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Gemini Full Moon November 26, 2004 Sun at 4.55 Sagittarius Sabian Symbol: High on an old tree, a solitary owl is gravely perched. Moon at 4.55 Gemini Sabian Symbol: A radical magazine displays a sensational front page. 20:07 BST 13:07 MST 15:07 EDT 12:07 PST 14:07 CST 7:05 AEDT (11/27)

Rituals lift us from mundane concerns and connect us to the greater flow of things.  Our MoonCircles CyberRitual is a monthly experiment in collective attunement -- to each other and the moon.  Across time zones, we collect our creative energies into a healing meditation, as a gift to ourselves and the world. Feel free to harmonize at a time of your own convenience, so that our astral voices may continue throughout the moon's waxing and waning cycles, as in a round.

Gemini Full Moon Reflections:

Turn to Your Text
by Jean Hinson Lall

This week the Sun has entered Sagittarius, sign of long journeys and lofty thoughts. It’s the season of aspiration, hope, faith, and the quest for truth. Sagittarius follows Scorpio, where we learned what to sacrifice and became acquainted with the depths of human passion. Having faced the abyss, we now mount to the higher regions of thought and experience, seeking mastery not through instinct and raw power but through an understanding of essential truths, and through wise administration. Jupiter/Zeus, the planetary ruler of Sagittarius, was preeminent among the Olympian deities, the administrator of heaven and earth. His genius was to make a place for everything in the grand scheme of things.

Sagittarius rules the hip joint, the walking and running mechanism which allows human beings to cover great distances on foot, and the philosophical mind which always strives to outrun previous limits and extend our grasp of reality.

This Full Moon falls in the complementary sign Gemini, whose perspective is local rather than global. It gathers facts and engages in speculations rather than framing large theories or making ethical judgments. In Gemini we relish the pure play of the mind, the immediate grasp of objects and facts, and the joy of communication. Gemini rules the hands and fingers, with which we manage all the intricate tasks of daily living; the lungs, through which we breathe in and out and speak; and the practical mind. Mercury/Hermes, ruler of Gemini, is the slippery god who magically transfers information across all boundaries, even that between this world and the world of the dead.

In journalism, Gemini is the reporter on the beat or the battlefield, making direct observations at the scene, interviewing witnesses, and reporting differing versions of the facts as objectively as possible. Sagittarius is the editorial page writer who makes ethical evaluations and public policy recommendations based on the reporters’ accounts.

In the legal system, Gemini is represented by the police detective, the crime lab investigator and the medical examiner who painstakingly gather and analyze evidence to be used by the Sagittarian prosecutor to argue the case against the accused. As in journalism, there is a necessary separation of roles.

In politics, Gemini is the local perspective as against Sagittarius’s national and global outlook. The facts on the ground in a particular town or neighborhood may differ significantly from the theoretical reality (made up of statistics, social and economic theories, and political doctrines) on which party platforms, national legislation and government programs are based. Politicians acknowledge this principle by citing in their speeches the touching stories of individual citizens from "the heartland," their problems and achievements. Often, however, this is just a token recognition of local needs.

In science, Gemini is the experimentalist, Sagittarius the theoretician. Grand theories (Sagittarius) are important but can be seductive in the sense of security and prestige they carry. The free play of the Gemini mind stays close to the data and holds open multiple possibilities. This hypothesis might be correct, or it might not: Gemini doesn’t mind one way or the other. Indeed it enjoys questioning and undoing Sagittarian certainties. It can be the precocious upstart who upsets the applecart of established theory.

In religion, Sagittarius represents the theologians, philosophers and mystics. Gemini is the local worker – clerical or lay -- who brings transcendental teachings to the people in their daily life. Weekly sermons, daily prayers, cycles of liturgical readings, bar and bat mitzvah instruction, Sunday school and confirmation classes, sangha newsletters and prayer lists, altar guilds, parish or synagogue committees, all do their part to make ultimate truth accessible to all.

Gemini is also the magical effect of close attention to the text of one’s religion. Many years ago I served briefly as an intern in an urban parish in New York City where Bible study groups, along with the Eucharist, were the foundation of church life. The reason for this was simple: "The Bible belongs to everyone," my supervisor explained. Many parishioners were poor immigrants, some barely literate in their own language or in English. Most lived challenging lives close to the edge, unemployed or precariously employed, with criminal records, unresolved immigration problems or drug abuse histories. Yet all were readily drawn into the weekly study groups alongside more secure and better-educated members, including seminarians and theology professors. It was understood that the Bible was accessible to all and addressed everyone equally, and everyone therefore was equally invited to speak up about the meaning of the text for the week. This had a remarkable effect in evoking the best from each individual and fostering a kind of collective wisdom. A dynamic relationship developed between the humble life of this community and the theological work at the prestigious seminary across town.

Such is the nature of the partnership of Gemini and Sagittarius which can shine forth at this Full Moon. Our mental and spiritual life depends upon the rhythmic oscillation between these two poles. This month, as the Moon in Gemini reflects and disperses the Sun’s Sagittarian light, both are also in square to Uranus in Pisces, which adds to the normal tension of a Full Moon in Mutable signs. The planet of radical change challenges Sun and Moon from the sign of mysticism and imagination. Instead of an oscillation between two poles we have a circulation among three factors, an even more dynamic situation. Over the next several weeks, Mercury will turn retrograde (November 30), repeating its conjunction with Pluto in Sagittarius. Mars and Venus will form a conjunction in Scorpio (December 5) before moving into Sagittarius.

To ground yourself for this influx of spirit, keep to whatever devotional or meditative practice you have, get your rest, and tend to Gemini’s realm, the near-at-hand. Say your beads, practice your scales, rake the leaves, polish the candlesticks, decorate for the holidays, take a friend to lunch, thank a teacher, read to a child, share a recipe. Remember your hometown connections; write home even if you’re still mad at them. And as you make space at your hearth for friends and family, clear a quiet place in your heart and mind for spirit to enter in. Spend some quality time with your own holy text, whether it’s an orthodox book of scripture, a piece of music or a book of poetry that calls forth and sustains your spirit.

Look for the Sagittarius New Moon
on December 11, 2004.

© 2004 Jean Hinson Lall
All rights reserved