Sun into Cancer | Summer Solstice - home, family, roots - fresh new beginnings

Home by Cristiana Apostol

Mercury follows the Sun into Cancer today - joining together at 0 degrees.

With our North Node in Leo now and Leo ruled by the Sun, the Sun's monthly transitions become even more impactful

(is there a family issue that needs to be 'ironed out/worked with' before we can move forward).

Mercury carries a communication, news, information, an issue, contact with sibling or the local environment that sets the tone for the new summer season. It could refer back to something started around April 20th - the last Sun/Mercury culmination point (superior conjunction).

Today's revelation would be the prologue to a whole new chapter that launches after the New Moon on June 23rd. Post to follow.

Cancer season is about home and family, motherhood, real estate and roots, security and patriotism. It wouldn't be surprising if the message Mercury delivers comes from our ancestors. It would be a good time to pay them tribute with a space dedication in your home - be sure to include a photo of yourself as a child. Think about the ways your own story is woven in with theirs and how you carry your mother's emotional story and your father's physical story (and vice versa - it is way more complicated than this) forward.

That North Node in Leo - and our move into heart - has me thinking this Cancer season and Summer Solstice could be a great bit about looking backward into what took root and grew in our heart when we were a child. We'll talk more about this at the New Moon in a couple days.

In the meantime, the Moon is balsamic. Get enough rest. Go through your family albums. The good financial/resource vibes continue from yesterday. What are you mining?

xo all

Mercury Square Chiron, Venus Sextile Neptune, Mercury Sextile Uranus | multiple opportunities - connect, talk, think, forgive

The Crowd by uglybug

There are multiple energies at play today and of course, we still have that powerful Grand Fire Trine (stay careful with fire and away from angry people).

Mercury's square to Chiron makes this an excellent time for a healing conversation. Words can wound though (the kind of wounds that don't heal) - offer compassion, above all else. No one needs our judgement now. The best tone is set when we forget about sounding right and just speak from our heart.

It's time to forgive ourselves all those Mercury foibles.  

Yes, a lifetime's worth - our North Node is in majestic Leo now - think BIG. 

The wrong word we said at the wrong time. The conversation we didn't have. The email we didn't send or the one we did. The idea that didn't work out. The research we didn't do. The sibling crap. The crap car we bought when we knew better. The times we were less than neighborly.

Particularly if we have a strong Virgo or Gemini signature in our chart or packed 3rd or 6th houses. If we do, Mercury is one of our muses. She/he will not be neglected. Do a ceremony. Muses love ceremony. Then we'll use that sextile (opportunity) to "anything-can-happen, freedom loving, future-oriented, tehno-fearless" Uranus to work with this energy in a new way. We'll talk more about this later.
 
The Moon is exalted in Taurus now. This manifestation portal offers up two sextiles (both were exact late last night):

1. Venus, ruler of love, money, self-esteem and women, in Taurus, a sign she rules, sextiles imaginative Neptune in mystical Pisces, a sign he rules. This is excellent energy to attract what we want through imaginative/spiritual/healing work. Creative times with women can be particularly lucrative now. Mine for diamonds.
2. Mercury, ruler of ideas, communications, siblings, our local environment, our transportation, in Gemini, a sign he/she rules sextiles Uranus, ruler of invention, genius, freedom, in passionate Aries - what do we want to start? Think NEW with this one.

What can we make from this word soup within our own story? Sextiles offer opportunities. Today's tangle highly favors our mental and creative work, people connections and our resources.

The Sun is still in Gemini for a few more hours and Mercury is still here for some hours after that - keep talking, learning, looking at different sides of whatever issues are at play. The answers are out there.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of June 19th - new beginnings

Sand wings by Lileinaya

On Monday, the Moon is uber busy (we likely are, too) ... until she isn't anymore.

