Festival of Goodwill: Gemini Full Moon 2005
May 19, 2005

by Malvin Artley		print version
		print version (graphics)

Greetings, my Friends!

It started as a typical Saturday morning for me this past weekend. The weather was balmy as I walked through the busy Central Market Plaza. Breakfast at the Market on the weekend is a ritual that I relish, with all the sights, sounds and smells, the swell of people as they make their way for the last shop of the week, the knowledge that I have two whole days away from the normal weekly toil—and a sense of playful adventure. People provide a never-ending source of fascination, humor and insight on my forays out. And, this was to be a weekend full of new people, as I was to find out. The spark for this letter was yet to come. Why was I being held back again, I wondered? I had just sat down with the Weekend Australian and was looking through the magazine included. The morning tea wafted up and started to awaken my still-sleepy head as I sat down to my usual fare of eggs and toast. It was unsettled as the approaching cold front started to move through.

Still, life went on in its flurry around me, a dream in motion, unperturbed by the musings of the man sitting blissfully having his morning tea and reading Phillip Adam’s rantings—blessedly so. What good is a dream if there is no sense of adventure? “Life” goes on whether we pay attention or not, the product of the slumber of countless Souls, rousing us to the realities of Being. As I raised my eyes from my reading and watched the male pigeons chase their reluctant quarries around the building ledges, I thought to myself, “There is something different about this weekend. Somehow, things aren’t going to go according to plan.” Ah, well, a change is as good as a holiday, or so the saying goes.

The past few weeks have been full of change for so many of us. This year has been particularly productive of inner change thus far, and the recent Wesak Moon has ushered in some impulses that are going to produce a more pronounced coming together of people into groups of many kinds. The septile patterns and all the other factors indicated in the last two letters are doing their needed work. Everyone who is sensitive to those energies is being pressed to re-evaluate their thinking a bit—having to adjust their lives to accommodate the oncoming Forces who are working so hard to reshape our world toward a brighter future.

Yes, the past two full moons have seen many new benchmarks for spiritual work and service put into play, and this full moon of Gemini will be no different. If anything, it will only intensify the process, as we shall see.

The Gemini full moon marks the last of the three great spiritual festivals of the year. It is the one festival of the three that is uniquely human in its effects, and it serves to distribute the impulses generated in the preceding two far and wide. Gemini is one of the most powerful signs with regard to humanity. Whereas Aries brings forth “The Light of Life Itself” and Taurus shows us “The penetrating Light of the Path”, Gemini reveals “The Light of Interplay”, showing us the basic duality to which we are all subject—the relationship between spirit and form. With the festivals of Aries and Taurus we see the causative impulses that condition all inner work throughout the year or even farther into the future, as has been the case this year. With Gemini those impulses are fitted to the needs of the groups and individuals who are sensitive to them and to the greater work that is taking place at a planetary scale.

With Gemini, there is no distinction in terms of the size of the endeavor or the status of the individual or group. All who respond to this great sign find themselves intertwined and thus related to all other groups and individuals. It is said to be “the force which produces the changes needed for the evolution of the Christ consciousness at any particular point in time and space. It is always compatible to the requirement.” Above all else, it is the first and primary sign for humanity that establishes relationships in all fields of life.

Gemini is the sign, in esoteric terms, that governs every pair of opposites within the zodiac. It preserves the magnetic interplay between them and keeps them constantly and consistently functioning within the Plan of unfolding spiritual potency and evolution. It is a great synthetic sign in that it fuses all the diverse factors of zodiacal energies into a workable whole. It stands behind all the other signs and guides their work in human terms. It is such a powerful and pervading force in our local universe that it governs all types of interplay, from some of the highest groups of Lives down to the individual human being. With Gemini we have the first exposition of the detail of spiritual life and the mutation and change that must take place within as we progress along our way. In my understanding, it is associated with a group of angelic Lives known as Dominations (after the delineations of St. Thomas Aquinas), in that they handle all the minute details of cosmic life. They have the responsibility of regulating all the activities of the lesser angelic groups.

Gemini is associated with the most recent of the great Creative Hierarchies to have achieved liberation, that Hierarchy expressing “The Desire for Duality”. It is still intimately associated with life on this earth, though, precisely because of that desire for duality. No other kingdom of nature expresses duality to the degree that humanity does. No other kingdom is so cognizant of the interplay between the material world and the spiritual realms and the problems that interplay can bring. Hence, our checkered past with regard to living within divine Law.

Gemini is ruled by three planets—Mercury, Venus and the Earth—the orthodox, esoteric and Hierarchical rulers, respectively. The orthodox Mercury Gemini is well-known to us: changeable, intellectual, talkative, the penultimate communicator, “air-headed”, duplicitous, in constant motion, possessed of impressive dexterity, quick, versatile and eternally studious. The lower type of the Mercury Gemini is a master of manipulation and mutation, constantly changing relationships to suit their needs (sometimes in mid-sentence) and often taking great delight in playing with people’s sensibilities. They can never be pinned down to anything and they will have an answer for every conceivable question with which they are confronted, whether the truth or not. The higher type of the Mercury Gemini is the exemplary and professional student. They often speak several languages, their knowledge base is wide and varied, they move through life with an ease and facility that leaves the other signs for dead and they have an often powerful intellect that can very quickly grasp all sides of any question. They are often master technicians and/or academics, too, and we quite often find Gemini prominent in the charts of such people, whether by Sun, Moon or by angle.

