This Summer seems to be a season of searching for the best and wanting to leave behind the rest. Certain attachments could pull us back and hamper our best intentions and our desires to advance our personal interests of relaxation and re-creation. Some ideas and concepts might be intriguing and entice us to follow their premise but hold little validity in reality. The keywords for this Summer, as they are for these times, are Awareness and Mindfulness.
It is essential that we take nothing at face value nor accept the truth to things being presented to us. More goes on than meets the eye and we need to be wary, withhold judgment before making definitive decisions and even once decided go slowly and tentatively in the directions we choose.
During this Summer, we may feel as though we are at a theme park with various rides and exhibitions displaying both the best of times and the worst of times. The swings this Summer could prove extreme, somewhat dizzying and certainly confusing. We may question whether things are moving ahead or are moving backwards, and like a metronome we can swing back and forth between hope and despair.
Spring ends and Summer begins with the Summer Solstice on the 21st of June, the longest day of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere as the Sun enters Cancer. This beginning of Summer also has Mercury square Saturn. We may feel reticent about our needs in contrast to the demands of other people. Relationships could be a little dicey, as everyone might seem to have a chip on their shoulder, assuming that the perennial promise of Summer may be hard to live up to this year. Great expectations for the season could be tainted with anticipations of great disappointments. We may feel enthusiastic and confident one moment, ready to launch forward into new arenas with new plans for ourselves, only to fall back and assume that we are but recreating our past and engaging the idea of ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’.
The first full day of Summer on the 22nd of June could be a mixed bag. The Sun trines Neptune and Mars squares Neptune. We may be a little spacey today and we have to be careful to avoid possible accidents, especially around the water. This can be a day when a boating accident or accidents on the water could highlight the local news. We may have good intentions but we might not be totally clear about what to do and how to proceed. Impetuous actions could create severe problems. While we might want to bask in the sun, we have to watch for those parade rainers, people who might be aggravated and irritated and looking to take their frustrations out on someone. Let’s avoid being that someone. We don’t have to be the eternal optimist but neither should we engage a sense of despair.
The weekend of the 25th and 26th could be a time for family fun and sprucing up our homes. The Sun sextiles Jupiter on the 25th and the Sun squares Uranus on the 26th. We may want to incorporate greater variety into our lives, try out new things and add some splash to our surroundings. We might feel confident about our abilities but it would be wise to keep a check on our finances, since we could have a tendency to overspend in order to add greater flair to our home, wardrobe or personal appearance. We may be itchy to do something different but we just have to watch the expense involved.
Mars sextiles Uranus on the 27th, and this is a day when we might choose to spread our nets wide. We are far more interested in being spontaneous, doing things impulsively, and accentuating our sense of freedom. We do not want to be restricted or limited in our actions and this is a ‘me’ day when we emphasize our individuality and the quirkiness of our character. We do have to watch that we don’t go overboard in asserting ourselves, for the 28th has the Sun opposed Pluto. If we have gone overboard and to the extreme, we could find the repercussions to be a headbanger and disadvantageous to our interests.
July begins on the 1st with a Solar Eclipse and the Cancer New Moon. With the Eclipse square to Saturn, we may experience recapitulations, those walks down Memory Lane that remind us of our past and past discouragements, and might enforce the sense of responsibilities to other people. This being the July 4th weekend in the US, celebrating Independence Day, we might feel anything but independent. On the contrary, we could feel restricted by our past, our obligations and other people’s whims, especially with the Sun square Saturn on the 2nd. If we could take a time out over this weekend, rest and recharge our batteries, then the aggravations of ‘what we should do’ can be lessened and allow us to enjoy the long holiday weekend.
We have two Signs changes at the beginning of July. Mercury exits Cancer to enter Leo on the 2nd, and Venus exits Gemini to enter Cancer on the 4th. Our focus can turn to fun events, engaging the true sentiments of the Summer season with an emphasis on re-creation and enjoying ourselves. Our safety net may be our home and family, whereby we stretch into new adventures, all the while that we have a base camp of support upon which to draw and recharge our energies.
The 4th can be an exciting time with novel experiences. Venus trines Neptune and Mercury trines Uranus. We might feel in an otherwordly space and this a day when it would be wise for us to follow our inner voice, be open to wonderful surprises and luxuriate in the realm of possibilities, even if they seem impossible.
What we do have to watch for, and the caveat for the season and for these times, are the wild swings between euphoria and discouragement. There can be some real ‘up’ times when we might feel as though all is right in our world and that pesky matters have resolved themselves. And there can be some real ‘down’ times when issues thought resolved come back up for us to deal with and create high anxiety with sense that the worst is yet to come. Let’s keep in mind the volatility of these times and the likelihood being that things are never as good as we might imagine nor as bad as we might imagine and as a result the importance of not making snap judgments or impetuous decisions.