We start the day with the Moon in initiating, passionate, "me" and action-oriented Aries - get to work early. Best to put future gains ahead of present comfort this morning. Yes, even if the sun is shining (unless we are on vacation then this is good energy for vacation style action - get out there!). With an Aries Moon everyone will want what they want and they'll want it now. The Moon kicks off with a trine (brakes off) to Saturn in Sagittarius. This is a good time to work with Sagittarius themes - foreign, travel, weddings, politics, higher education, religious, media, politics and with structure and authority. With the Moon in Aries it's best to keep the focus on our own stuff even as we deal with 'big picture' themes.

The Moon is sextiling (opportunity) Mercury - good time to make a decision or come to an agreement. Ideas, communication, local activities, neighbors, siblings, transportation, interviews, writing - all get the green light early in the day. Later on the Moon conjuncts Uranus (also in Aries) and then sextiles (opportunity) the Gemini Sun. We are all feeling ambitious and probably a bit restless and scattered.

The Moon goes void at 3:42PM EST and then moves into Taurus a couple hours later. In Taurus the Moon is exalted. This would be a good day to close down early and enjoy some Taurean comfort - good food, nature, massage, etc. Summer is as close as our own fingertips ...

On Tuesday, we have the Moon exalted in Taurus and Venus (happy in Taurus) sextiling Neptune (in Pisces where she rules). Right brain activities are favored. What could be better for making money with imaginative work, attracting what we want with and through women and/or for compassionate, spiritual or healing activities. We will all be absorbing each other's energy now ... likely in a positive way - it will be easy to feel where other people are coming from (if we are patient enough to let ourselves go there) even when we disagree with them.

The rest of week - Wednesday onward, it is all CANCER all of the time (and there is alot of Cancer for the next few weeks actually). First the Sun moves into Cancer kicking off a new season with the Summer Solstice. Post to follow

The Sun quickly conjuncts Mercury (also making a move into Cancer this week) so the first day of summer brings important messages/information

or something involving a Mercurian theme - information, communication, sibling, transportation, local environment - that could involve us through the summer season.  

Family discussions will be sentimental. What we need and what other people need will be colored by our memories of how things used to be (or how we wished they had been). Comfort comes from people and situations that are familiar.

Then we have the New Moon in Cancer (Friday) - the entire end of the week is about NEW BEGINNINGS. We'll talk about this New Moon later, coming so near the Summer Solstice and sitting with Mercury - it's a big one.

Cancer is all about family and home and history and patriotism and security - about having our needs met and meeting the needs of others we are close to. It's about vulnerability and how we deal with that.

The Sun will shine a light on these areas as well as light up our natal Cancer house. Cancer is ruled by the Moon. Her emotional nature comes from the fact she changes signs every couple days - contrast that with the Sun who moves through one sign a month or Neptune who sits in the same sign for fifteen years. Can you imagine if the celestial body ruling our emotions stayed in the same place for fifteen years? We wouldn't be moody anymore that's for sure and certainly some people would be lucky enough to be smiling for over a decade, but we could be stuck in a bad mood through four presidents and three car loans. That's a whole lot of lemons!

Looked at it this way - the moody, changeable Moon is our friend, right?

By the end of the week, the Sun, Mercury and Mars will all be in emotional Cancer. Whatever is happening will feel deeply personal. Emotions will override logic. We will be feeling where we are most vulnerable. So will other people, so let's give each other a break.

On Sunday, Mars (in Cancer) will square Jupiter (in Libra) and then trine (brakes off) Neptune (now retrograde in Pisces).  This adds passion, excitement and ambition to whatever we are focused on. It could make something feel bigger than it actually is. New beginnings can seem overwhelming because we will be feeling the words we hear and speak, feeling our way through the actions we take (yes, this could slow us down a bit) and feeling what we need to feel safe. The further our current circumstances deviate from this space of safety and the feeling of "home" the more stress we will be dealing with over the next couple weeks.

xo all

Neptune Stations Retrograde | increased intuition, releasing fantasy, releasing guilt, the anesthetic wears off ...

The Whispering Lake by Mirish

Neptune retrogrades are subtle because Neptune is subtle. Think of the way rock is worn away by water - slowly and almost imperceptibly - but effectively and permanently.

