Gemini is Latin for twins.
The glyph symbolizes two children, twins, which are representative of the duality of perspective.
The Twins symbolise Gemini's change of thoughts and ideas, as well as Gemini's shifting perspectives.
Gemini is an Air sign.
Air is associate with thoughts, intellect and communication.
To read more about Air signs follow the link below:
The Twins are represented in myth by Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri in Greek mythology.
Gemini is known for its adaptability to the point that the Gemini personality may be viewed as two different people.
This quality of being "two faced", comes from Geminis ability to quickly change perspectives, allowing Gemini to understand various viewpoints and rationales.
A quote that helps in understanding Gemini is "Just give me five minutes", for in five minutes time their viewpoint may be very different, even opposite to the understanding they held.
Gemini's Ruling Planet is Mercury
Mercury is known as the swift messanger of the gods.
Mercury is said to be the mind, the intellect. This is partially true. A more comprehensive description of Mercury would be, Mercury is the way we understand ourselves as well as the physical, social & spiritual worlds around us. Mercury's sign and house placement reflects the energetic signature of how our mind will collect, sort & discern information. It represents how we communicate, what sparks our curiosity, & reveals what we are a voice for in the world. Our language, logic, timing, movement of our ideas, & mode of learning are all flavoured by our mercury signature.
Mercury is the impulse to be curious about life. Mercury seeks out experiences & opens doorways, both figuratively and literally. The Sun seeks experience, Mercury helps us understand experience.
Colours AssociatED with GEMINI are:
Lemon Yellow
Slate Blue
Violet
& Purple
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought".
John F. Kennedy: Sun in Gemini
Agate
The birth stone for Gemini is Agate. Agate is an affordable stone that comes in a variety of colours. It is a member of the quartz family. Agate expresses the ground, loving qualities of the Earth, making it a perfect stone for Gemini. Agates align us with abundance and are protective to those who work with them. Agate is an excellent stone to clear the heart of anger and bitterness opening the heart to love.
The Agate shown here is Crazy Lace Agate.
The constellation of Gemini is located in the northern hemisphere. It is made up of 85 stars, the brightest being Pollux and the second brightest being Castor, twin brothers in Greek mythology.
Castor and Pollux were celebrated for their heroic deeds and were associated with horsemanship and as protectors of sailors.
Zeus transformed them both into the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini.
There are various versions of the myth of Castor and Pollux in Greek and Roman mythology.
One of the most common classical accounts is that Castor and Pollux were twin half-brothers that shared the same mother, Leda, but have different fathers, with twin half-sisters Clytemnestra and Helen who likewise shared the same mother, but had different fathers. Zeus was the father of Pollux and Helen, while Tyndareus, the King of Sparta was the father of Castor and Clytemnestra. Being born at the same time but from two different eggs, they are two sets of twins.
They are also a set of quadruplets in that they share the same mother, from the same birth. But this is not often spoken to, and they are remembered as two sets of twins, born from two different eggs, that were birthed at the same time.
The Queen of Sparta, Lelia, was one of, if not the most beautiful women alive. So beautiful that she caught the attention of Zeus, King of the Gods. The Queen would often bathe alone in the river. One day when she was bathing, she noticed a swan. The swan was Zeus transformed. The swan swam towards her. As he did an eagle swooped down and attacked him. He managed to escape the eagle and swam to the Queen. Taken by his plight, the Queen embraced the swan. She found that the swans embrace was soft and sensual. Overcome by the sensuality and beauty of the swan she laid back and let the swan enter her and made passionate love. After the swan ejaculated in her he left. Zeus had sown his seed in the Queen of Sparta. Overtaken with lust, the Queen returned to the palace and had a night of passion with her husband, who also planted his seed.
The Queen became pregnant to both Zeus and the King of Sparta. She gave birth to two eggs, from which two sets of twins were born. The first set of twins were twin boys, Castor, who was the mortal son of the King of Sparta and Pollux, who was the immortal son of Zeus. The second set of twins were twin girls, Clytemnestra, the mortal daughter of the King of Sparta and Helen, the immortal daughter of Zeus. Helen of Sparta, would grow up to be Helen of Troy, who's abduction would lead to the Trojan war.
Different ancient texts and retellings dustribute the chidren differently amongst the eggs. Some, that they are seperaterated by parantage, and others where they are seperated by sex. There is no single authoritative version of the birth story.
Castor and Pollux were known for their strength and bravery. As the Dioscuri they were the twin gods associated with horsemanship, sailors at the peril of storms at sea, and St Elmo’s Fire.
