This Summer of 2013 can have us making grand plans, catching up with family and friends and looking at fully enjoying ourselves in the great outdoors. It’s summer after all, the season of the year when we take time off, spend more time outside and engage recreational activities that we often do not have time for during the other three seasons of the year.
Summer begins on the 21st – 22nd of June as the Sun exits Gemini to enter the Cardinal Sign of Cancer at the Summer Solstice. With the entry of the Sun into Cancer, we have a Stellium of three or more planets in the Cardinal Water Sign emphasizing home, family and reflections on times past as we mentally meander down Memory Lane of our experiences and our significant connections over the years gone by.
At the time of the Summer Solstice, which imprints and flavors the Summer season, there are six planets in Water Signs. Talk about intense moods, highly emotional feelings and increased sensitivity!
As the saying goes: ‘when it rains, it pours’. This may be true both on a climatological level with heavy precipitation and flash floods at times of atmospheric storms, and we may see it with extreme emotional outpourings at times of celebration and joy, and at times of sadness and disappointment.
The Water Signs create a Grand Trine with the Cancer transiting planets trining Saturn in Scorpio and trining Neptune in Pisces. In mid-June, Saturn exactly trined Neptune, which occurs again on the 19th of July. Throughout the Summer and into the Summer of 2014, the Water Sign Grand Trine is in play.
We can be highly intuitive and utilize a visionary quality to devise an expeditious means to realize our goals and achieve our dreams. We can be resourceful and adept at tiptoeing through the minefields of these times.
And minefields there are likely to be. If we assume that life is unfolding in an orderly, sequential pattern, then we might find ourselves in a la-la-land of fantasies and wishful thinking. For while we have the Water Sign Grand Trine, the Cancer-transiting planets create a Cardinal-Sign T-square by triggering the Uranus Pluto square with the Cancer-transiting planets opposed Pluto in Capricorn and square Uranus in Aries.
No matter what our plans might be, flexibility and adaptability may be called upon to deal with shifting and changing variables that occur without a moment’s notice. We may have to be on our toes in order to avoid situations, not even of our making, blowing up in our faces.
A relaxing Summer? Maybe sometimes, but there will be those incidents that happen which demand our being nimble and quick to avoid being run over by circumstance.
Early in the Summer, we have two significant shifts in energy. On the 26th of June, Jupiter exits Gemini to enter Cancer for its year-long transit of the Cardinal Water Sign. Jupiter is in Detriment in Gemini, where it is uncomfortable, and where the tendency for much talk and little follow-up could have been accentuated. The hypesters and spinmeisters may have been out in full force over the past year as Jupiter transited through the Mercury-ruled Sign of Gemini.
The second significant shift early this Summer has Mercury turning retrograde in Cancer on the 27th of June. As Jupiter enters Cancer, Mercury turns retrograde in Cancer. The Stellium of three or more planets in the Cardinal Water Sign is intensified and much focus on home, family matters can come to the fore.
The early Summer can have us spending time at home, doing fix-up projects, renovations, and even utilizing holiday time in staycations rather than hitting the road, the rails or the air. Family issues may have to be discussed and resolved. Certainly, past situations unresolved might demand attention and provoke discussion and final completion.
The Mercury retrograde goes from June 27th into July 20th, and it would be wise for us to bear in mind that Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’ is in effect. This three-week period is not one to make significant decisions or important purchases. And with Mercury retrograding through Cancer, we should keep in mind that we might not be privy to full information or full disclosure. More can go on than meets the eye. Communications can be less than revealing, and we might have to draw upon our intuitive sense, our feeling of what is really occurring, in order to get a bead on the situation at play.
On the 28th of June, Venus moves from Cancer into Leo, the Fixed Fire Sign that Venus will transit until the 22nd of July. We may be interested in parties, social gatherings and having a good time. We might feel that we are richly deserving of fun events and pleasurable activities. We could even stretch our budget and put a dent into our credit card to enjoy ourselves.
