Diving Into Astrology, Astronomy, and Astrolocation with Astrologer Gemini Brett

 

If you’ve been studying astrology for any length of time, you’ve probably encountered more than one person who says it’s not accurate. 

 

This is typically based on principles astronomers hold as true.

 

If that’s left you in a state of confusion, and you’re not sure how to resolve it, you’ll love today’s interview with Gemini Brett. 

 

He is one of the leading astrologers in the world who has incorporated an experiential understanding of astronomy into his interpretation of the stars and planets.

 

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Amanda: I know most of you know the difference between astronomy and astrology, but Gemini Brett is here to explain why astrology lovers would also benefit from studying astronomy.

 

Brett, let’s talk about the upcoming summer solstice is so important!

 

Gemini Brett: People say June Solstice, and I’ll say Cancer Solstice. Which of course then is implying the tropical Zodiac, but astronomically speaking, the best word for it would be the North Solstice. 

 

The earth is orbiting the sun and the pole is pointing in the same direction. The pole literally defines North and South. What happens at June solstice is the northern tip of Gaia’s spine is leaning towards the Sun. And that’s why we have more light in the summer in the northern hemisphere and more shadow in the southern hemisphere (winter solstice). North Solstice is a much better way to describe that. 

 

The tropical Zodiac is a directional phenomenon, and the directions are defined by Earth’s pole. There’s three primary zodiacal philosophies in our day and age. 

 

The first is constellations. The whole idea about Leo is that lion up there in the sky. But the constellations vary significantly in size. 

 

This is one of the modern-day astronomers principle claims against astrology – that we’re using the wrong Zodiac because there are these constellations that vary in size significantly. 

 

The constellation I call Priestess, to differentiate from the sign of Virgo, is 47 degrees. That’s like a sign and a half, plus a little bit. And then what they do from there is they take the circle of 360 and they just say, “12 signs of 30.”

 

It takes 26,000 years for the sun to sweep through the sky. But the tropical Zodiac isn’t about what stars it’s aligned to – it’s about our star, the Sun.

 

Let me read a fantastic thing from the oldest scripture known, the Rig Veda: “First the 12-spoked wheel of order rolls around and around the sky and never ages. 720 suns in pairs rest on it.” 

 

Most will say this is a zodiacal statement and that those 720 pairs are in the Vedic practice. It’s like every degree has two halves. But I wonder if they’re actually speaking about two circles because there’s another line in the same passage that says, “Two birds, friends joined together, clutch the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruit, the other looks on without eating.” 

 

For me, the one that eats the fruit is the one that’s married to this world tree and that’s the tropical Zodiac. 

 

Let me say one more thing about this idea of North solstice. If you’re the Sun and you are a shining light and you’re looking at this Earth, this is what June Solstice looks like. The northern pole’s leaning right towards you.

 

If it was Equinox time, you’re looking at the equator. If it’s December Solstice or South Solstice, the southern tip is leaning towards you. And what happens when the Sun ingresses tropical Capricorn? It shines directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn. At Equinox time it’s shining above the equator.

 

So during the course of the year, the Sun goes up and down on the globe. In Greek, tropic means turnarounds. So solstice means the Sun stops.

 

What’s happening every year is that the Sun is moving between the tropics of Earth and it goes North for six months. Then it’s at North Solstice, turns around, goes down for six months, then turns around. 

 

This is always a thing we have to come to terms with when we’re studying the sacred science and the amazing endless dynamics of earth and sky. It goes both ways and in many ways. 

 

Amanda: Brett, you recently received a very high honor. You won an award at OPA, which is the Organization of Professional Astrologers, for your outstanding contribution to the field of astrology. And a lot of that is around what you’ve brought in terms of astronomy. 

 

Why are you so passionate about that? And why do you feel it’s so important for students to actually engage in understanding both?

 

Gemini Brett: The way I use the word astronomy might be different than how most of us think of it, which is similar to the rationalist scientists who are dropping gigantic telescopes on sacred mountains, narrowing their view, and looking far away long ago. They focus on things like big bangs. 

 

For me it’s about getting out, widening the view, and reflecting upon the heavens, and the challenge for the astrologer.

 

The example I use is that you’re out on a hike. Let’s say there’s a pretty rare raven. A big raven comes by, stops near you, then flies away. What is your response and where do you go with that?

 

Amanda: My first response would be complete giddiness because I just got to witness something. Then I would probably look into what the medicine of the raven is. What message did that raven have for me?

 

Gemini Brett: Who would you ask?

 

Amanda: Myself. God.

 

Gemini Brett: You see what I’m getting after? There are so many wonderful resources now where we can go and find out what raven medicine’s about. What was this message? 

 

But first of all, let me check in with your initial response cause it’s so important – “Oh my gosh, what a majestic being. I’m so fortunate. I’m so glad I’m here. I’m in the right place at the right time to have this amazing experience. I could never even explain this in words.”

