With the Sun exiting Gemini to enter Cancer at the time of the Summer Solstice on the 20th and impacted on the same day by the Sagittarius Full Moon with the Sun in the last degree of Gemini and the Moon in the last degree of Sagittarius, the Summer season certainly bears the imprint of ‘go for the gusto’ and living for the day.
This third week of June, and the beginning of the Summer season, have the strong markings of the Mutable Grand Cross, as we start the summer with Mercury in Gemini opposed Saturn in Sagittarius, Mercury square Neptune in Pisces and Mercury square Jupiter.
Clarity may be lacking during much of this summer season and it’s interesting to note that this summer includes significant political events with [1] the Brexit vote in England on the 23rd as Britons vote to either go from or stay in the European Union; [2] the Republican National Convention starting on July 18th; and [3] the Democratic National Convention starting on July 25th. This summer also has the Olympic Summer Games scheduled for Rio de Janeiro beginning on August 5th.
We may find that the summer offers us a silly season with a great deal of activities but often seeming more like a caroming from one thing to another, often without much sense or rationale in our movements. Things may not go according to plan.
Excess could be strong during the summer, so it would be wise for us to put on the brakes, take the time to consider our intentions, our directions and our itinerary, all the while that we are devising contingency plans. I shall repeat: things may not go according to plan.
While the June Full Moon and beginning of summer may be squirrely and might imprint the summer as a season of here, there and everywhere, the weekend of June 25th – 26th can be quite pleasant.
The 26th has Jupiter trine Pluto and Mercury sextile Uranus, followed on the 27th with Venus trine Neptune. We may feel as though we have stepped off into a wonderland, an idyllic setting, whereby things happen randomly and quite spectacularly without our having to do much except getting out of our own way and being open to the magic of possibilities.
This may be a lovely respite from the whirrings in our mind and our attempts to control situations. Let’s keep in mind the paradigm shift, a shift from sequential, linear reality to asequential, non-linear reality. Things happen, often in a miraculous, magical way without our being the instigators of the events.
During this time it would be wise for us not to be myopic but rather to work with peripheral vision. Much of the beauty of this period is being in the right place at the right time, even when we don’t know what that right place might be. The right place is likely to find us rather than our finding it.
The end of June can be dicey. On the positive level, Mercury exits its own Sign of Gemini to enter Cancer on the 29th, thereby ending the Mutable Grand Cross that we have been dealing with for the past six weeks. As Mercury moves into Cancer, we now have a Stellium of three planets in Cancer as Mercury joins the Sun and Venus in the Cardinal Water Sign. Much of our focus can turn to home and family matters. We could expend our energy on home projects and fix-ups, enjoy staycations and we might find ourselves ever more engaged in family matters.
On a mixed bag level, Mars ends its two and a half month retrograde cycle and turns direct in its own Sign of Scorpio also on the 29th. Our intensity can ratchet up, and we might witness increased intensity on the world stage.
The war between the West and the BRICS nations could ratchet up. Already, we have seen military ramping up whether in eastern Europe with NATO’s deployment of anti-missile bases in Poland and Romania or the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. We have witnessed economic sanctions against Russia and the collapse of oil prices, a staple of the Russian economy. And we have watched the governmental destabilization in Brazil with the impeachment proceedings against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. The drumbeats of economic war that could eventually lead to military engagements may grow louder over these summer months.
On a negative level, Venus opposes Pluto on the 30th of June, the first of the Cancer-transiting planets to oppose Pluto, followed on July 7th by both the Sun and Mercury in Cancer opposing Pluto. Family issues can become strained, and something of a tug of war between family members could erupt. Relationships might become irritants even to the extreme liability of cutting people out of our lives.
There could also be concern about the housing market during the early summer months, and already we have seen subtle indications that the housing market may have reached its peak. And one has to wonder whether the housing market is recreating its past [reminiscent of the famous quote: ‘those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it’] as JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo offer mortgages with a 3% down payment, while in the UK Barclays now offers a mortgage with 0% down payment.
