This was written by my friend and mentor Adam Gainsburg of Soulsign Astrology (www.soulsign.com.) It is such a beautiful description of the Mars/Venus dance this June solstice that I am copying in total.
Enjoy
Joan
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Tag: Solstice
Happy Strawberry Solstice
We hav
e a strawberry or summer Full Moon on the Solstice this year! What a great convergence of energy – we manifest on the Full Moon and welcome the shift of the Sun into the cardinal energy of Cancer! You may not be one to wish on a star but this is the perfect time to make intentions to the universe!
As the Sun moves into Cancer this year he will have Venus tugging along at his heels. A Sun/Venus conjunction brings heightened creativity and romance to our lives. What a perfect combination to have at the summer solstice! We can frolic in the summer flowers, have a picnic and let our imaginations run wild.
The only thing making us a bit cranky is a conjunction of Pluto and the Moon in Capricorn! Pluto on the Moon is always a prescription for moodiness. Since they are both in someone sullen Capricorn we will have to remember that summer is here and we should leave our worries behind and go play.
Uranus is also squaring the Moon making the atmosphere even more quirky – almost a tinderbox situation. We have had enough of emotional outburst these past two weeks so everyone needs to watch their responses to people.
Let Venus win this battle. It is summer – enjoy, dream and manifest!
OK I Can Tell You Now – Jupiter is in Retrograde.
I know I have been telling you that the big invisible guys, Neptune, Pluto, Uranus and the asteroid Juno are finally going direct and all will be out of retrograde around the beginning of the year. I didn’t lie – don’t come after me with pitchforks. However, I may have sort of let’s say – neglected to tell you about Jupiter. Yes, Jupiter is heading backwards – well it is already there – yes Jupiter will be retrograded in Cancer until mid March 2014.
But wait there is good news. Jupiter is the planet of expansion and moving up and out and forward – constant growth and movement. However, we are headed into the time when we should be going inwards. The days are getting shorter, on December 21 we will experience the shortest, darkest day of the year. You know it is insane that we race around in November and December, shopping and doing – we should be coming in from the cold and nesting not racing to Toys R U at 1 in the morning!
Since Jupiter is in the sign of Cancer, of home and hearth what better time for it to be in retrograde? It is telling us to slow down, assess where we need to work out any issues at home. Appreciate the beauty of a roaring firing and maybe making gifts for people instead of buying something. Spend some time learning how to be inwardly expansive as the days go away and be reading to burst forth in spring. How better to follow the pattern of the seasons. Let Jupiter be your guide on your inward journey.
Have A Watery Solstice.
The Summer Solstice is by nature a watery event because the Sun is moving in the Cardinal, water sign of Cancer. This year we have an abundance of other planets and asteroids in water signs. Mercury and Venus will be in an exact conjunction in 22 degrees Cancer at the Solstice. This is a great time for writing love sonnets and poems if you are so inclined – or just putting pen to paper or ink to paper if you are more artistic. The wordsmith-ability of Mercury combined with the artistry of Venus makes this a perfect time to communicate with words or art.
Other bodies in Cancer will be Vesta and Ceres. The first is the goddess of devotion and the later is the goddess of nurturing and they are both in the sign of mother. Once you put the sonnet down you can work on finding the cause that you can devote yourself too. What feeds your soul? What feeds your desire?
Hey why not combine all of these water signs and sit down and make a list of things that you need to do or want to do – that will nurture your spirit.
Cardinal signs are the doers, the leaders, the ones who get things done. The Sun energy and all of these other very powerful planets and asteroids should give you the energy to take on these projects. Where am I go – what do I want – what feeds me?
Neptune is, of course, still in Pisces, it’s natural ruler -and Saturn is in Scorpio — water, water everywhere. Once you make that list – use these two to put some structure – some design behind your spiritual, devotional practices.
The Solstice is a time for new beginnings! Enjoy
Happy Equinox – beginning of Cardinal time.
The Autumnal Equinox will soon be upon us – September 23, 9:04 AM is when fall arrives in the Washington, D.C. area. Yippee… I love fall and winter – sorry for those who are cold-boned but I can’t wait for fireplaces, sweaters and stews.
