Hands are more awkward than fins
by Rachel Dobson

IMAGE NOTE: Rachel Dobson  is an artist, writer and researcher with more than three decades of experience in fine art painting and illustration. For the past year and a half, she has been incorporating meditation and mindfulness practices into her work, which in her own words,  “opening a new world of imagery for me. ”   I chose “Hands are more awkward than fins” because it’s a perfect illustration of the Solstice energies. Too many hands driving us to distraction, and we definitely need fins to navigate the deep waters swirling around now!  Fine more of Rachel’s work at Spiralmeander

Summer Solstice 2016

Summer Solstice arrives this year arrives on June 20th at 6:34p EDT, 3:34p PDT and 22:34p UT  – Winter Solstice for those in the Southern Hemisphere.  This is the moment each year when the Sun enters Cancer and is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

EarthSky always has good Solstice info as does TimeandDate. This year the Full Moon is the same day as the Solstice which hasn’t happened since 1948. Read about it at the Old Farmers Almanac Summer Solstice Full Moon.

             This photo is of the Summer Solstice Sun rising at Stonehenge which also looks like it could be the Full Moon rising.

The Full Moon is at 29* Sagittarius on 6/20 at 7:02a EDT and the Solstice arrives at 6:34p EDT making this an unusually powerful Solstice day. Stonehenge in England is one of the most popular places on the globe to celebrate the Solstice, but if you happen to be in the UK over the solstice there are other good places to celebrate  11 alternative stone circles to celebrate the summer solstice, which all look pretty wonderful too.

  Here is the Solstice chart cast for my backyard garden where I soak my crystals in the Solstice Sun each year.

Last year’s Solstice was filled with fire, 2016’s Solstice also has a large dose of fire but has more water and earth with some airy sprites flitting around too. Great for soaking in bubbling hot springs and making colorful mud pies.

The Solstice chart is the birth chart of this new season when each year the Sun enters Cancer, the first water sign of the zodiac wheel.  This year sweet Venus just dipped into Cancer too traveling near the Sun.  Venus and the Sun have been close together in the fluttery air sign of Gemini for 4 weeks already and now that both swim in the warm waters of Cancer more emotional tones bubble up into your consciousness.

Muscular Mars, a big player in the Solstice chart maintains his retrograde journey in the steamy waters of Scorpio. Mars reaches out to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces which adds more depth to this emotional quality.  These deep emotions can be accessed for powerful healing and stronger love, as also tapped for more hate, fear and despair – as always it’s each person’s own choice.

Huge Jupiter is in earth sign Virgo maintaining a productive trine to Pluto in Capricorn, and the Moon, ruler of Cancer, is also in capable earth sign Capricorn amplifying Pluto’s transformative power.  At the same time Jupiter wields a hard fist against Lord of Karma Saturn in Sagittarius, who in turn squares off against  misty Neptune in Pisces. Communicator Mercury travels in his own air sign of Gemini adding a lighter touch – the air waves shimmer! At the same time Mercury, the trickster,  is also exactly opposite Neptune which means the Mutable Square so active in June maintains it’s irritating energy pattern.  (See June’s issue for more on the Mutable Square.)

Renegade Uranus in Aries brings in more fire power but stands outside most of the Solstice action. Asteroid goddess Ceres is by his side  lending him her mature counsel but will he listen? The Uranus/Ceres connection forms an exact inconjunct (or quincunx) to Mars making an itchy but impossible to scratch feeling. Donna Cunningham has a good article Heinous Hybrids – Why the Quincunx is no Minor Aspect to get a better idea of what an inconjunct represents.

Rounding out the Solstice chart are asteriod goddesses Vesta in Gemini near Mercury and Pallas Athena near Neptune adding their energy to the fidgety mutable square, while Juno travels off and alone in harmonious, diplomatic Libra.  Juno represents “commitment” and the fact she stands apart in peace loving Libra with no connection to any other planets is a cosmic message for sure.

In non-astrologese here is what all this means:

The Solstice energies offer deep healing patterns for those ready to let go of the emotional pain they’ve been carrying forever along with providing deeper love.  There is an ease of communication and the impetus to express these profound emotions which aids in the healing and spreading of compassion and love. There is also plenty of grounded practical energy to make manifest these positive attributes, in other words once you mindfully choose to heal and express more loving thoughts and actions it is easy to actually walk your talk.

At the same time there is plenty of negativity swirling around to tap for unconscious people unaware they could make different choices leading to more positive outcomes. And for those very aware of their anger and pain, but not ready to let go of it and in fact long to compound it and spread it to others, this energy can be used very destructively as the recent killings in Orlando prove. Don’t like saying this but with Mars retro in Scorpio, more of this hate-filled energy is likely to manifest, but it does not have to be so!

Consider this – the reaction to this horrible, hateful crime gave evidence to positive compassionate energy, as once again around the world monuments lit up in solidarity. This time lit in rainbow flag colors to honor the LGBT community and victims of the nightclub massacre and the #lovewins hashtag went viral again. Tony award winner for the play Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda said this in his acceptance speech: “This show is proof that history remembers, we live through times when hate and fear seem stronger, we rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer. Love is love is love is love is love, and love cannot be killed or swept aside, Fill the world with music love and pride.”

It truly is up to each one of us to become more awake and aware of how we use these ‘as above, so below’ patterns. I know and believe that you my friends who read Heavenly Messages are of a higher vibration.  This Solstice seeds intentions for the season, let us all plant more love so that beautiful blossom has more of chance to grow and spread. Love is love is love and cannot be swept aside!

May it be so! And may you all have a love-filled, beautiful Solstice and summer time.

Crystals soaking up the Solstice Sun