Article Window: June 13 – July 12

• New Moon is Wednesday, June 13, 12:43 PM PDT
• Sun is 23° Gemini, Moon is 23° Gemini
• Next Full Moon: June 27
• Current New Moon Theme (June 13 to July 12): Transforming Individuality

The Full Moon illuminates and activates new awareness, especially corresponding to whatever was released with the manifesting wave of New Moon energy two weeks ago. In the coming two weeks look for ways to celebrate and take inspired action, especially from whatever you have embraced or experienced since the New Moon. Be patient with challenges that emerge in the coming days, recognizing that they are also a necessary part of your expansion.

Astrology Article: Transforming Individuality into Creative Growth

By Steven Shroyer and Katharine Sommers

Our Gemini New Moon astrology is providing us with an opportunity to redefine ourselves. This month offers us the space to cultivate and discover a more expanded creative view of ourselves and our potential.

You have the ability this Lunar month to reflect on your surroundings and social values in order to discover who you actually are, as opposed to who others have said you are, or who you feel you need to be. These discoveries and reflections can strengthen your sense of self and help you feel confident in your own individuality. It can also lead to a more compassionate perspective toward the experiences of others.

The support this month will help us all come into our own in a new way, with a willingness to reflect on where our social values come from, how we extract meaning from them, and how we allow them to shape our self-expression. A refined sense of individuality is absolutely possible. In fact, there is the real potential for transforming the power of personal individuality beyond our cultural ideas of what we have previously believed is possible.

Gemini and the Development of Individuality

One way to experience the ongoing cycle of the zodiac is as a story of growth and change. The annual cycle begins at Aries and the unfolding sequence of the twelve archetypes from Aries to Pisces can represent the life cycle of a cosmic personality, with an unfolding and expanding of the inner and outer worlds.

Because of the importance of the cycle as a whole, to fully understand this Gemini New Moon we need to think of it within the context of the ways in which Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer work together. The first four signs of the cosmic cycle represent the process of developing a stable sense of self. This is the personal “self” who can eventually take on social responsibility in order to fulfill a larger purpose of creative growth.

Starting at the initiation of the cycle, Aries represents our inspiration and motivation for becoming our full potential. It’s this fiery zeal for being that pushes the personality to activate and demonstrate its potential through intentional action in the world.

As an earth sign, Taurus takes this new sense of identity and anchors it through our values, resources and experiences, including those that have been passed down through generations and across social groups. What has been passed down from our family is the personality’s first introduction to the physical world, anchored through Taurus and the element of earth.

From here, Gemini takes over development, as the personality comes into relationship with the world by discovering and exploring the surroundings outside of one’s immediate social sphere. Gemini is a sign of discovering knowledge through relationships, objectivity, and contrast. It is during this phase of the zodiac that we discover ourselves, by way of exploring the world and all of the things that are separate from us.

Finally, at the fourth stage of development, Cancer solidifies the development of the personality. The individual now has a secure enough sense of itself in relation to everyone else that the individual can emotionally meet all the other personalities out in the world with feeling, empathy, and a more global connection.

This process of individual growth begins at birth and happens over and over throughout our lifetime.

By looking at this four-fold process of development we can begin to sense the larger context and potential of our Gemini New Moon. Part of Gemini’s struggle is learning how to identify its own sense of self against the values that its family and social group has previously set up and passed down (Taurus). It takes a great deal of awareness and space to discover who you really are in a world that others have designed. This is why Gemini needs so much space and so many experiences to define its individuality well enough to experience personal identity.

Gemini’s strong sense of personal identity is developed through expansion and relationships in the world. This exploration also leads to the inspiration to cooperate and learn from others. This development of identity through relationship expands in Cancer to enable us to experience an empathetic connection to others’ individuality and processes (Cancer).

When Gemini’s process of discovering individuality through relationships with others goes awry, the shadow of Cancer is activated. Without the personal connection to a broader sphere of experience, Cancer becomes unable to align itself emotionally with all people, ending up fiercely devoted to a limited group who share the same values, such as one’s immediate family, town or country.

