New Moon 8º Gemini Monday May 30 2022 5:30 am MT
The new moon in Gemini today is the first lunation post eclipse season—and brings a breath of change after the past month. And while change may be welcome, it’s not always easy. Mercury, the ruler of this moon in Gemini, is still retrograde, so while new moons are good times for manifestation, this particular one is a bit slower moving, wonkier, changeable. We are still reflecting and reviewing what the retrograde has been teaching us about our communications and thought patterns.
Gemini wants us to be curious, to think differently, to consider other options. Gemini is duality, the two sides to every story—but it also encourages to look beyond the binary—to consider the whole spectrum, to begin to envision into entire new fields of possibility.
Consider what you’ve learned, what revelations arose over the past three weeks—and how that may have clarified or changed what you want moving forward.
Mercury retrograde is a great time for editing and adjusting our projects. Use this new moon to crystalize the clarity you’ve been gaining—so you’re ready to propel into forward motion on June 3.
This new moon gives us a bit of time to pause, to look over the past month, since the solar eclipse on April 30, and consider: What have I learned about what I want to do differently? Where have I changed my mind? Where might I need to change my mind, to open to new possibilities or options? How does this better guide me in understanding what I actually want and am called to create, and where I want and need to put my energy to do so?
I think this period is also asking us to question: How does my work and my art align with my values? How could it do so more? And/or how else can I be living my values in the way I work and move through the world?
Mercury Retrograde, Fixed Star Algol and Systemic Violence
Mercury is currently sitting in the place (on the same degree, just seconds off from) where it will station direct—a point activated by the lunar eclipse on May 15. This happens to be conjunct the fixed star Algol—the star marking of Medusa’s eyes in the constellation of Perseus, and described as a “demon star” in many cultures.
Algol is often associated with danger, violence, and personal and cultural wounding. The massacres at the Buffalo NY grocery store and Uvalde TX elementary school less than two weeks apart are horrific examples of the violence of our particular societal ills—gun violence and mass shootings, fueled by white supremacy, patriarchy and systems of violent domination.
We are still very much in the midst of the United State’s Pluto return (Pluto returning to the exact point in the sky where it was when the US was founded)—and very much grappling with the shadow of this country’s history—with its legacy of slavery, genocide, white supremacy, patriarchy, racism, sexism, homophobia, cissexism, violence and domination.
And with both an eclipse and now Mercury stationing direct in conjunction with Algol—these particular aspects are being highlighted again. With Mercury retrograding here, we are being asked to ask ourselves: What am I going to do about it?
It feels overwhelming and impossible to tackle these huge, systemic, baked-into-the-fabric issues—but Mercury is a personal planet, and reminds us of our personal responsibility. How our choices and decisions and actions, big and small, do indeed matter.
It is crucial that we ask ourselves: What can and will I do?
What organizations can you support to promote gun control, to fight gun violence? What anti-racist organizations can you donate to or volunteer for? How can you support or fund mental health initiatives in your communities or channeling money away from violent systemic institutions (the police) into restorative justice and mental health? Where can you support organizations fighting institutional and legislative violence against women and reproductive rights? Against queer and trans folks and youth? What are you teaching your kids (especially if your kids are white, cis and/or hetero, especially if they identify as boys/men)? What research and reading are you doing to explore and ultimately undermine your own complicity?
THIS is the work of the Pluto return in the US, and THIS is the reminder these conjunctions with Algol set to awaken in us. There may always be oppression and violence—what are you going to do about it?
New Moon in Gemini Writing Prompts
New Moon in Gemini Journal Writing Prompt
1. Review the questions above, inspired by the new moon ruler, Mercury’s conjunction to the star Algol.
2. Answer any of the questions that speak to you. Make a list of what you can do.
3. Do one thing on the list each day for the next two weeks.
Although it may be small, your participation matters. Equally, a lack of participation, doing nothing, is also a choice. It also matters and makes an impact. Choose your impact wisely.
New Moon Fiction Writing Prompt
Imagine a world, or a community within a world, in which domination is not the main mode of interaction and the underlying systemic structure. What might other systems of relating be and how might they show up in a groups’ social fabric? This doesn’t have to be a utopian world, but do lean into imagining how else we might do it, how else we might choose to live. Write a day-in-the-life scene of a character moving through this world. Create some problem or conflict they are trying to resolve—and remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, but imagine how it can be different, and perhaps better.
Photo by Pablo García Saldaña on Unsplash