Obviously, this month starts with the U.S. in a pretty critical state. What one might call a ‘Perfect Storm,’ with the pandemic, major unemployment and the lockdown, and the searing archetypal image of the suffering of George Floyd. I’ve been considering writing an extra article about what’s going on, and may do so, but my brother just sent me a message of what the comedian/actor Chris Rock recently said, and I think I’m just going to share that with you at the end of this article for now because I think, as one commentator stated, ‘He hit the nail on the head.’
Be Well and Be Safe My Friends.
Starwise Forecast
Remember: June birthday people are entitled to a 10% discount for Readings with me this month.
I just noticed something rather notable about 2020. This is in relation to retrograde planets, that is when planets appear to be moving backwards in their movement through our skies. When that happens the energy of that planet is a bit less available outwardly and is being oriented towards an interior reckoning of its previous activities.
There seems to be more than the normal number of planets moving retrograde this year and for longer periods of time.
What does that mean? It feels like this summer into the Fall we are going to be going even deeper into a feeling of not being able to really make new things happen very easily. More of a long period of looking deeply into past trends, both on quick personal, emotional levels (Venus has a particularly long retrograde period this year), and on profound cultural socio-political collective levels.
So, I will be pointing out these periods and the planets involved as the months go by.
We enter June with a Rising Moon, until the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse on the 5th.
2 – Venus in airy Gemini will square Mars in Watery Pisces. Now, Venus in Gemini can be a little intellectual and detached, and Mars in Pisces can be rather frustrated or resentful of his action being too affected by feelings. Today they could tend to aggravate each other. Learn to recognize and reconcile.
3 – The Sun in Gemini will conjunct Venus in Gemini. Now Venus in Gemini is attracted to intelligent people, and the Sun is functioning particularly intelligently in Gemini, so there can be some strong feeling/identification with the need to communicate to and be understood by others.
5 – First Mercury in Cancer will harmonize with, sextile, Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is not so comfortable in a water sign like Cancer, but today he can be both grounded by Taurean energy but also liberated and freed up to be a bit more spontaneous and unconventional by this harmony with Uranus.
Later we will have the Sun in Gemini/Moon in Sagittarius Full Moon Opposition. This time with a Lunar eclipse. It will be at 3:12 pm Eastern Daylight Time.
The Solar Conscious identity seeking intellectual facts and connections in Gemini is polarized in opposition to the Lunar unconscious orientation towards Sagittarian knowledge, belief and meaning. With the Moon being eclipsed it will be that unconscious Sagittarian knowledge, belief and meaning that will be temporarily erased….and then reborn, with a new orientation towards the necessary integration of these energies, motives and approaches.
6 – The Sun in Gemini will square Mars in Pisces. Here the intellectual, at times unfocused and/or critical energy of the Sun in Gemini will be in tension with Mars, already struggling with the emotional energies of Pisces upon his action and behavior.
8 – There are actually only Lunar aspects on this day which move by so quickly I normally don’t make note of them in these forecasts. On this day, however, there is a string of conjunctions to the Capricorn planets which are really the dominant Astrological themes of this year.
First the Moon will conjunct Pluto, then Jupiter, and then Saturn. It feels like there will be a lot of us having to reconcile our instinctive unconscious moods and feelings with the deep collective focus and transformations of the Capricornian structures of our lives and societies. Btw, the Moon in Capricorn by itself is not too cheery.
11 – The Sun in Gemini will square Neptune in Pisces. I already mentioned the Sun in Gemini having the penchant to be unfocused and/or critical in reference to its square to Mars in Pisces on the 6th. Today, however, that same Sun will be square to Neptune in Pisces. This will be of a different order. The Sun/Mars can lead to bickering between mortals. The Sun engaged with Neptune is a mortal having critical and/or unfocused tendencies having to contend with tension with a God/Goddess, which happens to rule the deep watery emotional seas of Pisces. So, don’t try to talk yourself out of this because you are likely to be deluding yourself. And don’t react intellectually out of your own, or outwardly perceived, vulnerabilities and victimhood.
It is a day to surrender and feel, but also to learn to work together in appropriate mutual recognition, remembering a God/Goddess is always stronger than a mortal.
13 – Mars in Pisces will conjunct Neptune in Pisces.
