We could be hell-bent for having a good time, stretching our wings, and diving into great new adventures as we start this Summer season.
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy” is the refrain from the classic song by Gershwin and Heyward in 1935’s Porgy and Bess. But we start this Summer looking for anything other than easy living. We are more likely to be wanting to ratchet up our activities, take part in as much as we can and enjoy life to the fullest. It’s summertime, and we may be far more interested in being in the fast lane and grabbing for all the gusto we can ingest.
The ‘feel good’ quality of June continues into the early Summer season as the Sun exits Gemini on the 21st, at the time of the Summer Solstice, when the Sun enters Cancer. By Sign, there is a Grand Trine in the Water Signs with the Sun in Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces. This Water Grand Trine continues into August and may have many of us murmuring the maudlin 1974 ‘soft rock’ lyrics: “Feelings, nothing more than feelings.”
Apart from the emotions and moodiness of the Water Grand Trine impacting the summer season, we may also be looking at heading out on the highway, or spreading our wings for far off places. A sense of adventure can be strong in us to start the summer season impacted by the Jupiter trine Uranus aspect exact on the 22nd. We are far more interested in the new and the different, something that energizes us and excites us and not the same old, same old.
The 23rd has Mercury square Neptune, an aspect we experienced twice in May, and an energy configuration that can have our head swimming in confusion and a liability to accept whatever is presented to us no matter how nonsensical it might be. Clarity of thought is missing, and we could make determinations more on our feelings and ill-placed assumptions rather than due diligence. Let’s be careful what we decide or plan to do around this time.
Mars exits Gemini on the 24th to enter Cancer. Reunions and home improvement projects can be on our schedule during this latter part of June, through July and into August when on the 8th of August Mars exits Cancer to enter Leo. With Mars in Cancer, the Water is increased with Mars entering a Sign in which it is quite uncomfortable. We may find during this summer season that when storm systems come through, the precipitation could prove quite intense. We could experience the old saying that ‘when it rains, it pours.’
June closes out with Venus trine Uranus on the 29th. Serendipity may play a role in fascinating and unexpected encounters. Someone might provide us a revealing perspective onto the world that we have never seen for ourselves. The magic of interactions can be highly satisfying, even if they are not what we had planned for.
July continues with an upbeat, exuberant, ‘feel good’ attitude. On the 1st of July, Venus conjuncts Jupiter, the Sun trines Neptune and there is the Capricorn Full Moon. Whatever we want, we can easily convince ourselves that not only do we deserve it but that we can have it no matter the expense. We can be in something of a reverie, tuning out the world and seeking an idyllic, happy and safe place for ourselves. Lurking below the surface may be some concern that not all is right in the world, even if we do evade it by concentrating on our own personal realm.
The early part of July continues with some fun times with that special someone, or those special people in our lives. In the US we could be enjoying a long extended July 4th weekend, a weekend that for many of us epitomizes the height of summertime.
Mercury in Gemini is highly active during this time of the Independence Day weekend. On the 2nd, Mercury sextiles Uraunus followed by Mercury sextile Jupiter on the 3rd and culminating with Mercury sextile Venus on the 5th. We may have many irons in the fire, talking about this, getting involved in that, and possibly going briefly from one thing to another to another.
Conversations may be many with discussions about possibilities we might not have even considered before. We may be traveling literally or figuratively with some of us taking off for distant horizons, others of us broadening our perspective into areas of investigation unfamiliar to us. This can be a fun time and some of the excitement may be as a result of serendipitous encounters of being in the right place at the right time.
Some of what transpires during this early part of July can light a fire under us regarding making dramatic changes to our lives. Although we might have felt uncomfortable in our own skin and no longer satisfied with certain aspects of our lives, these early days of July may also provide us options and alternatives to the ways things have been.
On the 6th, the Sun opposes Pluto. The Uranus Pluto square with which we have all been acquainted over the past few years is engaged once again, first with the Sun opposed Pluto on the 6th and the Sun square Uranus on the 12th. The itch to make changes can first have us considering what we need to be rid of in order to provide space for the new and the different. Some of our changes can be on the home front initially.
With Mercury moving out of Gemini on the 8th and into Cancer, there is now a Stellium of three planets in the Cardinal Water Sign as Mercury joins Mars and the Sun in Cancer. On the 8th, Mars trines Neptune in Pisces.
A great deal of activity can be going on regarding home and family matters. As part of our changes, we might be looking at fixing things up around the foundations of our lives. They may be mere cosmetic changes, but let’s keep in mind that even subtle changes can trigger larger changes. I often refer to change as a snowball going down the mountain gaining momentum and becoming an avalanche. Minimal changes are often the easiest to engage and then provide the lubricant for even greater changes.
