Geminis are Infuriating

Geminis are totally insane, batshit, crazy and my favorite people. Captivated by gems from stories – not necessarily the entire thing just the juiciest bits. Geminis are magicians, enchanting the world with a word, a gesture or an anecdote. Frustrated by anything boring – they are not against interrupting anything that is not enveloping their mind entirely. One minute fearful of the constraints of commitment and the next deeply desiring the very same/sane thing. Gemini is an air sign – it is social and light. It’s intellectually stimulated – nourished through ideas and words. Its quick adaptability allows for their minds to change once they receive new information. They are amazing conversationalists – dropping nuggets of mental honey wherever they go. And while we always focus on the speaking or writing aspect of communicating. We don’t often focus on the importance of listening something we can all benefit more of during the season of the chatterbox. Truly hearing what someone is saying which is not simply nodding and saying yes, but the art of holding space for what another is experiencing.

In Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown states that “building meaningful connection requires two things: listening and believing when people tell us what their experience in their shoes felt like. And most of us do not do that”. I mention this because part of being a good communicator requires listening. Conversations end when another person does not feel listened to, seen or when it’s not a mutual exchange. We need connection with others to thrive. Gemini is a sign that excels at opening the doors of connection by making a silly introduction or pointing out an interesting observation and expressing it out loud. And during this season, especially with Mercury also traversing Gemini – we may feel especially compelled to share what’s going on in our lives. But my hope is that we are just as keen to listen to those around us so we can experience more fulfilling relationships in our lives.

According to Kate Murphy in her book, You’re Not Listening, “to listen well is to figure out what’s going on in someone’s mind and demonstrate that you care enough to want to know. It’s about the experience of being experienced and having someone take an interest in who you are and what you are doing.” I hope that during these last couple of days of the Sun traveling through Gemini, we can focus on how we listen both to ourselves and to others. The truth is that we all struggle with listening at times and the way we live, constantly bombarded by distractions – doesn’t help. My invitation is for us to take inventory of where we are with listening at this time. Maybe the next time someone tells us a story, we can pause and take a breath while focusing on their story and notice what our reaction is. Where does our attention go? Can we focus on another’s experience without diving into our own and queuing up a story to share once they are finished? Can we simply hold space and breathe with their experience while sharing a laugh or a cry? We not only miss profound moments when we check out of life, but we also miss the perfect punchline of a joke or a brilliant set up for a pun. The art of listening is a divine gift and Gemini is a clever trickster perfectly capable of such a feat.

And while deep dives aren’t necessarily under Gemini’s purview – the art of transforming dark drudgery into an airy, fairy delight is. Gemini doesn’t necessarily care if something is true as long as it’s fascinating. Their magic is in changing the channel from a blasé, monotonous drone to a kaleidoscope of mellifluous melodies. It’s what comes to life in a playful game of trivia or in the wild electricity that arises when traveling to a new place. Questions, riddles and cracking codes are all filled with Gemini glee. What if we could crack the code of our current dilemma of disconnection by lending our ears and cultivating a greater curiosity for the strange, wild creatures surrounding us? Sometimes all it takes is a single question to transform someone’s world.