Gemini and Mercury: Crossroads

Hermes/Mercury, the deity of travellers and the patron of merchants and businesspeople, gives Gemini its inquisitive nature and explains the sign’s astrological significance. Also known as the reliable travel companion of lost souls on their descent into Hades. The Mercurial acts as a portal, allowing us to cross over from the familiar into the unknown and uniting previously disparate elements. The zodiac sign of Gemini represents this special ability to go both backward and forward in time, and the Hermetic symbolism that enables this interchange is the bridge between the two worlds. The astrological planet Mercury governs those who travel, those who interpret, and those who translate. Gemini and Mercury help us gain access to previously inaccessible psychic information by translating between the conscious and unconscious realms.

The god of Mercury may easily find his way to any destination, as he has the power to connect other dimensions. He is also known as the “god of hinges,” ensuring that all doors can be opened and that his or her worshippers can freely move between parallel universes. It implies that the mind can accompany us on our journey into the unconscious. However, Mercury can also deceive us, send us in the wrong way, and give us the odd impression that we’re being led astray. The twins have the potential to be master manipulators, adept at hiding their tracks and changing course on a dime.

Mercury, ruler of Gemini and hence of the middle ground between the two extremes of the zodiacal day and night, likewise presides over Wednesday, the 50-50 day of the week. When two people who don’t know each other meet, it’s Mercury and Gemini who serve as a bridge between their conscious and subconscious minds. The dual nature of Gemini and Mercury allows us to bounce from one concept to the next, building off of each as we go. Like the crossroads at which one must stand and weigh one’s options, Gemini possesses a dual nature that is as unmistakable as the sign of the Twins itself. When it comes to the journey within, Mercury’s placement in the horoscope serves as a map, with the planet marking off landmarks and distances along the path. Every major transition in life is associated with Mercury/Hermes, hence statues of the god were commonly placed at such landmarks. Similarly, it seemed to indicate psychologically that transitional condition, where we encounter a split mind since we can’t take both pathways at once. A road, with all its bumps, turns, winding curves, smooth transitions, applying the brakes, going forward, going backward, taking the scenic route, drivers, passengers, and so on, has often been used as a metaphor for life.

When we get to a fork in the road, it symbolises the decisions we must make and the paths we must take. Oftentimes, Gemini’s dual nature and consequent inability to settle on a single course of action make this sign ill-suited for the complexities inherent in this line of work. Crossroads have always had a magical connotation, representing a kind of soul searching, as well as those synchronistic events like discovering a book that is pertinent to one’s problem, meeting a stranger who turns out to be an important part of one’s journey, and discovering some piece of “clever knowledge” that aids us. It has authority over everything that mysteriously appears to sway our decision. We often set out on a journey when we feel as though we have reached a crossroads in our lives and must choose one path over another.

In addition to being the master of transitions and the in-between, Gemini is the ungraspable ‘willow-the-wisp’ that can come and go at a moment’s notice. Light and airiness are also part of the Geminian soul; while they are capable of abstract thought, they also have a beautiful, ethereal side that floats through the air like a butterfly, flapping its wings in curiosity and a reflection of the divine self. Gemini is the offspring of both spiritual light and primaeval darkness, which speaks to the earthiness and the mind that characterise Gemini, as well as to the ebb and flow of emotion that characterises the twins, including their capacity for both joy and depression.

The twins are metaphors for the mind, which can switch gears quickly and easily, is open to new information, and finds attraction in any topic. The symbolism of twins represents the sign of creativity and the rapid assimilation of new information; those born under this sign are logical and reasonable but also blessed with wit and a sense of humour, are crafty, and require frequent interaction with other intelligent people. The verbal skills of a Gemini are quite charming. Thanks to Hermes, we can all write and compose stories that take us on adventures, send letters, communicate over great distances, and identify important distinctions between objects.

The sign of Gemini is a potent enactment of the interplay between opposites, duality, and the high and low because of the common belief that it possesses multiple personalities. The duality of the twins and the struggle between good and evil, the sign’s ability to assume multiple personas and communicate in code. According to astrologer Liz Greene, a Gemini will have to meet their dark twin, or rather, the dark opposite within, and work through to the centre of their being. It’s like the astrological nodes in that every pair of polar opposites harbours an internal tension that pushes them towards a state of harmony and balance. In addition, there is a critical requirement for each to acknowledge the validity of the other, as they are interdependent and as there is always an effort to achieve inner completeness, and sometimes one needs to pursue both paths.