Yardsticks for Rulerships

[Jim Eshelman]

I just found another letter of mine published in American Astrology. It's in the July 1975 issue under the headline "Yardsticks for Rulerships." What I find interesting about this is that it is a trace on where an idea came from - something that I don't think had been talked about (at least, not much) until that time, and which remains one of my core practical teachings about signs.

Sometimes a new perspective on an old problem will enable some people to view it more clearly. As I have written many times, I think that the rulerships are best viewed as teaching devices, meant to explain the basic characteristics of each sign. It is so easy (especially with the Sidereal zodiac) to think of a Sagittarian simply as a Jupiter type, or a Taurean as a Venusian.

While reading capsulized biographies of Nathanial Hawthorne, Calvin Coolidge, and other Sidereal Geminians I have become impressed by a blatantly Saturn-like quality about such people. Saturn is in Coolidge's 5th house (non-angular) and in wide opposition to his Sun, but I certainly wouldn't call it his strongest planet. And though I don't have a birthtime for Hawthorne, his Solar chart shows no particular emphasis on the somber planet. (If his birth were very early in the day we might find a Moon-Saturn trine, but that is all.)

Geminians are noted for their fondness of coin and their unusual ability to acquire money. It is a business sign, as ruling Mercury suggests, with particular emphasis on the free enterprise system ad "big business" in general. Several of these near-Saturnian traits could be explained by a greedy Mercury type, but not the dwelling on morbid thoughts and nearly Puritanical (at times) behavior and attitudes of Geminians. The alcohol consumption of people with this Sun sign can be frightening and the charts in my file indicate a possible predisposition to mental frustration under severe affliction, more so than other sign types.

After a few moments it occurred to me that while Saturn is given no particular dignity in Gemini (and especially not in the Tropical counterpart, Cancer), Gemini is opposite Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, hence very un-Jupiterian. How much more un-Jupiterian can you get than to be Saturnian? Of course, the Geminian predilection to youthful things excludes a perfect Saturn match, but there is enough of the Grim Reaper among the twins (did not one carry a sickle!) to warrant some consideration. Similarly, even those of us who think Aris is primarily Plutonian don't need to discard Mars entirely, since its opposition to Libra makes Aries non-Venusian, hence Martian. Authoritarianism belongs to Capricorn not only because it is Saturnian, but because it is also contra-lunar, or Solar. Sidereal Aquarius is a soft (lunar?) type of sign, gentle and sensuous, because the opposing sign is very Sun-oriented, etc.

As I said in the beginning, this is nothing profound or earth-shaking, but it may be a different way of looking at things that some would find appealing. I'm gradually becoming much less formal and rigid in my views on rulership schemes and coming to use them more and more as liquid, adaptable things modified to suit the question, and always subject to modification as perspectives and attitudes change.

James A. Eshelman, Indianapolis, Ind.

[James Condor]

Good topic. Good article. Happy to find it!
JE you are great!

Gemini isn’t necessarily associated with acquiring money. Maybe it’s indirect. I don’t know. Maybe Jupiter influence along with Gemini sun has $ money motif.

I have all different kinds of Gemini Friends

I have a Gemini friend (Gem/Ari/Gem) and seems to have Jupiter rising. I think he has to.

He married an incredible, young successful, intelligent, rich woman! Now he has flourished. He’s a social climber.
He used to be working class poor. He used to struggle here and there. But he was always intelligent! Educated. Employed. Professional. Moral.
His family has money. But they all worked for it. They didn’t struggle long for it.

Public, famous ,Gemini Figures

Jack White is a good example. Born 07/09/1976, Detroit Michigan, Unknown birth time.
He’s either Gem/Can/Ari or Gem/Gem/Ari

But, I believe Jack has a Cancer Moon. He is very action oriented. And without the Jupiter influence, I don’t think he’d be as successful.

Jack White is a businessman. He acquired fame through his musical talents and his business savvy.
He created his own brand.
He has his own studio and retail business.
He is a public figure.
His music is secondary. It’s a brand.
He is very well rounded. Many interests. Scattered yet action oriented.

Then you have Daniel Day Lewis, Sir Paul McCartney. George W Bush. List goes on and on.

Not once have I ever thought of a Gemini as Libra or Capricorn. Not once did I see Saturn as a planet associated with Gemini. Not once did I confuse the two. Gemini is more like Sagittarius than Capricorn.
An afflicted Gemini is so much like Saturn!

And Gemini has that pushy, ridged, Bossy, independent side. Like a, leave me alone, I need to get on with it. Like, Mercury ofc!!!!

Authority. Authoritarian. Capricorn. Saturn/Mars. Sure I can see that. Same with Aries. Capricorn is extremely bossy. They like to direct people. But the direction is so corrupt. Like a bully trying to get revenge! It has no merit. They don’t earn the right to behave that way. They are basically powerless and they know they are. They struggle against this.

[Jim Eshelman]

Gemini isn’t necessarily associated with acquiring money. Maybe it’s indirect. I don’t know.

Agreed. It is, however, about business. (It's also emphatically about play and the two are probably wired together in Gemini.) Bradley leaned more in terms of interpreting the business side with the money side (in his private notes on the signs he wrote II = $), which some of the public figure Geminis justified (the ones Fagan and Bradley first examined from 100 years ago). Mercury is commerce.

Not once did I see Saturn as a planet associated with Gemini.

I do. Gemini is so completely anti-Jupiter that it can't help but seem Saturnian. There's the pragmatic side, and a lot of conservatives - fiscal conservatives like Calvin Coolidge, political conservatives like old school "born on the 4th of July Americans" (7/4 = Gemini!), the "U.S. is about doing business" side. OTOH the Geminis I personally know aren't this conservative or dollar-driven at all (probably because of the filtering of the people I personally know).

Gemini is more like Sagittarius than Capricorn.

In a lot of ways I agree. The polarity shares certain themes and interests. In other ways, they are as opposite as can be. I could start talking about Gemini for 15 minutes going off nothing at all except how anti-Jupiter anti-Sagittarius they are, and still have stuff to talk about.

I'd say Gemini isn't like Cap in the specific sense that it doesn't have Capricorn's Mars side. OTOH, there are no two signs more playful and mischievous as Gemini and Capricorn.

[James Condor]

.
Nice! Thank you for sharing!
I am not an expert. So, I can see your point JE.
Maybe my own Sun-Saturn aspect along with others factors, has clouded my understanding.
Plus my father is a Sag/Gem/Pis.
My younger brother is Vir/Ari/Vir. He is busy, but he’s not a business person. He could be.

Because I feel I can relate to all signs and planets.
I can totally see Gem and Cap as the playful mischievous ones.

Maybe I’m too serious 🧐!
I have a great sense of humor but I don’t like being picked on!
Mercury is busy, business . Yet so many other signs have achieved success in business.

Are there examples of business people without a strong Mercury?

[Jim Eshelman]

Sure. They tend to be angular Mars for eg successful competition.