Gemini Full Moon 2025
poor passive Helen
The Gemini full Moon is exact at 13°03’ on Thursday, December 4 at 5:14 pm CST. This full Moon is a Super Moon, and is also an out of bounds Moon at 27°N19’ declination. So a very Moony Moon indeed! Emotions can run high during any full Moon, and the emotions associated with a Gemini Moon are of the jittery sort, so if you’re feeling nervous, restless, or of two minds during this time, don’t despair, just experience that floaty butterfly energy and flit along with it like you’re Cassius Clay.
Gemini is the sign of the twins, symbolized by Castor and Pollux, but I’m more interested in the OTHER set of twins from this birth, and that is the sisters of Castor and Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra. So I’m going to talk about these two sisters in relation to the sign of Gemini. Like Castor and Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra have the same mother, but different fathers. Helen’s father is divine and immortal, while Clytemnestra’s father is human and mortal. Since Gemini is the sign of connection and communication, let’s imagine into how Helen and Clytemnestra operated in these areas. Like most women of antiquity, both sisters had little agency or personal power with which to operate. They were married to brothers, both regional kings - Menelaus and Agamemnon. Helen was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was “awarded” to Paris, a prince of Troy, by Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Paris was a guest in the home of Helen and Menelaus, and at the end of Paris’s stay, Helen was whisked away from her home with Menelaus back to Troy by Paris, where she was installed as a princess of Troy. This action started the Trojan war, which can be read about in the Iliad - I recommend the Emily Wilson translation, which is available in book form at Prairie Lights, or in audiobook form, read by Audra McDonald. Or for a reimagined take of the Trojan war from the point of view of the women involved, read Pat Barker’s trilogy The Women of Troy series.
There is conjecture as to how much resistance Helen put forth during her abduction, maybe she went willingly? I mean, the goddess of love did have a hand in her abduction, so what sort of resistance could she have mounted against Aphrodite and her hottie BFOS minion, the princely Paris? But again, at this time in culture and history, women did not have much say in what happened to them or anyone, so can we blame her if a gorgeous prince from afar decides he wants to return home with her, and she didn’t yell at the VERY top of her lungs on the way out the gate? Maybe if she’d realized how much trouble it would cause for literally everybody, she might have made more of an effort to alert the authorities, but maybe not. Helen is referred to as a “bitch” throughout the writings of antiquity, but Emily Wilson explains in her translations that the more appropriate translation of the Greek word would be “dog” and not “bitch”, in that if you’ve ever had a dog, you know the lengths they will go to to get their way. They may wag their tail and put their ears down and look very sweet indeed. They may rest their muzzle on your lap and give you the most pathetic of puppy dog eyes. They may give you innumerable doggie kisses, fawning over you and never leaving your side. They may whine and cry and bark and jump on you. And they may sneak around and do exactly what they want the moment you aren’t paying attention. This is the behavior of a seemingly passive, powerless individual, and this was likely the behavior of Helen. But yeah, “bitch” is probably just easier for some lazy translators to default to. Thank you Emily Wilson for your nuanced explanation.
Helen is also referred to as ‘the face that launched 1000 ships’ because of a NATO-type agreement of antiquity, in which all of the kings of the region had to put together armies to go get Helen back for Menelaus. So this means that Clytemnestra’s husband Agamemnon effs off with his brother and all of their brosephs for ten years to fight a war, and leaves Clytemnestra to hold down the fort while he’s gone. If any of you has a sister who is “the pretty one”, you know how galling this might have been to Clytemnestra. Not only that, but some dipwad oracle proclaims that the only way to get a favorable wind for the troops to set sail to Troy is for Agamemnon to sacrifice his teenage daughter, Iphigenia; so he lures her to the launch site by telling her that the hottest and best warrior, Achilles, wants to marry her. What teenage girl can resist that idea? And when Iphigenia arrives, Agamemnon sacrifices her to the gods for a favorable wind. Turns out the dipwad oracle was right, and the troops received their favorable wind to set sail to Troy, leaving Iphigenia’s mother Clytemnestra to fend for herself in her deep grief. Can you imagine the range of emotions that Clytemnestra experienced in these circumstances? Her husband just killed her favorite daughter so he could go to war to return with her pretty sister. Imagine into that why don’t ya.