Hilarion says something rather specific about those who are born with Mars in Pisces. Here is what he says:
Pisces In this sign — ruled by Neptune which saps the energy and substance of everything it touches — Mars is very badly placed, regardless of aspect. There is a tendency to find that emotional “scenes” are totally exhausting, as is any necessity to deal with emotionally-polarized people. There will always be some difficulty with the feet (ruled by Pisces) and this flaw in the physical body will be for the purpose of drawing the attention down to the earth and the practical considerations. In a past life, this individual has neglected the earth-related necessities for what he considered higher pursuits and, as a result, certain souls entrusted to the care of the individual suffered in some way. Hence, it will be necessary in the present life for this individual to expend energy in a very practical way, usually in the “care and feeding” of others (children for example). Of course, numerous persons without this placement have to care for others, but in the case of Mars in Pisces, it will be more difficult and there will be some tendency to resent the fact that these responsibilities take so much of one’s time and energy.
Now, on this day of uniting with the God/Goddess planet Neptune, which rules Pisces, I would say this Mars energy, which isn’t so comfortable here, will have the opportunity to learn its lesson and surrender to its fate, and the need for care and compassion for others, perhaps after having to really, really feel in Neptunian fashion all that that entails, for oneself and others.
18 – The Mars in Pisces has the opportunity today to do some further work on his energies and lessons by being engaged with yet another Planet/God. This time, however, it is a harmonious sextile with Pluto in Capricorn. Perhaps the need to care for others and discomfort with emotional ‘scenes’ can be felt as not such a challenge when there is the opportunity to be actively engaged with real deep transformation of the Capricornian structures of our lives and societies in those endeavors.
Also, Mercury goes retrograde today, until July 12th.
20 – The theme of the 18th continues as Mars in Pisces moves into a harmonious sextile to Jupiter in Capricorn on this day, bringing even more opportunity for optimistic enthusiasm and ambition towards creating something new.
Later we will have the Summer Solstice as the Sun enters the month of Cancer.
21 – The Sun/Moon New Moon Conjunction in Cancer with a partial Solar Eclipse. Taking place on the day after the Solstice, in the very first degree of Cancer, this feels even more significant than in an average year. That this alignment of the Conscious and Unconscious orientations towards the Cancerian themes of home, family, sanctuary, clan, community and needs for security and nurturing is in a primal new beginning place of identity and experience and expression.
The symbol in Dane Rhudyar’s book on the Sabian Symbols for the 1st degree of Cancer is:
‘On a ship the sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one.’
To which he says: ‘consciousness accepts a process of fundamental REORIENTATION’
Of course, having an eclipse of the Sun on this day as well, by itself, establishes the theme of death/rebirth.
And today is also Father’s Day. Always a good place for some reorientation.
25 – Venus ends her retrograde motion and moves direct.
28 – Mars in Pisces will harmoniously sextile Saturn in Capricorn. Again, as on the 18th and 20th, Mars, which is not so comfortable in Pisces, gets to engage in some comforting grounded Capricornian focus and work to help him to cope with his emotional state. Today with the help of the ruling planet of Capricorn, Saturn, which always brings in the opportunity for, and acceptance, of responsibility and discipline and a focusing of one’s ambitions.
30 – We end the month of June on a day with a few aspects taking place.
First, we will have the second Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn. The first was on April 4th. The last one will be on November 12th.
In this one both Jupiter and Pluto are moving retrograde so even though this union of gods, as it were, always involves profound collective movements, changes and transformations, the general orientation of this one will be to look deeply at how we have been doing things in the past, perhaps a very long stretch of the past, but nonetheless towards processing what has really been going on as an aid to a formulation as to what change we as individuals and societies want to be making when we move forward again.
Later Mercury in Cancer, although now moving retrograde, will move, once again into harmony with Uranus in Taurus. So similar to the 5th but this time more in going inward and back over things that were thought, written or said before.
Some hours after that, the Sun in Cancer will conjunct Mercury in Cancer. So, the need to feel those Cancerian needs around home, family, sanctuary, nurturing and security, and to feel ok about expressing them, will be something to be worked on towards the end of the day.
Blessings,
Steffan Vanel
* Astrology Plus by Hilarion, the book which I am always quoting from and has been out of print for some time, is now available as an EBook on Amazon.
* Nations can be found on Amazon