In this post I want to take us deeper into the significance of Uranus square the transiting Nodes, take a look at what the Solstice chart tells us about the next three months, and cover the energy shifts of Chiron and Jupiter, bringing the month of June to a close with Mercury turning retrograde.
On June 12th Uranus made an exact square to the nodal axis when all three were at 2:42 degrees of their signs. Remember that the nodes move backwards through the chart. When they reach the early degrees of a sign, they are preparing for a sign shift.
The North Node has been transiting Pisces, focusing on the spiritual dimensions of our psyches and the state of our Union. For 18 months it has traveled backwards through our third house where Sedna and Ceres hold important messages for the USA. Sedna tells us to let go, to surrender to the evolutionary current that flows toward Oneness. Ceres tells us that our planet is our spiritual mother, that she is evolving along with us and needs our support.
Bottom line, our spirituality is about how we relate to one another and so much of that comes from the conditioning of a faulty paradigm of inequality. This transitional phase is about preparing for the Age of Aquarius where the focus will be on learning to live together in harmony and respect.
That brings us to the South Node in Virgo which encourages us to take stock of ourselves, to question our conditioning, our beliefs and the conclusions we drew along the way. Virgo is a champion of self-improvement. Gifted with the power of discernment, Virgo helps us see through the fog of illusion. The South Node is currently transiting our 9th House, the domain of higher thought, philosophy, theology and our world view or paradigm. It is asking us to take a good look at our beliefs, and question everything, analyze everything
Uranus is trying to wake us all up, shake our foundations, crack open our conditioning and flood our minds with fresh ideas. This electrifying planet inspires rebellion, revolution, freedom and autonomy. It is the engine behind individuation. It’s quirky energy pushes us to step out of old molds and forge an authentic identity, however unconventional that may be. It’s also the planet of innovation, especially in the realm of science and technology. Flashes of insight turn into brilliant inventions. Metaphysically Uranus lures us into the unknown, prompting us to ask the big questions, and wonder about things like life after death, destiny and soul purpose. Is there a cosmic plan for humanity?
On June 12th the flow between the nodes was interrupted by a square from Uranus. Mark Jones suggests that when a planet squares the nodes, it acts as a circuit breaker. And what happens when we blow a fuse, or flip a circuit breaker? First there is a disruption in energy flow – the lights go out, appliances go dead, the electricity we take for granted suddenly stops and we instantly become present. Is there a power outage? Should we call the company and report it? Or did we overload a circuit?
It’s a great metaphor for all of us now who are living on overwhelm, swimming in the chaotic energies of collective consciousness, multitasking to our limits. For a moment the unconscious flow was interrupted and we got a reboot, and when Uranus reboots, it signifies a change of direction. The evolutionary flow was diverted onto a new path.
Can you see how the predominant energies reinforce one another, how they work together to free us from the limitations imposed upon our society by a flawed belief system? Uranus is inspiring us to see ourselves and our social contracts clearly so we may extricate ourselves from our indentured status as slaves of capitalism.
Interesting that on the 17th, our favorite scribe applied his baroque signature to the worst deal in U.S. history. As many pundits suggested, it constituted the white flag of surrender. Just a few days earlier he was prepared to bomb Iran into oblivion unless they agreed to stop building up a nuclear arsenal. Now he’s sending them $300 billion of our dollars for reparations, in addition to releasing sanctions on their bank accounts, and suggesting that it’s only fair that Iran have nuclear weapons when its neighbors do. What an about face! And what do we get? A drain on our treasury and a promise to hold future peace talks regarding their nuclear program. Some Art of the Deal!
Chiron enters Taurus
On June 19th Chiron finally left Aries where it has been since 2019, and entered Taurus, exchanging fire for the placid Earth sign of Taurus, and grounding its energy in presence and pleasure. Aries is an action sign, masculine in nature, ruled by Mars. It prods us to test our mettle, make something of ourselves, make our mark in the world.
Taurus on the other hand is ruled by Venus, the polar opposite to Mars. In Taurus we reconnect with our feminine values – nature, beauty, intimate relationships, pleasure, sensuality, empathy and inclusion. While Mars encourages us to strike out on our own, Venus draws us into community. While Mars can lead to aggression and war, Venus provides a context of peace, justice, balance and equality.
When I contemplated Chiron in Taurus, the first question that came up was “What is your relationship to pleasure?” How often do we take time just to enjoy the moment, to immerse ourselves in nature, to cultivate friendship, join communal groups or events? For many of us, we’re “too busy” to enjoy life. We are burdened with responsibility and tormented by the distorted values prevalent in our society. Our lives are dominated by masculine values.
In other words, most of us are out of balance. I am, for sure. I’m constantly working, even though I know the healing powers of nature, of stillness, of peaceful moments with nothing to do. We need each other, we need fun and play balanced by peace and quiet. We need time to BE after all that “doing.”
Perhaps Chiron will bring us a balm to all the chaos and ill will that bombards our senses on a daily basis. However there are major stumbling blocks to pleasure, and one of them is guilt. It has been drummed into us that we need to be productive. I’ll illustrate this with a personal story.
