Summer Solstice 2013

Into the Sea by Heni Sandoval

Hello Friends,

As promised here is a look at the astrological influences of  Summer Solstice 2013.  The Solstice  – Summer in the Northern hemisphere and Winter in the Southern –  is on 6/21  at 5:04 AM UT which is 1:04 AM  EDT and 10:04 PM on 6/20 PDT.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and also the exact moment when the Sun enters Cancer each year.  In modern times it comes when summer fun and vacation mode goes into high gear.  Paradoxically it also indicates the beginning of the waning of the Sun’s rays.  For the old Earth-based religious traditions this is one of the high holy days of the year. Ancient edifices like Stonehenge in Britain and Pyramids in Egypt and Central and South American were built to monitor and mark this and other powerful days of the solar season. The wheel of the seasons reaches it’s zenith, pauses in radiant glory, then begins its cycle ever so slowly toward the dark days of winter – hard to imagine in the warmth and outside glory of June!

The Farmer’s Almanac  has exact Solstice times for your area along with fun info and EarthSky has good information too. 

The chart for the Solstice is essentially the birth chart for Summer season and it’s an interesting one this year!  Since the USA is also born with Sun in Cancer I cast the solstice chart for Washington, DC

 

For astro-tech folks here are details: As always at the Solstice the Sun is at 0* Cancer and this year Mercury, Venus are in Cancer too  exactly conjunct with asteroids Vesta and Ceres nearby also in Cancer.  The ascendant for the Washington DC chart is at 27* Pisces which forms an exact trine to the Moon at 27* Scorpio. (More important in this chart since Moon is the ruler of Cancer.)  Jupiter at 28* Gemini  is in close opposition to the Galactic Center and is also very close to the Sun. Mars is midway through his Gemini journey at 14* with asteroid Pallas Athena nearby at 12* Gemini.  Pluto in Capricorn 10* and Uranus in Aries 11* maintain their tense, challenging  square, while in contrast Saturn in Scorpio 5* and Neptune in Pisces 5* form a lovely exact trine, and the new Cancer Sun adds even more ease and flow.  Chiron at 13* Pisces forms another trine to the North Node at 14* Scorpio, while asteroid Juno at 18* Aquarius forms a square to both North and South Node (SN is 14* Taurus).

Here’s what all this means for us here below:  A beautiful highlight is the exact meeting (conjunction) between messenger Mercury and sweet Venus in the loving, healing sign of Cancer while eternal flame Vesta and mature nurturer Ceres flow nearby adding even more lovely energy to this heavenly meet-up.  Cancer rules home and family so this brings beautiful energy for a season of closeness and fun with the ones you love.  Since they all line up with the Moon (which rules Cancer) in deeply powerful Scorpio even if things get tense at times, this energy helps move through any drama with the potential for long standing dysfunctional family patterns to transform  like a Phoenix rising from old ashes.  Saturn in Scorpio adds his major re-structuring energy to push things along further, while Neptune and wounded healer Chiron in Pisces help raise vibrations higher than you might believe possible.  So don’t be afraid, dive into family dynamics and test new waters! This also extends beyond family to any significant relationships in your life.

Massive Jupiter is stationed opposite the multidimensional vortex of the Galactic Center helping to pull in cosmic information from Universal forces  and as the Summer moves along Mars will be at this same opposition point further activating the energy  shift to a higher vibration for those ready to evolve.  Meanwhile Lord of Chaos Uranus and Potent Pluto maintain their challenging square-off.  Uranus in feisty Aries has his fists up ready for a rumble, while Pluto retrograde in bureaucratic Capricorn allows the powers that be to continue believing they can operate as they always have.  When you look around the world, it’s more than obvious this dynamic has been front and center for a while. Consider the civil war in Syria, the people rising up in Greece, Turkey and just recently massive demonstrations in the streets of Brazil with people demanding their governments work for them, not against them. And in the US  recent revelations by whistle blower Edward Snowden about extensive NSA data mining operations  have citizens mad as hornets, while the President and NSA officials scramble to explain, which sounds a lot like,  “Nothing’s happening here, don’t look behind the screen.” Uranus goes retrograde in mid July, so things may calm down for a while but dangerously so, like a simmering pressure cooker the cook took his eye off too long.

Jupiter’s entrance into Cancer on 6/26 will begin to both trigger this pressure point and augment the flowing beauty – a very dynamic and interesting contrast.  Learn more about how important Jupiter entrance into Cancer for the first time in 12 years in June’s newsletter HERE.

The karmic north and south nodes play a large part in this season’s energy pattern too.  The north node = a new direction that must be followed in order to evolve, while the south node = well known patterns which no matter how positive must be left behind until the evolved understanding of the north node is reached. A great metaphor is “Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz”. The south node is Kansas – home, comfort zone, fall back point, Aunt Emma is there with a tray of brownies! The north node is the Emerald City, everything necessary is there, the wizard, the ruby slippers, but flying monkeys and wicked witches attack on the way!  The nodes in a personal birth chart indicate very karmic energy patterns.

In terms of a mundane chart like the Solstice chart which affects everyone their meaning has a larger effect. The south node indicates a line of least resistance, fall back point into old paradigms, versus the north node which urges everyone to courageously forge ahead to new territory and reach deeper/higher meaning. The nodes are always opposite each other and stay in the same signs for 18 months. Currently the north node is at 14* Scorpio and south node is at 14* Taurus midway through their journey. South node in earth sign Taurus represents conservative, traditional, status quo perspective – hold on to all you’ve got and stand your ground like a Bull! North node in the deep bubbling waters of Scorpio pulls everyone into passionate emotions and forces us collectively to face our deepest fears, ugliest paranoia, greediest motivations, with the ideal of transforming these negative patterns into a deeper understanding of what it means to be human with forgiveness  of self and others. Then and only then can the world transition into a better place, like a Phoenix rising from the flames.

In the Solstice chart Pluto works harmoniously with south node Taurus which repeats the theme of resistance to change. Taurus is connected to banks, money markets and conservative values in general. It’s easy enough to see these institutions are not interested in changing their ways. At the same time all the watery energy in the chart, most closely represented by Chiron at 13* Pisces which forms a tight trine to north node Scorpio, aids in opening the flood gates of change which can no longer be resisted or denied. Scorpio is the most persistent and powerful of all signs. Scorpio digs deep to unearth the truth then digs even deeper. These are powerful times folks and you have your part in this passion play too.  When enough individuals have the courage to change it helps government leaders and larger worldly structures transform too. There is no “other” we have met the enemy and he is us.

I hope your new season is filled with powerful transformation of the most positive kind and that you have plenty of time to spend with your loved ones to enrich all your lives. Enjoy the blessings of the beautiful cascade of healing Cancerian waters.

Best,

Melissa

IMAGE NOTE:  I love this painting called “Into the Sea” by Heni Sandoval (who happens to be my very talented sister) which is just perfect for the Solstice and the Sun’s entrance into Cancer whose symbol is the Crab. Find more of Heni’s art at Circles Round the Sun and also at Heni’s Happy Paintings