The 12th of July has the Sun square Uranus and precedes a week that could be quite intense, especially as we come to ‘hump’ day on Wednesday, July 15th. This may not be so much a hump as a high volcanic mountain percolating, even ready to blow.
The Sun square Uranus could put a rein on some of our new intentions, some of our initiations. We might feel restricted by our past, but we also have the opportunity for us to see what we have let go of over the past few years and also what presently holds us back from a dramatic great leap forward.
The 13th has Mercury trine Neptune. Our intuitive sense may be heightened and we might sense that no matter what the impediments might be our creative visualization and imagination will find a way for us to get to our nirvana land. Let’s keep in mind that concepts are far easier realized in our mind’s eye than in true reality. It would be important for us not to tune out to the conditions and circumstances operating around us and occurring in the world at large. If we escape into our world of prospects and possibilities, have our head in the clouds with our feet barely touching the ground, we could be in for a rude awakening.
The 14th has Venus square Saturn. We might feel as though our ‘best laid plans’ are being adversely affected by limited resources or by someone standing in the way of their execution. We could reconnect with someone from our past. A recapitulation or walk down Memory Lane may feel more like a bramble path than a walk through a meadow. We can also become concerned that what has been presented to us on the big screen of macro events is little more than a house of cards constructed by smoke and mirrors.
The New Moon on the 15th impacts the next fortnight up through the Full Moon on the 31st of July. This Cancer New Moon could prove intense. The Sun Moon conjunction squares Uranus and both Mercury and Mars [exact in their conjunction on the 16th] oppose Pluto. Communications and actions can be severe and trigger ill-conceived reactions based upon feelings and assumed slights. This is definitely a time to count to ten before any response and not allow for knee-jerk reactions.
While this New Moon impacts us individually, it also impacts us collectively. There can be some catastrophic episodes both in nature and manmade. The liability to geophysical activity in the form of earthquakes and volcanoes is increased severalfold. [Years ago, I was credited with an on-air prediction of the eruption of Mount St. Helens on a Washington, D.C. radio station. I based my forecast on the lunar activity and astrological configurations of that time]. The liability of saber-rattling deteriorating into combative incidents is also heightened.
This day of the July 15th New Moon is one when we need to tread lightly and be fully aware of what is happening around us. People can be lashing out, and discussions can turn heated to the point of violence. Things could be swept away in a matter of minutes.
July has much of the Uranus Pluto square engaged. We experience the Uranus Pluto configuration with the Cancer transiting planets, first with the Sun as the Sun opposes Pluto on the 6th and the Sun squares Uranus on the 12th.
The Uranus Pluto square is intensified with the New Moon on the 15th with both Mercury and Mars opposed Pluto on the 15th, followed later in the month with Mercury square Uranus on the 18th and Mars square Uranus on the 25th.
The 18th has Venus exiting Leo to enter Virgo and the Mercury square Uranus. As I have written before, the Mercury Uranus square is my least favorite energy configuration for air travel, and I always try to avoid flying when there is a Mercury Uranus square. Communications can be off and high technology disrupted. This is a day for us to be careful about what we say and to whom we say it, for the liability to putting foot in mouth can create issues with our relationships, an area that might be highly sensitive with Venus moving into Virgo for the next two weeks.
During this mid-month period of July, we truly have to watch how we handle our interactions with other people. People’s level of frustration and their response to some crazy situations can have everyone on edge and ready to see the half glass of water as being more half empty rather than half full. Someone might be highly critical and judgmental and all too willing to use another person as a piñata with various verbal whacks at them.
Even if we fly off the handle in the mid-month of July or someone throws a skillet at us, we can sort things out over the 21st and 22nd of July when the Sun trines Saturn on the 21st, followed by Mercury trine Saturn on the 22nd. The 22nd has the Sun exiting Cancer to enter Leo, followed the next day by Mercury exiting Cancer on the 23rd to enter Leo and the Sun Mercury conjunction in Leo also on the 23rd.
Tying up loose ends, bringing closure to past issues and being less sensitive to supposed slights can open the door for more fun summertime activities with the Leo Stellium of the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in the Fixed Fire Sign.
The weekend of July 25th – 25th could be a little disorienting. We have to be very careful at this time, especially with the expenditure of energy. Accidents could occur and we have shifting energies that may force us to reconfigure what we are doing and how we are doing it.
Mars squares Uranus on the 25th. Actions may be impulsive, impetuous and liable to accident-prone. This is a time for us to cool our jets, slow down our pace and not engage in extreme sports. The 25th also has Venus turning retrograde and the 26th has Uranus turning retrograde. This shift in energy with Mars poking away could prove irritating to some, reckless to others.
