Barstool Astrology by Reda Wigle

Barstool Astrology

May 2020

Twin for the Win

Twin for the win, it’s Gemini season. Ruled by Mercury, the planet of expression and communication, the Gemini mind is quicksilver, moving with alarming speed between subjects, affections and moral stances. A ferocious curiosity and an aptitude for language are hallmarks of the Gemini disposition and the season it governs.

The energy here is exciting, flush with ideas, if not follow through. In a word, Gemini is versatile. The danger of that versatility is that it can lead to distraction leaving Geminis vulnerable to superficiality, a lack of self-knowledge and a shaky sense of purpose.

At their best, and in their full power, Geminis are driven by the desire to understand and reinterpret. This desire is perhaps best distilled by the words of fellow twin Allen Ginsberg, “I believe that we are put here in human form to decipher the hieroglyphs of love and suffering. And, there is no degree of love or intensity of feeling that does not bring with it the possibility of a crippling hurt.”

Speaking of love and suffering and according to myth, the OG twins were brothers Castor and Pollux, the former born mortal and the latter immortal. Castor and Pollux grew to be beautiful; they tamed horses, won boxing matches and languished about together in laurel crowns. The two were separable only by death itself. Zeus, taking pity on a bereft Pollux, cast both brothers into the night sky where they remain today, arms entwined.

It’s been argued that the Gemini constellation and the Gemini trajectory is marked by the seeking of completion in another person. Yet, what the twins and their story really represent is the duality of the self, the parts of each of us that represent the godly and the creaturely. What we should all seek is not our other half, but the reconciliation of our whole selves. Be your own twin.

by Reda Wigle

Gemini
May 21 - June 20

The beauty of the Gemini disposition is its flexibility. You can assume and discard a hundred habits and a dozen patterns. Spend your days in the sun cultivating what cures you and cutting out what cripples you. Take heart and instruction from the words of fellow Gemini, poet Theodore Roethke, “By daily dying, I have come to be.”

Notable Gemini: Lauryn Hill / May 26, 1975

Cancer:
June 21 - July 22

In 1894, fellow crab Gustav Klimt was commissioned to paint a ceiling in the University of Vienna. Featuring nude women as allegory, the work was denounced as pornographic by his contemporaries, and never shown. These same works are now regarded as the beginning of a new visual language. The lesson: Create without concern for critics, genius is usually recognized from the vantage of hindsight.

Notable Cancer: Sylvester Stallone / July 6, 1946

Leo:
July 23 - August 22

Lions, your next leap forward may require a turn inward. Slow down, sit tight, breathe deep and identify what actively brings you riotous joy and a fortifying sense of purpose. Consider anything that doesn’t to be an attack on your potential. Wage righteous war for the territory of your self.

Notable Leo: Alfred Hitchcock / August 13, 1899

Virgo:
August 23 - September 22

My older sister an avid gardener, and my favorite Virgo, recently told me about a dream in which she was gifted a surplus of tulip bulbs. Her immediate response was distress, where would she find the space to plant them all? The lesson in her sleep vision is this, Virgo, do not fear abundance, make room for it. In the words of Mary Oliver, “Joy is not made to be a crumb.”

Virgo: Wiz Khalifa / September 8, 1987

Libra:
September 23 - October 22

Have the skeletons in your closet begun to rattle the locks? Are your allergies being activated by all that you’ve brushed under the carpet? Dirty laundry giving you a weird rash? These are all symptoms of the toxicity of avoidance dear Libra. A helpful remedy: Confront, admit, apologize, own, release, repeat. You cannot welcome the future without first, and finally, reckoning with the past that is keeping you from it.

Notable Libra: El Greco / October 1, 1541

Scorpio:
October 23 - November 21

Fellow Scorpio and dystopian writer Margaret Atwood confessed, “It disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.” I suspect this sentiment may strike a chord, or a pointed tail with you Scorpio. I encourage you to be more mindful about your slings and arrows. What use is punishment without the purity of purpose?

Notable Scorpio: Colson Whitehead / November 6, 1969

Sagittarius:
November 22 - December 21

To summarize Newton’s Third Law of Motion, we get out what we put in. Where are you placing your time, energies and affections Sagittarius? How you divide yourself is how you conceive of yourself. If you’re not getting the returns you want or the self-actualization you need, move in another direction.

Notable Sagittarius: Billie Eilish / December 18, 2001

Capricorn:
December 22 - January 19

Your wisdom is of the hard won and harder lived variety. Allow the struggle that has made you ease the burden of those that are on their way to becoming. Share knowledge freely and cast judgement minimally. Wisdom that goes unspoken is a spoiled gift.

Notable Capricorn: Gypsy Rose Lee / January 8, 1911

Aquarius:
January 20 - February 18

Are you creating for the pure pursuit of pulling something out of yourself or because you need the world to notice? Audiences are a nonessential service. Kris Kristofferson maintains, “If you’re in art for the right reasons, there’s a zero percent chance of failure.” Whatever art you make, whatever doing you do, let it be for you.

Notable Aquarius: Langston Hughes / February 1, 1902

Pisces:
February 19 - March 20

There is nothing more liberating, or challenging, for a Pisces than to speak the startling truth that you are not, in fact, fine. In trying to keep it together you lose sight of the need to repair and restore yourself. Listen closely to me, your wants are not weaknesses, your needs are not frivolous. You won’t be fulfilled until you can admit when you are not satisfied.

Notable Pisces: Andrew Jackson / March 15, 1767

Aries:
March 21 - April 19

An Aries friend of mine recently revealed that he bolds both periods and exclamation points in his, often fiery, email correspondences. He didn’t say anything about question marks. I bring this to your attention in the hopes that you will consider applying the same intensity you place on emphasis and endings, to your own seeking.

Notable Aries: Jericho Brown / April 14, 1976

Taurus:
April 20 - May 20

How do you see yourself Taurus? As tin or gold? Are you settling for scraps at the feast or the consolation prize of being someone’s second choice? Now, more than ever, you are attracting what you are reflecting. You’ve got a touch of the earthborn power of manifestation. The trick is, you can only bring forth what you think you deserve.

Notable Taurus: Catherine The Great / May 2, 1729

Reda Wigle is a middle child named for a stigmatic saint. She likes dark humor and antique light fixtures. Reda lives between the salt and the grit in Key West, FL and New Orleans, La where she is working towards her MFA in Creative Nonfiction. She serves as associate editor of Bayou Magazine.

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