Monday Challenge: Name the Astrological Archetype

Here’s the challenge: Every Monday from now on I plan to blog about the most recent picture posted on Flickr Creative Commons — from an astrological perspective, of course! I’m not going looking for the most dramatic, seductive or even illustrative photo. I’m not searching for a particular theme. I’ll just take the latest one and go. Because my premise is that astrology is everywhere we look.

I want to say that again, because I think it’s important: Astrology is everywhere we look. That’s what makes it so brilliant, so useful, so insightful.

So without further ado, this is the picture of the week:

Without knowing who, what, where or why the photo was taken, my immediate response to the image is Gemini — first because Gemini is the Twins, and two-ness always holds some sort of Gemini energy: camaraderie, exchange, interaction, duality. Gemini, the third sign of the zodiac, brings the individual out of its early self-absorption and gets it moving among others, discovering both the banter and the tension that comes with interaction, with discovering that the self is not the center of the universe. Knowing there are two, or thousands, or billions of others out there is an exciting challenge to the Gemini type: What is he like? How are we the same? How are we different? How might we connect?

As well, the men’s smiles and lightheartedness evoke Gemini energy, as do the two photographer’s tags on the image: “party” and “japanese.” First, you want a lot of Gemini types at a party. Their interest in the world means they easily circulate, talk up a storm, introduce people to each other, always have the latest news, are great at making sure the atmosphere is both light and interesting and constantly in motion. They are wonderful social glue.

Second, Gemini is the master of languages. This is not because Gemini is a talker; it goes rather deeper than that. It’s that Gemini is a connector, a translator, a conductor, a messenger who moves quickly and freely in the in-between spaces. Its ruler, Mercury, is Hermes in Greek mythology — the deliverer of souls to the underworld and the only deity who could traverse between heaven, earth and underworld without paying a steep price. He is swift, adaptable, uses his knowledge of different languages to gain entry to different landscapes and terrains.

His adaptability makes Hermes a bit magical, able to exist in the margins and alleyways between people, to infuse dead air with energy and light where before there was nothing. Two people who speak different languages may stammer and struggle and then give up their effort; but with Gemini energy between them, they will somehow find a way: hand gestures, laughter, pictures, facial expressions.

The whimsical arc in the right-hand background, and the flash of light at the left, underscore the Geminian energy of this image. There is and an “anything goes, and everything’s moving” spark to this photo that reflects the youthfulness of the main subjects. The puer — the eternal youth — is the core of the Gemini archetype, the seeker of variety and newness, the restless one who doesn’t want to settle down, who seeks parties and fun times and interesting twists more than security and calm.

Like all good art, Gemini’s opposite lives in this image as well, if subtly. The man on the left, who looks slightly older, may hint at the puer‘s opposite to come: the senex, the old man weary of youth, who seeks security, cautions against frivolity, enforces the rules and gives wide counsel if only the puer will heed it.

In astrology, the senex is embodied in Capricorn and Saturn. I am sure it will appear in full in another image on another day.

Photo credit