As we come into July, we may be gearing up for summer fun. Whether we choose to travel on holiday or take time for a staycation, our interest focuses on enjoying ourselves with the proverbial ‘hot fun in the summertime’ [to borrow from Sly and the Family Stone].
Venus sextiles Jupiter on the 1st of July, followed by the Sun trine Neptune on the 3rd. In the US, this is the Fourth of July long holiday weekend and often a week-long down time whether we take time off or just slow down our pace.
While this early July period can be quite pleasant, we are likely to find it ever more enjoyable by tuning out the machinations of the PTB [powers that be] and instead engage our own individual world of friends, family and personal sanctuaries.
With the personal planets of the Sun, Mercury and Venus all transiting Cancer in early July, we have by Sign a Grand Trine in the Water Element as the Cancer transiting planets trine Neptune in Pisces and trine Mars in Scorpio. We can loll about by the pool or on the beach. Certainly a desire to step off the mundane track with its assemblage of crazies would be our preference.
There can be intrusions of reality that pierce our idyllic reveries, but we let’s let them be only blips on the screen of our summertime activities.
While the Cancer transiting planets trigger a Water Grand Trine, they also trigger a Cardinal Sign T-Square as the Cancer transiting planets oppose Pluto in Capricorn and square Uranus in Aries.
The early July period can be a mixed bag of good times and fun events with various slams intermixed. It all has to do with the caroming between the Water Grand Trine and the Cardinal Sign T-Square.
The 1st of July has Venus sextile Jupiter and the start of the long holiday weekend. We are looking to enjoy ourselves, no matter the expense involved. The 3rd has the Sun trine Neptune and we could be tuning out the mundane world, indulging our reveries and cavorting in our own Fantasy Land. Any why not? Our lives are individual journeys with our choices the paths we take in various trajectories through the many phases of our life experience. Our lives are kaleidoscopes of many colors, different textures with its multi-varied shapes and sizes.
The New Moon on the 4th of July accentuates the Cancer energies of home and family. Imprinting the next two weeks up to the Full Moon on the 19th, this Cancer New Moon increases our sensitivity and heightens our desire for a loving, peaceful world. At the same time, we might feel as though we know what is right and how things should be with a strong sense of ‘my way or the highway’ and a stringent dose of intolerance.
It would be wise for us to engage the sentiments of these two keywords for our times: flexibility and adaptability.
We might have a clear picture of the way things should be but such an assumption plays into the hands of the wise adage: ‘if you want to make god laugh, tell god your plans’.
Early July offers us the idyllic with Venus sextile Jupiter [on the 1st], the Sun trine Neptune [on the 3rd], the Water Grand Trine with the Cancer New Moon [on the 4th], Mercury trine Neptune [on the 5th], Venus trine Mars and the Sun conjunct Mercury [both on the 6th]. This first week of July can have us stepping off the track of our familiar and seeking refuge in escapes of good times with good friends.
The 7th of July could be quite different. We might feel as if someone has poked the bear, awakened an angry and belligerent attitude. The Cardinal Sign Grand Cross is triggered that day by Venus square Uranus and both Mercury and the Sun opposed Pluto. Relationships could be squirrely, but much of it can be a case of someone, even ourselves, having to blow off steam. Discussions can turn into arguments, and we may feel forced to engage the world again. We might prefer participating in the paradise of our own making, but something could pull us back into being aware of what is going on in the world that is impinging upon our personal world. This day might have natural phenomena such as earthquake or volcanic activity or severe storm systems. There might even be issues of a geopolitical nature or certain systems going down.
Whatever the ramp up on the 7th might prove to be, things can mellow out on the 8th and 10th, as Mercury sextiles Jupiter on the 8th and the Sun sextiles Jupiter on the 10th, the same day that Mercury trines Mars. The crazies might impact upon our world now and again, but we can also detach ourselves from situations that might seem dramatic and nonsensical which truly have little bearing on our individual lives. No one or nothing need rain on our parade. We can embrace the light even if it appears way in the distance of a dark tunnel.
