by Matt Savinar
Using the date its patent was filed as its date of birth, the concept of Pigeon Photography is a Gemini Sun, Libra Moon – one of the most chatty, socially curious Sun/Moon pairings

Gemini is “the Communicator” of the zodiac known for its quick communications, cross-pollination, and chatting late into the night. Libra, its air sign cousin sitting 120 degrees to the right, is “the Social Director” of the zodiac known for its smooth sociability and suave relational skills. Combine the highly communicative nature of a Gemini Sun with the socially conscious instincts of a Libra Moon and you get a Sun/Moon pairing that is chatty, charming, and extremely clever. A deft and delightful companion whether in the office carpool or out at a coffee shop, this pairing lives life according to the philosophy of “gaiety, good times, and the gift of gab.” Like most double air combinations, it excels at anything involving the airwaves or mass media such as writing, blogging, television, radio, etc.

In addition to “gaiety, good times, and the gift of gab” this pairing also enjoys an ever-changing variety of “vistas, viewpoints, and vivacious visitors”. Astrologers Suzi and Charles Harvey write of the Gemini/Libra’s extremely diverse mercurial abilities, “You especially enjoy travel, for you love the stimulation of new faces, new landscapes and other perspectives.” (Source) To illustrate just how much this pairing loves traveling to see new landscapes: using the day its patent was filed in 1908 as its date of birth, the concept of “pigeon photography” is a Gemini Sun, Libra Moon. (Chart) In the age of ubiquitous satellite imagery, the idea of using pigeons to take aerial photographs may seem quaint. Back at the turn of the century it was an extraordinarily novel way to view “new landscapes from new perspectives” and to see “different vistas from different viewpoints”. Take a look, for instance, at these photos snapped by some early pigeon photographers:

Libra Sun, Gemini Moon individuals excel at seeing things from a variety of vistas, viewpoints, and perspectives

The patent for pigeon photography was filed by Dr. Julius Neubronner, a German apothecary who also used the pigeons to deliver medicine to his far away patients. Gemini/Libras are very entertaining, easy-going, and make excellent conversationalists so it’s quite likely that Dr. Neubronner’s patients enjoyed the pigeons’ visits for reasons social as much as medicinal. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if the pigeons even managed to engage in some type of conversation with those to whom they were delivering medicine. As astrologer Linda Goodman points out, when Gemini (the “Communicator”) is paired with Libra (the “Social Director”) the result is dazzling conversation and dizzying sociability:

These two air signs are fun to watch, like trapeze artists at the circus. Their mental gymnastics can be both dazzling and dizzying . . . when they team up at home, in the office, on the campus, or anywhere else, it will definitely not be difficult to hear them. These two signs will have lengthy discourses on every subject imaginable, and they both have immense imaginations. Sometimes the discussions are friendly, sometimes not. But they will usually remain on speaking terms since silence for anything but the briefest periods of time is well nigh an impossibility. (Source)

One of the most social of the 144 Sun/Moon pairings, the textbook Gemini/Libra loves going back-and-forth, to-and-fro among a wide variety of people, projects, and places. This is probably the Sun/Moon pairing most likely to find work as a gossip columnist (albeit a friendly one), a party planner, a salesperson, a public relations expert, or even as a member of the paparazzi – at least in the old days when the paparazzi made an attempt to catch celebrities at their most classy instead of their most skanky.

Speaking of celebrities, this pairing loves pop culture! Even those Gemini/Libras who find themselves in the most intellectually high-minded professions such as law, politics, mediation, or counseling can be found secretly checking websites like as TMZ and PerezHilton during meetings or reading People Magazine during their lunch breaks. Those who don’t peruse the gossip mags will still be at the center of any Monday morning water-cooler exchanges about who did what with whom where over the weekend. Gemini/Libra is a very light, flighty combination so its interest in office gossip is motivated more by endless curiosity and an absolute intolerance of boredom than anything dark-hearted or deeply sinister. Scott Adams, the cartoonist best known for creating the Dilbert series, is a Gemini/Libra. (Chart)

This pairing is often as dextrous physically as it is socially. Legendary dancer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker, for instance, is a Gemini/Libra. (Chart) Bi-lingual, bi-sexual, and bi-racial, Baker adopted 12 children, each of a different ethnicity, while enjoying stardom across both France and the U.S.

Like many Gemini/Libras, Baker excelled in a variety of professions. In addition to being a professional dancer, she also worked for the French resistance as a spy during World War II. According to Baker’s Wikipedia page, her job was to “report any gossip she heard at parties that might be of use to her adopted country.” (Source) She also “assisted the French Resistance by smuggling secrets written in invisible ink on her sheet music.” (Source) Only a Gemini/Libra could score a spy gig based on gab, gossip, and gaiety filled entertainment!

Josephine Baker

Baker isn’t the only Gemini/Libra to put this pairing’s mental and physical dexterity to use as a spy. Using its first flight as its date of birth, the P-61 “Black Widow” night fighter, the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar, is a Gemini Sun, Libra Moon. (Chart) Like Josephine Baker, the P-61 was also extraordinarily dextrous in terms of its ability to dip, dive, and dance through the skies. Take a look at the plane’s structure as it bears a resemblance to the glyphs for both Gemini and Libra. Like the glyph for Gemini it has two cockpits facing each other, one front and back, each of which housed its own recon-photographer. Like the glyph for Libra the plane is comprised of two equally balanced halves, one left and one right:

Gemini Sun, Libra Moon excels at anything involving the airwaves

The P-61 was also used in “aerial photo-mapping”, which is essentially a more modern version of pigeon photography. Coincidentally, pigeon photography was actually used by the CIA in espionage missions similar to those the P-61 was originally designed for. (Source)

What’s really interesting is that the P-61 and Mrs. Baker had similar jobs during the war: Mrs. Baker relayed secret information she picked up while dancing in and out of Nazi occupied social settings while the P-61 relayed secret information it picked up while dancing in and out of Nazi occupied skies. The Harveys tell us that “living by its wits” and a tendency to “skim the surface” of matters are two of this pairing’s weaknesses. (Source) It’s true this pairing has a tendency towards superficiality but the capacity to “skim the surface” while “living by one’s wits” aren’t such bad weaknesses when one is dodging Nazis!

This pairing loves variety in relationships, will often have numerous significant partnerships, whether romantic or professional. This is true even when the Gemini/Libra in question is of the aviation persuasion. The P-61, for instance, was initially assigned to (partnered with) the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC). Following the war it was re-assigned (re-partnered) to Project Thunderstorm, a joint program by the U.S. Weather Bureau and NASA to study atmospheric weather patterns, an extremely fitting gig for a double air pairing. (Source) On a metaphoric level it’s probably not too much of a stretch to consider the P-61’s assignments as being akin to marriages: the first marriage was during World War II to the Army while the second marriage was during Project Thunderstorm to both the Weather Bureau and NASA. That’s two marriages to three spouses, each of whom had very different dispositions and life missions. Leave it to a Gemini/Libra to adapt themselves such a diverse array of partners!

On a similar note, Josephine Baker was married four times to four men, each of a different nationality and/or ethnicity. (Source) Only a pairing as socially deft, psychologically dextrous, superbly diplomatic and as comfortable viewing things from different perspectives as Gemini/Libra could pull off such relational arrangements while maintaining a light heart and an open mind.

About the Author: Matt Savinar is a California licensed attorney (State Bar #228957), voluntarily inactive as of June 2013. He can be reached via his contact page.