The first week of July could prove a little vexing. Venus squares Saturn on the 1st of July. The Sun transiting Cancer triggers the Cardinal Sign T-Square with the Sun opposed Pluto on the 1st and the Sun square Uranus on the 3rd-4th. We may feel out of sorts, have a chip on our shoulder, with an attitude that nothing is right in our world. This is a time when we might bump into people from our past that force us to look at who we were before the morphing and the shapeshifting that all of us have been through over the past five – ten years. While we could be uncomfortable in our own skin, we do need to avoid impetuous actions and impulsive moves that seek some relief from our feelings of discontent. Unexpected situations can arise, and delays could prove frustrating. This is a time to take a deep breath, count to ten and prevent ourselves from any knee-jerk reactions.
The 7th – 8th of July has Venus trine Uranus and Saturn ending its almost five month retrograde cycle as Saturn turns direct. Serendipitous connections with interesting people who may be more akin to our new sense of our selves can make us aware of new possibilities and alternatives to the way we have been doing things. Keeping in mind the Mercury retrograde, we are moving into a greater period when we can be highly functional, resourceful in utilizing our abilities, our talents and what we have available to ourselves.
Followed by the New Moon in Cancer on the 8th of July, this thrust of energy now can have us focusing on repairing and renovating our living spaces, attending to family matters that might have gotten out of hand, and allowing us to make amends for past indiscretions. There are times when we need to go back in order to move forward. And this early part of July could prove such a time and space.
On the 13th of July, Mars exits Gemini to enter Cancer reinforcing the Stellium of three or more planets in the Cardinal Water Sign as Mars joins the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in Cancer. Water, water everywhere but nary a drop to drink. Questions of pollution can give rise to greater concern about what we as humankind have done to our home, the earth.
The mid-part of July has Uranus turning retrograde on the 17th and Mercury turning direct on the 20th. Jupiter triggers the Water Sign Grand Trine on the 17th, as Jupiter trines Saturn and Jupiter trines Neptune. This Water Grand Trine is reinforced by Saturn trine Neptune exact on the 19th. This period can be a time when the housing and construction markets seem to be heating up as a result of re-constructions from nature’s devastations, greater investment in the realty market, and a desire for individuals to create the security and sanctuary of having their own homes. Even those who already have their own dwelling space may use this time to plan or engage renovation or redecoration to reflect their changing sentiments and changes in their intended lifestyle.
On the 22nd of July, the Sun moves into Leo, Venus moves into Virgo, Mars conjuncts Jupiter and we have the Aquarius Full Moon. Each of us may find ourselves getting a second wind, being more self-focused and self-indulgent and highly critical of those around us and the circumstances operating in our world. These feelings and dispositions are a good set-up for a blowout, and a blowout could occur towards the end of July.
From the 26th through the 31st, we have some highly intense energies operating. Venus opposes Neptune on the 26th and Venus sextiles Saturn, followed on the 28th by Venus sextile Jupiter and Venus trine Pluto on the 30th. If we have been stung by the ‘fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me’ scenario, we could become quite resentful. We might cut some names from our contact list and seek support from long-time adherents and people we know that we can rely on. This latter part of July can have us very discriminating and discerning regarding with whom we wish to engage and have in our social circle. Friends and connections will have to provide special meaning to us, for we are not interested in superfluous connections or shallow interactions.
At the same time, the Sun squares Saturn on the 27th and Mars triggers the T-Square with the Cancer-transiting Mars opposed Pluto on the 27th and Mars square Uranus on the 31st – 1st of August. Feeling boxed in or thwarted by situations, this is a time when all hell could break loose. We may be reacting to situations, even unintended slights and hurts. But our response may be a little over the top with a sentiment of ‘take no prisoners’. Impulsive and impetuous actions could prove disastrous. We may be accident-prone at this time and liable to wreak havoc. Even on a geopolitical level, this period can be anxiety-provoking with saber-rattling and ill-considered actions. It’s getting hot, and the heat is not just the weather!
August seems generally more pleasant and can provide a nice reprieve from the build-up and possible explosions that occurred at the end of July.