July 11th has Mercury square Uranus, one of my least favorite times for air travel. There can be delays, miscommunications, traffic problems and computer issues. This is a day for us to be vigilant and to expect the unexpected. No knee jerk reactions today, since we might not have full information or the information we receive could be misunderstood.
The 12th and 13th of July have significant shifts in energy as Venus exits Cancer to enter Leo on the 12th, followed by Mercury exiting Cancer to enter Leo on the 13th. We still have the Water Grand Trine by Sign, but we now also have a Fire Grand Trine by Sign as the Mercury and Venus in Leo trine by Sign Uranus in Aries and trine Saturn in Sagittarius. Our sensitivity may become slightly muted, but our desire for summer fun times increased. We are looking to make a splash, enjoy ourselves and do whatever appeals to us. It’s summer after all, the season to be out-of-doors, take times for us to enjoy ourselves, go off on holidays or staycations and just have a good old time.
The 16th of July has the Sun square Uranus, the Sun trine Mars and Mercury conjunct Venus. We might feel as though we have to spend valuable time on other people’s issues, as though our wings are being clipped. This is a day for us to ‘grin and bear it’, deal with whatever but doing so quickly and effectively. Once we take care of our obligations, we can engage our flights of fancy, participate in re-creational activities and take in a concert, a show or some other lively event.
The Capricorn Full Moon on the 19th closes out the Water Grand Trine. We may finish up home projects, complete family reunions and be geared up for doing our own thing. Mercury trines Saturn on the 19th, followed by Venus trine Saturn on the 20th. We might fall back on pleasurable activities of the past to employ for our upcoming down time. We often assume that past experiences can be replicated in the future, when in truth we are not who we were five years ago, ten years ago, or even last week. We have developed, grown out of old patterns and no matter how much we might want to go back into the memories of the past to dredge up as present or future activities, they just might not have the same fulfilling feeling they held for us times before.
New times call for new adventures.
The 22nd of July has the Sun exiting Cancer to enter Leo. The Water Grand Trine by Sign that we have felt during this early part of summer is over, replaced by a brief Stellium of three planets in Leo as the Sun joins Venus and Mercury in the Fixed Fire Sign.
We may feel at the height of summertime, our energy increased by the sun’s glow, and wishing to try some thing other than that with which we are too comfortable.
Mercury trines Uranus on the 27th of July. Our mind is inspired, our perspective broadened, and we might get some insights or flashes of genius as to where we want to go, what we want to do, all with a new trajectory in mind.
Our machete in hand and willing to carve our new path might be short-lived as Uranus turns retrograde on the 29th, the same day that Mercury squares Mars. We could have a feeling that our grand adventure needs to be placed on the back burner, that our spirit and thrill of excitement need to be muted, if not silenced. We may blame our hesitation on lack of resources — whether time, money or energy.
But the end of July can make us aware that the autumn and our return to some semblance of normalcy are fast approaching. It’s surprising how over the years the start of the school year has moved from after Labor Day into mid-August with some school activities beginning even in early August. Everything seems rushed forward, and in so doing so very out of sync with the natural unfolding. Even end-of-year holiday decorations are sometimes put up as we come into August.
The 30th of July has Mercury exiting Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo and ending the Stellium of three planets transiting Leo. Whether we need to get back on track or still have some time to revel in summertime fun, thoughts of ‘getting back to’ can be ever present in our mind. Back to school sales lured by sales tax holidays may be promoted as we end July and start into August.
No matter the enticements to get back on track and back on board with our regular routine, early August may have us seeking time to get out of Dodge, even if only briefly, to enjoy another summer breather.
The 1st of August has Venus trine Uranus and the Sun trine Saturn, just prior to the Leo New Moon on the 2nd, the day that also has Mars exiting its own Sign of Scorpio to enter Sagittarius. We may want a further blowout before summer ends, and we might choose to do something spontaneously, spread our wings and have the air currents take us wherever they flow.
The Leo New Moon on August 2nd can reinforce the second wind we might have gained over the summer. We could feel more expressive, have a stronger philosophical bent about our lives and a desire to explore the new and the different, both in regard to activities that have caught our attention and with people who offer a different spin on doing their lives other than those people with whom we are familiar.
