Gemini: The Astroherbology Profile
It's time to explore the sign of Gemini! You're getting a snapshot into the ever expanding astroherbology magick of the Lunar Apothecary - lucky you!
I will be exploring all twelve signs from a medical astrology perspective with an emphasis on herbal healing. Learn more about the series, find more sign profiles, and what all the correspondences mean via The Introduction to Astroherbology Zodiac Series.
Element: Air
Mode: Mutable
Guardian Planet: Mercury
Direction: East
Season: Spring (NH), Autumn (SH)
House: 3rd House / Cadent
Lunar Mansions: 6th Mansion + 7th Mansion
Solar Gemstone: Agate
Tarot: The Lovers, The Magician, 8 of Swords (5/21 - 5/30), 9 of Swords (6/1 - 6/10), 10 of Swords (6/11 - 6/20), King of Swords
Tissue State: Tense/Constriction (learn more about the energetic system of traditional western herbalism)
Body Systems: Arms, Shoulders, Hands, Fingers, Lungs, Nerves. The Nervous System. Breathing. Tubes, tunnels, and connectors of the body including fallopian tubes, urinary tubes, bronchial tubes, etc. Blood capillaries. Sensory receptors.
Imbalances + Diseases: Diseases of the lungs including bronchial complaints, nervous system disorders, chronic fatigue, asthma. Carpal tunnel, stiff shoulders, and pinched nerves. Sensory disorders and issues, including damage to the sensory receptors. Injuries or issues with the hands, fingers, arms, and shoulders. Blocks, lack of tone, spasms with the tubes of the body including infections such as UTIs. Hearing and speech disorders. Learning difficulties or a need for radically different learning styles than presented by the dominant overculture. Disorders of the blood capillaries including Raynard’s disease and blood diseases in general (with Pisces). Social anxiety. Depression and lack of inspiration. High blood pressure. Out-of-balance nervous system - either overactive or underachieve or moving back and forth between both states (a sign of the Tense Tissue State). Neurological conditions such as epilepsy. Diseases of the eyes and poor or damaged eyesight. Lingering illnesses. Hyperactivity. Over reliance on social life for self-worth. Dishonesty, lying, and manipulation through the spoken and written word. Oversized ego and selfishness. Social media addiction. Lack of focus and mindfulness. Lack of perception on the truth of the situation.
Disease Degrees: 1 degree: trachea; 2 degrees: oesphagus; 3 degrees: upper right pulmonary lobe, pulmonary inflammation; 4 degrees: lower right pulmonary lobe, pulmonary inflammation; 5 degrees: upper left pulmonary lobe; 6 degrees: lower left pulmonary lobe; 7 degrees: apex of lungs, heart; 8 degrees: bronchi, eyesight; 9 degrees: pulmonary arteries, typhoid fever, rheumatic fever; 10 degrees: typhoid fever, hilum of lungs, enteric fever; 11 degrees: thymus gland; 12 degrees: tracheal mucosa; 13 degrees: pulmonary arteries, rheumatic fever; 14 degrees: clavicle, muteness, impaired speech or impaired speech organs; 15 degrees: muteness, impaired speech or impaired speech organs, scapulae, asthma, pneumonia; 16 degrees: pleura, asthma, pneumonia, AIDs, bright’s disease, sleep and trance; 17 degrees: First rib, asthma, bright’s disease, sleep and trance; 18 degrees: Second rib, chronic glomerulonephritis, asthma, bright’s disease, sleep and trance; 19 degrees: Laryngeal muscles, bright’s disease, sleep and trance, defective sight; 20 degrees: Third rib, defective sight; 21 degrees: Arm muscles, enteric fever, defective sight; 22 degrees: Upper arm, appendicitis, insanity, defective sight; 23 degrees: Head of the humerus, spine, defective sight; 24 degrees: Olecranon; 25 degrees: Radius, nervous debility; 26 degrees: Wrist bones, suicide; 27 degrees: Finger; 28 degrees: Metacarpal bones, tuberculosis; 29 degrees: Fourth rib; 30 degrees: Fifth rib.
Remedies for Imbalanced and/or Weakened Gemini: Speaking from a place of authenticity. Learning how to be accountable and owning up to shortcomings. Building long-term relationships. Valuing the input of others as much as their own. Speaking less and listening more. Learning inclusive communication techniques. Creating regular time and space for intellectual pursuit and performance. Meditation and mindfulness practices.
Gifts of Gemini: Communication, intellectual prowess, articulation of the mysterious. Distillation of knowledge to a wider audience. Performance, the gift of a good story, and the power of naming. Friendliness, playfulness, and community-minded. The ability to verbalize what is happening and help others find their words, quick-witted, and the gift of perception.
Rituals of Gemini: Release, giving up the outmoded, inspiration cultivation, successful contracts, confident communication of ideals and emotions.
