Full Moon in Gemini: Balancing All The Things

The Full Moon in Gemini arrives overnight on Thursday, November 22. In my Eastern Time zone, it will technically be Friday, but at 1:40 am, it still feels like Thursday night.

Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the US, the day set aside to be thankful for all the good things in our lives. It is also the official opening of the holiday shopping season, so crowds of people might well see the Full Moon as they line up outside big box stores to get right in when the doors open. Some will already be shopping.

We do have many things to celebrate in our lives. Truly, there is much to be grateful for.

It’s the muchness of it all that might feel overwhelming at this Full Moon. The ways in which, right now in the world, it there is a lot. A lot coming at us, a lot to accept, a lot to resist, a lot to process, a lot of feelings, a lot of information. The dials are all turned to eleven.

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Gemini is the mutable Air sign ruled by Mercury. Gemini is bright, curious, and open minded. People with lots of Gemini in their charts often have lots to say, bubbling over with ideas and solutions. They tend to be upbeat, confident the exact right thing is just around the corner. They’re not very settled, though, because, hey, maybe something better is around the corner and they should go look.

In Gemini, facts are there to be explored, played with, combined in interesting, innovative ways. They are facts, though, things we can put into words, get down on paper, turn into a chart or infographic.

At this Full Moon, we’re presented with more than just the facts.

The Sun and Moon oppose each other at the Full Moon, which allows the Sun to fully illuminate the Moon. In opposite signs of the zodiac, the Sun and Moon reflect a certain polarity, each illuminating and also challenging the other.

Sagittarius, the mutable Fire sign, is opposite Gemini. This is where the Sun is, having entered Sagittarius barely in time for the Full Moon: Both Sun and Moon are at 0, the opening degree of their signs.

Sagittarius is a big energy, ruled by Jupiter who expands everything. People with lots of Sag in their charts can have a larger than life quality. They are generous and inclusive, wanting everyone in the tent all at once. This is the sign of meaning, philosophy, belief. Not satisfied with facts alone, Sagittarius invites us into a larger, deeper, more expansive understanding.

Right now, there is a lot of weight on the Sagittarian side of the scale. Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, has recently entered his own sign and is conjunct the Sun. He will travel through Sagittarius for the next year. In addition, Mercury, who rules this Full Moon, is retrograde in Sagittarius and also conjunct the Sun.

Full Moons illuminate. At this Full Moon, we’ll have the chance to see what’s coming at us and how we cope with it. Questions like these might pop up:

How do I handle diverse points of view, especially when expressed by members of my family sitting at the same table? Do I keep things logical, marshal some facts, and offer alternative points of view (Gemini) or do I retreat into my belief system which I refuse to change (Sagittarius)? Do I skip away from any serious discussion by making a few jokes (Gemini) or do I make sure everyone feels welcome and included, even if we can’t agree on everything (Sagittarius)?

You see, neither side is all good or all bad. The challenge these days is the volume. There is too much, coming too fast, with consequences that seem too serious.

The other option is to just zone out. Mars has recently moved into Pisces. This is a relief, after his many months of hard-charging, take-no-prisoners attitude, but he doesn’t do that well in Pisces. It’s watery and diffuse. There’s nothing to grab on to and sometimes you can’t even tell where you are. And this somewhat-at-sea Mars is squaring the Full Moon.

Again, there are pluses and minuses here. Mars in Pisces can indeed check out in many of the ways the modern world invites us to do exactly that. He can also resonate with the philosophical side of Sagittarius. He can invite us to act through self reflection, separating the wheat of truth and authenticity from the chaff of fake news and prejudices.

What we long for is balance. What we may see at the Full Moon is where we are tipping out of balance.

Where do we cling to beliefs we refuse to question? Where do we pile on so many facts we throw up our hands and say nothing can be done? Where do we zone out? Where might we benefit from some self examination? Where could we be more innovative and curious in our thinking? Where could we reach out to those we typically prefer to ignore?

This is a complicated Full Moon. Venus, finally traveling direct again and in her own sign of Libra, is opposing Uranus. The goddess has emerged from the cave and is getting ready to shake things up, especially since Venus and Uranus are squaring the Nodes of the Moon, the path from the past into the future. Chiron the wounded healer is also aspecting the Moon’s Nodes, as are the Sun and Moon.

We are being given a head’s up (as if we needed it) that our world is in a time of great change, and part of that change involves acknowledging difficult aspects of the past so we can heal them.

The Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Neptune, and Chiron are all in mutable signs. These are the signs of transition, the signs that are moving from one state into another, one season into another.

Once more, we can feel the up and down sides of this. It’s good that things are moving. We know they can’t remain as they are without breaking down completely. Yet with so much in flux, where do we stand? What can we count on?

The message of this Full Moon is, I believe, one of finding dynamic balance. Within each of us, we have certain values and practices that guide us. Our inner gyroscope, if you will. Sometimes if we haven’t been paying attention, the gyroscope gets too wobbly and falls off. Then we need to get it spinning again, so it can balance well.

In the light of this Full Moon, we can see where we’re tipping too far in one direction or the other. This gives us the chance to find that inner compass, the centerpoint around which our being spins. When we tend to our own center, we are far less likely to be knocked off balance by the crazy too-muchness of the world.

We can find what we need to keep our inner fires lit. We can find our path forward and maybe even blaze the way for a few others to come along with us.

I use Unsplash for most photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, adapted from the photo of a man holding magic by Aditya Saxena, the photo of the news on fire by Elijah O’Donnell, and the photo of the balloon filling by Will O.