A stretch beyond our comfort zone does not necessitate our going whole hog on our investigations. We can try things out and inch our way into varied trajectories without committing to any one.
On the 5th of August, Venus exits Leo and enters Virgo creating a Stellium of three planets in the Mutable Earth Sign as Venus joins Mercury and Jupiter in Virgo. The Mutable Sign T-Square that has daunted us since the end of last summer is re-enforced. A tendency to judge things, critique and evaluate, all with something of a jaded eye where we see the half glass of water as being half empty rather than half full, could be strong. Unfortunately, clarity may be lacking, and we might engage a rush to judgment without full information, due diligence or a reasoned approach.
The first two weekends in August can have us in something of a whirlwind. We might be pushed and pulled between wanting to enjoy summer with its outdoor recreational activities and feeling the need to get serious about getting back on track of our regular routines.
The 6th of August has Venus square Mars and Mercury square Saturn, followed on the 7th by Mercury opposed Neptune. Relationships could be difficult, and we might find fault with the slightest annoyances. We might want to take a trip out of town with the justification of visiting or dropping in on someone whom we have not seen for quite a while. Our good intentions could lead us down a long and winding road and a journey that seems more like a bramble path than a clean and clear highway. Our communications may be sharp but our reasoning slightly faulty. This weekend of the 6th – 7th is a time for us to be diplomatic, non-judgmental and cutting everyone, even ourselves, with a great deal of slack. Otherwise, we could shoot from the lip, misfiring and unable to hit whatever target we are aiming at.
Even if we make a mess of things with our thoughts and expressed feelings on the 6th – 7th, we can make amends as we come to the 10th when Mercury trines Pluto. Our thoughts can be sharp, our mind laser-like, as we focus on the truly meaningful and see clearly both the big picture and the particulars involved. We may have to eat some crow regarding any missteps, miscommunications or misunderstandings from the weekend of the 6th – 7th, but it is far better that we clear the air rather than allow issues to simmer, since when we come to the weekend of August 13th – 14th, we could find ourselves back in the soup, especially in regard to our interactions with other people.
The 13th of August has Saturn turning direct ending its nearly five-month retrograde cycle, a time when things may have been delayed, taken longer than we might have liked and triggered various frustrations for us. With Saturn direct, there can be greater ease in forward movement with the recognition that we are continuing with the Mutable Sign T-Square until the 9th of September and may continue to carom between the highs and lows, the ups and downs and the expansions- contractions we have experienced since the end of last Summer.
While the weekend of the 6th – 7th has Mercury triggering the Mutable Sign T-Square with its square to Saturn and opposition to Neptune, the weekend of the 13th – 14th has Venus triggering the Mutable Sign T-Square with Venus square Saturn on the 13th and Venus opposed Neptune on the 14th. If we have to put up with certain people whom we find irritating, this is a time for us to polish our charm and diplomacy and not cause any flare-ups in our relationships. Let’s keep in mind that people come into our lives and are in our lives for some larger purpose, whether challenges by which we can learn lessons and grow from them or advantages by which they can provide us opportunities and assistance. We might not always know which is which, but there are times when our strongest adversities provide us with our greatest successes, other times when incredible opportunities bring with them our most intense challenges. It may be several yards down the road, or years in the future, when we clearly and rightly determine which is which, what is what.
The mid-August period has some lovely energies with the Sun trine Uranus on the 16th, Venus trine Pluto on the 17th, and the Aquarius Full Moon on the 18th. We may have a new sense of ourselves, confident in whom we are becoming and looking to have heart-to-heart discussions with that special someone in our life. This mid-August period allows us to embrace our individuality, our uniqueness with greater appreciation for the personal characteristics of the important people in our lives. We might also choose to jump off the track, realize the magic of these times whereby things come to us unexpectedly and in the most surprising ways. We could better appreciate the paradigm shift with its facet of things occurring without our having made them happen but rather by our being in the right place at the right time. Miracles are only considered miracles because they defy logic or rational explanation. The more we can liberate ourselves from preconceived notions and traditional assumptions, the more we might engage the mini-miracles of these times. Such mini-miracles may not be akin to the parting of the Red Sea but are likely to be incidents that surprise us and put a smile on our face.
