New Moon in Gemini in Mrigashira Nakshatra: The Gentle Wanderer
The New Moon will occur Tuesday morning at 7:05am PDT, in early sidereal Gemini (Sun and Moon at 1 degree 3 minutes Gemini). This begins the Gemini Moon cycle for the next month. Mercury rules Gemini, so we will deal with the themes of the intellect a lot this cycle. We may see our thinking accelerate and new ideas synthesize, as well as a deeper exploration of communication. It’s a time to look out for vata, as the swiftness of Mercury and its air-sign Gemini can elevate that dosha in the mind and body. Staying hydrated and well oiled is important (internally and externally), as well as doing grounding practices that connect you to the earth. Applying oil to the bottoms of the feet will be very nourishing, or to the entire body before you shower.
It’s also a time to be aware of high pitta, the fire-dosha, as the Sun and Mars are also tightly conjunct right now. This is what we call a highly combust Mars, as it is only half a degree away from the Sun in early Gemini at the time of the New Moon. This can be incredibly aggravating, as these two fire planets joined increases the heat in our bodies and minds and can cause us to feel easily provoked and prone to anger and explosions. To alleviate pitta imbalances, we can avoid spicy foods during this time, and eat cooling ones such as cucumber, coconuts, and watermelon. Make sure to intake enough liquids and use coconut oil rather than more heating oils for internal and external use. Lavender, tulsi, and rose essential oils are all calming and cooling to the body-mind, and can be used for aromatherapy by placing a drop or two on the pillowcase at night or in a diffuser in your home or office. You can also make a tea from the dried petals and leaves of these aromatic plants.
Rose is especially helpful in this time because of its ability to soothe and balance the heart and emotions, which could feel overwhelming right now. With New Moon so close to Sun and Mars, there is the potential for their fire to weigh on the heart in the form of passion or frustration/anger. At the same time we have Venus joined with Jupiter in Cancer, which expands Venus’s potential for love and happiness, and also raises the importance we place on it and makes us weigh it closely against our values. Jupiter is our potential for wisdom and higher thought or spiritual understanding. With these two in the feminine Moon-ruled sign of Cancer, we can really tap into some Divine Mother/heart-energy if we seek happiness and through spiritual practice. If we let Jupiter’s expansive quality push us to seek material pleasures too much, we will inevitably be disappointed as time goes on, as these are all temporary. Tulsi can help us to orient our love towards a place of devotion. Jupiter and Venus will be really close in the sky for most of the coming month (very tightly conjunct around June 30th), and incredibly beautiful to witness in the night sky. They will be close with the Moon in Cancer at the end of this week… a great time for open-hearted prayers.
There is the potential to feel an urgent sense of seeking during this New Moon, which falls in the Vedic nakshatra Mrigashira, located around the star Bellatrix, (on the shoulder of Orion, in the region of the sky bridging Taurus and Gemini). Mrigashira is the star of the deer’s head, often referred to as “the wanderer,” continuously searching with curiosity. Though there is a beauty and innocence to this, the restlessness of 
this star can also interfere with our ability to stay focused and one-pointed. Its deity is Soma, a name for the Moon, and the Moon as it relates to our emotional mind can be easily changeable. Mrigashira also represents many positive qualities of the Moon, which is beautiful, gentle, calming, and full of compassion and Divine Mother energy. This star is also associated with Parvati, the wife of Shiva in Hindu mythology and a powerful representation of the goddess. This is a great time to get in tune with all aspects of the goddess, from the most gentle, motherly form, to the strong-willed warrior aspects of Durga and the fierce and compassionate nature of Kali (both forms of Parvati).
In Vedic thought Soma also refers to the nectar released through meditation. In this we can again see this New Moon as a call to stay hydrated in order to nourish the water element in our bodies, which is the conduit for the flow of all nutrients, including the physical and the spiritual. We can follow the searching nature of this star and the present alignments on a path to find new experiences, relationships, or temporary pleasures, or on a search for higher knowledge, wisdom, and heart-opening. Call forth the gentle energy of Mrigashira to appease the heat of combust Mars. Stay cool as much as possible and nourish the heart during this month of powerful celestial combinations.