 

That’s why astronomy.

 

Astronomy is simply getting outside, getting out of the thinking mind, and getting into the body mind and an actual experience. The practice I typically lead people through first is to lie down on their back, close their eyes, and just become the earth.

 

The drum comes out and we talk about the grasses growing from your body… but then, open Earth’s eyes to the sky and now what do you see? 

 

The appropriate password to the temple of the sky is giddiness, wonder, awe and child-like joy. 

 

And it’s so difficult! Trained astrologers often learn the sky and there just isn’t any learning environment. I say this literally having written a test with multiple choices this morning. So I feel a little hypocritical saying this, but in many learning environments, we forget to celebrate it. 

 

The wonderful thing about this craft of astrology is that it’s endless. You can’t know it all. When astrologers actually do go outside to look at the sky, it could be one of these really cool events, like a triple conjunction of Moon with the visible Mercury and Venus… 

 

“I just happened to be in the right time zone, right in the right location for Moon and Venus to be conjoined in this moment.” 

 

If you look at this on a chart, it says in 1930-something they were exactly on top of one another and that’s not what’s happening here. 

 

Another wonderful thing about coming to a sky practice or a sky experience is you get to learn that what we’re playing with is more than just a game of averages and estimates…

 

You can start breaking out of that mold just when you go to the sky and watch. 

 

What I’ve found in my own practice is that the more intimately I’m connected to and knowing the physical, the measurable… the more intimately I can know and therefore attempt to express the unknowable, the immeasurable.

 

I was taught in school that astrology was utter nonsense, and I believed it… But when astrology started coming in my life, I finally just came to a place where I had to start asking and I started following the symbols and the signs and letting synchronicity lead its way. And I was asking this question for more than a year, “What am I supposed to do?”

 

Astrology was the answer.

 

I’m not one of those fortunate souls who is a third-generation astrologer. I’m one of those fortunate souls who was a total skeptic. I did say “fortunate” for a reason because I think when we break out of barriers that others set for us, we can gain a lot of strength in doing so.

 

I’m very hesitant to believe the authorities. And I’m very hesitant to do that as an astrologer. 

 

I want to go to nature and ask.

 

Why is the 12th house “hidden things?” That’s the weirdest thing ever because that’s the place where the Sun rises. You can’t see it when it’s in the first house, it’s below the ground. It rises into the 12th house.

 

When we have those little simple things answered, it’s an “Oh my God, I can’t believe I didn’t realize that” kind of moment. 

 

That’s when there’s magic. That’s the kind of thing that really happens when you’re outside. 

 

Amanda: Wow. 

 

Gemini Brett: The most secretive reason why I’m so passionate about teaching astronomy and sacred astronomy to astrologers is because I have people that have a heart open towards the sacred nature of the sky. 

 

We have incarnated in some crazy times. 

 

It is such a powerful gateway for us to step into the potential of what it is to be a human being again. 

 

There are temples around the world, some of them built with great intentionality, and some of them – spirit just guides the architect’s hand.

 

I had heard that you were interested in Astrolocality and Astrocartography and maps. I really like the Local Space technique. Those are the techniques I use personally for temple building. 

 

I love directing people to these powerful places. I love hearing their stories of this place.

I was recently on the fence with “Should I be teaching maps?” because here we are in this shelter-in-place mandate, and not many of us are interested in stepping onto planes right now. 

 

But we can travel without moving. And this is one of the glorious gifts of this double-edged sword called modern technology.

 

Part of the theme for the month ahead that I’m guiding now is going to be traveling without moving. I’m going to do a lot of bonus teachings about temple building, and about how to build a very simple sundial and medicine wheel and learn to connect to the energies of the directions.

 

There’s a really wonderful system that was dreamed forth by Michael Earlewine, called Local Space. If we know where the directions of the planets were in the directions when we’re born, we can create our office spaces in such a way that honors our birth chart geometry. 

 

The last thing I’ll say is that one of my principal themes is reconnecting to soul family.

 

Amanda: Wow, I love this emphasis on being able to build temples in our backyards or in our office to help us align with that energy.

 

If you admire anything that you’re seeing in Brett, what he’s showing us is that by having this sacred relationship with the sky, these things can be yours. 

 

Just take the time and enter into that sacred communion with the universe itself. 

 

Gemini Brett: It is a treat always to have the opportunity to engage with the Astrology Hub community. And it’s just such an honor to have the opportunity to be a guide for the Inner Circle. 

 

It’s my favorite month connecting with people who have really beautiful questions and open hearts and are doing this for a reason. 

 

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To listen to the rest of this full-length podcast episode with Gemini Brett, click here.

If you’d like to watch it, you can do that here.

Gemini Brett is our current Inner Circle guide and enrollment is open for a limited time. Click to learn more!