Venus sextiles Mars on the 2nd of August and the Sun trines Uranus on the 4th. We may be looking at taking some time off, luxuriating in the summer sun [even if it’s raining] and stepping away from our mundane concerns. We want to find activities that enlist our talents and our capabilities. We want to stretch our wings, not have them clipped by other people or by our circumstance. Stepping off the track can provide us a fresh perspective and a reprieve from any anxieties that have been vexing.
On the 6th of August, there is the Leo New Moon. Not only are we looking at the holiday enjoyment of summer that this New Moon can trigger. We also need to be aware that we could be spreading our wings, looking to expand our interests and even incorporating travel or greater attention to foreign lands.
We do have to watch for elements of over-expansion, and this August does have the Jupiter transiting through Cancer hitting off the Uranus Pluto square, first on the 7th – 8th with Jupiter opposed Pluto and again on the 21st with Jupiter square Uranus. We may have been looking at fortifying our home sanctuary by constructing additions, renovating our living space or just redecorating. In the process, we might have stretched beyond our budget. Now would be a time for us to rein in our expenses, take a focused attitude regarding our plans and our resources available.
Keeping in concert with the keywords of these times — awareness and mindfulness — we may evaluate and re-evaluate what has been going on in our lives and in the world at large. Have we, as individuals and as a collective, fallen prey to irrational exuberance? Out of our own concerns, have we tried to over-fortify our protection? Has our fear triggered our greed? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, we might want to cut back on our expenses, take money off the table and put some of our resources aside for a ‘rainy’ day.
This mid-August period could give a ‘heads-up’ regarding problems that may be largely discounted. After all, August is typically a holiday time, a time when people are more focused on summertime activities and relaxation, and important hints and clues go unnoticed. Let’s not be blind to even the slightest indications that some things might go awry.
In many charts, including the chart of President Obama, I have seen configurations that give me cause for concern during this mid-Autumn period. Delays, restrictions and past actions catching up in the present seem indicative of the energies in the mid-October through November time period of this year. This mid-August period might give us a glimmer of where the autumnal problems could occur.
Apart from the overview of the Jupiter triggered T-Square with Pluto and Uranus, there are other energies that put greater attention to re-creation and summertime activities of fun events and pleasurable involvements.
Mercury enters Leo on the 8th, followed by Mercury square Saturn on the 11th and Mercury trine Uranus on the 14th. While we might have to reflect on our past and past obligations, we do not have to be restricted by what has been. This is a time when we might need to wrap up loose ends in order to free ourselves up and allow us to move in new directions utilizing streamlined methods and engaging greater independence in our actions. Insights and understandings can flow through our mind quickly. We are not looking at re-creating our past, even if we have to take a look back at where we have been. We are open to the magic of the universe, doors opening to us without our having to beat our heads against them or push mightily to open the way. As if miraculously, new ways can open to us. We just have to be open to the possibilities, and even those that seem impossibilities.
Venus exits Virgo on the 16th to enter its own Sign of Libra. Although much of our relationship concerns have concentrated more on how we perceive things rather than the other person’s perspective, we may take a more conciliatory and understanding approach. Our social interactions can be far more engaging just by reason of the consideration people are showing each other.
The important of relationships may be highlighted with the Aquarius Full Moon on the 20th. Even if we are starting to feel the nagging sensation of autumnal responsibilities beckoning us, this latter part of August may be a time when we choose special moments with that special someone or those special people in our lives.
The Uranus Pluto square is triggered again on the 21st with Jupiter square Uranus, the Jupiter Pluto opposition having occurred back on the 7th – 8th of the month. This square is also triggered by the Libra-transiting planet of Venus as Venus creates a Grand Cross with Venus square Pluto on the 24th, Venus opposed Uranus on the 26th, and Venus square Jupiter on the 27th. Unexpected events may force us to be nimble and quick, to re-evaluate our decisions and actions, and to question our sentiments towards certain people. Relationships can be especially intense. We might scrutinize the motives and the character of people we had given a pass to before. People may seem to take on different characteristics, reveal different aspects of themselves, and we could decide that certain connections have come to their ultimate closure.