On the 5th, Mercury squares Jupiter and our tendency to blow things out of proportion and a desire to enjoy ourselves no matter the cost could be aggravated and might put a huge dent in our pocketbook. This is a time when presentations may be dramatic and enticing but also stronger in the images offered than the reality of the situation.
During this Summer we will be tested regarding our focus and our willingness to let things play out before opining on what is going on. If we will take our time, not be distracted by the hoopla and concentrate on the unfolding, and an unfolding that might be more asequential than sequenced, the less likely we shall be to step into some trap of our own making, a trap created by our impulsive nature and desire to do something, anything, in order to move our interests forward.
Let’s always bear in mind that we are crossing the threshold into a time when C does not necessarily follow B, nor B following A. Instead, the new normalcy is abnormalcy where things can occur in any order, by any means and perhaps without any recognizable rhyme or reason. Welcome to the paradigm shift, the magical mystery tour when we need to maintain awareness and mindfulness in order to see the unfolding and go with the flow of developing events.
The first full week of July, from the 4th through the 9th, seems a high energy time with a great deal of movement and caroming between extremes. Excess can be in full gear, thanks both to a cock-eyed optimism and deep-rooted intensities seeking release.
The mid-part of the week, on the 6th, has Mars trine Saturn. By drawing upon other people’s objective insight and detached counsel, we may devise a best practices approach by which to bob and weave through the kaleidoscopic landscape. Discussions can be to the point, be far less emotionally-charged and can allow us to be both expeditious and productive in getting things done.
We just have to watch that when we do catch the wave and ride the pipeline we just not assume that we can ride the wave to shore. Our greatest success during these times is to know which wave to ride, when to ride the wave and when to get off the wave before crashing into shore.
The potential for excess and indulgence is ratcheted up on the 7th through the 9th. The Jupiter trine Pluto on the 7th increases things exponentially and can either be the very best of times or the very worst of times, depending on how we play it and how events are unfolding. The extreme during this time cannot be downplayed. Things can go on a positive tear and may seem indicative that all problems have been resolved and that we are back on the fast track able to move full speed ahead. Or the depth of problems could become better known and give us a sense that things are more like a house of cards, flimsy and likely to fall at any significant shift or change. Venus also squares Uranus on the 7th. Issues regarding our home, real estate and troubling interactions with other people can add fuel to the fire of extremism. This is a time to take deep breaths, not react immediately to any situation going on and wait for the dust to settle before considering actions or making important decisions.
The 8th of July has Venus opposed Pluto. We might be going through our contact list and seeing whom we might wish to expunge and what social invites we are likely to accept and those we are likely to defer.
While the 7th and 8th can be off the charts in regard to people’s actions and reactions, with an either or type of mentality and little space for equivocation; the weekend of the 9th and 10th could allow us to make amends for any belligerent actions. Venus sextiles Jupiter and Mercury sextiles Saturn on the 9th. People may come to their senses and recognize that no one is able to move recklessly ahead, stepping on toes, creating consternation without some blowback. We might find people apologizing for their behavior or excusing their actions with the rationale of overload or overwhelm that seem to be symptoms of these changing times.
Uranus does turn retrograde on the 9th, and whatever our plans might be at this time, we need to keep in mind that things can change instantly and without a moment’s notice. But people’s self-interest and self-absorption could also be muted as we all come to the realization that none of us are islands unto ourselves. This Uranus retrograde cycle continues on into the Autumn and turns direct on the 10th of December, at the time of the Lunar Eclipse. Change can be in the air but much of it may become more internalized rather than the spontaneous and sporadic actions we might have taken earlier.
The mid-month of July can see things quieting down. Although we are interested in broadening our realm and expanding our interests, we may also have a tendency to fix our attention of home and family matters. Even staycations whereby we take time off from our daily routine, get off the track but stay around home base with day excursions rather than long trips, could be preferable to extended distant trips.
Mercury sextiles Mars on the 11th, and we are certainly looking for fun events and variety. We want to be on the move but our arena could be far less than long distance trips and visits.
July 13th has Venus square Saturn followed on the 15th with the Capricorn Full Moon. We may be concerned about home projects and might be looking at maintenance or home repair issues. Renovations and redecorations could be in the works and a greater sense of fixing up that which we have rather than branching out into new directions. This could also be a time when the real estate market takes another hit, whether another wave of foreclosures, tightness in the mortgage market or further devaluation of real property.
The Sun moves into Leo on the 23rd with a shift of gears into summer at its peak. We may be planning events for August with the idea that we get away, even if for just a few days before Summer ends. We are unwilling to let Summer pass without some significant pleasurable activity and getting off the track, getting out of Dodge, may be requisite for our health and well-being. This desire for spreading our wings, doing our own thing and enjoying the new and the different can be further engaged towards the end of the month as the Leo Sun trines Uranus in Aries on the 27th. If we have been thinking of trying out some new activity or recreational pursuit, this end of July could be a time for us to do so.
