perched lightly in the air of the threshold: Uranus' ingress into Gemini
Dear Ones,
I will turn fifty on July 17th. For this remarkable occasion, I will be embarking on a three-and-a-half-week solo journey through Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah, and back home to Oregon. The first part of this journey will be a nine-day vision fast with a group of women, during which I will spend three days in the wilderness without food, shelter, or human contact.
The first day of our time together in the vision fast is July 7th, the day that Uranus moves into Gemini after spending the past seven years in Taurus.
The first day of my solo quest, there is a Full Moon in Capricorn.
I have been thinking a lot about these two together, spaced so perfectly in alignment with my time in nature, as threshold guardians and initiators.
Could we consider them that way collectively as well? Let’s give it a try.
A vision fast is a time for us as individuals to receive a vision, yes. And naturally, this vision will also intersect with our relationships with loved ones, our communities, and our work in the world.
We paint the world, each of us, with our visions, our magic, our minds, and the actions our bodies take— the words that come out of our mouths, the smiles or scowls on our faces, our body language.
What is it we are stepping into as a world?
still from video footage, Alvord Desert, 2020
As Uranus enters Gemini, there is a lot of talk about how, historically at least, this transit has signified war. Yet… Gemini is also about a plethora of choices and ideas; it brings diversity and indecision, and these are not inherently good or bad things.
One aspect we played with back in the Taurus Cosmic Corpus was the Uranus/Sun conjunction (or Uranus Cazimi), which is being echoed a bit on the 4th of July by a Uranus/Venus conjunction in the anaretic degree of Taurus. This is a potent moment where we get to soak up the medicine of this past eight years of Uranus in Taurus, especially because Venus is Taurus’ ruling planet.
It seems that Uranus in Taurus is calling out through this last degree of its time in Taurus:
How will you deconstruct instead of destroying?
How will you make this transition in a different way than the past?
Who do you value? Which ideas will be centered? Who will enact this revolution?
I am liking looking at the minor transits that are surrounding and collaborating with this shift. Venus again—in Gemini— is pretty active the day before this ingress and the day of, it makes a sextile to the Saturn & Neptune conjunction in Aries, and makes a trine to Pluto in Aquarius.
I am thinking a lot about letting go of judgment and stepping more deeply into trust, as well as the multiple meanings of things. This is a lifelong practice of acceptance and relinquishing control. It is not easy, simple, or straightforward. It requires patience and compassion, for others, yes— but primarily for myself.
As I head out on this month-long adventure, which includes a 9-day vision fast for my 50th birthday, I want to take Venus with me.
Maybe you can too?
Venus is, among other things, the capacity to love and relate.
So—let’s love the potential for multiplicity that Uranus in Gemini might bring, the multiple ways and the letting go of the deep and harmful judgment we have adopted over the past centuries.
I do not think it was always there, this tendency to judge and be harsh with each other. I know I am unlearning it every day, and by no means am I perfect, but I can feel the change and the choice inside.
“Is this something I need to critique? Is this something that could harm me if I don’t judge it? Or can I let this moment pass without my commenting on it or even feeling much about it? Instead, can I just be present with what is?”
These are questions I am taking into my fast, a sacred ceremony where I will be severed from the world—phone, shelter, food, people—for three days, spending that time with myself, the elements, and the spirits.
We all have different paths, of course. However, we all possess this Gemini potential for seeing multiple perspectives and being open to change.
Changing our minds. Becoming shape shifters. Accepting what is, while also caring for others and working for something kinder, more whole, and more peaceful.
still from video footage, Alvord Desert, 2020
Shortly after Uranus’ move into Gemini comes the Full Moon in Capricorn and Saturn conjunct Neptune in Aries.
I want to talk about the ways these two energies work together— Uranus in Gemini and the Full Moon in Capricorn. They cannot necessarily understand each other so well, but they can still have an interesting conversation, especially given that Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, is in sextile to Uranus in Gemini as it ingresses into Gemini.
The full moon, in general, can be a good time to release what is unnecessary about the previous cycle.
The shadow of Capricorn and Saturn, which is prevalent in Western US culture, is characterized by restriction, dominance, and striving for the “top” regardless of one's impact on others.
We might view this as a time to loosen that understanding, to let go of that project, in our own lives and as a cultural norm.
Because let’s face it, that norm is TIRED AF.
The potential here is for a multiplicity of perspectives, stories, viewpoints, and mythologies to emerge.
Let us not confuse this with saying yes to everything and everyone. This does not mean we drop our ethics. But it does mean we begin or continue to question them, including where they came from and our ideas of right and wrong.
With all that is going on, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. I invite you to continue to practice what helps build presence. If you have a practice—movement, art, meditation, breathwork, cooking— try noticing more and more each beautiful, diverse moment. Practice riding the waves. Practice noticing judgment when it arises, and perhaps try releasing it for even just a moment to see what new experiences, nuances, and sensations become available to you when you do.
This is a gift not only for yourself, but also for your community.
When we change, we change the world.
If you need help in healing these pieces of yourself, I am available starting in mid-August for readings. Beginning in September, I will have room to begin a journey with 2-4 clients in a ten-week somatic and expressive arts container.
More info below about upcoming offerings.
sometimes a simple sit communities of blades of grass reminding calling, "here, and now, and here" might find the tendrils of thought and wash them with vast curiosity then muscles melt sideways bones regenerate hair thickens eye widen, squint, protract becoming a wisened, immense, and ancient rock perched lightly in the air of the threshold