St Elmo's Fire is a phenomenon in which a blue or violet glow appears around pointed objects. On ships it often appears on masts when the surrounding air becomes highly electrically charged. The glow that is visible is a result of a concentration of plasma that is formed when an electrical field ionizes the air during an electrical storm. Sailors interpreted the appearance of St Elmo's Fire with the protection of the Dioscuri.
The Tarot card associated with Gemini is the Lovers.
The Lovers represent union and relationships that are mutually beneficial. It is often said to represent marriage as well as the merging of opposite forces in a harmonious way. Choice, and the weighing of options, is signified by the card. There is an innate knowing represented by the card that symbolises an ability to understand both our own motivations as well as the motivations of others. The Lovers symbolises a self-awareness of the various aspects of the psyche that are in play, and their competing drives. In the Lovers card, the masculine and feminine aspects of the self are working in harmony, and our values and desires are aligned in a way that creates stability, fruitfulness, and balance.
The Lovers reminds us that whatever we do to another, sits between the two of us. If we are kind, we place kindness between us and the other person, if we are cruel, that is placed between the two of us. The fabric of these choices then forms the connective network through which we relate. The Lovers card asks that we act in loving ways, making loving choices that will support self-love. The Lovers asks us to choose healthy relationships and can signify walking away from relationships in a way that honours both ourselves and others. It can also represent harmony directly following a period where trials have been overcome.
Arthur Edward Waite, the author of the Rider-Waite tarot describes the Lovers as attraction, love, beauty, and trials overcome. The angel in the card is said to represent the angel Raphael, who is the angel of Air, linking the card to Gemini and its ruling planet Mercury. The angel has his arms risen, with palms facing outwards. A modern interpretation may be that this symbolises the channelling of healing energy such as Reiki or Ashanti Energy. The man and woman in the card are said to represent Adam and Eve, naked in their truth and openness to each other. Adam and Eve symbolise a creative, youthful element in the card. Behind Eve is the biblical Tree of Knowledge. The snake wrapped around the tree is said to represent evil and/or wisdom. Behind Adam is the bibical Tree of Life, with twelve flaming fruits, which embodies passion.
The Lovers and Gemini are similar in that they represent duality, choice, a bridging of opposites and communication between two people. There is a youthful quality to both. Gemini seeks understanding through inquiry, the Lovers seeks understanding through self-awareness.
MC Esher
Maurits Cornelis Eshcer was a graphic artist whose work was deeply inspired by mathematics. Through his work Escher engaged in a dialogue between perception and reality. In Ecsher's work there is a repetition of positive and negative space merging into each other, transformation, and two realities existing simultaneously. Drawing Hands, 1948, embodies the Gemini quality of two objects in dialogue.
Born at 7:16am, on the 17th of June 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, Escher was born with Sun, Moon, Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto, all in Gemini (Air). His planets in Gemini (Air), are located in the eleventh house, a house traditionally associated with Aquarius (Air).
His moon is trine Jupiter and Juno, both in Libra (Air), both located in the third house, which is traditionally associated with Gemini (Air).
Escher’s 7th house cusp in ruled by Aquarius (Air). As the house of one on one relationships, this seems to have manifested as an aspect of his psyche that favoured unique and original ways of relating, and an observation of relationship that appreciated the scientific, technical, and innovative qualities of being.
Sun conjunct Neptune in Gemini offers a sensitivity to curiosity and communication, and can create an openness to the mysteries within the dialogue of life. In Escher, it seems to have supported the development of a lens focused upon the relational quality between objects, and a curiosity to apply an analysis to these relationships.
The Moon, Mercury, Pluto conjunction may emerge within the psyche of an individual as a deeply perceptive mind and a strong urge to solve mysteries. In Escher it resulted in a drive towards hard work, focus, and an intense application to his craft.
Jupiter in Libra trine the moon may express as a confidence within an individual. It seems to have provided Escher with an aptitude and insight towards the harmonics and relational compoments between objects.
With an ascendant, how we meet life, in Leo, a sign known for creativity, as well as Leo being ruler of his second house, the house of talents, it is little wonder that Escher gravitated towards an artistic field.
Saturn in the fifth house, the house of creativity, may also develop a discipline around creative pursuits. With Mars in Taurus in his tenth house, the house of work and career, there would be a strong motivation to establish himself in his career and to achieve something substantial.
There is a potent dynamic in Escher's birth chart embedded within the Air triplicity of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, with an undeniable dominance of Gemini.
What Escher achieved through his work is extraordinary, however it is perhaps not extraordinary that a person with his planetary placements would hold the gift, predisposition, and drive to create what he created.
Gemini is known to be a sign associated with thought, ideas, communication, and knowledge. In Escher's work we see Gemini come to life through an inquiry into infinity, mathematics, geometry, art, and ultimately the symmetry of relationship between objects, within the framework of the duality of positive and negative space.