This one takes Neptune from 14 to 11 degrees Pisces through late November. If you have planets or points in those degrees or in those degrees in any of the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) or mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) you will feel this year's retrograde strongest. Neptune is retrograde about 40% of the time.

Neptune rules the ocean, the seas, sleep, our dreams (both the dreams when we are sleeping and the dreams when we are awake), the unconscious, the subconscious, our inter-connectedness, flow, imagination, compassion, meditation, medication, illusion, deception, lies, addiction, alcohol, exhaustion, escape, baptism, sacrifice, spirituality, detox, faith, psychology, mental health, mental illness, intuition, mysticism, fantasy, the ethereal realms (things that cannot be seen, touched, tasted or heard with our five senses), art, dance, music, film, chemicals, drugs, poison, ghosts, victim, martyr, saint, religion, Christ-like, fanaticism, hospitals, healing, research, confusion, retreats, release, isolation, orphans, nursing homes, retirement, our feet, vision, karma, hidden enemies, what is hidden, what we do in secret, lack of boundaries, the 12th house of our charts (things we do last, things that are put away, our subconscious, our self-undoing), the house that holds Pisces in our charts, the 12th house of our charts.

At first glance this might look like a list of unconnected things - but when you look closer can you see/feel the connections? And of course, even as we look for the connection we are using Neptune!

Something here is up for review which means situations, people, circumstances will come up that will re-focus our attention on one or more of these areas over the next few months.

This will be a time to reflect, re-do, re-evaluate, re-examine, release or re-visit what we are working with here. Neptune always turns us inward. Dream guidance and intuition will increase.

Remember when a big energy shifts like Neptune does today we will literally be "off" so things can just feel "off" - let's not push where we don’t need to push. Instead let's stay alert to the signs and feelings around us and take our cue from them. We might require extra (or less) sleep, more (or less) time alone or more (or less) meditation time.

Avoid mind altering chemicals and known addictions. Life's natural anesthetic is moving in reverse now, so the lure of outside numbing agents - that drink or shopping spree or pain pill will be stronger - keep this in mind.

Imagine we are standing at the shore line up to our knees in the cold ocean. When we look down into the water everything looks foggy. Our legs look two sizes too big, almost like one wide mermaid's tale (or this is how I imagine myself, clamshell bra and all). The shells and pebbles at our feet are not in exactly the place they appear to be when we reach for them. Even in the clearest water things are illusory and shifting.

Then the tide flows out. The shells at our feet look a lot more ordinary and less colorful and they are smaller than we thought they would be.

Instead of things being closer than they appear, they now appear to be exactly where they actually are. Stuff is a little less magical - the mermaid's tail/tale turns back into our ordinary legs; sunburned and spider-veined - but now that we have legs again we can do all kinds of things we couldn't do before. Maybe sometimes the tail/tale is needed to keep us sane and protected, but at some point it just gets in our way. And this is a sloppy, terrible metaphor, but you might see what I am getting at. Maybe.

Neptune retrogrades separate the illusion from reality. 

And what we will be left with next November will be the reality. Useless boundaries, lies, guilt, martyr and victim stories and other tall tale/tails will be left on the shoreline. What was vague will clear up. Draining dreams will dissolve. Reality shifts.

As Neptune stations she is sextiling (opportunity) Juno (partnership, commitment) in Capricorn (time, responsibility. structure, work). Since Juno is also retrograde - for some people this will be part of that partnership/commitment "re-view" we talked about HERE - also finishing up in November which I guess will be a big month for .. finishing up!

Also today if you have anything in your chart around 26 degrees of Aquarius, Leo or Gemini there is a nice trine (brakes off) between the Gemini Sun and the South Node in Aquarius and a nice sextile (opportunity) to the North Node in Leo. Communications, ideas, information - also siblings, local neighborhood, transportation - issues that come up now could have a positive impact on your future. If there is something you have been detached from (Aquarius) it could be time to put it in your spotlight (Leo) or maybe your bystander role in a group needs to move more front and center? See what develops. Write down words that catch your ear now.

xo all