The sign of Aquarius would lord over 23° Gemini in a twelve-fold sequence, the Sabian symbol for today being Three Fledglings In A Nest High In A Tree. Birds are associated with the sign of Gemini whose ruler Mercury is named for the winged god, as is Eris the goddess of discord who also plays a part of Gemini’s metaphorical and metpahysical saga. She lobbed an apple into divine party to which she wasn’t invited with the words “for the fairest among you” upon it. Athena, Aphrodite and Hera all lay claim to the apple and the dispute was settled by the Judgment of Paris, a Trojan shepherd. Hera promised power, Athena wisdom if he were to choose them. Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the world who was already married to the Greek Menelaus. This was the start of the Trojan War. Helen and her twin Pollux were hatched from one egg, their quadruplets Castor and Clytemnestra from another. More bird imagery. Zeus disguised as a swan, seduced their mother Leda. One bad apple: In the bible biting into the apple brought dulaity, a Gemininan notion, into the world. Consciousness was a gift or a curse or both. Birds are symbolic of the divine or spritual essence inherent in humans. Our ability to soar, with our minds, Gemini being the premier air sign of the zodiac, the so-called (not really) twins Castor and Pollux expressing our dual nature as mortal and divine. The fledglings, here will have to experience a fall from the nest in order to fly. They must risk death to achieve the most soaring experience of life.

Gemini, the third sign of the zodiac, rules the third astrolgoical house of, among other attributes, siblings and boon companions, those with whom we share a nest. The sign is associated with the ages of fourteen through twenty-one, when we reach maturity and as young people leave the next of our parents. We create one for ourselves. We keep creating nests, in fact, and we keep fledging out of them, or we should do. We should always be challenging ourselves and risking a fall in order to rise up and soar to new heights of achievement or creativity. Yes we might fall flat on our beaks but that’s no reason not to take leaps that might feel as if we are hurtling from some high tree top. As humans our divine nature is expressed by the reaching beyond of limits. This is where the sign of Aquarius steps into the conversation. Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, whose symbol, if you’ll remember, is the exact shape of the starship Enterprise, is all about boldly going further than we’ve gone before. Gemini and Aquarius are both air signs and their rulers of Mercury and Uranus are both hinged on communication. The Mercury symbol, like a little insect, as that weeked cap akin to antennae, while Aquarius is symbolized by air waves, that which might be reaching said feelers. We must all take to the air waves in a sense, putting ourselves out there into the ether, making some kind of mark for ourselves, securing som semblance of immortality, as was gifted mortal Castor by his brother Pollux who struck a deal to share his immortality, thus, in the form of the constellation of the Gemini. To become a star.

In the Tarot, The Star card is associated with Aquarius, a waterbearer being depicted. Aquarius is the opposite sign of Leo, ruled by the Sun, a star. We cannot achieve stardom without flying the coop of our comfort zone. We continue to spread our wings; our flights are not those of fancy, but a furthering of our evolution, honoring the divinity within ourselves. We will not shy away from fulfilling our soaring, stellar birthright.

Copyright 2015 Wheel Atelier Inc. All Rights Reserved.