“Shall
we go for a swim?” If a friend
asks you that question, you could say, “No,” if you weren’t in the mood for a
swim, or if you didn’t know how to swim, or if you happened to be by some icy
or shark-infested water. But when
the bulk of the Solar System asks you that question, you will be getting in the
water, like it or not, seemingly safe or not. We will all be going for a swim this summer, & we’ll be
learning some new strokes & techniques for better swimming this month.
The metaphor breakdown:
All
things watery symbolize the emotions.
We will be learning about what makes us tick emotionally this
month. Then we’ll have plenty of
opportunities (i.e. there will be some nice, gritty salt rubbing into some raw
& nasty old wounds) to learn how to work with our emotions better throughout
the summer.
From
another perspective, water is profoundly cleansing, clarifying &
reflective. Many things dissolve
in water, so that they can combine in new ways, or be carried away. Hence, profound transformation &
letting go is possible in the coming months. The reflective capabilities of water allow for new insight
& perspective - the ability to see what is right in front of your face
(often those things that everyone other than you can see). The clarifying aspects of water can
simplify heretofore complex or murky issues. All of this is possible this summer, so long as you (insert
descending cello notes here for dramatic effect) take responsibility for your
emotions, exercise compassion for yourself & others, & dig down to the
heart of matters to reach the Truth.
How’s that for some summer fun?
Whoopee!
The Sun enters Cancer, & ushers in Summer on the evening of 6/20 (10:04, PDT) & the
morning of 6/21 (1:04 EDT). A
chart cast for this day affects not only the Cancer solar month, but also the
entirety of summer. It is the
Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year - classically, a good time to
honor the apex of light, fire, & esoterically, masculine qualities. However, the strongest element with the
most momentum in the Solstice chart is water. Put those two elements together, & you’ve got Hot Water,
so you can expect to get cooked - this is a good opportunity to bring things to
fruition if you harness this energy consciously.
Operative
in this solstice chart is the Big Astrological Event of the summer that all of
us astrologers are clucking about - the Grand Water Trine. Grand trines have an unstoppable
momentum. The element of water
will give this summer a sense of really getting swept up. Emotions can run wild with this
configuration, so the Mercury retrograde that begins on 6/26 will help you in
deciphering the seemingly secret code that is your emotional/mental
patterning. More on that below.
The
grand water trine involves Neptune & Chiron in Pisces (rather than
releasing your wounds themselves, you can release their grip on you or your
reactions/resistance to them), Saturn in Scorpio (take responsibility for what
matters most), & a stream of various planets in Cancer (various lessons in
nourishment & the cyclical nature of life), most potent of which will be
Jupiter in mid-July. At the
Solstice, we have the Sun & a Lilith in this spot, suggesting both extreme
light & extreme shadow.
Further potentizing this configuration is the slow movement of the three
main planets involved. This gives
our water wheel a slow pace, but a great force. Expect things to change radically, but exercise
patience. A good rule of thumb: You will never be the same again after this summer. Sure, that’s always true - we’re always
changing, but thinking in those terms will help you seize this energy more
effectively.
Grand Water Trine deep sea probes:
If you
were to be “never the same again,” what would you want that change to be?
(Hint: think of an evolution of your current state)
What
emotions & emotional patterns of response are you hanging on to that are
holding you back from evolving?
What
nourishes you? What places are
nourishing to you? Which
relationships are nourishing to you?
Do you
acknowledge & nourish your sources?
(Hint: support that/those which support/s you)
What do
you have to be grateful for? What
does gratitude FEEL like in your body & mind?
Are you
owning your emotions as created by you, or are you blaming other people,
society, or institutions for how you feel?
How are
your emotions affecting your body?
The full moon in Capricorn is just a few days later, on the
morning of 6/23. Most of the configurations from the Solstice are still in
effect. The great tool here is the
Moon, powerful through the Sun’s presence in her home sign, & placed in
grounding, steady-as-she-goes, eye-on-the-prize Capricorn. Anyone who’s ever swam at the seashore
knows that you need to pause every so often to see where you are in relation to
the land, lest you get swept out to sea.
This full moon in Capricorn reminds us to check back in with objective
reality, rather than getting lost in the sea of our personal perceptions:
What
are the actual facts & train of events in the situations &
relationships you’re in?
How do
things look different if you take away your interpretations of those facts?
Jupiter enters Cancer on 6/25, where
he’ll be swimming about until next summer. On the low end of the Jupiter in Cancer spectrum, we may
experience emotional overwhelm that leads to excess, especially with food &
sugar (sugar cane grows in the tropic of Cancer). Also watch out for instances of cancer affecting either you
or those you love. The disease of
cancer is ruled by the sign of Cancer.