So we know that emotions aren’t directives, but let’s talk about the behavior of both Helen and Clytemnestra amidst these powerless situations that they have found themselves in. I won’t spoil the ending, but to cut to the chase Helen was essentially passive throughout the ordeal - she let the chips fall where they may, and made the best of any situation she was thrust into - she was a dog of the highest order. Clytemnestra, on the other hand, was all human. She was cunning and action-oriented, strategizing in various ways to secure the survival of her queendom, herself, and that of her remaining children. To get the full story, read, listen to, or watch the Oresteia, a Greek play from antiquity in three parts. Or again, read the Pat Barker Women of Troy trilogy.
Since Gemini is about networking, communicating, and the gathering and disseminating information, I’ll share one last story of Clytemnestra. At the end of the Trojan war, Clytemnestra wanted to be the first to know when exactly Agamemnon would be returning home from war, so she set up a series of outpost bonfires, all within seeing distance of one another, and had them manned 24/7. When one outpost saw the sails of Agamemnon’s returning ship, the first bonfire was lit; the smoke from that bonfire was visible to the next bonfire, and that next bonfire in the chain was lit, and so on and so forth; the dissemination of the information concerning Agamemnon’s arrival was available to Clytemnestra as soon as it was known. So very Gemini!
At this Gemini full Moon, can you ponder these two very different styles of communication and behavior, and experiment with which of these styles resonates with you? It is the Gemini full Moon, so it may very well be both/and.
The ruler of the Gemini full Moon, Mercury, is at 22°50 Scorpio, moving relatively slowly still, but once again direct over territory that was covered during the recent retrograde. Are there any things that came up for you during the Mercury retrograde that are now seeming to fall into place or to make more sense? It may be that the Gemini full Moon will shed some light on something that was being worked out during the Mercury retrograde. Perhaps you have worked out the wrinkles in some travel plans that you have been working on, or the space that you freed up by tending to and organizing your work - digital or analog - has allowed a new project to gain momentum. Perhaps any organizing you did has allowed for your life to move more seamlessly in a more suitable direction.
Mercury in Scorpio can be about Real Talk - if you need somebody to tell it like it is, get you a Scorpio in your life! A news article (so very Gemini) that I came across recently has some Mercury in Scorpio vibes about it, so I will share it with you. The article was about an executive for the Campbell’s Company (they of the MmmMmmm Good Soup) who was fired for calling the company’s products something along the lines of ‘highly processed food for poor people’, saying, ‘I don’t want to eat a…piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer, do you?’ Ouch! Not what we WANT to hear, but probably what we NEED to hear - that is Mercury in Scorpio. Have you had any Mercury in Scorpio moments lately? Either telling it like it is, or hearing it like it is?
Mercury is also in a grand water trine at this full Moon with Saturn at 25°11’ of Pisces and Jupiter at 24°15’ Cancer, which may lend to any feeling of seamless flowing that has been welcomed in by your organizational or reorienting efforts during the Mercury retrograde period. If you’re not feeling like you are experiencing any flow, or if you’re content to allow the flow to occur without capitalizing on it, I encourage you to try to consciously engage those energies through any one of those three planets, and let that catalyzing force allow the energies to flow into you life and consciousness. An argument could be made that since Saturn is conjunct Neptune, that Neptune is also involved in this grand water trine, so feel free to include Neptune if that feels right to you. Here are some ideas on how to engage these planetary energies to activate that grand water trine flow in your own life:
Mercury: writing, talking, listening - try some “brutally honest with yourself” journaling, or have an honest conversation with a trusted person, remembering that conversation is both listening and talking.
Saturn: strategic planning, structure - make a timeline of what you want to achieve and by when. Seriously, a simple to-do list will suffice. Make the goals achievable - work on one facet of a project, not the whole project, or every project.