On a summer’s day when I was around 6 years old, I was sitting on a patio swing beneath an awning, listening to the drum of raindrops and popping open the cottonwood pea pods that fell annually from the trees in our back yard. I loved squeezing the pods until they burst and revealed a glistening, silky material that protected tiny seeds. I was blissfully happy, smelling the soil as the rain soaked the flower beds, collecting this silk and swinging back and forth when my mother appeared at the patio door and asked what I was doing. I told her and immediately she demanded to know what I planned to do with the silky substance. I froze. It hadn’t occurred to me to do anything with it. I was just enjoying collecting it, but mother held great scorn for non-productive activity. I saw that scorn in her eyes so I searched wildly for an answer and told her I was going to stuff a dolly.
“Well, all right then. But don’t make a mess!” She disappeared back into the house, but the spell was broken. The pleasure was spoiled and somewhere in my baby subconscious a new law appeared about useless pleasure.
We are so motivationally driven that duty and guilt have warped our sense of pleasure and prevented those precious moments of pure peace and enjoyment. Perhaps Chiron will bring up those childhood wounds that block our ability to enjoy life and help us release them.
The June Solstice
One day after Chiron entered Taurus, the Sun entered Cancer at the peak of Earth’s tilt toward the northern hemisphere. For a brief time it appears to stand still, to pause and bask in the light. The sextile between Sun and Chiron kicks off summer with messages about nurturing ourselves and enjoying life.
Astrologers look to the solstice and equinox charts for clues about the themes that will arise during the coming quarter of the year. First we look at the angles – the Ascendant and Descendant, the Midheaven and IC or nadir of the chart that form the cross of material life. The first thing I noticed was that Black Moon Lilith at 8 degrees of Sagittarius on our Ascendant is opposite Ceres at 9 Gemini at the Descendant. Lilith represents the relationship between the Feminine and the patriarchy. Lilith is the rebel, demanding equality and outraged by a system in which she is demeaned.
The vertical axis has the Virgo Moon within 8 degrees and closing in on the Midheaven, while the IC is only 3 degrees short of Neptune. This T-Square tells us that our union, our spirituality, involves our relationship to the Divine Feminine expressed both in Lilith and Ceres – Lilith as fierce, independent maiden, Ceres as protective mother. Ceres is conjunct our natal Uranus and Gonggong focusing on how we take our planet for granted and neglect our feminine side. Moon in Libra opposite Neptune in Aries indicates a receptivity to spirituality through relationship, rather than patriarchal dogma.
Interesting that the solstice fell on Father’s Day and the main axes of the chart focus on the feminine, in perfect harmony with Chiron in Taurus.
Jupiter Leaves Cancer
To close out the month of June, Jupiter moves into Leo on the 30th.
Jupiter spends around a year in each sign. This year it will race through Leo all the way to the 28th degree before turning retrograde in December. So for the next 5-1/2 months we will be steeped in the warmth of Leo.
The first aspect Jupiter makes will be squaring Chiron. Leo is about living from the heart, finding the courage to be our authentic selves and express ourselves creatively. It’s also about the innocence and wonder of the inner child, a playful approach to life. After squaring Chiron, activating some heart healing and opening, it will oppose Pluto, then conjunct the USA natal North Node. We’ll examine all of this next month when we focus on the nodal shift from Virgo/Pisces to Leo/Aquarius. This is a big energy shift that should lighten our hearts, bring us hope and faith.
Mercury Turns Retrograde
As Jupiter moves into Leo, Mercury appears to stand still at 26 degrees of Cancer as the Earth passes in front of it. For 24 days it will retrace its steps, the very degrees that Jupiter left behind, giving us time to review the past four months. All Mercury retrogrades this year happen in Water Signs, addressing our emotional health. In March it posed questions about our spiritual wellbeing. Now in Cancer it asks us to review family relationships, childhood conditioning and the climate in which we were nurtured, or not. What conditioning blocks our progress? What relationships had an impact on our lives? What needs to heal, to be forgiven, and how does it affect the way we nurture ourselves?
We’ll take a deeper look at Mercury retrograde next month, but for now consider allowing yourself time to reflect, perhaps meditate on family and write your thoughts in a journal. We can fall into circular thinking when we face an issue simply through our minds. Writing in a journal brings surprises, reveals patterns, and allows us to express uncensored feelings.
Another look at AI
Last night I watched a video of Bernie Sanders’ speech on the Senate floor in which he discusses a bill that he is coauthoring with AOC that will transform the function of AI in our society. Bernie pointed out the most obvious fact that we are overlooking about this phenomenon. AI wasn’t created out of thin air. It wasn’t discovered by some genius. AI was developed out of the collective thoughts, inventions, art and culture of humanity that was harvested without our permission by corporations who see a way to make an enormous profit – selling back to us our own collective data. Bernie’s plan for joint ownership of AI is brilliant. Rather than attempt to repeat his words, here is a link to his speech. Do watch it – it’s an eye-opener and an innovative way to perceive something that currently feels like a threat.
AI reflects not only the collective consciousness of humanity from the past, but reveals the potential of evolved consciousness in the future. That’s pretty exciting!
I’ll be back in early July with news and guidance from the heavens. In the meantime, enjoy each precious day of your lives.
Love, love, love!
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