We reach a Solstice point today as the Sun enters Cancer, the sign of the Mother. This is the point at which the ancient Greek Thema Mundi (birth chart of the world) begins.
It’s summertime. We long for easy living. This chart brings some, reminding us we can celebrate and appreciate even in the midst of challenge.
The Sun is conjunct Jupiter! How abundant is that? This is our love for the Earth and our lives here writ large. We sense the entire world, its peoples and ecosystems, are all Family. We all belong.
The Moon in Taurus (where she is exalted) tightly sextiles the Sun and Jupiter, and also rules these two Big Energies. She reminds us our expansion is grounded in who we are in our bodies and in the Earth herself.
The Moon trines Mars in Virgo, offering a calm hug when the must-do-now energy gets intense. She squares Pluto in Aquarius, offering grounding even to this vast, deep force.
The Sun–Jupiter conjunction (with us through the New Moon) squares the Saturn–Neptune conjunction in Aries (yes, also with us).
Our longings for community, security, and plenty are challenged by the need to act. Saturn and Neptune have very different takes on what “right action” looks like: Something we’re all working on.
Notice how the emphasis is in the earliest degrees, the first decans, the places of emergence and becoming.
This chart is not without challenge. There are two yods, an aspect pattern that highlights tensions, connecting planets with nothing in common, neither element nor mode.
Pluto is at the apex of one yod with Mars and Sun–Jupiter at its base. Neither warm fuzzy feelings nor careful attention to detail solve the deep, systemic issues that threaten our well being.
The answer to a yod is found opposite the apex, where we have Leo: Claiming our sovereignty and both the right and need to stand up for what we believe, are called for.
Mars in Virgo is at the apex of a yod with Pluto and Saturn–Neptune at its base. We feel a need to focus, going step by careful step to make progress. Yet the size and depth of the challenges are daunting, and the lack of clarity about how and why we act blocks us.
Pisces is the solution to this one, the place of communion, dreams, and realizing we’re not actually in control as much as we think. Can we find our right orientation, and from there learn how to act indirectly?
For these days of the Solstice, we are aware of the challenges, and yet focus on the abundance of this Earth. What can we celebrate? Where can we build community? Where can we nurture hope?
It’s high summer. A turning point in this parlous year. May we find strength in the warmth of the Sun and the support of our communities.
