Anaretic Gemini: Edward Snowden's Gift of Knowledge

Edward Snowden speaking at the 2015 International Students for Liberty Conference; photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.

While actually a Gemini Sun, Edward Snowden was born near the summer solstice of 1983 (June 21, 1983 @ 4:42 AM Elizabeth City, NC). Snowden was a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and former contractor for the United States government. He gained international attention in 2013 for leaking thousands of classified documents to journalists from the National Security Agency (NSA)--revealing several global surveillance programs. Stories based on the leaks appeared in the Guardian, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

Snowden’s natal Sun sits at the 29th degree of Gemini, conjunct the entry of Cancer, the point of the summer solstice. His Sun touches what is known as the Aries Point (the first degree of all cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). Astrologer Noel Tyl suggests in his book, Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology, that when the Aries point is prominent in the horoscope, “there is the potential of public projection for the person”. It’s what Hans Niggemann, in The Key to Uranian Astrology said, “is every being’s connection to the larger world”. And what Planet Waves founder, Eric Francis, calls the “intersection between the personal and the collective”. 

Astrologer Brenda Brush says of the 29th degree (the final degree of a sign), that it is “something you must give away”. In an e-mail correspondence with Brenda, she stated that “The 29th degree is where you have to accept what it is asking of you. I feel like it is a bit like the 12th house, the sign Pisces. It is the last of a sign just like the 12th house is the last house or Pisces is the last sign. Something has to be accepted and surrendered at the same time.”

Snowden is considered to be a hero/patriot or a traitor/dissident from differing viewpoints. No matter the opinion, he made an obvious sacrifice in an attempt to help people become more conscious of the world we now live in. He used his Gemini potential (the gift of the storyteller, writer, and researcher), to freely give information critical for the world to acknowledge. His chart features five major placements in the sign of Gemini such as the Ascendant, Mercury, Mars, the lunar North Node, and the Sun. 

With such heavy emphasis in Gemini, especially tapped into his lunar North Node, Snowden had a clear destiny tied to the need to communicate a message to the world. And we can’t forget, as with last week’s featured chart, that Gemini is notorious for being a trickster due to its association with the trickster planet Mercury. And any good trickster can easily cross between realms to undermine societal structures that have become too rigid and controlling. In trickster like fashion, Snowden left the U.S. for Hong Kong in May 2013 before releasing the documents to journalists. He now resides at an undisclosed location in Russia and has been granted a three-year asylum as of 2015. 

In an article from The Washington Post in Dec. 2013, Snowden was quoted as saying, “For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission's already accomplished. I already won. As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated. Because, remember, I didn't want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself. All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed.” Snowden’s words reflect the heart of his gift to the world, the ability of society to change itself in light of the information he freely provided. Whether a hero or a traitor, it’s clear that Snowden is fulfilling his evolutionary path--the destiny of the trickster who gave an important message for all.

 You did not come to Earth without a guide. Evolutionary Astrology is a powerful tool for self-discovery and an exceptionally helpful guide in times of uncertainty, crisis or stagnation. Click here for reading options and pricing.

Below is a recent episode of HBO's VICE featuring Edward Snowden....

Photo by Mactographer via Wikimedia Commons

Open Your Heart and Listen: New Moon in Gemini 2016

Elder blossoms in bloom; Jonathan Billinger [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New Moon @ 14 Gemini 53'
June 4, 2016
10:59 PM Eastern
7:59 PM Pacific

At the heart of Gemini, is the pursuit of new information and the sharing, dispensing, and endless questioning of that information. This month’s New Moon occurs in tropical Gemini. It’s also in the cross-hairs of some serious tension! First off, the New Moon conjoins the planet Venus--a potent symbol for relationships (in the romantic and platonic contexts). All relationships need to grow and change. But you may find that at this New Moon, the seeds of considerable change are being planted. And this is likely to emerge in your most personal encounters with others.

The thing about a New Moon is that it is hidden. If you were to go out in the sky and look for the Moon, you wouldn't see it.  And ditto with Venus here. Something is happening in your heart and relationships that you can’t see right now. It’s there, you know it’s there, but it’s not palpable or real yet. This is a moment of transition.You can only sense it--like a ghostly presence upon you. The planet Saturn, in Sagittarius, makes an opposition to the New Moon.

What you might notice is that a new way of communicating with others is needed now. Perhaps you feel you have outgrown your response to those closest to you. Or perhaps,  you need a new language to effectively express yourself fully. To compound the tension, Neptune and Jupiter both sit in opposition to each other (180 degrees apart) and both planets hit the New Moon and Saturn at a 90-degree angle (a square). So what we’re looking at here is a grand cross. 

The cross is a symbol often associated with sacrifice and resurrection. In astrology, we recognize the “cross of matter”--essentially the birth chart itself. This is the intersection point between the spiritual and material. A grand cross can feel like an impossible and irresolvable crisis. Neptune adds an otherworldly dimension to this New Moon, or a desire to escape to avoid resolving any tension you may feel within yourself. And Jupiter opens opportunities for personal growth and extending assistance to others.

Acting out this New Moon negatively might result in trying to force your vision or version of the truth onto others or the world in some way. It might also look like losing yourself in some cause or movement in an attempt to avoid facing the reality of personal and existential uncertainty. It might look like giving others unsolicited advice or trying to save someone from what you might perceive to be a threat. But  all saviors are tricksters. The savior unwittingly ushers in a new paradigm through accident and happenstance. And beyond salvation, is transformation. What should you do with this New Moon tension? 

Maybe you choose to open your heart and simply listen. In fact, listening might be the best use of your time. And when you have listened enough, maybe discuss things openly, humbly, and authentically. Accept what you don’t know and remain open to new answers. Applied collectively, this New Moon is a powerful statement about needing to trust the great mystery. Sometimes, the solutions we seek arise all on their own, but only if we allow ourselves to go through the growing pain, the birth pain and the existential pain. And it’s in the midst of it, at the epicenter of crisis and unknowing that Jung once suggested, “that we know that we’re truly alive.” 

You did not come to Earth without a guide. Evolutionary Astrology is a powerful tool for self-discovery and an exceptionally helpful guide in times of uncertainty, crisis or stagnation. Click here for reading options and pricing.