Summer Solstice: Sun enters Cancer

Summer begins when the Sun enters Cancer at 11:32PM ET on June 20, and the wheel of the year turns again. The Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night. The Sun has been steadily climbing, the light growing longer each day, since the Winter Solstice. In Gemini season we watch with wonder as the days extend later and later, until, at last, it reaches its zenith. The Sun enters Cancer and immediately begins its descent back down. From now until December 21, the Sun’s light will lessen. But we won’t feel it until Fall. For the next three months--the astro seasons of Cancer, Leo, and Virgo--the Sun’s heat and power will warm the Earth, causing crops to grow. Our own sense of possibility will expand. Summer is a time of great abundance in the Northern Hemisphere. Reflect on how far you’ve come since the shortest night. What is coming into fruition that is the direct result of the seeds you planted in the dark period? The seasons teach us about a great paradox of life: when things feel full they are often declining, and when they feel empty they are often increasing. Check out Pagan Baby: Litha * Summer Solstice for fun and magical activities to do with your loved one this weekend. 

Cancer is ruled by the watery Moon, who’s orbit takes 28.5 days. A subtle yet powerful force that sensitizes everything it touches. We feel its magnetic pull in our bodies and watch it move the tides of the ocean. People menstruate by the Moon’s cycle, which is the basis for our monthly calendar. Our emotions ebb and flow with the Moon, which is why Cancer season is a time of heightened intuition and big feelings. Throughout the course of human evolution, our survival was assured by having a secure place in a group or family where our basic needs would be met. Cancer presides over the sacred duty of ensuring there would be a safe place to sleep, nourishing food, clean water, and enough care and attention for youth to thrive. When the Sun transits through this cardinal sign it illuminates our attachment style. The way we were nurtured growing up and our own habits of taking care. Your attention will be drawn towards the intimacy of your bonds. Who you show up for and how they show up for you in a pinch. 

For the next month, until the Sun enters Leo on July 22, there will be an added importance to the emotional quality of your home and hearth. What does it look, feel, smell like in your intimate environment? Cancer likes to get cozy with it, but can unconsciously let energetic debris pile up. Spring cleaning helps us prepare to throw open our doors in Summer and let the world in. Take the final days of Gemini season to clean out any dust bunnies. It will help prepare you for the increased psychic connection with your personal space. Remember that the Moon’s fast orbit means that it changes sign every 2.5 days. Feelings aren’t facts, even though it can seem that way during Cancer season. Expect to need more time, attention, and reassurance from loved ones, and give it to those you care about if you’ve got a little extra to spare. 

Jupiter stations retrograde at 2”11 Pisces on June 20, and begins its journey back towards Aquarius. Jove in its home water sign of the two fishes has brought a resurgence of hope to the land. The potential of new and good things has felt not just possible, but promised, since Jupiter entered Pisces on May 13. Have you seen any movement or activity in the house ruled by Pisces in your chart? Where have avenues and opportunities opened up for you? Expect these prospective unfoldings to come more full into bloom in early 2022. When outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn station retrograde, it is not the same as Mercury or Venus who’s retrogrades signal changes in their impacts and effects. With Jupiter retrograde, its ability to give gifts and bring blessings is diminished, and there may be some light reversals of fortune, but generally it is just a more muted version of the benefic energy. Jupiter will remain in Pisces until July 27, so continue to enjoy the good vibes until then.

Venus in Cancer trines Neptune in Pisces on June 21, adding an otherworldly under-the-sea theme to the first full day of Cancer season. Venus and Neptune make transcendent art and poetic romance together. They will inspire you to lose yourself in love. However, this transit has less of an ethereal effect due to Venus’ opposition with Pluto in Capricorn on June 23. If you’ve been in a power struggle over land or money with a partner or ex, expect things to come to a head around this time. Venus enjoys being in Cancer, but with the Sun there we are going to feel extra reactive to conflict. The crab’s signature move is hiding, so let yourself withdraw if you get overwhelmed. Staying at home and making weird and beautiful art about your feelings is a great way to deal with it all.

Mercury stations direct at 16 Gemini on June 22, ending the active phase of its retrograde cycle. Cheers, applause. We did it. The second retrograde of 2021 down, during eclipse season no less, and just one more to go. Way to make it through another intense Gemini season. Over the next several weeks, the winged messenger will retrace its steps back out of its mutable air sign for the final time this year. If projects were put on hold or contracts delayed, things should start moving forward by the end of the month. The post-shadow period is when we commit to the revisions proposed during the retrograde. It may take some time for everything to come together, as Mercury does not clear the shadow until July 7, and remains in Gemini until July 11. Our mind may still feel quite active and overstimulated till then, but if you were experiencing increased anxiety or stress during eclipse season, it should lessen considerably once Mercury advances onwards and upwards. 

The Sun in Cancer will trine Jupiter on June 23, making this one of the most lucky days of the year. The Moon in Sagittarius is also ruled by Jupiter so the blessings abound. Look for good news coming your way brought about by a partnership between these two signs. What this means for you individually will vary, but this is a fabulous time to ask for what you want, especially in the all important Cancer areas of home and family. The Moon is opposite Mercury, who has just stationed direct. This is one of the days that things, which were put on hold during the retrograde, start moving forward in a positive direction. Blessings abound so make the most it. 

The Capricorn Full Moon on June 24, is receiving a supportive sextile from Jupiter. This lunation’s ruler, Saturn, would normally be sitting happily upon its throne, unencumbered, in Aquarius. Unfortunately, Mars in Leo is moving into an opposition with Saturn, and activating a fixed t-square with Uranus in Taurus, that will culminate on July 3. What unfolds at this time is going to be a continuation of the tension that peaked on February 17 and June 14, and will continue through the end of the year. While this Moon will reveal many things, some good, some challenging, it is best approached with an open heart and mind.

Appreciate the careful planning and diligent work you’ve put into restructuring your life since the Saturn-Jupiter great conjunction on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2020. Many of us have outgrown entrenched patterns but we have yet to find a new way of being. The in-between can be an uncomfortable place, but try to breathe into the greater space and freedom that’s been created since last year, even as you’re feeling squeezed in this moment. Let this timeline verse from “The Great Wagon” by Rumi by your Full Moon guide: 

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty

and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study

and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

~

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

Venus moves into Leo on June 27, adding to the heat of the Summer. Venus in Leo is a passionate lover who goes hard for her pride, but Venus will pass through the fixed t-square between Saturn and Uranus from July 6-8. This energy is reaching into every area of our lives. So don’t be surprised if your romantic and professional life undergo big changes before Leo season. 

Until then, enjoy this beautiful time beneath the Capricorn Full Moon and under the Cancer Sun.