We have reached the point in our annual trip around the Sun at which the Northern Hemisphere experiences the longest and brightest light. The actual longest days happened a few days before the Sun enters Cancer at the Summer Solstice on Thursday, June 20th, the day before the Full Moon in Capricorn.
So much going on. We’re building toward the climax of the year, our national election. Meanwhile the world is heating up to record highs. The largest cicada bloom in 221 years is starting to emerge. A plague of locusts looms ahead. Then there’s the imminent start of hurricane season. Tornadoes are working to break the insurance system. Plus two wars and a whole lot of conflict. We need some nurturing and just in time, the Sun enters Cancer.
Cancer is the sign of the Mother – the ones who raise us, the Earth who provides, the Divine Feminine that holds us all in her heart. It’s the sign of nurturance. After the swirl of mental energy in Gemini, we can sink into the healing waters of our inner world.
The signs of the Zodiac alternate between Masculine and Feminine energy. Aries obviously is aggressive, dynamic. Taurus is receptive and protective. Gemini is filled with great ideas and projects, following its insatiable curiosity. Then Cancer comes to soothe us once again with her comfort. The energies ebb and flow to help us stay in balance.
Cancer is associated with the home, the place we feel most safe. Our childhood homes may not have been that safe, but we can create our own safe place, and the safest home lies within, where we are still connected to our divine origin. Our souls reside there, our deepest desires. All the answers we seek in the outer world are to be found deep within.
Cancer is a water sign, ruled by the Moon and her cycles to which women’s bodies are attuned. Our emotions are activated and deepened in this sign. We become more sensitive and more concerned about the safety and comfort of others. We feel protective and seek security, the ease of an afternoon in a hammock watching the sunbeams through leaves, listening to the birds, relaxing deeply into the body, letting out a few sighs.
Solstice Themes
In the days leading up to the Solstice, themes began to emerge for this quarter of the year. On June 19th the USA experienced its Venus return. Venus is closing the cycle that started in May of 2023 and beginning anew. It’s an opportunity to rebalance, to assess our relationships. How loving can we be to ourselves and others?
The day before Solstice, the Sun exactly squared transiting Neptune pulling in that Piscean energy and the themes of oneness, surrender, letting go, tuning in to Spirit, feeling our connection through the quantum field.
To top it off, the Moon was opposite natal Uranus, triggering change, surprise, unexpected events, quickening our minds with insight. Natal Uranus is conjunct Gonggong, the dwarf that shows us what happens when we get overwhelmed emotionally and cause damage. Gonggong is about managing emotional energy, a great aid during Cancer month.
The Moon also squared Black Moon Lilith activating the original manifestation of the Divine Feminine. She is in tune with our inner feminine and carries the pristine energies of love and wisdom.
These aspects, or partnerships between Sun, Moon and outer planets form the context of our awakening. They reveal the themes on which we can focus, issues we may need to resolve, or simply a new way of seeing them from a broader perspective.
At the Solstice, the Moon is transiting the USA 1st House, focusing on our evolving identity. The big question that will be answered in November is “Who are We?” That offers a lot of dimensions to explore.
The Sun is making its way through the 7th House accompanied by Venus only 4 degrees away, and Mercury 7, all activating our natal Mars/Venus/Jupiter and Sun stellium. Mars/Venus – the original polarity of masculine and feminine – is one of the basic themes of our identity as a nation. Our natal Sun is illuminating these planets. Jupiter is blowing the picture up to life size and beyond. This is one of our basic growth issues. Until we live in a healthy balance between our divided energies, we will be a diseased nation. This month the Supreme Court will address more abortion issues. Will they continue their vindictive oppression of women’s rights? The greedy fist of a dominating masculine is not only life threatening to women, it is assuring the destruction of our democracy. We are the UNITED States. That was the intention. To form a more perfect union! And we can never do that as long as anyone, let along any group, is being suppressed and oppressed by a jury of corrupt judges.
Opportunities to Come
The day after the Solstice, the Moon will come to full at 1+ degrees of Capricorn. We know the side of Capricorn that has brought our society to this pass, but there is a more positive side, a path of deep integrity.
Integrity has come to mean virtue, but it originally meant “whole.” We come into integrity when we take back all those dismissed, abandoned or repressed parts of ourselves. Virtue comes into the picture naturally when we are once again whole, know the joy of wholeness and want to explore the possibilities of service to an even greater whole.
That’s where Saturn serves us, bringing encounters with our own dark side. When we work with Saturn, we soon come to see our polar opposites as projections of ourselves. That’s when we dis-identify from our limited self-image and embrace more of our wholeness.
Saturn teaches us to take responsibility. The more responsibility we take, the greater our personal power. On the Solstice, Black Moon Lilith is conjunct Orcus and Juno. Orcus is the keeper of oaths and transformer of darkness. Juno is about commitment. What oath did we take prior to incarnation? What did our souls promise to the Divine Mother? What mission did we choose?
On the same day, June 22, Mercury will square the transiting Nodes of the Moon. This opens a portal of sorts where we can see the path from our past into our future. What have we chosen so far? What are we choosing now? Our choices will set our compass.
On June 26th Venus squares the Moon’s Nodes. More than ever we need to engage our hearts and seek their wisdom. This would be a good time to take 5 minutes every day to bring head and heart into coherence, breathing gratitude or appreciation, compassion or caring through the heart. It’s a reboot whenever we need it. Soak in that glorious Full Moon and enjoy the lazy days of summer.
I know this is short and I’m sure I didn’t point out everything, but my time is constrained. I’ll be back for the New Moon in Cancer on July 5th. Los Angeles apparently celebrates the 4th of July just about every night in June. Nice punctuation marks to the sirens and buses and motorcycle machos. I’m getting used to the noise, tuning it out a bit more every day.
My husband had his surgery two weeks ago and sees the surgeon tomorrow for assessment. Thank you for your queries and good wishes. Surgery went well, he has been walking since day 1, and has not felt a single moment of pain!
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