11 Jun Born to Die ~ June 11th-17th, 2018

This week begins the ten-day countdown to the solstice. In the southern hemisphere, this means that the long nights are about to give way to the return of the light. It is always edifying to remember that the Sun’s eternal return was the foundation of all ancient religion.

In the northern hemisphere, there will be a feeling of great anticipation for the Sun’s dramatic climax on the solstice, which will begin the golden days of summer. But this week is the time to prepare for this dramatic shift in seasons.

As if divinely timed, on Wednesday the New Moon in Gemini will become a magical moment to raise yourself up in wisdom and accomplishment. Let this New Moon be the seed that creates the best conditions possible for the next season of your life.

As the Sun climbs higher each day through the final decan of Gemini, you will feel stirred and unnerved by a restless energy. Still immersed in the flurry of ideas, questions, and theories, your heart will begin to yearn for a sense of meaningful purpose. After all, what good is knowledge without a raison d’être to inspire the pursuit?

Why, who me, why?

On the quest for singular purpose and direction, now is the time in Gemini season when the messengers will arrive to guide you in making wiser decisions.

Gemini season is about becoming a pollinator, a honey bee buzzing with curiosity. But now, all the mental energies that have been dispersed upon Gemini’s intellectual breezes will hear the call to return to the center of your being.

Feet don’t fail me now

Take me to your finish line

Oh my heart it breaks every step that I take

But I’m hoping that the gates,

they’ll tell me that you’re mine

To a honeybee, the freedom of flight and the immersion in floral splendor must be deeply pleasurable. But the true purpose of pollination is to bring all that light and love back to the hive, where pollen can be alchemized into a magical elixir.

Can you make it feel like home if I tell you you’re mine?

Thus, this week begins the process of returning home, to the center of your heart, so that you can begin transforming your new knowledge and ideas into pure magic!

It’s like I told you, honey

Close your eyes and see flowers transforming into honey. Then see honey transforming into golden wine. And see golden wine transformed into music, poetry, and sexual passion. Feel this alchemical imagery growing within.

This week will change the color on your mood ring, brought on by Mercury’s ingress into Cancer and Venus’ ingress into Leo. Suffice it to say that the collective mind will be made wistful, softened by a wave of reminiscence.

Don’t make me sad, don’t make me cry

Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough,

I don’t know why

The Venusian spirit in the sign of Leo will arouse the most feline powers of seduction, complete with purring satisfaction followed by sudden attacks. In short, this is a week where the planets are liberating the artistic temperament in anyone who likes to take a walk on the wild side with their muse.

Keep making me laugh

Let’s go get high

In my mind, metaphors are the greatest teachers but the most powerful medium for conveying an idea or a feeling is always found in music. So to get the full picture of what this week is all about, I offer the song, Born to Die, by Lana Del Rey.

Lana Del Rey is a Gemini herself, though she was born in the very last hours of Gemini. To be born on such a precipice has made her a rare jewel in popular music, sparkling with an almost supernatural talent to shapeshift into a myriad of cinematic and literary archetypes. As a pollinator of musical influence, poetry, and pop culture, Lana Del Rey has created an especially enchanting elixir.

You like your girls insane

But the end of Gemini season, when she was born, is about returning home with knowledge gathered, all the voices of wisdom remembered, and a love song blooming in your heart. This is something that Lana Del Rey always manages to accomplish, turning nostalgia, memories and tragedy into something sweet like cinnamon.

The first song on her debut album, Born to Die is a particularly good soundtrack for this week, containing the full spectrum of experience that Gemini season teaches.

It bears repeating that Gemini season is symbolized by the twins, or the motion that exists between the polarities of light/dark; male/female; life and death. In the West, the most commonly known myth that describes duality is from the Book of Genesis.

In the beginning, the Garden of Eden was created as holistic and unified: a hermetically sealed cosmic egg from which the first people, Adam and Eve, were born.

I was so confused as a little child

Tried to take what I could get

Scared that I couldn’t find

All the answers, honey

By following the nature of her own mind, Eve defies God and acquires the divine knowledge of good and evil. Fluctuating between chaos and order, light and dark, the twins of Gemini represent the poles that carry the current of cosmic energy. Thus, acknowledging the fact of good and evil, life and death, is what creates the fruits of meaning and purpose.