Individuality in a Changing World

The Sabian archetype for our New Moon at 23° Gemini is THREE FLEDGLINGS IN A NEST HIGH IN A TREE. When we consider this symbol in the context of the current chart, it appears that the New Moon is giving us the space to reflect on our cultural values (the nest) in order to redefine our individuality in preparation to take flight.

It’s through securing our own sense of self that we gain the perspective to confidently rise to the occasion and meet all people with respect and concern, not only those for whom we have been culturally conditioned to care about.

There is also a deeper message hidden within our Gemini New Moon which is the development of individuality that has the potential to transform our creative energy directly into our outlook and experiences of life. Think of this process as creative integration operating at the spiritual level of consciousness.

Our Gemini New Moon may be about discovering knowledge, but this deeper understanding lies in what we are able to creatively integrate from all of our experiences of life. The process of integration within this month’s New Moon energies includes the opportunity for growth that stems directly from any personal challenges that may be experienced.

In short, the deeper potential for transformation in our Gemini New Moon lies in our ability to learn directly from our circumstances. The learning process embedded in this Gemini Moon can propel us directly into new understandings of our creative potential and protect each of us from stagnation, which is the arch enemy of Gemini’s growth and highest potential.

Astrology Pattern

This dynamic astrology pattern is full of creative energy. This can be seen within the opposition of Saturn with our New Moon conjunct Mercury. This Saturn opposition creatively challenges your sense of independence and individuality in order to discover and find out what’s true for you. Mercury opposite Saturn requires you to be responsible for your own independent thinking, while at the same time challenging the over-arching power structures (your own version of the status quo) in which you find yourself living.

Another dynamic pattern involves the opposition between Venus and Mars, with Uranus completing a T-square. This formation supports the possibility for a creative transformation of all of our experiences into a process of positive growth.

With Uranus squaring both Venus and Mars, challenges within relationships have to chance for a higher, more spiritual, type of integration. It is this higher potential of Uranus that helps us glimpse the quality of higher-Mind pushing us toward greatness as we transform our experiences into a more expanded form of knowledge and understanding.

There is a deeper significance to the Venus-Mars opposition, which stems from their conjunction eight months ago on the Full Moon of October 2017, which held the theme of “Inspired Reaction for Success.”  Venus and Mars are now in preparation for an exact opposition, which occurs at the Summer Solstice on June 21st. This opposition, during First Quarter phase, will bring to light the energies from October’s conjunction by revealing the level of creative intensity needed to ensure that whatever was inspired during the previous Full Moon will now come to light in order to experience the desired success originally sought.

The energies of this opposition squared Uranus encourage us to reflect on our personal values (Venus), and then consider how these values fit in with our pursuit of a larger truth (Mars). We want to adopt and exemplify values, not simply because they’ve been universally accepted, but because we recognize the potential they have to inspire us to become more of the truth of who we are.

There is support here to discover the true wisdom of societal values and teachings, and to use this awareness in a new, inspired way to redefine our own individuality.

Communication is key. In the coming month we have the ability to share our thoughts more freely, with increased sensitivity towards others. This offers us the opportunity to express ourselves honestly, while we are also able to appreciate others’ individuality and perspectives. Through these interactions we’re actively expanding our sense of self and what it means to be an individual, while at the same time reorienting our thinking to be more inclusive, supportive and expansive.

Summary

We have the support this month to develop a sense of self that is rooted in personal truth while still resonating with the higher values and identities of a larger whole. When we take the opportunity to view ourselves and others from a wider, more inclusive lens, we can cultivate a stronger sense of ourselves as well as a deeper respect for others.

Our Gemini New Moon is providing us with the space to view the values and expectations society places on us with greater objectivity. This is giving us a wonderful opportunity to get at the heart of the values of our culture and discover how these values are personally significant to us. We can utilize this understanding to fuel personal transformation and strengthen our sense of individuality, while also communicating our insights, giving and receiving new learning, and expanding into greater visions of possibility for our larger collective.

Happy New Moon!