rock stars can at least stay focused while on stage. They have enough control to at least stay in balance for a two hour concert. Winehouse could not even get that together.

    In many ways her case is unique and it deserves further study. I’m looking at a noon chart wherein she offers herself as a human sacrifice (Vesta is aspecting the North Node, opposite Moon/Neptune in Sagg).

    All of these Gem/Sag points are squred by Sun/Mercury — the setup was unbearable. I am in all sincerity surprised she lived this long. Here is the thing — I meet a fair number of young people, and counsel the parents of young people, who are in this situation. From Amy’s chart we can learn something about her specific plight.

  8. Amanda,
    Thank you for the Monday set-up to encounter the current and applying influences of the week.

  9. I had a great weekend too; being able to converse on Facebook (and here) with PW readers helped take the edge off of the tragedy in Oslo. There is a pattern here world events revealing what is going on behind the scenes — and I mean psychologically.

  10. My moon is 0 Gemini, so I have a feeling from this moment this morning of being straight out the womb.

    It’s been a great weekend: surprise visit by my niece who has just moved into her new apartment, house-sitting a friend’s house, communing with their phalenopsis orchids, mucking about my own garden and finally getting the laundry sorted, folded and put away! All this makes for an ordered mind and spirit, which I need to write.

    Ah, now to a breakfast of melons and tea, and the start of the work week. All hail Taurus! Gemini, here I come!

  11. Gorgeous writing, Amanda with Eric. I too really needed this. There *is* plenty in the world to think and feel about, without a doubt. I went to a mediation chanting group last night just to support my hurting soul as it processes all the tragedies of the w/e. So much pain and heartache that befell various parts of the world. The nightmare in Norway — horrendous — , a birthday party in Texas shattered by horrific and deadly gunfire and then we lost our dear Amy Winehouse. That one really gutted me for I also *love* to sing and I knew she possessed a “fantabulously” unique gift. I will forever treasure her album “Back to Black”. But then I found out that she and I shared a natal sun *and* moon position, (Virgo and Sagittarius) and at 27 I remember feeling like I was a hair’s breath from losing it myself, trying to marry the disparate energies of that challenging placement. I felt I could understand some of her inner pain that tortured her and could empathize with her demons all too well — even though the rest of our charts were of course very different.

    On the home front there were quite a few eruptions to contend with (still are) that challenged my attempts to ground and contain. I was most grateful for the moon in taurus this past w/e that helped anchor me and kept me in faith. I also thought that the solar flares blasting out from Sol in Leo must be shaking us around and ramping things up quite a great deal.

    “Stretch gently, without trying to impress anyone.” That is lovely. That’s what I’m going to attempt to do today in all my realms of being.

    Thank you both for this beautiful start to my Monday and to the week. I am so grateful to have this supportive energy from PW in my corner.

    Blessings one and all.

  12. Thank you, Amanda – I really appreciated both what you wrote and the accompanying photograph, which struck my heart in a particularly strong way. I think it’s because it reminds me of parts of the African savannah – a place that holds so many profound feelings for me.

    I spent yesterday with my (separated) partner, my son, stepson, and my brother-in-law, his partner and their three boys at an organic farm. The weather was everything we could have wished for; the kids had a great time; and I loved walking among the beanpoles in the market garden. A Taurean moment if ever there were one.

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