So choose your last words, this is the last time

‘Cause you and I, we were born to die

Lana Del Rey once shared some of the inspiration behind Born to Die saying,

“…When I was young I was overwhelmed by thoughts of my own mortality, but I also found fleeting moments of happiness in the arms of my lover and friends. This track and the record are about these two worlds — death and love — coming together.”

At the time of the New Moon in Gemini on Wednesday, you may experience a remarkable synthesis, where ‘two worlds – death and love-’ come together. You can hear this idea coming directly from Lana Del Rey’s Sun in Gemini, which illuminates both sides of every story, building the potential for wisdom in every joy and sorrow.

With the guidance of your own magical intentions, this New Moon may bring great satisfaction to an area of life that was once scorched by desperate need.

But if you are feeling dragged down by the loss of something in your life, fear no evil, for it is in the valley of the shadow of death that a devotional love for light and life is cultivated. Sorrow eventually make life’s magical elixir that much sweeter.

Lost but now I am found

I can see but once I was blind

There is a truly special nectar to enjoy in this upcoming week, which can only be enjoyed by those who have a taste for a vast repertoire of emotional flavors. Do what you can to use the remainder of Gemini season to be more like the Biblical Eve, opening your mind to all the horror so that the meaning of beauty can finally be understood.

Monday/Tuesday: All the Answers, Honey

June 11th- Dark Moon waning in Taurus

The deepest desires for pleasure and fulfillment that were born during Taurus season will begin to influence you in a subtle and subconscious way. Dreams may be very sensual, filled with lush fertile symbolism. Or they may depict fears of famine and drought. Be patient and contemplative now. These images are like shape-shifting clouds. Take delight in them but don’t get attached to finding too much meaning.  

June 12th- Mercury moves into Cancer sextile Uranus

The shock of a buried memory coming back to life so vividly may disturb you today. And yet, memories are nothing less than buried treasures. If you hate the story that you’re telling in response to whatever you recall, try to tell it a different way. See if you can’t try to show yourself and others a little more compassion.

Wednesday/Thursday: Try to Have Fun in the Meantime

June 13th – New Moon in Gemini & Venus moves into Leo

Let’s go get high

The road is long, we carry on

Try to have fun in the meantime

New Moons are magical moments to plant seeds of manifestation that will grow as the light of the Moon grows. But, like anything creative, you want to be in a good state of mind and body before you begin.

If the breezes of Gemini have influenced you to become too dry and intellectually focused, let yourself become lit up by the tempestuous passions of Venus in Leo. There is an air of regality that will make you shimmer and glow, so long as you open your heart wide.

Imagine yourself and your work as a vision of loveliness, shining with courage. From this enthroned place inside your inner temple, you may begin your work with the New Moon, to enchant for growth, success, and wisdom.

Thursday, June 14th – Venus in Leo squared Uranus in Taurus

Come and take a walk on the wild side…You like your girls insane

On the second day of her regal position in Leo, Venus will square Uranus in Taurus, bringing an erratic quality of highs and lows to sex, magic and creativity. Turned on by the idea of finding untapped potential, expect to feel a wild attraction to things that seem to glitter with boldness and rawness.

It is common to read that relationships will suffer under this transit. And it is true that shaky romantic relationships may crumble under this slight tremor of innovative energy. But those who share anything resembling a strong bond may become struck by a wave of renewed love, inspired by a ravishing feeling of enchantment.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: The Road is Long, We Carry On

Friday, June 15th- Mercury in Cancer opposed Saturn in Capricorn

On Friday, the sweet sentimental waters of Mercury in Cancer will suddenly contain a bitter aftertaste. The opposition between Mercury and Saturn Rx in Capricorn will give you something serious and somewhat melancholy to contemplate.

The remedy for feeling indecisive or blocked at this time is to seek out the wisdom of your elders. These elders may be dead and gone, with a record of their wisdom left to posterity. Or these elders may be your own relatives who have life experience that you don’t.

The best way to show Saturn respect right now is by using history to learn something valuable and guide your decision making.

Saturday & Sunday June 16-17th, Moon waxing in Leo

The weekend is lit up by the waxing Moon’s passage through Leo, where your magical intentions from Wednesday begin to collect warm-hearted strength. If you let yourself graciously open up to the golden heart of Leo, you may experience a surge of strength, courage or an artistic flourishing.

If you are lacking in appreciation for your life at any time during the weekend, try to think of the day as being the last day that you’ll ever have on earth.

What would you say? Who would you embrace? What would interest your senses?

Choose your last words, this is the last time

‘Cause you and I, we were born to die

(we were born to die)