Happy Birthday month Gemini! Gemini is associated with the Twins, Castor and Pollux. Born from an egg due to their mother’s seduction by Zeus in the form of a swan. They are the patrons of sailors, boxers, and horseman. This association is mostly due to their adventures with Jason on the ship Argo.

There is an interesting connection with sailors, the twins, and St. Elmo’s Fire. Lightening is attracted to boats on the water, so lightning strikes have always been a concern for sailors. St. Elmo’s Fire mostly occurs during storms and around the masts of ships, so these phenomena were believed by Greek and Roman sailors to be Castor and Pollux protecting them from lightning and storms. As science has found, this plasma forms when the electrical field around a pointy object causes the ionization of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere which creates a blue or violet glow. The pointy object attracts this plasma formation because electric fields are more concentrated in areas of high curvature like the tip of a mast of a ship or a lightning rod. Around 850AD Erasmus the Bishop of Formium, Italy (he lived in the third century) was canonized and became the patron saint of sailors because he supposedly preached in the middle of a lightning storm without being hit. The glow was then named St Elmo’s Fire by sailors and prayed to just as the twins were centuries before. To this day engineers have not figured out a good way to ground wooden boats from lightening strikes, so I’ll pray to all three.

P.S. Remember, when signs have * it’s a big week for you.

Aries – Seven of Cups – The creative spirit continues this week with the Seven of Cups. This is a week where your imagination and dreams need to be tended to. The challenge is to find time to let your mind wander so you can make some cool connections.

Taurus – Ace of Wands – This week is a great time to plant seeds for the future. The Ace of Rods heralds new beginnings. The challenge with the Ace of Wands is you will need to plan what seeds you want to plant because this will be where your energy is spent in the coming year. A simple metaphor – a lot of newbie gardeners plant radishes because they are easy to grow; however they end up not eating them all or say they really don’t like them. So pay attention to what you sow this week.

Gemini – Three of Wands – Last week did you say “Yes” to the things that make you feel good and make you shine? I hope so because this week you are need to stand on the sidelines and be a bit of a self-coach. The Three of Wands challenges you to take a step back from your life and do some planning and strategizing on what you want in the coming year. Take some time this week to make sure when you ship comes in you are ready for it.

Cancer – Ace of Pentacles – The Ace of Pentacles challenge you to start a project(s), experiment, and/or get your hands in the dirt. This is a week of hands on then your mind, heart and spirit will follow.

Leo – Ten of Pentacles – Last week The Star challenged you to pay attention to the universe’s cycles and see where transformation is or needs to be. With last week lesson around cycles you can now see where to put your energy this week. Ten of Pentacles tells you to finish some projects on your to-do list. The challenge is to stick to the project until it is done.

Virgo – Eight of Swords – This week it is time for some hardcore belly gazing. The Eight of Swords card means to break the thoughts that bind you. The Eight of Swords’ challenge is to see which of these thoughts (chains) do you hold on to. It is a week to let go of that which no longer has value.

Libra – Two of Pentacles – This week it is all about balance. The challenge from the Two of Pentacles is to identify imbalance and recalibrate. So this can be as complex as work/home life balance or as simple as balancing your check book.

Scorpio – Eight of Pentacles – Did you take The Empress’ challenge to see the abundance in your environment, take it home, and then settle in and appreciate it? This week you all got the Eight of Pentacles which carries on the essence of the Empress’ creative energy. The Eight of Pentacles challenges you to do something until you have perfected it. This card always reminds me of a scene in Julia & Julia where Julia Childs to perfect her knife skills cut 10 pounds of onions in one go.

Sagittarius – Queen of Wands – Last week, did you keep your philosophical hat on while you are charging into your future? The Queen of Wands is here to continue you on your path of philosopher but her challenge is can you do it more from an armchair then from a horse? In other words can you slow the “charge into your future” and change the gait into a stroll with an occasional sit down to ponder the scenery.

Capricorn – Four of Pentacles – The Four of Pentacles challenge is all around time or the realization that there is just not enough of it going around. So the work is around prioritizing and the hint from the Four – sometimes it is not the big jobs that should take priority – tackle some little things first it will help with the bigger projects down the road.

Aquarius – Nine of Pentacles – This week carve out some alone time for yourself and work on something that is close to your heart. The challenge is to get into the zone that mental state where you are doing something that you are so immersed in that you lose your sense of time. This process will realign your sense of purpose.

*Pisces – The Chariot – The Chariot asks you to take the reins. The last couple of months have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for you and this week it is time to bring some control and balance back into your life. The challenge from The Chariot is to figure out your pace – walk, trot, or gallop – and stick to it.

May light be on you, light around you, and light within you,

Nina