The month of July ends with the Aquarius Full Moon on the 31st, a day that also sees Venus retrograde out of Virgo and back into Leo. No matter what we have done during this summertime, we are back at looking to get out of Dodge and participate in fun recreational activities. We are not going to waste this summer lolling about and going nowhere fast. No, we are geared up for enjoying ourselves and we might do so no matter the expense.
The early August period could prove rather extravagant. We have the retrograding Venus conjunct Jupiter on the 4th, an aspect we experienced on the 1st of July. If we didn’t blow our wad in that early July period, racking up charges on our credit cards and enjoying ourselves to the max; then this early August period could have us spending more than might be wise. And even if we did go whole hog in that early July period, we could be ready for another pig roast in this early August time.
The push – pulls between expansion and contraction could prove evident in this early August period. We have the dance with both Jupiter [expansion] and Saturn [contraction]. The 4th through the 7th of August has this dance engaged, bookended by Venus conjunct Jupiter on the 4th and Mercury conjunct Jupiter on the 7th. In between, Venus squares Saturn on the 5th and on the 6th Mars trines Saturn while Mercury squares Saturn. This may be not only a time of push pulls but also a time of caroming between extremes. We may be feeling good about things, wanting to put our best foot forward and looking for good times with good friends. And doing so with little regard for the consequences. On the other hand, we have to be careful that we aren’t engaging old patterns, re-creating our past and finding ourselves between a rock and a hard place with our finances. Our mood swings could be wild, and we might even feel like we’re going through a manic-depressive episode or being witness to someone else going through extreme emotional swings.
The 7th and 8th of August has two major shifts in energy as Mercury exits Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo on the 7th and Mars exits Cancer and enters Leo on the 8th. Even though Summer is still very much in high gear, some of our thoughts can return to our everyday circumstances and give us the idea of returning to our normal routine. Meanwhile, we are unlikely to want summer to pass without some further grand adventures.
On the 11th, Jupiter ends its year-long transit of Leo to enter Virgo for a year. Jupiter is not comfortable in Virgo and as we come to the end of summer when Saturn transits out of Scorpio and back into Sagittarius on the 17th of September, we shall have a year-long Mutable Sign Square by Sign with Jupiter in Virgo square Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter opposed Neptune in Pisces with Saturn square Neptune.
Those who are Virgo and other Earth Signs may find the Jupiter transit of Virgo to be highly beneficial for their work and their self-esteem. But the irrational exuberance that Jupiter in Leo allowed for may be gone, and we have to be wary of a carping attitude or any tendency to overwork ourselves with a perfectionist attitude. During the next thirteen months, we can focus on the details of our projects, fine tune those involvements that we have begun, all the while keeping in mind the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi with its perfection of imperfection.
The 12th of August has Mercury opposed Neptune, and we have to be wary that we don’t fall prey to the perspective of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Either we can get lost in the minute details of a situation and not see the big picture or we might view the big picture as a situation in a most abstract manner and lose sight of the specifics. If we blend the two energies, then we can visualize and have the foresight to create the overall blueprint of a situation and with every particular and detail incorporated.
Just prior to the Leo New Moon on the 14th of August, the Sun trines Uranus on the 13th. The Leo New Moon also feels the influence of the Sun conjunct Venus and Mercury trine Pluto on the 15th. With this Leo New Moon in the 3rd Decanate of Leo [the Aries influence], this next fortnight up to the Pisces Full Moon on the 29th of August can be a highly creative time for us, a time when we can initiate new projects that fascinate us and fully engage our interests that may be reflective of our new sense of Being. While we have an incredible thrust of energy for us to put our mark and imprint on new areas of interest to us, we can also develop a best practices approach whereby we devise the most efficient strategy to accomplish our goals.
This two-week period can be a fun time and a productive time. We can explore, investigate and with the realization that no matter what the impediments might seem to be to our plans, they may prove more phantoms based upon our past conditioning or fears generated by the sequential realities of the past.
Let’s keep in mind that we are on the threshold of a paradigm shift. Things are not what they were. The mechanics of our lives are not what they were. We have all stepped onto the magical, mystery tour of awe and wonder — things happening in a most unexpected manner, the serendipity and synchronicity of these times of asequential reality where there is no beginning, no middle, no end… It all just IS… And to fully enjoy these times, we have to let go of our preconceived notions, release the belief of our total control over our circumstances and be open to receive. As the saying goes: ‘the universe has far greater plans for us than we could ever imagine for ourselves.’
The 19th of August has Venus trine Uranus. We could have some strange encounters, bumping into people and amazed as to how a connection could have been made. We can see people in a different light, more aware of the rapid growth they have gone through, facets of their own transformations, and we might realize that what we are seeing in other people is also a reflection of the dramatic changes within ourselves.
