Gemini is a funny sign because we already think of it as a duality. There’s the saying that a Gemini always has two faces. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. What I do notice about Geminis is that they will always find a way to disagree with you even if you are saying the same thing that they said yesterday. It’s not because they’re trying to be annoying. It’s actually because they want to stir up an interesting conversation. If you try to change your mind to agree with them, they will defend the side you just left. If you let them bicker with you for a bit, they’ll eventually come around to your side and then back to the other side again over and over again. You might even be able to watch them do this.

So, that’s one thing about Geminis. They are people who are always willing to disagree. Why agree? It’s not very interesting. It’s much more interesting to propose an alternate opinion and see how other people might react.

Sometimes, for those of us who get into our more egotistical moods such as myself, this Gemini trait can feel irritating. This can be one perception of Gemini. Gemini is not very agreeable and this may be most obvious to those who expect people to agree with them. In spaces where consensus is assumed, a Gemini may be known to be an agent of friction.

But that’s too shallow. Irritation is actually a symptom of two egos colliding. That has to do with the observer as well as the Gemini in question. Not every Gemini is so contrarian. It’s just that Geminis don’t believe in playing along with hypocrisy. It will burst your bubble if it sees you engage in hypocritical behavior.

The thing that Geminis are known for is actually talent. Geminis are people who are known for being talented at something. They are bright people who understand complicated concepts quickly. They have the gift of gab. They are a bit shiny. They have musical talent or talent in the arts.

That’s the most common outside assertion of Gemini especially if you are an older person who is interacting with a younger Gemini. You will be impressed by their talents. You might find them exhilarating. You are charmed by them and have a desire to see them grow and blossom. If young people are this smart and talented, then you can have hope for the future.

Geminis make other people hopeful about the future. This is one of their gifts. They know how to produce awe. They know how to inspire and to impress.

These two things might seem at odds. First, there is the contrarian Gemini. The contrarian Gemini likes to poke at assumptions a bit and they don’t mind if they get a bit of a reputation for upsetting more rigid minded people. Then, there is the bright Gemini. The bright Gemini is sometimes known for being exactly what other people aspire to be. Maybe this is what many of us mean when we called someone two faced—there’s a version of you that I like and a version of you that isn’t built for me to like.

I think that there is actually a connection between the contrarian Gemini and the bright Gemini. You see, Geminis know when they impress you. They are well aware. They also want to keep impressing you. This means that they want to keep bringing in surprising or interesting opinions to keep you on your toes. You have to keep in mind that the reason why they say such provocative things is because they strive to say impressive things.

It’s actually quite vulnerable for a Gemini to show you who they are when they are not trying to impress—when they are not trying to be smart or cool or funny but just being a regular degular person who also has to try very hard to do great and special things because doing great and special things take a ton of work. It’s very vulnerable for a Gemini to be boring with someone. It’s very intimate to show that side of themselves, the side where they, too, are prone to somewhat corny cliches of sentiment and the side where they have common needs just like everyone else.

To the casual observer, the Gemini is controversial. It’s the sign that stirs up shit. Take a look at Kim from the reality TV show Bling Empire who is a Gemini Sun. There was no reason for her to go into Anna Shay’s house, creep into her bathroom, and throw her penis pump out the window when everyone’s in the yard having a party and a relaxing time. But now consider this—Kim did this in the beginning of season one when she was just getting used to being on camera. This isn’t who Kim is inside. This is Kim trying to be funny on camera.

Marilyn Monroe who was also a Gemini Sun. People say that Monroe could walk down the street and people wouldn’t even know who she was until she did something to turn on whatever it was that made her shine so brightly. I know I already talked about Cillian Murphy in the Taurus article of this same series but Murphy is also a Gemini Sun. People who act with Murphy say that he just blends into the background until he decides to become an actor.

This is what we remember about Geminis—we remember the sparkly or the provocative parts. We remember the controversy. We remember the edginess and all of the shocking things that they have done. That’s a very small percentage of a Gemini. The rest, we don’t always remember.

To the casual observer, Geminis are always shiny and bright and talented and impressive because we’re not actually paying that much attention. We forget all of the times Gemini blended into the background. We forget that Gemini is busy doing errands and mundane things with most of their time. We forget that Geminis are not eternal savants or prodigies that care little about everyday things. We forget the things that Geminis might prefer us to forget when we are not very close to them.

Gemini works very hard. This is one of the things that we don’t see. We see what we prefer to see which is natural talent and divine inspiration. We don’t see just how much work Gemini puts into the things that they do.

A Gemini practices. It rehearses. It spends time studying. It has the hard conversations. Geminis studies a technique and studies it well. It pours hours of research and practice into learning the fundamentals of what they do. Much of that is motivated by their agile curiosity but a lot of it is just sheer dumb work.

I think that you truly know a Gemini when they are willing to show you just how much labor it takes for them to do their special thing. You are closest to them when they allow you to see just how much effort it takes for them to worry over and obsess over the intricacy of their craft.

This is something that we tend to forget about Geminis—we forget just how well they listen. We tend to remember the argumentative moments. These moments stick out partially because Gemini wants them to stick out. Remember, when they are arguing with you it’s because they are trying to impress you and not because they’re trying to teach you some kind of lesson. We tend to forget the huge parts of a conversation when a Gemini is spent with the Gemini just patiently listening to what we have to say with their full attention and curiosity. We tend to forget those things because we tend to attribute the brilliant things that Geminis bring out in people who are lucky enough to be in their company to ourselves and not to our interaction with the Gemini.

Often, curiosity feels almost invisible. We forget the value of curiosity. We don’t see the person who listens best to what we have to say.

We tend to see Geminis as very interesting people. This is the more visible side. What we don’t see is what Gemini does to make other people feel more interesting while in the Gemini’s presence. We don’t see this part of a Gemini because we attribute the inspiration that we find with Gemini to ourselves. We forget that, while we were spitballing, Gemini was there alongside us listening and asking very good questions.

So, Gemini dazzles and provokes. Geminis also work very hard to do these things. They spend most of their time listening. They are noticeable when they want to be and they exist quite well when they are not trying to be. A Gemini dazzles but it doesn’t dazzle all of the time. It is quite content when doing other things.