Category: writing

Astrology musings: Gemini, is it all about duality?

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Gemini, ‘The Twins’, is the third sign of the zodiac, the first of the air sign triplicity and the first mutable sign.

The symbol or glyph of the sign appears to represent two columns, or perhaps the Roman number for 2, II.

Here we also see relation symbolised, the third mundane house of relations, the mind and local environment, also associated naturally with Gemini.

The glyph may simply represent duality; we have two hands, arms and lungs, all traditionally said to be ruled by Gemini.

Dexterity

And then there’s the ruling planet of Gemini, Mercury, the Ancient Greek Hermes, the fleet footed messenger of the gods in myth.

Here we see the essentially communicative nature of the sign. Gemini is of course very often a great talker, versatile, perhaps a ‘jack of all trades’ – but does that mean he or she is really a master of none?

What is more, we also find with Gemini the comic, the comedian, or at least the ready wit, and the mimic, the ability to act and play roles.

In other words, Gemini is capable of being dexterous mentality and physically, quite often both.

‘Bad Press’

Nevertheless, I don’t think Gemini deserves the ‘bad press’ for being a ‘bit shallow’. Except in more extreme cases, where the other mutable signs may also be involved, or a very prominent Mercury, I don’t think this is true.

We just have to understand the function the predominantly Geminian type person carries out. Just as Mercury is the messenger, Gemini’s can bind together the local community in which he lives. He or she can be the happy face who’s always available. That’s good, isn’t it.

He is often out and about, yes, probably doing a variety of things, tasks, jobs, often involving a variety of skills, but this is needed a lot of the time. He will see and know a lot of people and this is what community is all about, isn’t it?

We need Gemini. It’s not so much about duality but being of service. So don’t criticise the messenger too much.

Leofwine Tanner 2019

Haiku: Gatekeeper 2

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Deceive me, won’t you;
such looks hook the unwary.
Now sliver away…

 

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Poem: ‘Picture’

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There’s a picture
it’s been hanging on my wall
You know it tells a story
the truth of it all

Now it’s time to tell you
with the sun streaming in
After all the silent years
I should begin

For love is like the summer time
in the northern lands
This cold barren soil
through my hands:

And we shall never pass this way

So how long did she stand? I don’t know.
Waiting – those poor women –
for a tall mast to show

Yes, he was a treasure
fresh flowers in the jar
Cap in hand, feet ten and two
like an evening star

Most nights she takes the air
down by the sea
Out there she can feel him
where the ocean sets her free

For love is a precious time
a sacred space
Give into the water
and its healing grace

And we shall always have this day

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Poem: Terrorform

brown and black crater
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

From the first day let us start to terraform Mars,
make oceans from melting ice caps

and rivers run red through the rusty soil.
Day two let’s release plankton into the sea,

let out vast shoals of fish to feed on them
and steely predators to feast on the fish.

Day three we’ll throw spores into the sparse air
and watch the forests grow, the trees

stretch high up the slopes of Olympus Mons.
Day four let’s release mammals, birds

and other fauna into the forests and fields,
to watch them gorge on the goodness

of the land, enjoy the clarity of the sky.
Then on day five we’ll take ourselves

to the former red planet, to become
the feared Martians we thought were there.

Day six let us wage glorious, total war
among ourselves, make the rivers run red

in the name of the god who named this place.
And day seven let us rest, exhausted by labour

and lust, to examine our new abomination
from the safety of space’s vacuum,

in orbit with Phobos and Demos
without fear or dread of another first day.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019 and 2011

It’s like Marmite? ‘The Ashes’ Yeast Extract Battle for Breakfast

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The two contenders going head to head – but how different are they?

Well, I love Marmite… but I prefer Vegemite just that teeny bit more! Sorry.

For years my only love was Marmite, in the yeast extract stakes, at any rate.

And then one day, not too long ago, I decided to get some – horror of horrors – Vegemite! Naturally I’d heard the name before, even heard it in some 1980s Australian rock song, but being a bit of a traditionalist and a stick-in-the-mud, I’d never taken the plunge into that particular version of yeast extract.

What’s more, to be fittingly topical, it’s The Ashes (England versus Australia at cricket) again this summer, that battle between leather and willow, weather permitting; a tense battle of minds, of whether to sledge, or not to sledge. So what about comparing dear old Blighty’s version with the Antipodean?

Well, to settle an argument with myself, I decided to compare the two makes side by side, in one sitting, if you will. And my findings were surprising.

I’m not an expert on taste, I just know what I like. Sticking to tradition to start with, I plumped for Marmite first. Fine, lovely, just how I like it. Then came the Vegemite and… wait a minute! You know, it wasn’t the same. Did I detect, I mean was there just a little trace of a taste of… chocolate? Dark chocolate at that. OK, it was somehow different, a bit.

Either way, I sat down with a cup of tea to wash it all down and collect my thoughts. And whether I could taste chocolate or not, I came away with the startling, unpatriotic conclusion that I preferred the Australian! Yes, Vegemite won by a nose, the tip of a tongue.

I just hope that England can do better this summer.