June 20th ~ 27th

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

The Solstice, the day of the year when the sun enters Cancer, is one of the four sacred cardinal corners of the Solar Year. The Solstice on June 20th (or 21st depending on where you are in the world) is one of the longest days in the Northern Hemisphere, and the shortest in the South. It is a day of power and initiation. The fruit is on the vine, the days are hot here in the Northern half of the world, and we celebrate the fruition of nature’s bounty. 

Memorialized by the hele-stone of Stonehenge, Midsummer has been celebrated historically with bonfires to welcome in prosperity, fertility, and abundance for the Summer months ahead. When the Sun enters Cancer we are asked to honor our roots, our heritage, the Mother, the homeland, our ancestors and the very roots of our being. Ruled by the Moon, this year we also have a New Moon in Cancer on Wednesday, June 25th, just days after the Solstice. The Moon as with her home sign of Cancer, has an affinity for the Sea, for Mother Principle, as well as with the emotions with empathy, caring, sentiment, and feeling. 

Like an anchor in a storm, our emotional foundation tethers us to a place of safety and security that we trust will not be shaken, no matter what happens, no matter where we are. It is a sign of connecting, and serves as the foundation of the Solar Year, holding us together by connecting to each other through our deep emotional roots, through our common bonds, and a natural sense of community and belonging. 

New Moons are symbolic of New Beginnings, and the Ingress chart for the Midsummer Solstice also sets its own tone for the next quarter of the year, with an emphasis on those things that support us, hold us, and make us feel safe. This year, both the New Moon chart, and the Ingress chart are conjunct expansive Jupiter, daring us to think large, and to grow beyond our previous expectations. But we are being asked to do so in a climate of uncertainty (square Neptune) and under stern forces that aim to curb and limit that growth (Saturn). 

Whenever planets straddle the Cardinal Cross, which is the earth’s axis, those planets have a much stronger influence over the affairs of Humanity. Neptune at 2º of Aries casts doubt and uncertainty about the future, both globally and in our own lives. And when we are subsumed by the void of uncertainty, we have a tendency to fill in the space with our own imaginations, doubts, and fears. Saturn at 1º of Aries, by contrast, like an authoritarian overlord lays down laws, the supposed to’s, the rules, that seem to only add to the general confusion, as we struggle to discern what is truth and what is posture. And it is in this climate that Jupiter at 2º of Cancer, the planet of growth and expansion, the planet of morals, ethics, justice and inclusiveness, is asked to do its good work. 

Within this context, it is helpful to note that Jupiter, which finds its exaltation in the sign of Cancer, has the edge. It is larger because it is inclusive. It is more magnificent because its aims are for the greater good of humankind, the world at large, and life itself. It is a planet of hope. Of Abundance and Fertility. Of possibility. 

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. ~ Arundhati Roy

When I look at the charts for the Ingress/Solstice chart and the New Moon in Cancer, I see hope and possibility even in the face of extraordinary and uncertain times. Like a glimmer, a flame, the Lord of Light shines ever more brightly this month with bountiful Jupiter at his side. 

Litha, the Cancer Solstice, Midsummer here in the Northern Hemisphere, was honored in ancient times with fire and drums and celebration. Even as late as the 18th century bonfires were lit on the hilltops and countryside of England. And so may we also dedicate to the sun gods, dance and pay homage to the Lord of Light at this magical time of the year. Heck, we’ve got that humungous gas giant Jupiter on our side! He’s our Super Power. We’ve got this!

The New Moon at 4º Cancer 07’ on Wednesday, June 25th (6:31 am Eastern Time; 3:31 am Pacific; 11:31 am in the UK), is just minutes away from Jupiter at 3º Cancer 32’, making this an especially fertile New Moon for making intentions. And that is even despite its squares to Saturn and Neptune. And with an exact sextile to motivated Mars in Virgo and a trine to the asteroid Vesta, who takes her oaths very seriously, this is a Moon that dares to defy the odds. 

The New Moon in Cancer is really good for: 

• Nourishing yourself and others. Baking a cake. Feeding your friends and loved ones. 
• Nourishing your mind, your soul, and your imagination. 
• Honoring the caregivers in your life. Call your parents. Send a care package. Make a surprise visit. 
• Women or women’s issues. The divine feminine. Women’s circles. 
• Gathering the family, the tribe, the community. 
• Intentionally nurturing a sense of belonging, for yourself, for your loved ones, for strangers. 
• Cultivating greater emotional security and stability within the home, family and community. 
• Revisiting the homeland, getting in touch with your roots, your family traditions, your heritage, your culture. 

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are, and not be questioned. ~ Maya Angelou

What we are really needing this time of year is to focus on those things that bring greater comfort, and make us feel safe and taken care of. What might you want to change in order to bring greater emotional safety and security and a sense of belonging? Which foundations of your life need a little shoring up right now? 

If you wish to make intentions or positive affirmations with the New Moon in Cancer, do so after the time of the New Moon in your area, but while it is still new and filled with potential (from the New Moon on Wednesday thru the Crescent Moon on Saturday, June 28th). Make your intentions and affirmations positive and make them your own. 

• May I come to realize that empathy, sensitivity and caring is my Super Power.
• May I find that safe harbor where I can go, where I can be as I am and won’t be questioned. 
• I embrace and appreciate the patterns and events in my life that have led to where I am now.
• I am aligned with the tides of the Moon, trusting that it will take me where I need to go.
• May I create a sanctuary of safety and security within my own home and community.
• I honor the vast field of experience known as the imagination, where all things are possible.
• May I reacquaint myself with my past in order to create a foundation for the future. 
• May I channel the Great Mother as the giver and supporter of all Life.
• With the heart of the Lunar Goddess I support and sustain all of life’s children as if they were my own. 
• No matter what obstacles, no matter how difficult and painful my circumstances may be, may I never lose the capacity to hope and to care.

For the New Moon for your sign or natal house, check out this week’s horoscopes:

HOROSCOPES

Image: CrystalWind.ca