Summer Solstice

Astrological news this week: Fire and water at the Cancerian Solstice

Astrological update for the week of June 20-27, 2022

art by Lynn Fogel

Summer (June) Solstice The big news this week is the Solstice. Up here on the top of the world, the Solstice is the longest day of the year and in the tropical zodiac it’s the time that the Sun enters the sign of Cancer (for my friends Down Under, the Solstice marks the return of the light after darkness). (The four cardinal signs mark the change of seasons: Cancer in June, Capricorn in December, Libra in September and Aries in March.)  These cardinal points are portals for change – cardinal signs carry the potential for action and initiation, so it’s very appropriate that they mark these important seasonal changes.

During the solstice the Sun appears to stand still as it beams its nourishing light across the northern Hemisphere.  The energy of the Sun feeds us and is crucial for our vitality, and the Summer Solstice offers a peak of creative potential. This is especially true because the chart for the 2022 June Solstice reveals five planetary bodies (including the Moon and the new planet Eris) in fiery Aries, inspiring action and purification of Will and intention. The fire of Aries is not a friend to the Cancerian energy of the Solstice, and with the Aries Moon along with expansive Jupiter in a challenging square formation to the Solstice Sun there will need to be some kind of adjustment to our intentions in order to be in synchronization with the planetary energies. Fire can be rather impersonal, driving from pure desire and need which does make this a really good time to ask ourselves what we really need, what drives us, what do our passions tell […]

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By |2022-06-20T09:29:10-04:00June 20th, 2022|Planetary news this week|0 Comments
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Weekend update June 19, 2021: The Summer Solstice and Jupiter station

art by Laurel Burch

It’s been a quiet week astrologically, but this weekend we are making up for it.  Technically Jupiter has been stationary for the past week but it actually is at a standstill this weekend as it prepares to turn retrograde on Sunday.  You can catch up here for more on what that means, but with Jupiter’s influence extra strong right now everything may seem larger than life.

That also means that stationary Jupiter is a big presence in the chart of the Summer Solstice (or June Solstice for my friends down under).  The astrological Solstice occurs at the moment that the Sun enters the sign of Cancer, the cardinal sign of June. Each of the cardinal signs marks the turning of the seasons: from the Summer in Cancer we move into the Autumn of Libra, followed by the Winter of Capricorn and the Spring in Aries.

During the solstice the Sun appears to stand still as it beams its nourishing light across the northern Hemisphere.  The energy of the Sun feeds us and is crucial for our vitality, and the Summer Solstice offers a peak of creative potential.  The Sun is in Cancer, the sign of the Moon, and lunar feeds the soul and opens the heart.  That makes the June Solstice particularly potent and fertile.  This is the perfect time to nurture the seeds of our dreams and our sweetest imaginings.

The Solstice chart is a powerful one, with the Moon, the Solstice ruler, in intense Scorpio and squared by Mars, planet of aggressive energies.  Mars is the traditional ruler of Scorpio, so this linkage is even more profound and indicates a strong drive towards Truth and the satisfaction of our pure desires.  The […]

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By |2021-06-19T07:04:43-04:00June 19th, 2021|Holidays, Planetary news this week|0 Comments
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The significance of the Solar Eclipse at the June Solstice

art by Robin Mead

I posted a portion of this article on my Facebook page. 

Summer may begin on June 21st in the northern latitudes, and winter for my friends down under, but the June Solstice occurs when the Sun enters Cancer in the tropical zodiac.  This year’s June solstice occurs on June 20, 2020 at 5:43 pm EDT and will be followed shortly thereafter, at 2:41 am EDT on June 21st, by a solar eclipse at the New Moon in Cancer.  For thousands of years, humans have celebrated these solar events, as well as the equinox balance points, as major turning points of the year.  The solstices mark the extremes of the positioning of the Sun relative to the Earth and serve as a portal for the energies of solar conscious to penetrate through the mist of human illusion.

The symbolism of an eclipse is connected to the Nodes of the Moon – points in the sky where the path of the Moon crosses the path of the Sun.  Because the lunar nodes are connected to fate and destiny, eclipses do often have a fated quality and a sense that something in the life is being exposed or released.  At the solar eclipse, the conscious intentional energy of the Sun is blocked by the lunar instincts and deep feelings.  Because the Sun and Moon are both in the emotional sign of Cancer, this focus on feelings and instinctive reactions is heightened even more.  And with Mercury (mind and communication) also in Cancer, our thoughts (Mercury) are flavored with feeling and less objective and rational than we may be comfortable with.

All New Moons, whether an eclipse or not, are a time […]

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By |2020-06-20T11:45:35-04:00June 20th, 2020|Moon|3 Comments
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Planetary news this week! Full moon, Neptune retrograde, Mars reactions, and the Solstice

This week is so full of planetary action I hardly know where to begin!  If you missed my post on the Full Moon of June 17th you can catch it here.  The amplification of the Full Moon intensifies some of the other drama going on right now with Mars and Mercury so let’s talk about that a bit here.

Mars and Mercury

Last week I wrote: “Mars is quite active between the 13th and the 23th, which will help us to shake off some of the inertia of Jupiter/Neptune but could also create some problems.  Mars is the action planet, and it is currently opposing Saturn (limitations and restriction) and will soon also oppose Pluto (destruction, new beginnings).  The combination of Mars attempting to push its way through blockages, sometimes in a reckless manner, with the confusion of Jupiter/Neptune could create some chaos.  All of these planets are between 16 and 22 degrees, so if you have planets in your chart at those degrees you will be particularly affected.”  All of this is still true, and Mercury is involved now as well.

Mercury represents the mind and the way we think, communicate, and process information.  Mercury is in Cancer now where it encourages emotional thinking – this can be helpful when dealing with emotional issues, but less helpful when a more rational mind is required.  Mercury aligns with aggressive Mars on the 18th, stirring up arguments and creating a generally disagreeable environment.  It’s tempting to want to avoid the emotionality of what may arise, but there are clues to healing and progress in those emotions.  Ideally we want to pay attention to the reactions that bleed through our normal interactions without getting swept away […]

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By |2019-06-17T08:55:09-04:00June 17th, 2019|Planetary news this week|0 Comments
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Summer Solstice: A Crescendo of Light

Summer Solstice Art by Danielle Barlow

The Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year.  For many in today’s (northern hemisphere) world that means beach holidays and cookouts, but on a more esoteric level it is the fulfillment of the light of consciousness.

The esoteric year begins at the time just after the Winter Solstice with the return of the light as the days begin to lengthen and the darkness diminishes.  The light of the Sun is associated with the principal energy source in the human experience, and the astrological Sun (your Sun Sign as it is called) represents that energy source, that illumination, within your own Self.  As the light returns we become more expansive – brighter and more awakened.

The turning of the year between the cardinal points (zero degrees of the cardinal signs) begin with the darkness of the Winter Solstice at zero degrees Capricorn, moving through the Vernal Equinox at zero degrees Aries, culminating at the Summer Solstice in Cancer, and waning at the Autumn Equinox in Libra.  Equinoxes are times of balance and equilibrium; solstices are times of ebb and flow.

The Summer Solstice is a time to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness in the individual.  The Sun is newly in Cancer – associated with the Moon, the soul (scarab in ancient Egypt) The Moon, ruler of Cancer, is associated with the harvest and the cultivation of the land. The Sun aids in this cultivation in our external lives, and the power of the Moon cultivates the emotional body and the Soul.  In esoteric studies the “central sun” acts as the point of integration between Spirit and Matter.  At the Solstice the Solar and Lunar powers unite to fuel a transformational shift.

To put […]

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