The end of July has Mercury and Venus, once again, shifting Signs at virtually the same time, similar to earlier in the month. On the 28th, Venus moves out of Cancer and enters Leo, while Mercury exits Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo. Social engagements and fun times are calling us reinforced by the Leo New Moon to end the month. Love is in the air but we are likely to be selective and not merely interested in settling.
Part of the tenor of these times is quality, and being far more interested in the quality of things rather than the quantity of accumulation. All of us are in an alchemical process, a transformation, whereby we are being asked to be resourceful and concentrate on the truly important and the most meaningful. We might assume that the economic realities of these times are forcing us to do more with less. But, in truth, our own process of self-development is honing our desires and making us far more selective in regard to what we bring into our lives and no longer merely accepting whatever comes our way.
While July begins with an upswing in energy, much of the month seems quite pleasant despite some blips on the screen. August is another matter, and a month challenged by a Mercury retrograde for much of the month.
The month of August begins on a high note. We are feeling the impetus of the Leo New Moon on the 29th – 30th of July. Fun, fun, fun can be the keyword for this fortnight period and accentuated on the 1st of August with Venus trine Uranus, the Sun square Jupiter.
We are in FUN mode and willing to enjoy ourselves no matter the cost. And costs there can be. We may be indulgent, take our eyes off our budget, all with the idea of ‘let’s live for today’ as captured in the 1967 classic song by The Grass Roots.
The 2nd of August has Mercury turning retrograde, this retrograde cycle continuing into the 26th of the month, with Mercury tracing back through early Virgo and back into Leo on the 8th. Our ability to analyze and reason could become lost to our desires and our focus on summertime fun. Due diligence might go out the window, as we embrace whatever appeals to us with little satiation.
The first week of August may prove the case for ‘let the good times roll’.
Mars moves into Cancer trines Neptune on the 3rd. Neptune exits Pisces and moves back into Aquarius on the 4th, a day when Mercury also sextiles Mars. And the 5th has Venus square Jupiter and the Sun sextile Saturn, followed up by Venus sextile Saturn on the 7th.
This first week of August can highlight our summer re-creational plans. Getting to the beach, staying down by the pool, reconnecting with old friends can all play a part of our first week of August. This would be a good time for us to take a breather, recharge our batteries and just enjoy ourselves.
But the volatility of these times can become evident as we move from the first week of August into the second week of August. The energy shifts from highly pleasurable events to begin the month to some real pushes and pulls during the second week of the month.
This second week could be extreme with liabilities towards poor judgment, impulsive actions even to the point of accidents and explosions. Mercury exits its own Sign of Virgo and goes back into Leo on the 8th, when it opposes Neptune. Mars transiting Cancer triggers the Cardinal Climax with Mars square Uranus on the 9th and Mars opposed Pluto on the 11th. The Leo Full Moon is on the 13th.
Nothing may be done in half measure during this second week of August. Actions taken may be miscalculations with a tendency to push the envelope and go overboard. People may be on edge and we might witness explosive events. Now is a time for us not to react to any situation without taking the time to have full disclosure regarding what is really going on. We might feel confused, hoodwinked and with little information, even false information, leap forward without considering the circumstances or the conditions.
The second week of August could prove the most volatile of the month, for things seem to start to level out as we come into mid-month. The third week of August could have us licking our wounds, and taking the time to focus on our personal interests that give us pleasure and prove a nice antidote to the extremes of these times.
To assume that directions in place will last a lifetime, a season, a month or even more than a moment’s shift and change would be setting ourselves for grave disappointment and a liability to one of those whacks on the side of the head [can we call it the universe’s way of giving us a wakeup call?].
The 16th of August ramps our desire for good times as the Sun, Mercury and Venus all come together in Leo to emphasize: PARTY!
Whether a party of one or a gaggle of many, this mid-August period entices us to focus on having fun, doing our own thing and quite possible engaging a certain narcissism whereby we expect the world to revolve around ourselves. Seems to me like a potential set-up for a greater fall [not Autumn but the fall of the ego and the fall from grace].
This sense of entitlement can be reinforced on the 18th when Mars sextiles Jupiter. We may look to spend, spend, spend with some of our expenses associated with our home, family matters, a personal makeover, all with the justification that we are preparing for the return of routine as we come towards the Autumn period.
Unfortunately, clarity may be lacking, or not engaged during this time. Whatever we want, we may feel we richly deserve. The richly, however, could come with a hefty price tag and, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves digging a bigger hole of debt. Let’s not go there!
