Full Moon in Gemini: The Tension Of Opposites
Now there is heightened awareness of diametrically opposed poles within and without. We cannot spiritually bypass this tension. We must work with it alchemically. Plus, Venus' descent retrograde.
Today, we welcome the Full Moon in the mutable air sign of Gemini, the Twins, representing Duality and Opposites. In the astrological chart of every human being, and every relationship, institution, nation, business, event and so forth, there is an axis between opposing nodes – north and south – which point to our evolutionary task.
We are a unique combination of gifts and blessings, challenges and hardships from our conditioning and genetic and ancestral (some might say “past life”) composition. We embody opposites described by these poles, and both south and north nodes are equally important. At times the dualistic tension between these two points – old and new, familiar and foreign – can feel like too much to bear.
How do you think a volcano feels? The tension under the earth is so strong, so volatile, it cannot be contained. Something has to give. And, like it or not, mortal human, you are not immune to such pressures of evolution. How in the hell, pray tell, does one deal with such intense forces of change?
The best pointer I can give is to alchemize. Transmute the tension, and dance in the fire. Dance in the tension of opposites.
Remember, you are Consciousness. You are also, as embodied consciousness, bound to experience these universal forces moving through you as Nature. You, as Awareness Itself, are simultaneously liberated, and trapped. You are Reality Itself, and subject to Reality.
And during this lunation, we are confronted with these truths, experiencing and witnessing the tension of opposites, within and without.
“If we can stay with the tension of opposites long enough —sustain it, be true to it—we can sometimes become vessels within which the divine opposites come together and give birth to a new reality.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz
Descent to the Underworld: Venus Retrogrades
We are in a time of year when, in many nations, holidays are celebrated with the focus on coming together, getting along, and a peaceful coexistence. However, there is another astrological aspect amplified during this Full Moon which makes it impossible to turn away from that which is not harmoniously working in our life. That aspect is Venus’ stationing retrograde conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.
Venus’ turn retrograde summons for us the archetypal Sumerian myth of Inanna descending into the Plutonian underworld, where she will encounter her shadow-sister Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Dark. Venus will descend and remain retrograde until she turns direct on January 29; she finally ascends again above-ground on March 1st, when she completes her shadow station and leaves the retrograde zone.
Venus, bright Morning and Evening Star, likes to shine in the Heavens as the exalted Goddess she is; however, there is another aspect to the Divine Feminine, and that is as the Queen of the Underworld. We are experiencing Her when we consciously or unconsciously face our shadow.
This Full Moon in Gemini is bringing a tone of challenge, of confrontation with that person, place, or part of self which is oppositional. This part does not give a flying fig about success, pleasantries; does not need us to glow, to shine brightly. This is hard to accept, I know, especially for the love and light crowd.
How do we work with this challenging energy? We cannot spiritually bypass this tension. We must work with it alchemically. Alchemy requires a fiercely honest appraisal of the truth inside ourselves as well as of darker forces, the shadow of the society or relationships within which we find ourselves.
Where are the wolves in sheep’s clothing appearing? Where are we knowingly or unknowingly offering up our spirits, hearts, and creativity to be used up by others? Are we losing touch with Nature, with life-giving personal contact, with the Earth? Are we sleepwalking toward a slaughter, or are we remaining aware of deleterious effects on our bodies and minds and hearts?
Yes, there’s a dark side to Venus-Inanna’s retrograde station with Capricorn Pluto, and that is of control. Authoritarianism, even totalitarianism are unevolved tones of Capricorn in its patriarchal-absolutist mode. There is another word for control run amok, and that is bullying.
Bullying comes from fear, or greed and lust for power. Bullying appears when a party makes it impossible for another person to thrive or even live decently or survive. A line has been crossed – no longer is it as simple as “agreeing to disagree”; rather, the power-drunk parent figure decides what is best for everyone. It’s “my way or the highway.”
With control addiction, there has been a loss of connection to the more fluid, yin and feminine parts of life that trust the natural cycles of life and death over the course of a lifetime, a relationship, an historical or geological age. In bullying, there is an egotistical, psychopathic push for a single narrative. Every other expression of life force is held hostage, manipulated and forced into thinking only one way.
It is important to see where bullying is occurring, especially on subtler, deeper layers of consciousness. Some people may even be bullying or harmfully controlling themselves, giving in to workaholism, or self-hatred, or conforming to concepts or belief systems that are so confining that one’s body, heart, soulful Inner Child has zero room to move or breathe.
Alchemy in the Dark
In alchemy, how do these opposing forces unify? At critical times in the process, known as the sulfuric or putrefying stages of alchemy, they don’t unify. They are a garbled, ugly mess, like Venus-Inanna rotting, hanging on the peg in Ereshkigal’s dark underworld.
How does one find any semblance of serenity during such a hard time? With awareness, first and foremost. We are aware of the necessity of such a moment in time. We are aware that all the old bullshit within or without – the addiction to image, to looking good, to appearing as a good person; to shining bright, to having it all. . . to being in control, to telling others what to do under the guise of helpfulness or safety – all of that is seen through. The ploys start to fall away. The jig is up.
The ego is outed. The masks fall off the actors. We accurately see the parts within ourselves and others that are ego-ridden – based on fear, inadequacy and false concepts. We start to see the necessity of death of the false illusions – we are dying into truth. We must undergo the putrefaction stage – that of descending into the underworld. Go as willingly as you are able; be happy when the false is stripped away. It will be a lot easier. There is peace of mind.
Venus will ascend from the underworld – She will. And She will then and only then be a truly wise woman, a trustworthy, actualized human. Venus-Inanna is then worthy to be exalted in Heaven because She is honest about all parts of self, including the dark. Her opposites have been integrated. She has been alchemized into something brand new. Something true.
“The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension between opposites.” ~ C.G. Jung
Confrontation with Reality
How do we integrate? See it accurately, embrace Reality. The discomfort must be seen, acknowledged, and felt. Get clear. Listen to your Inner Self. Write down your dreams. Practice yoga, prayer, meditation. Spend time outdoors. In Nature Herself.
We can see from a bird’s-eye view what is occurring. Venus-Inanna, daughter of the patriarchy, is passing through the gates and giving up her vestiges. We have the opportunity to see and experience clearly over the next 40 days and nights how we have been cut off from our true nature.
With awareness comes great freedom. The price? All the ways we ever sold out to illusions; the ways we prostituted our minds, hearts, bodies for the fantasies of exaltation, of belonging, of convenience, of security and safety, and of looking good.
At this time of the Full Moon in Gemini, there is heightened awareness of diametrically opposed poles in self and other, within and without. Notice the bias to resolve the tension, to integrate the opposites quickly and get it over with so we can get on with looking good - another trap.
We must remember that alchemy takes as long as it takes; a new substance is being birthed. So let the truth bubble up loud and clear. Let all illusions be stripped away. Rebirth will come, in perfect time, of that you can be sure, for it is the promise of Nature, and of Reality.
Thank you, Erin! There are are always so many insights in your writings!!