Here in the US, we have just celebrated Thanksgiving. Even though the roots of this holiday are not something to be proud of, celebrating gratitude is something I highly appreciate.

“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” 
~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

I agree with this statement, but I always emphasize that we do not want to fake gratitude. We do not want to suppress our pain and true emotions and pretend to be grateful. Such an approach takes us away from joy.

To master life, we need to connect with what we truly feel. We need to acknowledge our pain and process it. We do not want to let it drown us or take over us, though. True happiness is the ability to find joy and gratitude while holding on to our honest experience. You can read more about it on my Tiny Buddha post from last Thanksgiving.

I’d like to take this opportunity and express my gratitude to you. Many of you have been reading my blog posts for a few years now. You chose to stay connected with me through this harsh time and read not only about astrology, but also about my personal and collective pain.

Thank you. It makes me feel understood, loved, and supported when I need it the most.

This week begins with sun in Sagittarius and moon in Gemini. On Monday the moon will be full in Gemini. Sagittarius and Gemini are opposite signs, and therefore they share some common qualities, while having some contradicting aspects.

Gemini and Sagittarius are both truth seekers. They like to ask hard questions and understand the nature of humanity and the world. They are both great communicators with great writing and public speaking skills. They love to travel and need a great deal of excitements and changes in their lives. Both tend to be emotionally detached and tend to process their emotions mentally.

Sagittarius is the sign of optimism and freedom. It sees the big picture and loves to talk about things from a grand spiritual perspective. Gemini is more personal. She is engaged and involved with the stories and pain of the people in her tribe. She is there to listen, talk and support.

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a friend. I shared my pain about the children kept hostage by Hamas. I told her that I felt like these were my children and that I was crying every night thinking of them. My friend replied that some kids have always been kept in dark tunnels. There is always someplace in the world where things like this happen. Even in the US.

What she said might be a Sagittarius truth, and there is no doubt that she meant well, but I felt it was insensitive. When your children, or your friends’ children are kept hostage, you don’t find solace in the fact that many other children have suffered similar faith. The pain is very personal and concrete. 

But I did not say anything to my friend. Since October 7, everyone around me encourages me to be peaceful. Sometimes I am afraid that I won’t sound peaceful enough, so I don’t speak up and don’t say my truth. If I was a Sagittarius and not a Gemini, I would not care.

In her book, Women of Wisdom, Tsultrim Allione tells the story of the death of her daughter, Chiara, at age two and a half months.

“As I sat silently, tears streaming down my face, a bearded, middle-aged man holding a little Tibetan dog approached me and said, ‘You should not be so attached to this baby: everything is impermanent.’ I asked him, ‘Do you have children?’ He said, ‘No’. I walked away, unable to say more, wondering if a few years before as a nun I might have been capable of such insensitive advice.”

The middle path of Sagittarius and Gemini is the ability to see the grand truth, and with that, connect with the personal story. It is about speaking up the truth from both the big picture and the personal perspective. As you can see, it is not always easy.

Speaking up and speaking the truth are needed right now more than ever. Last week I took a very courageous step and wrote a harsh letter to my writing community regarding their part in cultivating antisemitism in the mindfulness world. I do not know if they will act to correct it, but I did receive their appreciation for my bravery, honestly and vulnerability. I hope this letter will make a difference, but even if it does not, I will literally sleep better at night, knowing that I did everything in my power to bring more truth and peace to the world.

The full moon in Gemini is here to give us the courage to connect our inner truth (Sagittarius) with our outer expression (Gemini). Connect the voice of our heart (Sagittarius) with the external information we consume (Gemini).

On this full moon, close your eyes. Put your hands on your heart. What does your heart tell you? This is the Sagittarius sun talking to you. Then use your voice. Speak up your truth, with the power of the Gemini full moon.

Make sure that you refer to the big picture but also connect with the specific story you address with sensitivity. For example, a Sagittarius perspective is that violence does not resolve violence. A Gemini sensitivity to the specific story would be that when your life is violently threatened, violence is your only way to defend yourself.

One Sagittarius truth that I hold close to my heart on these harsh days is that something good always comes out, even from the worst situations.

Wishing you a wonderful week,

With love,

Yael