Once the Gemini type has stepped firmly upon the spiritual path, though, they come increasingly under the influence of the planet Venus. Here all manipulation and duplicity stops and the brilliance of the higher Mercury Gemini, combined with the unifying influence of Venus, is turned toward the service of others and toward the establishment of ever-wider group relations. This type of Gemini is the master networker and is a veritable encyclopedia of information that has wide appeal and immanent use for all who come into their sphere of influence. The Venus Gemini can always find common ground with people, can see beyond seeming contradictions toward a unified point of view, is able to bring great skill to the task of cementing and furthering human relations, is often a brilliant technical occultist and—in their highest manifestation—is the epitome of the master Teacher. Whereas the Mercury Gemini thrives upon change because of the thrill it brings and the new situations to play with, the Venus Gemini is the agent of change. But, change in this case is change for the sake of better relations and for expansion of consciousness, not for the sake of something different. The Venus Gemini is what we might call the primary exponent of the phrase “fair play”, with all the connotations those two words together conjure up.

And what of the Earth Gemini? Would we even know what to look for in such a person? The Hierarchical rulers of a sign do not even begin to make their presence felt until after what the occultist would call the Transfiguration Initiation. That is the initiation wherein one’s consciousness is expanded to include planetary awareness, where the higher senses are all fully unfolded, where the person is awakened to and comes under the direct influence of their true spiritual Self, and when the person achieves 24-hour consciousness and thus full memory of what takes place during the hours of sleep. Those are some of the main markers of that expansion of consciousness. There are very few people who can claim such consciousness. And, if they can, they aren’t telling. Such people would work tirelessly behind the scenes (as such Initiates usually do) to awaken the consciousness of people to the higher realities of life, for the Earth Gemini would know the vagaries of life on this planet in full detail. They would see clearly how to resolve and merge the opposites because they would be living examples of the Christ consciousness, being fully overshadowed by the Light of the Soul and responding in ever-increasing measure to the Lord of the Earth and the potency of “the place where the Will of God is known”—Shamballa. We will rarely, if ever, encounter the Earth Gemini in the flesh, especially since people usually go through the door of that expansion of consciousness under the influence of other signs.

With these points in mind, just what does this spiritual festival bring to us and out of us? The Goodwill Festival is said to be the festival wherein the spirit of humanity is celebrated. It is the time when the effects of the impulses of the Aries and Taurus festivals are made manifest to the minds of humanity. It produces a decided move toward fellowship and, more importantly, an impulse toward spiritual and human unity. This is the festival, more than any other, of the spirit of aspiration toward union with God, whatever “God” means to people. It will show us, as it always does, the divine nature of humanity and the capacity of the human being to express goodwill and to establish human relations based upon that state of innate human divinity—what we would call “right human relations”. Therefore, it is a festival of deep and abiding evocative appeal and it is thus a time of profound inner reflection, as are all of the solar festivals (full moons). This one sets the tone of spiritual interrelatedness, though, more than do the other festivals. Perhaps we can see now why this particular festival is celebrated at the full moon of Gemini.

I was given a first-hand glimpse of what this is all about over the weekend. Before I get to that, we need to be cognizant of some things. There is a great potency gathering in the world at the moment and people who are sensitive are responding to it in a more pronounced manner with each passing day. During the last two festivals I was given a glimpse of what my service over the next nine years is to be. Many people have related the same to me regarding their own lives. People may not recognize that what they have been given from those festivals this year will carry them forward for at least several years to come, but that is not of any importance in the larger scheme of things.

What is of importance is that there must be a more sustained and united effort to “enlighten” this little world of ours, each in our own way according to our greatest strengths, but together after some fashion. The potency to which I am referring has been given many names and many timelines—the Dawning of the New Age, the push to 2012, the shift to ascended consciousness, the spiritualization of the world, so on and so forth. I have written about this in previous letters and these concepts are well-known to most of us. But, let’s look at this in a more practical and down-to-earth manner.

If we look out at the world stage today, can we not see the necessity for better human relations, the profound deepening of human insight and wisdom that is taking place before our very eyes, the birth of rare and enlightened Souls through many of our children, the almost exponential expansion of world awareness through the media, the sense of urgency to make a final stand among many of the world’s orthodox and conservative groups, the deepening of religious fervor along with the flip side of that (the deepening of rifts between people of all faiths, sects and denominations), the profound stress under which so many people in the developed world seem to be living and their desire to simply opt out of that for a more simple and spiritually fulfilled life? We have only begun to scratch the surface with such a list. The human spirit is being moved to “make the outer more appropriately fit the inner”. We call such a movement “expansion of consciousness” and the like, but what it really entails is for us simply to be the fullness of who we really are. We are Souls and, ultimately, Spirits, at one with all life—not the separated, befuddled personas that we more often than not exhibit. And, each of us has a unique key and path to the doors that lead to the world of the Spirit.