This is a time when the Sun reaches a “balance” and the day and night will be equally long. It is also the time when the Sun will be at zero degrees Libra, moving into the Constellation of Libra. All of the equinoxes and solstices happen when the Sun is moving into a Cardinal astrological sign.
Cardinal signs are the movers, the shakers the doers. If you are born with a well aspected cardinal sign on your ascendant you are apt to be someone who takes lead, takes charge of things. The Cardinal Signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.
When people take on spring cleaning in March (Aries) and fall cleaning in September (Libra) they are doing Cardinal activities. Cancer time is summer the time for planting and Capricorn happens around the winter Solstice activities when the houses are full of people and activity.
Fixed signs are those that exhibit stubborn resolve to forge ahead no matter what. Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are all fixed. Taurus follows Aries so you need to cultivate and watch your garden to make sure it grows. Leo is in rule in summer when, for me anyway, you have to get the resolve to face another hot day. Scorpio is the time of Halloween and moves us into the other fixed tradition of Thanksgiving when much attention must be paid to working hard on the harvest and Aquarius is in the dead of winter when it takes a lot to get through the cold.
When the Sun goes into mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo Sagittarius, Pisces we are less concerned with tromping ahead and slugging it out. Gemini is late spring, early summer when we can relax and exchange in mental exchange of ideas, Virgo early harvest when we can see what foods we need to gather to care for our bodies. After Scorpios hard work, Sagittarius can lay back and shoot his arrows into the sky looking for the truth and then Pisces, ah other-worldly Pisces – March brings buds of spring and the time to think of rebirth and new worlds.
So enjoy this Cardinal time. Celebrate the Equinox and get to harvesting your thoughts for the winter to come!
Happy Solstice….
The Summer Solstice is here but what does that mean? Simply, it is when the Sun moves into the sign of Cancer, or Moon Child, if you are more PC. What does that mean exactly? Well let me illustrate this with a few charts. The symbol for the Sun is the circle with the little dot in the middle. OK, on the first chart, cast for 1150 AM Eastern time today shows the Sun 29 degrees into the sign of Gemini. (Each sign is 30 degrees.)
The second chart is cast for 2:00 PM Eastern today. Look! The Sun is now at 0 degrees Cancer. The Solstice will take place around 1: 15 PM – when the Sun moves into Cancer. Anyone born this morning will actually be a Gemini Sun person – this afternoon will see the birth of Cancer Sun people. This only happens on the Solstices and Equinoxes.
So, you ask, if there are twelve signs why do we get so involved in just the 2 solstices and 2 equinoxes? Well, because that is when the Sun moves into Cardinal Signs. Astrological signs are divided into Cardinal, the movers and shakers, Mutable, the more complaint -some say vacillating signs, and Fixed, the stubborn more stable signs. Cardinal signs, Libra, Aries, Capricorn and Cancer, because they are the more active ones – because they are leadership signs, if you will, contain a great deal of energy and thus give a boost to the whole chart.
So when you start to enjoy the summer remember that it all starts with the Cardinal energy of Cancer.
Be Sure You Are Awake Tomorrow Morning – December 21
between 3 -4 AM. It will be the best time to see the pink sky caused by the total lunar eclipse. It will be the first lunar eclipse on the winter solstice since 1638! It is also taking place when the Sun is at 28 degrees Sagittarius which is the location of the galactic center — the spot where astronomers believe is the giant black hole remnant of the big bang.
A lunar eclipse happens when Sun and Moon are in opposition to one another so the Moon will be in Gemini. As I said last week, that is the axis of my North and South Node so this is a time of huge soul evolution for me. Even if this isn’t the case for you with the Sun in the Sag. the truth seeker and the Moon in Gemini, the communicator – this would be a good time to evaluate your personal truth and your ability to express it.
Happy viewing, Happy Solstice!
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| courtesey of Arlenew.com |
Happy Solstice! What does that mean anyway?
It is the Summer Solstice! Yippee! Ok so what does that mean exactly? It is defined in astronomy as the time when the Earth tips on its axis and the Northern part becomes closest to the Sun. For those of us in the Northern hemisphere it brings the onset of summer. It is also the longest day of the year when we have the most sunlight. Astrologically, it is the moment when the Sun tips into Cancer. As you can see in the chart below – the Sun, signified by the blue circle with the dot in the center is in zero degrees Cancer. This will happen at 7:30 AM Eastern on June 21, 2010.
