The Nature of Gemini
Gemini is the astrological sign that governs communication, learning, curiosity, writing, speaking and all the platforms that allow these to happen such as radio, tv, print media, internet. These are manifestations of Gemini, but the spirit of Gemini is essentially the principle of relationship through connection. With Gemini, we become aware of ourselves through relationships with others. How do I know I am black if not that I became aware of the other who is white? Gemini, the sign of the Twins symbolizes duality, polarity and mirroring; it is the understanding of one through the other - self and other, question and answer, sender and receiver, teacher and student, map and territory. The link that connects each of these polarities is the essence of Gemini.
Gemini governs the movement of consciousness between points, people and people groups. I consider this a relevant point to keep in mind as Nigerians because as people groups under one entity, we need to find our Gemini essence - the things that connect us in our diversity.
Traditionally, Gemini rules the nervous system, the body’s communication infrastructure - (especially signaling and transmission), the lungs, the bronchi, the shoulders, the arms, the hands, and coordination between left and right sides of the body. Governing the hands, it also is the sign of skills and skilled labor, middlemen, negotiators, traders and trade unions. Gemini concerns itself with the transmission of knowledge – the quality of our education.
How do we come to awareness – through shocks (delayed awareness) or by foresight (awareness through curiosity, listening, pattern recognition and timely application)?. It was the former Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, that I heard say that experience, contrary to what we often hear, is a cruel teacher, and that History is a kinder teacher. History affords us the opportunity to recognize patterns and adapt.
Gemini rules stories, narrative and competing narratives. It is the messenger, the intermediary and bridge between worlds. It governs language, symbols, codes, data, and how meaning and wisdom move from one to another. Roads, trade routes, postal systems, newspapers, railways, telegraphs, telephones, broadcasting, internet, social media, telecommunications, logistics, transportation, data, networks, AI language systems - are the fruits of the evolution of Gemini.
Maps and Map Reading
Back in 1892 (towards the close of the 19th century) at the conjunction of Neptune and Pluto in Gemini, a massive Gemini essence was growing to proportions where it was to change the world, just as AI capabilities are growing today with a definite future for humanity.
In Europe, maps and map reading, cartography, surveying, navigation, route-finding, and the reading of geographic information, all fundamentally Gemini functions, were coming to the stage in their development where they could be relied upon to practically advance the exploitation of a new continent. This development was crucial to the Berlin Conference.
And when the partitions were made, then followed roads, railroads, logistics…, the rest is history. It was a long time ago, but time is not linear. Time is cyclical, which means that what has been will be again and again, and if we accept this truth and pay attention, we will not be too surprised by a lot of things. The intentional human action upon time is to evolve what has been to its brightest extent for the joy and benefit of all.
For us Africans, Gemini will always trigger polarities such as colonization and self-determination, homegrown or imported, citizens and migrants, etc., because it was upon the essence of Gemini that Africa was split, not just geographically, but ethnically and culturally as well; with a new language, traditions, and cultures mirroring our own. As Uranus triggers the point in time in the cycle that energized the partition, we need to have our eyes wide open and be intentional students of history rather than students of experience for narratives that mirror the old world. We must guard against further splits, and intentionally move towards unification.
Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, in mythology is the messenger of the gods with winged sandals on its feet, an imagery that points us to the “airiness” of Gemini and that the flow of information through channels of communication is primarily ideational and grounded in our nervous system. The airiness of Gemini points to information moving at the speed of thought, highlighting the significance of the rare Neptune–Pluto conjunction of 1892 in Gemini. In hindsight, the century that followed would witness an extraordinary acceleration in humanity’s ability to overcome distance through increasingly sophisticated networks of communication, culminating in today’s exploration of artificial intelligence, neural interfaces, and other technologies that seek to narrow the gap between mind and network. But the seed of this modern quest was planted for humanity through the Neptune – Pluto conjunction in Gemini in 1892.
Historical Glimpses into the Seed Point, 1892
The years surrounding the Neptune – Pluto conjunction in Gemini bear witness to the remarkable innate potential of humanity to connect, even across vast distances. Telegraph cables linked continents, telephones connected voices, railways connected territories, newspapers connected populations and maps connected imperial administrations to distant lands. But it wasn’t just revolutionary advancements in communication and transportation, but also a growing interest in consciousness itself. Those years saw the emergence of Psychology as a discipline; the unconscious entered public discourse; the study of perception and memory began; and the emergence of telepathy and thought transference all led to questions about what the mind was truly capable of.
When you look back at the period, it becomes obvious that the Neptune-Pluto conjunction in Gemini was more than global connectivity; it extended to humanity’s quest to understand consciousness itself. Because every conjunction is a seed point, and the life of the cycle is the time in which the seed grows and bears fruit, we can say that the seed has borne immense fruit already. If you have followed me up to this point, I want to first thank you for your interest and commitment to follow through even when this may be your first time interacting with planets and their astrological influences.
Having come this far, I would like to call your attention back to a few things; Remember that cycles never work alone. Cycles work with many other cycles too numerous to bring into a material that is meant primarily for non-astrologers. It’s best to keep things as simple as possible in conveying the message. The background laid so far is necessary for our understanding of what is coming and which we will soon dive into.
Let me also say here that when we speak of seed points, we are referring to the astrological degree where the planets conjoin (known as a conjunction); and that the astrological influences do not wait for the conjunction to be perfected before the influences can be observed. But the degree of initiation, or seed point, is necessary to know because it shows us the window in time to keep watch and themes to expect; and if we are to put things in place in preparation for an expectation, we have an idea what time we have, and possible themes to look out for.
I would also like to remind you, dear reader, that the conjunction of mankind occurred at 7° Gemini and that this is the degree of interest going forward.
Uranus, the electrifying planet of Awakening, has now entered Gemini and is approaching the 7° point of initiation of our current civilization and activates Nigeria’s natal chart through the 12th house in ways we as a people will want to be aware of.