Jupiter makes everything it touches Bigger, so that’s a potentially
troublesome combination. On the
high end of this spectrum, we are strongly encouraged & enabled to follow
our heart in expansive ways, & to reap major rewards through doing so. Also, Cancer is an incredibly resilient
& cyclical sign. One of
Jupiter’s keynotes is Faith. If
things are looking down in the coming year, trust that they will come back
around in some way or another. The
golden rule with Jupiter is trust in an ultimately
positive outcome, & focus on the positive potentials in the meantime. The trick is you need to be
flexible & unattached with your definition of what positive is & could
be.
The very next day (6/26), Mercury stations retrograde in Cancer
until 7/20. But the past week has already been quite wonky with all of
this planetary shifting, & Mercury appearing to just barely move at
all. These directional shifts are
like the moment before a ball tossed straight up in the air shifts from upwards
to downwards motion. For a magical
moment, the ball is still, weightless - neither acted on by the force of the
throw, nor the force of gravity.
It’s free.
On
6/26, Mercury is free, & you better believe he likes it that way, that
sneaky trickster. He has no
obligation to us, either externally (normal motion & smooth functioning of
communication & transportation) or internally (retrograde motion, &
rethinking of communication & transportation). This is the time to really let go. Let go of how you think things should be or develop, of how
you think you should feel, & especially of how you think others should
feel. Do that, & this
retrograde will go a lot smoother for you. I hope you heeded last month’s advice, & have already
backed up your computers & phones, & tuned up your bicycles &
cars. Speaking of cars, anybody
want to buy a 2004 Chevy Cavalier?
I’m selling one... Really.
Evolutionary questions for Mercury’s retrograde in Cancer:
What happens
if you simply witness my emotions when they occur, rather than suppressing them
or acting on them?
What is
your diet like? Do you need to
rethink WHAT, HOW & WHEN you feed yourself?
Who
nourishes you? Whom do you
nourish? Are those healthy relationships?
What
are the cyclical patterns in your life?
At what
stage are you at in those various patterns (building, apex, decline, death,
rebirth)?
Other events of note:
Venus enters Leo on 6/27 until 7/23, highlighting the arts, creativity, & joyous
times with friends. Throw a party,
& attend some art events, such as my last art show in Seattle before I
relocate to California, up at the Columbia City Bakery 7/1 - 7/27, with the Columbia City arts walk on 7/18. Do buy my art, & in so doing be a keeper of some particular magic (that is
why you read this blog - to feel connected to the flowing & mystical side
of life in this regimented & binary world).
The Sun
will activate the Pluto/Uranus square in the first
few days of July, so try to keep your cool as emotions will run extra high,
anger will be easily ignited, & patience will be tested. What’s good about this tense
configuration is it adds some imperative to change & grow. A grand trine can move freely without
obstruction, but it can also create unchecked growth, with an attendant
complacency towards any other potentials.
This square offers some much needed perspective, incendiary insight,
& reality check to this summer’s emotional wash.
Saturn stations direct on 7/7 (7/8 for eastern folk), which means some things that have felt stuck, or
have been in the behind-the-scenes planning phase since February will get
moving in the coming months.
Hopefully, you’ve worked on increasing your sense of personal power
(& the limits thereof) in that time so you can set appropriate boundaries
& act from your true strengths.
Hint: Be clear about what is your responsibility, & what is someone
else’s responsibility, & act accordingly.
The new Cancer Moon is on 7/8, with
a massive stellium in Cancer. The
message here is: Emotions are a source of information. Allow your feelings to inform you
rather than direct you. Cancer is
largely about digestion. Take your
emotions in, process them, & see how they transform. Then you can turn what’s useful into
new energy, & eliminate the waste.
Mars enters Cancer on 7/13 until 8/29, activating another
T-square in the ongoing Pluto/Uranus configuration in late July.
Let’s just say anger & frustration will be coming up, which you may
experience in yourself or in those around you. Feeling depressed?
You’ve probably got some suppressed anger, so this just might be your
opportunity to clarify exactly how you feel thwarted from getting what you
want, or how you may be holding yourself back from getting what you want by
holding onto old angers. Hint:
anger is a secondary emotion.
First comes fear. What
are you afraid of?
Well
that should tide you over (pun unintended but duly noted) until next month’s
posting, in which I’ll discuss the most exciting & rare Grand Sextile. Due to Mercury’s retrograde & my
impending move to Oakland, CA at the end of July, there is a possibility that
next month’s posting may not occur, or may occur late or early or inside out or
upside down or backwards.
For
more personalized insight, you may go here to schedule a private astrological consult, or an Alithesis healing session in
Seattle until late July. In
August, I’ll be available for phone consultations & Alithesis house calls
in the Bay Area. By September,
I’ll be practicing in Oakland, CA.
Until next month’s posting, enjoy reconnecting with your heart. Please forward this posting on as you
see fit. Thanks for reading,
rae13diamond {at} gmail.com
