Peter Pan and Wendy, Gemini and Cancer

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[ad#link]I was reading Archetypes Of The Zodiac by Kathleen Burt last night, and she wrote that Gemini and Cancer may be drawn to each other, because Gemini is Peter Pan — the boy who never wants to grow up — and Cancer is the mother. Unfortunately, Cancer is attracted to the opposite sign on the zodiac wheel — Capricorn — because she wants someone to bring home the bacon so that she can create a secure nest for the kids. With Gemini, she just has another mouth to feed but not someone who will be a reliable provider.

In Jungian psychology, the archetype of the Puer Aeternus refers to the immature person who does not want to cope with adult responsibilities. Gemini and its ruling planet Mercury are associated with Peter Pan and the puer archetype. Wendy, of course, is the mother of the lost boys, fulfilling the Cancer role. She cannot stay in Neverland, though, because she feels the call to grow up. (Maturity and responsibility are associated with Capricorn, and its ruling planet Saturn).

Cancer may feel “at home” caring for a Gemini, but she’s not terribly happy with it. When you’re a wife, you want a husband, not an adult-child. As Burt writes, “If she ends up with a Peter Pan … she often makes the best of it and sighs a lot” (p. 123).

Burt, Kathleen. (1997) Archetypes of the Zodiac. LLewellyn Publications.

Comment Below: Have you been the Wendy to a Peter Pan?