This latter part of August also has us getting back into work gear, as the Sun exits Leo to enter Virgo on the 22nd – 23rd, followed by Mercury exiting Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo on the 23rd. Whether we are back at school or back at work, we are certainly in a preparatory mode of getting back on track. No more dilly-dallying through the summer pleasures for us. On the contrary, we can be attending to details, focused on the specifics and concentrating on the particulars.
The Virgo transiting planets will oppose Neptune, sextile Saturn, trine Pluto and sextile Jupiter in that order. Mercury opposes Neptune on the 25th-26th, Mercury sextiles Saturn on the 27th, Mercury trines Pluto on the 28th and Mercury sextiles Jupiter on the 30th – 31st. The Sun opposes Neptune on the 26th – 27th, the Sun sextiles Saturn on the 29th – 30th, the Sun trines Pluto on the 1st of September and the Sun sextiles Jupiter on September 7th.
These energy configurations can create a level of confusion to begin with, or the ability to take time to devise a best practices approach for our visions and our abstract concepts. Even if we find ourselves confused to start, we are likely to find our way, develop a well-devised strategy that addresses both our present responsibilities but keeps aglow the spark of intentions for the future. We can then hone our practices, focus on the most essential qualities of our involvements and make enough space to allow further expansion and the embrace of prospects and possibilities.
This end of August – early September can be a most productive time.
We might feel the need to be sure of ourselves before we begin, but it would be wise to keep in mind that certainty during these times is an illusion. In truth and in today’s reality, things can shift and change in a nanosecond and without a moment’s notice. But once engaged, we can develop a means to accomplish our ends, all with the recognition of the need at any moment to adapt to changing conditions. These are exciting times in which we live, times that realize the old Chinese proverb, sometimes considered a curse: ‘May you live in interesting times.’
In deed we do.
The New Moon in Virgo on the 5th of September also starts the Jewish New Year with Rosh Hashanah. And a new year it is for all of us as the energy reinforces our focus on our responsibilities, our obligations, our involvement in the community for the greater good.
There are several shifts as we come into the second week of September. Mercury exits it own Sign of Virgo to enter Libra on the 9th, the same day that Mars squares Saturn. Venus exits its own Sign of Libra on the 10th – 11th to enter Scorpio, a Sign of its Detriment where Venus is not at all at home. We could have a desire to work in harmony with other people, or that desire might actually be a need. Either way, we have to be wary of harboring resentment with a belief that we are being taken advantage of and not being fully appreciated for who we are and what we are capable of doing. Our actions may be too much, or too little. There can be saber-rattling but with little to back up strong intimations.
Mercury transiting Libra triggers the Cardinal Sign T-Square with a Grand Cross as Mercury squares Pluto on the 14th, Mercury opposes Uranus on the 15th – 16th, and Mercury squares Jupiter on the 19th.
This mid-September period can have a great deal of talk and intense communications. With a perceived attitude of interest in the other person’s well-being, people can be cutting and critical in their discussions with judgments and opinions offered that are largely self-serving. The weekend of the 14th – 15th would be one of my least favorite times to fly. And we have to maintain a sense of social decorum to avoid conversations ratcheting up into heated arguments.
While the Cardinal Sign T-Square is triggered by Mercury creating a Grand Cross, Venus triggers the Water Sign Grand Trine. Venus in Scorpio trines Neptune on the 13th – 14th, Venus conjuncts Saturn on the 18th and later in the month, on the 26th, Venus trines Jupiter. Our interactions with other people may be slightly enigmatic. There can be a mystique in dealing with others and a reliance on those people we feel we can depend upon.
This latter part of the Summer could prove heated — both in our ideas, thoughts and presentations, and in our interactions with other people.
The Pisces Full Moon on the 19th of September can be a time of still waters run deep, or things percolating below the surface over the earlier two weeks. A highly emotional time, there can be some intense releases in explosions, bomb blasts and natural catastrophes as we end the Summer provoked by the Full Moon on the 19th and Pluto turning direct on the 20th.
We may wish for the ‘lazy, hazy days of summer’, but this Summer can be heated and awash in severe emotional outbursts.
Summer 2013… Floods of emotion and high intensities…