Gemini Guardian Herbs: Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Gingko (Gingko biloba)
Gemini Remedy Herbs: Oats (Avena sativa), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), Catnip (Nepeta cataria), California Poppy (Eschscholzia california), Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Flower + Gem Essences: Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Cerato (Ceratostigma willmottianum), Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Aquamarine, Citrine
The Sun in Gemini
Say “hello!” to Gemini because Gemini is sure saying “hello!” to you! Gemini is the first air sign and mutable sign of the zodiac and they’re super stoked about it (apologies to the Gemini folk for whom stoked is not their choice of words - I know how important that is to you). If you thought Aries was fast moving, Gemini is the quickest moving sign of the zodiac. One of the friendliest signs of the zodiac, Gemini is also very concerned with their social life because that is where they find (or think they’ll find) their since of self worth. Those with a Gemini Sun can be quite long-lived if they were to pay attention to taking care of their bodies as much as they do their latest social media account. The talkative twins can be pulled so many directions at once that they can lose focus quickly, including to their long-term wellbeing. All that said, if you haven’t gone on an adventure with a Gemini you are missing out! Not only is their playfulness superb but they can distill the lessons of your journey into shareable wisdom.
One of the quickest way of figuring out if you have found yourself in conversation with a Gemini is their inexhaustible chattiness. They are talkative and they process their surroundings and thoughts through verbalization. Gemini folk can be very perceptive, quickly putting together details and disparate pieces into a coherent whole. Part of the reason they place such importance in their social life is because their social life is one of the most important components of their connection-making. Hire a Gemini if you’re looking to get the business connections you never dreamed of. Hire a Gemini, too, to help you find a romantic partner (as long as they realize they are searching for you, not for them). Being recognized for their verbal offerings if very important to Gemini folk as they want to hear that what they have said has been heard. The feedback loop can be both their best friend and their frenemy all at once.
So our busy, buzzing, quick-witted, and changeable like the wind Gemini folk have a few lessons to learn so that their amazing ability to articulate the mysterious to the masses can be truly realized. First, Gemini folk need to pay attention to their nervous system feeding it with nourishing foods and healthy living habits. I would suggest that Gemini folk imagine that their nervous system is their ultimate personalized social network of connectivity. Meditation and mindfulness might be some of the most important practices a Gemini ever commits to. The more they take care of their nervous system the better able ideas and insights will be able to travel through their body and out into the world. The gifts of Gemini folk include the uncanny ability to name what needs to be named and make connections where no one had yet dreamed to put together. Catch the wind and ride free, it’ll be amazing what you’ll see, is what our Gemini folk teach us.
Gemini Guardian Herb
Happy Peppermint seedlings chatting it up!
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
The scent of Peppermint speaks to the power of Gemini to enliven the mind and spirit to inspiration. Peppermint assists with mental focus and is very useful for clearing out brain fog. It is one of my favorite essential oils to spray in a room when I need a creative pick-me-up.
Peppermint contains a number of healing constituents including rosmarinic acid and menthol which both help promote respiratory health. In fact, Peppermint has been used for centuries in folklore recipes for the flu and common cold, most commonly mixed with Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Elder (Sambucus nigra).
The herb is tension relieving and is a great herbal ally forreleasing nervousness especially when it settles in the stomach and intestines. Peppermint relieves intestinal cramping and can be taken before and after meals as a digestive tonic. Additionally, the Peppermint is useful in cases of nervous tension headaches and migraines. Peppermint embodies the brilliant qualities of Gemini!
Want a full Peppermint profile and access to more information on a variety of healing herbs? Join the Lunar Apothecary!
Gemini Remedy Herbs
Skullcap via wikipedia
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Gemini folk need to pay special attention to their nervous system and Skullcap is a fantastic nervous system tonic. For those thoughts that spin round and round and round in your head, keeping you from focusing or falling asleep at night, Skullcap might be an ally. A powerful nervine, Skullcap restores strength to an overwhelmed nervous system (by working on the cerebrospinal centers), relieving spasms, nerve pain, and cultivating calm. Sometimes Gemini folk spin out so fast they have trouble coming home again to their bodies and the restoration of being chill. Skullcap helps promote healthy sleep patterns as well as a desire to reconnect the mind to the body through rest.
For Gemini folk prone to feeling overwhelmed and anxious, Skullcap stimulates the brain to produce more endorphins in the system due to the presence of scutellarin in the plant which becomes scutellarein in the body. Pretty darn sweet!
You’ll notice that I placed Skullcap in both the Remedy and Guardian which makes perfect since if you’re dealing with the twin-ergy of Gemini. Skullcap both remedies the lack of focus that Gemini folk might find themselves in, but it also gifts the important Gemini gift of not fearing your words and thoughts but finding power in them.
Sun in Gemini Flower Essence
Milkweed thinks you're grand.
The sacred words of Milkweed Flower Essence are “I am nourished.” Milkweed is an incredibly nourishing essence, one that feeds the roots of our soul. For Milkweed, nourishment is getting exactly what we need by being exactly who we are - which is a wonderful lesson in living in maintaining the “I” in the myriad of roles we live as lover, friend, child, teacher, partner and community member. Milkweed helps Gemini folk to integrate strong personal identity with a common community vision.
Ready to learn more?
Check out the rest of my Astroherbology series including Starry-Hearted + Wild-Rooted: An Introduction to Astroherbology which includes additional study resources and the other posts in my Astroherbology series.
Need a visual guide? Starmaps: The Astrological Body is for you!
The Lunar Apothecary is a full length course using the tools of moon-centered herbalism and ritual to help you discover who you are as a healer.