The 22nd of August has the Sun exiting Leo to enter Virgo heightening the Stellium in Virgo as the Sun joins Mercury, Venus and Jupiter all in the Mutable Earth Sign. Mercury conjuncts Jupiter also on the 22nd. By now, schools may have started their school year, vacations might have ended, and all of us could feel as though we are back on the track again. We might feel upbeat and eager to get back to our familiar, especially since the familiar could be a nice reprieve from some of the crazy-making events that have gone on over the past few months.
The weather might suggest summer, but our personal involvement could have us returning to our normal life circumstances.
This latter part of August could get a little dicey. Mars conjuncts Saturn on the 24th and Mars squares Neptune on the 26th. We might not be operating at our optimum, may feel as though the familiar is no longer a comfort but rather a burden, and we could be impetuous in our actions. We have to be careful around machinery and the water. And it would be wise to avoid leaping before we look. Frustrations during this time can trigger explosion or implosions, so let’s be careful out there at this time.
The weekend of the 27th – 28th is the last weekend before the long Labor Day holiday weekend, often seen as the unofficial end to the summer season. This last weekend in August has Venus conjunct Jupiter on the 27th and a bunch up of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter with Mercury conjunct Venus on the 29th. In preparation for the autumn, this weekend could be a major shopping event for some of us. With the three players in the third decanate of Virgo [the Taurus decanate], we might easily justify purchases as necessary whether our purchases are wardrobe, personal makeovers, equipment and supplies and all intended for the days ahead.
Venus exits Virgo late on the 29th to enter its own Sign of Libra, followed on the 30th with Mercury turning retrograde for its three-week cycle through its own Sign of Virgo, a retrograde cycle that lasts through the rest of the summer with Mercury turning direct on the 22nd of September just before the Sun exits Virgo to enter Libra on the 22nd at the Fall Equinox and the beginning of the autumn season.
This Mercury retrograde could be an intense one with Mercury going through its own Sign of Virgo. Details, specifics can be lost to sound bites and brief allusions to past incidents — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
As we come into September, we are not only dogged by the Mercury retrograde but we have a Solar Eclipse with the Virgo New Moon on the 1st of September, followed by the Sun triggering the Mutable T-Square as the Sun squares Saturn on the 1st and the Sun opposes Neptune on the 2nd, the same day that Mercury conjuncts Jupiter. Irrational exuberance can set in, all the while that we are trying to find the energy to forge ahead perhaps even blindly without itinerary or direction in mind.
With this Virgo New Moon impacting the next two weeks, it would be wise for us to take our time, evaluate conditions, consider the circumstances and then step gingerly forward, all the while that we continually check and re-check what we are doing and the environs in which we are doing it.
We may be operating from a high level of nervous energy, somewhat skittish about our movements. Let’s be certain that our concerns don’t paralyze us, throw us into a catatonic state, where we are only running in place and getting nowhere.
While much of this official end to summer can be intense and slightly nerve-racking, there can be a moment of clarity and reawakened determination on the 7th of September as the Sun trines Pluto and Venus sextiles Saturn. We might have been juggling all sorts of permutations in our mind and in our actions, but this second week of September allows us to focus, draw upon trusted confidantes and figure out the most expeditious means to realize our goals. We could use these energies to concentrate our attention, bolster our self-confidence and determine our right course of action.
The 9th of September has a major shift in energy as Jupiter ends its yearlong transit of Virgo to enter Libra for a year transit. Not only does Jupiter exit a Sign in which it is uncomfortable, but Jupiter’s leave-taking of Virgo also ends the Mutable Sign T-Square where Jupiter has been squaring Saturn and Jupiter has opposed Neptune. The extreme whipsaws between exuberance and despair, between expansion and contraction can be over, even if the Mutable Sign T-Square continues, albeit muted, until all the personal planets have ended their transit of Virgo by early October.