Jupiter: big picture visions, meaning-making - if you’re a vision board person, make a vision board. Do something that is meaningful to you - this doesn’t have to be universally accepted, we all make our own meaning in our lives. If you’re at a loss, go outside and make a snow angel - you can’t tell me that’s not meaningful.
Neptune: All non-ordinary states of consciousness, and the myriad ways of experiencing them. Recording your dreams and visions. Art and inspiration - taking in a show, a work of art, or a beautiful place in nature, anything that transcends the mundane reality and inspires you in your creative endeavors.
Since at the full Moon we typically think of it as is an excellent time to release what no longer serves us, what is being illuminated for you at this full Moon that wants to be released?
When releasing during the full Moon, I like to make it a thing. It doesn’t have to be exactly at the time of the full Moon, it can be any time in the day or night leading up to it, which is typically what I prefer, but do what you are able. If you miss the night before, do it the night of or even the day or night after, as long as the Moon still appears full in the sky, I think the symbology is there for you to work with. Take some time and create a sacred space for yourself and whoever else would like to make it a thing with you. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. Simply sitting quietly and focusing on your breath with lightly closed eyes and spine as erect as possible, or focusing on the sounds in your environment and intentionally taking this moment to connect with yourself and with the nurturing energy of the Moon, which I like to think of as our Cosmic Mother. If you have a meditative practice, feel free to incorporate that into your full Moon practice, but let the Moon guide you, don’t get too far into your solar self of Doing, but allow yourself to simply exist in your lunar self of Being. If you like to really get into your ritual practice, please do make it as elaborate as you wish. At the end of my full Moon practice, I like to make a list of what I’m releasing. I simply write “I release:” at the top of a piece of paper, and then I write down everything that came up during my quiet time with myself. And then I burn that mofo! Safely and mindfully into my little metal cauldron - let’s not set our selves or homes alight please. It really is very freeing to watch the smoke from the burning list curl up into the ethers. Some folks like to incorporate the water element by tossing the cooled ashes into a body of water afterwards, but I’m happy to scatter them to the winds, figuring they’ll make it to water someday. COOLED ashes, mind you, ok? And there, just like that you have made some space for your higher Self to lead you on to your highest and best expression of yourself. I’m a big proponent of gratitude, so I like to give thanks at the end of my practice, so give thanks to whatever Deity you feel is guiding you. If you are PTSD from CCD or whatever other childhood teachings were foisted upon you, and don’t like the thought of Deities, simply give thanks to yourself for making this time to connect with yourself and give thanks to the Universe for coexisting with you.
Because as my yoga teacher Jaki Nett likes to say that everything comes back to yoga, we’ll tie this practice into yoga philosophy, wherein which one of the eight limbs of yoga are the Niyamas. The Niyamas are virtues or individual disciplines which calm the disturbed mind. One of these five Niyamas is known as Isvara Pranidhana, or “surrender to the Divine of all our actions”. In surrendering, we allow for the Divine to work its own magic, co-creating with us. If you’d like to work with the Zodiacal houses, and aren’t sure which house this Full Moon falls in your chart, feel free to reach out to me for that information.
Surrendering or releasing by house placement topics; if the full Moon falls in your:
1st house: Forming, presenting, and maintaining Identity
2nd house: Richness of self-developed appreciation, the value you place on your personal and psychological worth
3rd house: Neighbors, siblings, capacities for adapting
4th house: The way you create an individual personality outside of direct family influence
5th house: Learning how to capitalize on your capabilities, and learning how to use your talents
6th house: Looking at the efficiency of your output, your work methods, your loyalty, every aspect of your working or interdependent relationships with others, including the efficient functioning of your body
7th house: Cooperation, Compromise, and Competition
8th house: Entanglements; Human situations which create questions
9th house: Pursuit of knowledge in a formal way
10th house: The reputation you build through your actions, intentions, and directives
11th house: Defining and resolving the many choices which you face in life
12th house: Inner world exploration; the parts of life or personality which cannot be explained easily