Today’s last quarter Moon is accompanied by an aspect that’s all about nourishment and filling the well (or perhaps accessing a well that’s already full): Jupiter conjunct Ceres in Gemini.
It’s a good thing, since this week there are aspects urging us to take action; to begin wrapping up projects; and a configuration bringing a certain tension to our awareness regarding ego identity, relationships and aspects of ourselves that we’ve cast aside. That’s kind of a lot there on the immediate horizon. If your experience yesterday was a little prickly, you may need a moment to regroup before the momentum picks up at the end of this week.
Ceres is the goddess of the harvest, and in astrology often is prominent with issues regarding food or nourishment. Jupiter is an expansive principle, albeit one that can seem to over-promise if we’re not willing to put a little effort into realizing what it offers. Gemini, for its part, brings in the principle of duality – light and dark, inner and outer, male and female, etc.
This conjunction says it’s a good time to be sure you are feeding both your halves, however you may conceive of those. Or, since Jupiter in Gemini is about multiplicity, you can think of nourishing all your ‘halves’. Why limit yourself to just two? After all, the Cancer Sun is working toward a square with Eris in Aries (we’ll have more on that configuration, which also includes Saturn and the asteroid Varuna, later this week). Eris, named after the goddess of discord, often represents a fragmentation of identity or the parts of ourselves we’ve cast off. By all means, use this time now for a little loving kindness – both towards the parts of yourself you know deserve it, and those parts you may think do not.
In the background, we’re still working with the idea of reconciling with an ‘inner twin’ or some sort of inner split, which was a prominent theme of the recent Venus retrograde. Venus is still treading the Gemini territory through which it retrograded; we are still in the early stages of outwardly applying whatever we may have learned during its retrograde. So this is a very good time to use the nourishing energy of Jupiter-Ceres to continue integrating and expressing what you learned about holding the tension of a duality (or multiplicity) in balance and in consciousness, rather than banishing one half out of consciousness.
Doing so is rather like the surface of water: the tension allows for differentiation, yet is permeable; the surface is both reflective and transparent. It’s a ‘both and’ situation, not ‘either or’.
Consider this: the Sabian symbol for 7 Gemini, where Jupiter and Ceres are conjunct, is “a well with bucket and rope under the shade of majestic trees.” (The Sabian symbols are a set of channeled images, the best-known version of which was reinterpreted by Dane Rudhyar.)
Could we possibly have a more apt and synchronous image for the idea of spiritual feeding already suggested by Jupiter-Ceres? Not only is this an image of access to water – a fundamental life-sustaining element, and presumably where primordial life began on this planet – but the well is shaded by flourishing trees. The presence of water underground is assured by the presence of the trees. What Rudhyar calls “the root of all living processes” – water – may be hidden and invisible to us, but we can have faith that it is there.
Make no mistake – it takes some effort to raise a full bucket of water from deep within a well. Just like it takes some effort to make something out of Jupiter’s promise. But the nourishment of Ceres is real, just like the “hidden sustaining power of life” represented by the well under the trees – trees with roots deep enough to go beyond water’s surface tension and tap its depths.
You are simultaneously the trees proving that you are connected to the source of life; the well that allows access to that source; and the effort needed to draw it up and take it in. With Jupiter and Ceres working Gemini together today, it really is a matter of, ‘the more you give, the more you receive’.
Thank you Amanda sorry for the confusion, very nice article I liked
Yesterday was definitely a little prickly, but I looked for a solution within, per Len’s excellent guidance (“Reclaiming your power means taking responsibility for the tension you feel inside and for the action necessary to resolve it.”) and sat with some meditation sleeping music for an hour in the evening. It was like bathing my brain in a crystal clear mountain spring! Gave me such a sweet feeling, one I am sure I often had as a child just before falling asleep. Came out completely relaxed and peaceful. I am continuing to integrate my ‘evil’ twin, not so much evil as just deprived and needy, by continuing with my practice of recovery reading and writing every day despite temptations to let go of my discipline. The temptations will only become stronger as I start a new job next Tuesday. My twin needs the comfort of being able to trust in my commitment and consistency. To get my readings, writings and meditations done before work will require an earlier wake-up call, that is for sure. Today is about cleaning house and looking for lost documents. Wish me luck!
Worthy of the subject matter at hand, Amanda. Very Nourishing. A deep bow 🙂
Amanda: What Huffy said. This piece today is both functional and beautiful (and a brilliant segue from yesterday’s Daily Astrology blog). Loving it!
I loved reading your article on the symbolism of the Gemini under the influence of Ceres / Jupiter, thanks Eric for this original thinking
Good day to you and to all
Oh good — I was wondering when you were going to do a post on this subject. This conjunction is currently square my natal Vesta and trine my natal Venus. Over the next few weeks, both planets will be forming a trine to my natal Jupiter/Saturn conjunction and then walking across my I.C.
“You are simultaneously the trees proving that you are connected to the source of life; the well that allows access to that source; and the effort needed to draw it up and take it in. With Jupiter and Ceres working Gemini together today, it really is a matter of, ‘the more you give, the more you receive’. This is so beautiful. Thank you for this lovely piece.