MARS IN GEMINI
The Full Moon and Mars conjunction in Gemini this year holds personal significance for my birth chart, and I want to share this transit information with you in order to help salve any potential burns you may be feeling at this time. My natal Moon placement is at 19° of Gemini. The Full Moon takes place in exact conjunction with Mars retrograde at 16° of Gemini, and so while challenging, it highlights a moment for me to recognise the progress I’ve made in the ways I approach my mental health.
In a birth chart, the Moon placement can represent our emotional body, and how we may have been taught or conditioned to regulate these emotions. In the Air Sign of Gemini, the Moon can elicit fast moving and sometimes polarised thoughts, that can take precedence over emotional responses grounded in present physical reality. This can induce symptoms of anxiety in the body, and the nervous system may become locked in reaction to memories of the past, or fear of the future.
In Tarot, the 36 Minor Arcana can each be assigned a Decan of the Zodiac, that is to say a section of 10 degrees. Each of these Decans is ruled by specific planetary energy in accordance with the Chaldean order. The second Decan of Gemini, 10° to 20°, is ruled by Mars. The Tarot card for this Decan is the Nine of Swords, and so we can consider the imagery in this card as a visual representation of Mars in Gemini energy.
The suit of Swords signifies our thoughts, our state of mind. The Nine of Swords centres on an individual who is restless, fearful, and anxiously depressed. They are suffering through a dark night of the soul. Mars energy is quick moving, fiery activation. It can bring with it combative rage. In Gemini, Mars can aggravate an already feverish thought cycle into a critical condition.
9 of SWORDS is MARS in GEMINI
I have an ongoing art project called FOOL TRIP.
I audaciously intend to paint the Tarot in its entirety, with oils on canvas. I must admit the project has laid dormant while I have been setting up my reading practice, however I want to tell you it began as a humble tool for emotional regulation. My brilliant therapist at the time had gently urged me to pick up my creative tools again, in an attempt to find a break amidst a violent depression.
She said I should try to paint for as long as I was able to focus. Maybe for five minutes. Maybe for half an hour. Maybe for the whole day. With her guidance and encouragement I was able to commit to the process, and gradually found a healing rhythm in the studio which brought my attention gently back into the present moment.
My version of the Nine of Swords is a sort of self portrait. When I began this painting, I didn't know it was going to result in a Tarot card. I didn’t know of Mars in Gemini energy, nor the significance it holds for my Natal Moon placement. But here we are, and as confronting as this image might be I am now also able to recognize its beauty.
There was a time when I was fearful of the Nine of Swords cycle beginning again. The Tarot teaches me that I am okay, and if ever the difficult patterns of thinking do arise, they won’t take away the lessons that I have learned so far. Thanks to my therapist and the folks who love me, I now have the tools I need to exist in moments of pain, and thanks to my Astrological knowledge, I can consider the journey of healing that I am on as a continuum, in rhythm with the cosmos itself.
In my painting, the swords are signified by the nine talons of Catwoman. Selina Kyle has been a part of my psyche since I first witnessed her on screen at eight years old. Over my life I have recognised parts of myself in her. At this current stage, I can now recognise parts of myself that have outgrown her.
Upright, the Nine of Swords could be
“I would love to live with you in your castle forever, just like in a fairy tale. I just couldn't live with myself. So don't pretend this is a happy ending.”
Reversed, the Nine of Swords could be
“I don't know about you Miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier.”
I only finished the painting this week after a long break, and just as Mars burned a path over my Natal Moon placement once more. This time, it reminded me to buy a tube of hot cadmium red, and I splashed it across the canvas in tribute to the planet of fire.
You might be feeling rage right now. You might be fed up with the aggressive and violent words of others, and tempted to speak out in anger yourself. These are polarising times that we are living through and you have every right to feel the terror, to feel the fury; it’s how we channel these feelings that makes the difference. If you are ever suffering from a difficulty with duality, I want to gently remind you that you will be okay. I want to remind you that, in this very moment, you are okay.
And remember, they say that a cat has nine lives.
