Mars in Gemini = Wutang

Mad Different Methods

Mars is the planet of war, animosity, separation. Of tearing down obstacles and getting shit done. Of general manliness. In Gemini, the mutable air sign, it indicates a rapid and aggressive disbursement of information. Being ruled by Mercury, this placement is less likely to physically enact conflict, though it may lead to a lot of arguing. Mars in Gemini is a communication of aggression, a indication of action on an intellectual level.

People with strong Mars indicators are often at a loss with finding their place in society, shunned by the ruling class just as the Roman God of War was disparaged by the bulk of the Pantheon. People don't like wrathful words and actions rocking their peaceful little boats. Mars types are often beaten down into a lower position in the world; either that, or their wrath is born from the realization of their inability to change their social position.

Thus, rap music – especially gangsta rap – is much aligned with the Mars archetype. Rappers say things that rich white people don't want to hear about, and things that disturb those who are sickened by violence and debauchery. Some of them fall further into the Mars archetype by actually doing the things they rap about – drive-bys, drug deals, and so on. But for most rappers, the wrath resides in the words, and goes no further.

Given Gemini's tendency for speed, and for horizontal expansion in the realm of the written and spoken word, its association with any and all styles of rap music is a given.

Gemini is also the sign most associated with separate identities, multiple personalities. There are a lot of rap groups out there, and even more instances of songs featuring friends of the top-billed rapper.

Furthermore, Gemini is the zodiac's jack of all trades, the sign that knows just enough about everything. When filtered through Gemini's lens, Mars might be inclined to choose one of those realms of knowledge, one particularly interesting realm of knowledge through which to manifest.

Nothing to Fuck With

Adding this all together, ipso facto, abra cadabra...The Wu-Tang Clan is a sterling example of Mars in Gemini.

Wu-Tang is a group of gangsta rappers who met with only marginal success individually. It wasn't until they banded together that they blew up large. In falling in line with multiple identities, the nine members of the Wu-Tang – RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, Ol' Dirty Bastard, U-God, Ghostface Killa, Masta Killer, and The Method Man – have all retained a personalized style. While there group is strong, there isn't as much uniformity as a group like Jurassic 5, there is still solidarity when the group performs optimally. However, still a clear indicator of multiple personalities.

Their music is laden with typical gang-banger terminology, but it also manifests in a culturally interesting and unmistakably war-like way: through Kung Fu film and martial arts imagery. They talk a little bit about gunning people down, but they're way more into fatal flying guillotines and liquid swords.

Enter the 36 Chambers

Mars in Gemini's strength lies in that previously mentioned horizontal expansion – in other words, instead of one strong sword thrust, it's more like a large number of arrows flying towards the same target. However, as the arrows fly, their courses diverge: not all of them hit the mark, and some of them end up in a very different place than intended. It has been thus with our intrepid young rap stars, no longer so young.

Though the Wu-Tang clan still exists in name, their efforts have more recently been concentrated on solo careers. Some have been successful. Some have not. The GZA and RZA have advanced themselves both as artists and producers, and RZA has most notably been indispensable to the soundtracks for martial arts films like Ghost Dog and Kill Bill. The group's most visible member, Method Man, has had a reasonably well solo career, and later branched out into film and television. ODB died of a drug overdose in 2004. U-God left the group over a dispute only to reconcile and return a few years later. While I'm not certain what his level of financial and critical success has been relative to the other members, Masta Killer, my personal favorite of the Wu-Tang, has released two very good solo projects.

Masta Killer, about to drop science.

The group's breakthrough effort is titled "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers,)" and takes its name from the a Shaw Bros. Classic starring Gordon Liu, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Gemini is in a constant process of binary division. So check this out: 36 divided by two is 18. 18 divided by two is 9. There are nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Coincidence?! Totally. But it makes for a nice little capper on this piece about the Wu, one of the greatest rap groups of all time and space, and a model of Mars in Gemini if I ever heard of one.

Copyright 2007, Nerdcore Astrotypes