The Sun squares Saturn on the 21st of August, and we might feel that we need to turn away from some of the explorations of self we might have experienced over these summer months. We could feel pulled back to our responsibilities, our obligations and our past commitments. We might feel as if the wind has been knocked out of our sails, but once we have seen our own version of our promised land we have a vision of where we intend to go no matter how long the journey to go there might be.
On the 23rd, the Sun exits Leo ending the Stellium of three planets in Leo, and the Sun enters Virgo, briefly creating a Stellium in the Mutable Earth Sign as the Sun joins Jupiter and Mercury in Virgo. The Sun conjuncts Jupiter on the 26th of August, and we might find ourselves ever more enmeshed in our routine. But we might also feel as if the summer months have reinvigorated us, given us a burst of energy in order to focus on what lies straight ahead for us.
On the 27th of August, Mercury enters Libra and exits its own Sign of Virgo, bringing closure to the brief Virgo Stellium that had three planets transiting the Mutable Earth Sign.
The Pisces Full Moon can trigger a wistful sentiment, a desire for days gone by but days that seem far more appealing in retrospect than they were at the time. There can be a truly moody quality to this Full Moon with one foot in fantasy, the other foot in practical reality. We may sway between the two, and if the sway becomes a whipsaw then we have to be wary that illusions and delusions don’t taunt us or that critical attitudes don’t raise self-worth concerns.
The month of August ends with the Sun opposed Neptune on the 31st. The wistfulness of the Full Moon can continue on through the end of August. We might question who we really are, what we are really doing with our lives and the meaning of it all. As I often remind people: ‘confusion is the starting point of wisdom’.
When we are in a confused state, our solid beliefs do not seem so solid, the security of our lives does not feel so secure. Everything has a transitory, impermanent sense to it. And like a blank slate, that’s when we can be open to the possibilities, the prospects, the magic of these times. Letting go of our assumptions we can open us to truly understanding.
As we come into September, Venus conjuncts Mars. Even if we are back at work or back in school, we might be giving thought to the upcoming weekend, which in the US is the long Labor Day weekend often considered the unofficial end of Summer. We might be making plans to get out of Dodge with the intention of having one final blowout in celebration of summer.
On the 5th of September, the Sun trines Pluto followed by Venus turning direct on the 6th. We may be champing at the bit to put spirit into action, to concentrate our efforts on our most meaningful activities.
The 8th of September has Mars trine Uranus. With great confidence and flair we may advance some of our projects and involvements. We just have to avoid falling prey to the admonishment first given by Alexander Pope in the early eighteenth century: “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
Our impetuousness could know no bounds, and we might assume that through our determination and our will we can virtually change the course of the rivers, the tides and the sun. We should know better, especially with our recent experiences of asequential reality when magic and mini-miracles have shown us that we are not truly in control of circumstances [as if we ever were] but rather co-creators with the universal unfolding of our journey and our destiny.
If we have felt that things did not go exactly according to our plan and our whims, then the 9th of September could prove difficult with the Libra Mercury square Pluto in Capricorn. Although we might be interested in hearing what someone else might say, we could also find ourselves banging up against brick wall. In such an instance, the pleasant conversations could quickly turn into vexatious discussions and from there to heated arguments. Let’s be careful what we say and to whom we say it. Our thoughts can be piercing and our expressions sharply to the point.
The Virgo New Moon on the 13th of September is a Solar Eclipse and may trigger what the Chinese proverb, often considered a curse, would refer to as “May you live in interesting times”.
One person who has made much out of this Solar Eclipse is Jonathan Cahn, a controversial author who writes about the Shemitah and seven-year cycles that have corresponded with major economic troubles, troubles that have been exacerbated by a Solar Eclipse. This Shemitah year runs from September of 2014 through September of 2015. If we go back in time, we see this seven-year cycle born out:
• Solar Eclipse on August 1st, 2008 coincided with the global financial meltdown and the ‘great recession’
• September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the US precipitated severe drops in the global stock markets
• 1994 bond market crash
• October 19th, 1987 Black Monday and stock market crash with worst one-day stock market drop since 1929
• 1980 hard recession
• 1973-1974 major Bear Market with the DJIA losing 45% of its value
• 1966 the S&P 500 index dropped about 22% in value.
You get the idea of what some cycle theorists are indicating about this September – October timeframe and what Cahn refers to as the impacts of the Shemitah year.
While this Solar Eclipse may not be as drastic for us on a personal level, it would seem a time of regrouping, focusing on both the foundation stones of our ‘new’ lives and the specific shifts we are considering making in our daily regimen.
The last major energy configurations of the Summer come on the 17th with two major shifts in energy. Saturn exits its summer rerun of Scorpio and moves into Sagittarius for its two year run. And Mercury turns retrograde until the 9th of October. What a way to end a Summer!
Summer 2015… Like a Roller Coaster with its Ups and Downs…