The word solstice comes from the Latin – sol – Sun -and sistere – to stand still and it does look from our vantage point on the ecliptic that the Sun is standing still in the sky. (Yes, I know it always stands still but they didn’t know that when Latin was all the rage.) We know now that because of the way we are tilting it appears that the Sun is static. The science has changed but not the name. For about three days it seems that the Sun has nothing better to do than pour a heavy concentration of its light right on our little heads. Summer is a time of fire, when the sun is growing our crops and providing the food that will nourish our bodies throughout the rest of year.
Cancer, however, is a water sign and tells us that it is the time for home and the enjoyment of friends of family. Summer is the traditional time for family picnics and reunions enjoyed under the warming rays of the Sun – usually by the water. The United States, a country “born” under the sign of Cancer – July 4, 1776 instituted a day of outdoor family celebration right at this time of sun and water!
Later, as the Sun moves into fiery Leo, we will experience the full intensity of the Sun as we move into the “dog days” of summer and finally earthy Virgo takes over in time of the harvest.
What is the “best” way to celebrate the Summer Solstice? Any darn way you please. However, if can incorporate water and fire elements into the day you will be very satisfied I am sure.
This year, Juno, the goddess of loyalty and partnership, will be in conjunction with the Sun as will Mercury. However, this Sun-Juno combination, which is normally of time of committing to someone else, is opposite a Pluto-Ceres conjunction. Pluto is the great transformer – the slow and grinding changer. Ceres is mother Earth. (HMMM Pluto and Ceres are in conjunction in the 6th house of health and physicality and the Earth is erupting toxic oil into the Gulf. Think about that one for a bit.) Add to this mix that the Sun-Juno sisters are in the 12th house – the house of the great cosmic unconsciousness – the house of karma. Can you see what is happening?
A Pluto opposition is a demand to change. Pluto is opposing the Sun – our life force – and Juno – loyalty and commitment and it has karma thrown in. So we will see a time when people are questioning their commitments to others and if it is a karmic commitment – people who came together “like magic” in this lifetime there could be some debt paying to one another. Ceres and Juno in opposition cause “female problems,” i.e. mothers and daughters questioning their relationships. Children particularly from other marriages will be chafing under the rules of the “new mommy.”
So while we are playing on the beach this summer, look out for the sharks. No, not those sharks – the ones that will crop up from the dance of the stars over head!
Happy Solstice all!
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Why December 25?
I have often wondered if the Winter Solstice is December 21, why do we celebrate Christmas on the 25th?Why did the Christians wait for four days before having the big party? The answer is simple – seems our ancient friends were rather cautious. Yes, December 21 is the longest night of the year – but it is the next day when the day grows just a wee bit longer and a little longer the next and so on. They wanted to be darned sure that Sun was indeed returning before getting out the party hats and horns (or reasonable facsimile thereof.)
But the day December 25 was long a day of celebration in the pagan world – a day to celebrate the return of the Sun or son. The Christians didn’t have to look far for a holiday to co-opt on December 25. It was the day that Attis, the Roman son of the virgin Nana who was later sacrificed to bring salvation by being crucified on a tree and then arising three days later, was born.
The Greek god, Dionysus son of Zeus, whose body was symbolically eaten in the form of bread and wine, was also celebrated on December 25. The Egyptians placed December 25 as the birth day of Osiris, the savior-god who was resurrected by his wife and then reined over the after world. The Persians, also happy that the Sun was proving itself back to stay, celebrated the birth of Mithra, a savior who performed miracles, cured the ill and ascended into heaven in the Spring.
So go ahead celebrate the Solstice and then 4 days later the return of the Sun – or son – if you prefer. In either case, you will be carrying on a tradition that predates the current Christian incarnation by about 6000 – 8000 years. It is a great way to link yourself to nature and our collective roots.
The Sun, ruler of Leo, is at its Zenith in August – the time of Leo — but it is the cycle of waxing and waning that we celebrate in the depths of cold winter. Rejoice for the Sun (son) has returned!