We were told once by the Nazarene not to hide our Light. Yet, how many of us make ourselves known as we really are to those around us, whether from fear or from “sensibility”? I have been as guilty of hiding my Light as the next person. I have, for most of my working life in Australia, not told people what I do with my “spare time” (is there such a thing?). There are few people in the shops where I do my work who know that I am an astrologer, or much else about me for that matter. I could easily convince myself that people would just think I am some weird dude from the States who happens to repair machines for a living and that I would be better off if I did not say anything. But, there is the rub with such a scenario—I would be worried more about what people thought of me rather than what I had to offer. How would I know they wouldn’t need or want to hear more about who I am and what I have to offer? Well, I have been raising eyebrows at work when the subject comes up. People do think I’m a little weird sometimes, but so what? Most people have a genuine interest in what I do, I have found. I figure if I was put on this earth to be an astrologer and esotericist and to fix a few machines in the process, then people may as well know about it. How many opportunities are missed with people because we are simply too afraid or too much into ourselves to let those with whom we come in contact have the benefit of what are our true and highest capabilities? Are we here to contribute, or are we here to serve ourselves? These are the sort of discussions I have been having with myself over the past year or so.

I said I was given a glimpse of the true spirit of Gemini over the weekend and the shape of things to come over the next 9 years. It started with an afternoon of astrology. We have quarterly astrological forums here in Adelaide on a variety of astrological subjects. These are put on by the Forum of Professional Astrologers, which is an astrological guild here. As the name suggests, professional astrologers and guest astrologers gather at these meetings to exchange ideas and to further the art and science. This particular meeting was about the 12^th House (of the horoscope), the house I call “the house of accumulated wisdom”. I had a special interest in this particular meeting since my 12^th house is highly active. Normally these are sparsely attended affairs, usually with only 20 or so in attendance. But, with this one there was a packed house (and I don’t mean the 12^th). I had no idea there were so many astrologers in Adelaide—and most all of them women at that. I did like the ratio, though. I was heartened to see the turnout. There appears to be a resurgence of organized astrology in Adelaide after a period of group squabbles that had left the main organizations reeling and less than happy affairs. It was great to be able to meet many of these people. They are people about whom I had heard, but had never had the chance to meet. The Geminis in the room would have been pleased. The rest of us were, too, for the most part.

The next glimpse I had of the spirit of Gemini came at the end of the weekend. I had been asked to attend a meeting about a proposed network of “Light-workers” in South Australia, and it was this particular meeting that was to provide the spark for this letter. I had heard several people speak of the need for a more unified effort among the esoteric community over the past months, both in Adelaide and in other parts of the world. But, the call seems to be particularly strong and timely now. At this particular meeting, the speaker was a person well-known to the Adelaide community. But this person, like me, has been keeping their true calling under wraps, and for much the same reasons that I had been. Few people would have any idea of the abilities this person has. But, when they began to speak, a fuller realization about what is being put forward to the people of goodwill (the Light-workers) during this high point of the year became abundantly clear.

As I said, I have heard the same thing many times and from different quarters, and I have known it myself. But the simple elegance of the idea this person put forward and the complete lack of any personal agenda or ego around it sounded a very high note to me. The pieces of a puzzle fell into place then and my course over the next few years is a little clearer now as a result. The idea is this: For there to be a directory made of most, if not all, of the Light-workers in South Australia which would then be made available to the general public for the expressed purpose of reaching out to all those people who quest for something higher in life, but who have little or no idea of where to even start to get the information they need on their journey. It would also be for people who already know where they are headed and how, but who do not necessarily know where to get hold of someone for that “something extra” that is needed for the next step along the way. Further, there are to be at least 300 names by Christmas, there is to be no leader, no hierarchy of power, no trappings of the old way of doing things. The idea is that if there is something that needs to be done, then someone will step forward to do it. It is all voluntary. Everyone is responsible for their own presentation.All money and time is donated. The whole thing is a free and open association. It is not advertising, per se. It is simply a directory—like a phone book—and I think there is a special potency in that word “directory”.I’ll tell you something else. I feel it is going to work.

There is something unusual about the idea just elucidated. It comes closer to a true Aquarian ideal of group service than many I have seen. There is a purity about it. It is a coming together, yet everyone involved maintains their own lives and space. There were further ideas expounded, but the main ideas of fellowship, of common purpose, of interrelatedness, of shared knowledge, of goodwill, of standing up and being counted, of higher human potential and of reaching out to those in need fit very closely with the ideas put forward here about Gemini and about the whole concept of the reappearance of the Christ on Earth. It may not sound like much, but the best ideas and the ones with the greatest potency are often the simplest ones and the ones that have the broadest appeal. The directory would not classify people, would not put one person above another, it would not pander to any special interest and there would be people in it from all kinds of disciplines. There is, of course, a certain integrity to be maintained throughout the process and certain aspects of the work would have to be supervised. As with all human work, there does have to be some form of organization, at least for a time until the project is complete. My hat goes off to the people involved, though.