Curious Gemini loves secrets, but you don't really stay with any subject long enough to dig into its deepest mysteries, and that includes the subject of yourself. As Mercury's first child, you already know that one of your strengths is quick-wittedness. You've been talking your way into and out of trouble since you were a toddler. Great promoters like Donald Trump, talkers like Bob Hope, politicians like Mario Cuomo and tale-spinners like Dashiell Hammett are examples of Gemini glibness.

Your magical ability to switch selves when the need arises is a real power tool. Those who've seen Gemini do this are amazed. If one part of you becomes depressed, disillusioned or ill, you just get rather quiet and withdrawn for a bit, and then, voila! A little while later, you are spotted back in action, smiling and fully functional. If questioned about the former negative condition, you may look blank for a moment, as if trying to remember, before answering: "Oh, that. I'm fine now, thanks." If we all had another self to slip into when life got tedious or troublesome, we'd all stay as young of body and mind as Gemini does.

Another secret strength is your perceptiveness. Many Gems have telepathic powers, and nearly all have the ability to size up a situation instantly, taking in information at a lightning pace and adding up the factors to attain an instant, and accurate, assessment even of unfamiliar circumstances and conditions. This talent, along with your ability to see everyone's point of view, gives you the advantage in sales and public relations positions. You're quite psychic. You must tune in and tap this inner power that the planets are making available to you, however.

The flexible willow withstands the storm, while the mighty oak is broken by the high winds. Your adaptability is one of your greatest secret strengths, just as changing conditions in the job and financial areas of your life have kept you hopping.

It must be admitted that some of the world's great con artists are born under the sign of Gemini. Another strength is the power of the fast getaway. Your ex-lovers will attest to your ability to dematerialize. And when you think about it, who needs brawn when you can disappear into thin air?

Your genuine love of learning may be your greatest secret strength of all. Because you remain fascinated by all there is to know, you simply forget to grow old and stiff. "Set in your ways" is a concept alien to Gemini. What in youth was a troublesome restlessness (some called you unreliable) becomes a magnificent resilience in age. You retain your mental faculties and are a treasure to your loved ones as you grow older.

If your adversary is a Gemini, cultivate the ability to outwait or outlast them. In negotiations, the stall routine will drive them wild. Let them talk until they have exhausted their ability to concentrate on the subject at hand, and then make your move. In business competitions, they are great at promoting new ideas, selling and advertising, but their management style is sometimes their undoing - they've been known to over borrow and overextend themselves, with too many irons in the fire and a tendency to try to handle everything personally, instead of delegating to experts.

If you're competing for the attention of a love interest, try calling the object of your affection on an evening when you know a date with Gemini is scheduled. If your love answers, you'll know that Gemini's tardiness gives you a chance to move in sympathetically and win the day.

Geminis slip easily through the fingers of those who try to capture or ensnare them. Never count them out, no matter how down they are. The recuperative and the bounce-back ability of Gemini is limitless. If you make the mistake of taking the victory for granted after you've won a few battles, you are in for a surprise. Their learning ability is also limitless. You only get to use a trick once, because Gemini catches on and will catch you the next time. Remember that Mercury, for all its slippery inconstancy, is an elemental substance - it retains its basic nature under any conditions.