While the third week of August could be something of a Summer respite, reminiscent of summertimes past when we frolicked and played without a care in the world, the fourth week of August ratchets the energy up severalfold. Perhaps we are back to school or certainly in preparation mode to get back into our normal routine. But the energy from the 21st into the 28th could keep us hopping, at times confused, other times following the yellow brick road.
The potential for tricksters appearing could loom large on the 21st and 22nd, as Venus opposes Neptune on the 21st and the Sun opposes Neptune on the 22nd. Whether the trickster is someone we like and trust or our own delusions and grand expectations, we could be vulnerable to specious promises and possibilities that seem too good to be true and are too good to be true. These configurations occur just as both Venus and the Sun are about to exit and before entering Virgo, Venus on the 21st, the Sun on the 23rd.
Our appetites could get the better of us and we might feel deceived or tricked into believing something that has little basis in reality. We may not be especially clear at this time and, if in deed something does occur whereby we feel victimized and taken advantage of, we could find ourselves pulling the plug on certain contacts and relationships.
Mars squares Saturn and Venus trines Pluto on the 25th, a day before Mercury ends its retrograde cycle to turn direct on the 26th. While there might be pulls on us regarding other people’s needs, or demands, we are ready, willing and able to focus on what we need and what we want.
The Venus trine Pluto is a brief introduction to the Virgo New Moon on the 28th – 29th when the New Moon configuration creates a Grand Trine in the Earth Element with the Virgo New Moon trine Pluto in Capricorn and also trine Jupiter in Taurus. Impacting the fortnight, these next two weeks could see us highly productive, back on the fast track, and focusing on the most significant aspects of our lives. We want to cut to the core, be expeditious in the way we do things and concentrate on getting things done.
Although we get quite a thrust of energy from this New Moon, we do have to be wary of feeling invincible and overloading ourselves assuming that we are Superman or Superwoman.
Venus trines Jupiter on the 30th, just as Jupiter is turning retrograde. Excess could be strong and especially in regard to our shopping for what we believe our needs to be for the new school year or for our getting back into our regular routine.
Highly influenced by the August New Moon, September seems like a month when we accomplishing a great deal and being very effective. We may be working smarter rather than harder, but it would seem that things are falling neatly into place with less expenditure of energy than usual. From the New Moon of August 28th – 29th to the Full Moon on September 12th, we may feel turbocharged, engaging no nonsense and attentive to the most important aspects of our lives.
If we have been contemplating change or even just initiating new projects, this two-week period can allow us a highly resourceful and totally concentrated focus.
The key to these times is being co-creator with the universal energies, working with them and recognizing the wave cycles of times when we might be in the trough, other times when we are riding the waves.
This fortnight from the end of August into mid-September is a time when we are riding the waves, at the top of our game and able to accomplish more now than many other times when we are merely bumping along.
The one glitch during this fortnight, apart from excess and indulgence on the 30th of August when Venus trines Jupiter, is on the 8th of September when Mercury opposes Neptune. We might be susceptible to our own good fortune, embracing the idea that we are legends in our own minds. Such lack of humility could be a stumbling block and entice us in buying into illusions and fanciful beliefs, even beliefs of our invincibility and omnipotence.
Mercury moves into its own Sign of Virgo on the 8th, creating a Stellium of three or more planets in the Mutable Earth Sign as Mercury joins Venus and the Sun in Virgo. The Stellium is brief, however, for Venus exits Virgo on the 14th to enter its own Sign of Libra.
Before Venus leaves Virgo, the 11th has Venus sextile Mars, a pleasant Sunday afternoon before the Pisces Full Moon on the 12th, also a day when Mercury trines Pluto. We bring closure to the fortnight but the influence of the Earth Grand Trine lingers on.
This mid to latter part of August through much of September is an important period when we can focus on the truly meaningful, reinforce the purpose of our lives and make the necessary changes that will leads us closer to the realization of our dreams.
While everything seems quite rosy during this latter part of the Summer, let’s keep in mind the volatility of these times, whereby things can shift without a moment’s notice. And so it is as we end the Summer season.
The 16th through the 18th of September could prove dicey especially in regard to our relationships. Things could prove explosive thanks to Pluto turning direct on the 16th. Bomb blasts could occur and issues with certain traditional institutions could blow up. Problems with other people could be pronounced as Venus triggers a T-Square by Venus opposed on the 17th, followed by Venus square Pluto on the 18th, the day that Mars moves into Leo and exits Cancer.
The drumbeats of anger and frustration might be heard with people likely to act out. It might be as though things were so good that they were too good to last. But it’s not that we go through good to bad and stay there for a while. Let’s keep in mind the volatility of these times. Things change quickly, even instantly, and often without even a moment’s notice. Welcome to our new world order — reminiscent of the good, bad and the ugly.
Summer 2011… a time to get off the track, recharge and then move confidently ahead…
