Do Geminis Dream of Electric Sex?

Now you see them, now you don't...the magical, Mercurial Gemini.

Just what is it that turns them on? Find out more in the latest of my guest series, The Astrology of Kink: The Gemini Electric.

Hosted on Jeff Kishner's Seduction Central, these articles take a closer look at the less-obvious erotic potentials of each sign. Whether the sign energy is expressed in the Sun, Mars, Venus, or elsewhere, if you've got it, you've got it. This week, Gemini's on top...

...for a few moments, anyway. Catch them while you can.

(pictured: Twins by Louis St. Lewis, mixed media. View more here.)

The Sexual Taurus

If you've been keeping up with my Astrology of Kink series over on Jeff Kishner's Seduction Central, it's that time again.

This week, it's Venus-ruled Taurus who takes the spotlight.

Check out The Astrology of Kink: Taurus the Hedonist and find out just how sexy Venus can be....

(pictured: Venus, oil, by John Boyd. View more of his work here.)

Got Kink? Aries Does

Ever wondered what really goes on with each zodiac sign when the shades are pulled?

Aries comes first, of course-- and would we want it any other way? Check out The Astrology of Kink: The Naked Aries here.

This is the first in a series of guest posts for Jeff Kishner's Seduction Central, and in these articles we'll take a look at the kinkier side of each sign's basic sexual energy. These basic tendencies all combine in the natal chart to create each of our unique sexual recipes.

Keep checking back to find your (or your favorite lover's!) Sun, Mars, Venus, and Ascendant combination.

So many flavors, so little time....

(Constantin Brancusi's Male Torso, brass, 1914)

CrabFest 2008 (The Month of Cancer)

Well, we're here again, ladies and gents...astrologically speaking, Happy Hour con Crab is well under way. Anyone for bisque?

Little asteroid Eros began the season by moving into Cancer on June 12. Venus followed suit on June 19. These were just the appetizers; the Sun moved into Cancer this past Sunday, June 21, and now there's a fine cluster of happy planets moving through this fourth sign of the Zodiac. What can we expect?

As a sign, Cancer is known for its nurturing, senstive, and emotional qualities. If you have a Cancer Sun or Cancer Ascendant, these qualities will be strongly pronounced. However, other planets in Cancer also bring out a touch of Crabby flavor in one's personality.

People with Venus or the Moon in Cancer, for instance, tend to be very home-loving, caring, even maternal. Think Archetypal Den Mother-- you know the type-- he or she is always running around making sure everyone is getting along comfortably, is always ready to help, is forever reminding everyone to be nice to everyone else. Sometimes, this helpful quality can turn nasty; Crabs Gone Bad are busybodies who butt their claws into situations where they're not wanted or needed.

And Cancer needs to be needed. As the first water sign in the zodiac, Cancer is a cardinal energy. Their innate oversensitivity arises from the inner drive to instigate emotion, in themselves and others. If there's not enough emotional energy floating around, Cancer feels the real need to find some, or create it if necessary.

They're just as psychic as Scorpio or Pisces. But where Scorpio senses intentional undercurrents, and Pisces senses soul overtones, Cancer senses raw emotion. If you have some secret pain that no one else will notice or touch, find a Cancer. They'll sense it, and draw it out of you eventually-- then they'll ladle tons and tons of nurturing compassion over the sore spot, until you forget it was ever there in the first place.

That's best case scenario, though. Sometimes, Cancer's tendency to spot hidden emotional wounds can result in the busybody syndrome mentioned above. Younger and less evolved Cancer energy thrives on pity, not compassion, and no reasonably healthy, decently individuated adult appreciates pity for very long. Pity is degrading for both parties; it creates a codependent heirarchy between "you poor weak thing" and "me, the superior savior."

Compassion is entirely different. It's based not in the ego of the savior, but in a sense of fellow-feeling for the common condition of all human beings. Compassion is closely related to empathy, which never secretly places either party in a superior role, but instead strives to find their common ground.

At its best, though, Cancerian energy is the most nurturing force in the Zodiac. Cancer is the sign of the Maternal, the Moon, the Universal Mother. Its opposing cardinal sign, Capricorn, is the sign of the Father; this is the conservative caretaking axis. While all the crappy stuff that can be associated with parents and parenting gets dumped on these two signs, all the beautiful tenderness, care, and stability is here, too

Regardless of whether Cancer has literal children or not, they never stop mothering. How can you spot a Cancer or Cancer Ascendant? They're the ones who always show up with a covered dish.

And thank goodness for that-- otherwise some of us would never eat at all.

So, in June and early July, expect plenty of apple pie and leftovers, lovingly double-wrapped in Saran and Ziplock (metaphoric pie, too-- just thought I'd mention.) And thanks in advance, Cancer! We couldn't survive without you.

Gemini

Gemini.

If this isn't a word that strikes chords of amused irritation, apprehensive fond regard, and affectionate homicidal rage in you, then you probably haven't met enough of them yet.

Even if you are a Gemini Sun-- or are otherwise blessed with sparkly Gemini dust sprinkled onto your nativity-- you probably feel the same way about yourself.

Half the time, anyway.

This month is the official month of the Twins. We begin June with the Sun, Venus, and Mercury (plus the asteroids Eros, Ceres, and Bacchus) all in Gemini, which means birthdays, returns, and all sorts of Mercurial action. There's a nice Mercury retrograde going on, too (here's Part One and Part Two of a more in-depth look at Mercury Rx.)

Are we having fun yet?

Gemini deals with the power inherent in communication. In the human kingdom, one of our most fundamental tools is the ability to read, write, and communicate information over distances of space and time. Wherever you have Gemini energy in your chart, you'll have to come to terms with words-- written, spoken, and thought. They're slippery, aren't they? And truth? How can something as changeable as truth be tied to words?

When it's used for reasonably constructive purposes, Gemini is a master of truth. Some of our finest writers, thinkers, journalists, and poets have strong Gemini influences. These Twins (or Twin Ascendants) include Saul Bellow, Bill Moyers, Salman Rushdie, Allen Ginsberg, Spinoza, Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats, Michael Chabon, Bob Dylan, Gwendolyn Brooks, plus many more.

No matter what else is going on in a chart, Gemini gives insatiable curiosity and the genuine need to communicate.

It's going to be a talkative June.

To get started, here's a tacky little video you might like. Or hate.