Gemini (Mithuna)

Gemini, the Twins, is a mutable air sign ruled by Mercury. The Sun is in tropical (Western) Gemini from May 21 – June 20, and in sidereal (Vedic) Gemini — called Mithuna — from about June 15 – July 15. The sign is associated with curiosity, conversation and connection.

Why two sets of dates: the tropical zodiac is tied to the seasons and the sidereal zodiac to the constellations. The equinoxes have drifted about 24° against the stars since the zodiacs coincided (the Lahiri ayanamsa is 24°13′ in 2026), so the Sun enters sidereal Gemini roughly three and a half weeks after it enters tropical Gemini. The 2026 ingresses above are computed from the Sun's position, to the minute.

In Vedic astrology Mithuna holds Mrigashira (padas 3–4), Ardra (all four padas) and Punarvasu (padas 1–3). A Moon here is read through both the sign and its nakshatra.

Your Sun sign is only one placement: your Moon sign and your rising sign (ascendant) are read at least as closely, and Vedic astrology gives the Moon sign the most weight of all.

Questions

In Plutto
Plutto reads your Sun, Moon and rising sign in both zodiacs — and says which one each tradition means. Background: Western astrology.