Being an optimistic, expansionary planet, Jupiter moving into Libra increases our interaction with other people, especially the special someone in our lives, and also allows us to stop and smell the flowers. We are far more interested in finding balance in our lives, less of the whipsaws we might have gone through over the past year, and seeking a sense of peace and sanctuary in our daily living.
On a highly optimistic note, we could even see greater efforts in the geopolitical arena to lay down arms, avoid the contested confrontations, and find some semblance of win-win scenarios for all nations involved.
The Jupiter in Libra transit offers hope that to borrow from one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, Curtis Mayfield, and his lyrics from We Got to Have Peace:
“We got to have peace
To keep the world alive
And war to cease
We got to have joy
True in our hearts
With strength we can’t destroy
People hear us
Through our voice the world knows
There’s no choice”
With Jupiter in Libra, we can be more considerate of other people’s interests and needs. We can appreciate the characteristics and abilities in other people. And we can embrace the beauty in life — the joy and wonder of living on the earth plane.
When the Jupiter in Libra is triggered, we may find a respite from some of the crazies and crazy-making incidents that are still likely to continue on.
The 10th through the 13th might prove part of the crazy-making scenarios. The 10th has Saturn square Neptune. Old issues and commitments may restrict our movements and cause us a high level of resentment. Any resentment could lead to relationship issues as Venus squares Pluto on the 11th. If we feel blocked or misunderstood, which is certainly likely with us operating under the Mercury retrograde influence, we could cut people off at the knees and feel justified in doing so, for the 12th has Mercury square Mars and the Sun conjunct Mercury, followed on the 13th by the Sun square Mars.
During this weekend of the 10th – 11th and on the 12th and 13th, it would be wise for us to count to ten, not overly personalize things and recognize that there can be miscommunications, misunderstandings and a tendency to jump to conclusions and react without full thought.
The Pisces Full Moon on the 16th is a Lunar Eclipse reinforcing the Mutable Sign T-Square, heightening our moodiness and increasing the liability of misunderstandings.
The end of the summer season is likely to be spiced with all sorts of emotional venting, at times feeling like a victim, other times portraying the role of the perpetrator.
Similar to the changing of the seasons when the temperatures may vary and we seem to straddle between the last remnants of summer and the trace beginnings of autumn, much of September can have us caroming, zig-zagging and all over the place. The more we can step away from situations, take a breather and try to see things clearly and dispassionately, the less we are liable to find ourselves caught up in the swells of moods and emotions that are likely to be impacting so many people and the circumstances in the world-at-large.
From the September New Moon and Solar Eclipse on the 1st to the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse on the 16th, things can be squirrely, and we might feel as though we are walking through a minefield, tiptoeing to avoid stepping on any thing that could prove explosive.
The weekend of the 17th – 18th of September, we might want to get out of Dodge or else do something out of the ordinary. Mars trines Uranus on the 17th, and we might feel adventurous, ready to take on the world or else step out of our usual routine. The 18th has Venus opposed Uranus and the question of balancing our personal interests with those of someone else could be a challenge. Let’s keep in mind that we are social animals and often enjoy the company of other people. With a sense of serendipity operating on this weekend of the 17th – 18th, unexpected situations could open to us, some to our liking, others not so much.
The 17th – 19th of September can have us exploring opportunities that we are somehow made aware of. The Uranian energies on the weekend cascade into aspects of Venus sextile Mars on the 19th and Mercury trine Pluto on the 20th.
With magic afoot, we can expand our interests, meet interesting new people whose experiences are foreign to our own and utilize our laser-like vision to zero in on the truly meaningful. This latter part of the summer may have us deep in our familiar surroundings but looking to broaden our involvements and with a sense of what truly serves a purpose in realizing our goals.
The summer ends on the 22nd as the Sun exits Virgo to enter Libra at the Autumn Equinox signaling the beginning of the Fall season. Just before the Autumn Equinox, Mercury ends its three-week retrograde cycle and turns direct.
We may have labored through September with various ups and downs but the end of the summer season might have presented us with some interesting gifts in the way of options and alternatives to pursue in the days ahead.
Summer 2016… hot times in the summertime…
