SUMMER SOLSTICE HOROSCOPES
JUNE 20, 2024 | 4:51 PM EDT
text and image created by Shane Powers
Wishing everyone a peaceful summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere, winter in the southern, and everywhere in between.
Solstice is a polar time of year, marking a beginning, midpoint or decline depending on how you orient the cycles within a year. A time of contrast. The Moon at this particular time is waxing, or gaining in light and will soon enter the sign of Capricorn where it will oppose the Sun newly in Cancer heralding the beginning of summer along with a full Moon on Friday the 21st of June. Suspended elegantly low in the southern evening sky, like a glowing paper lantern, the Moon is near the Tropic of Capricorn from my terrestrial perspective on the east coast of the United States. The Sun however, as I write this message is passing high overhead near its most northern position, the Tropic of Cancer as it is entering the zodiac sign of Cancer and thus begins its slow descent into winter six months from now. It is peculiar to think of the pinnacle dually as the tipping point into degeneration.
I was reminded last night as I watched the Moon rise close to the southern horizon how around summer solstice the full Moon in Capricorn occurs in the Sun and Moon’s extreme positions of declination, a fancy word for locations north or south of the celestial equator. An effect of Earth’s wavering tilt throughout the year. At this time of year the Sun is at its peak declination rising and passing as high north as it can reach, emitting its brightest light while the Moon is near its lowest declination skirting the southern horizon, from a northern hemisphere perspective. At winter solstice, six months from now around the full Moon in Cancer they will have traded positions by declination with the Moon rising on the north eastern horizon and the Sun on the south east horizon. Sun tracing Moon’s summer path and Moon tracing Sun’s summer path.
If possible this week look towards the south east horizon at sunset and you will see the swelling Moon rise as the Sun sets on the north west horizon. Look in the opposite direction if you live in the southern hemisphere. Humans would have had to experience repetitions of these cycles to begin to understand their subtle messages. Stunning to imagine that not only do the Sun and Moon mirror each other symbolically as diurnal and nocturnal qualities in nature but also poetically mirror a sense of time and space observationally. The reflection of summertime and wintertime, light and dark, life and death and so on.
This gracefully choreographed expression of space and time not only guides our preparations for seasonal effects and survival skills, it also encourages a more mystical sense of cyclical periods and acceptance. Contradiction, vitality and impermanence are poetically written in the movement of all celestial bodies who act like an analogue user interface enabling a conversation with nature.
Contemplation of even one small aspect of astronomy and its symbolic resonance is empowering. As an open source information gathering system, every spiritual insight and revelation is embedded in a celestial configuration at some point in time. Some appear in repeating patterns, obvious in the day or night sky. Others are hidden below Earth or obscure due to our limited terrestrial perspective. The cosmos and nature are in eternal conversation with all living beings practically and spiritually if we are given natural time to listen.
Have a wonderful summer. Enjoy the horoscopes.
Take care,
Shane
The horoscopes I write offer broad strokes. Natal astrology consultations express finer detail particular to your sole astrology. Whether you have met with me before or not we can look back, in the present and future together.
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ARIES
Your planetary guide Mars, in Taurus is transiting your second house of sustenance, nutrition and material resources. At times stubborn in fixed earth sign Taurus, Mars here is at best deliberate and at worst careless with one’s blessings. This summer notice where worry of not feeling well provided for can dig reservoirs of discontent if left unaddressed or as bottomless holes to be filled. A sympathetic aspect between Mars and Mercury in Cancer in your fourth house of origin offers fruitful conversations among partnerships, extended family as well as next of kin. These conversations center on where needs, material or intangible, are met and allocated in those relationships. Especially where there may not be enough give or take on your part; a tough pill to swallow. There is great possibility of resolution within these interactions where acknowledging and reestablishing threads of interdependency among each other is essential to preserving healthy root systems fed on the spoils of heirloom memories. If ever you must use grappling words, consider them wisely and do no harm.
TAURUS
Recently, god of the underworld Pluto reentered Aquarius in your tenth house where questions of perpetual climax come head-to-head in a hidden aspect with the Sun, Mercury and your planetary guide Venus in your third house of daily rituals. Where at times you’ve revered the pedestal of recognition, figures of respectability and where the grass appears greener, your gaze this summer will focus on trusting that what you deem mundane may indeed be holy. Mars now in Taurus transiting your first house may rear frustrations and delays concerning matters of close relationships, or where they become a palpable depletion of your constitution. Venus and Mercury in your third house are actively quiet at this time, invisible within the Sun’s blinding Cancerian rays. As are all water signs, Cancer is classically referred to as “mute.” The third house can keep one preoccupied in thought and this summer may be about learning more through listening closely to others versus the spoken word. Also on the mind, resourcefulness, that leans on more humble, unworldly, and homespun approaches where a surrender of expectations is deeply considered. Venus and Mercury nonetheless are impressionable here providing a thoughtful atmosphere for reimagining and then remapping habits while setting the record straight on some opaque financial realities as well.
GEMINI
Jupiter, who guides matters of your partnerships and modes of visibility, recently entered your first house with a cornucopia of ideas regarding where to place priorities within relationships and the places you feel satisfied applying your talents. As your guiding planet Mercury, now in Cancer, transits your second house of livelihood, this summer may be preoccupied with how you relate to others platonically, professionally or sensually while weighing and balancing the intricacies of feeling provided for by all. As relationships can meander into trivial distractions, excesses and or neglect, Jupiter in your first house is an equalizing agent that holds reverence for those important to you, held with regard on the tip of your mind. While in Cancer, the Sun, who grants focus, present with Mercury and Venus, who braid intentions of love are together eager to procure the goods of this earth as you instinctively become conscious of precious riches buried within a paradise of your own making. The fruits of this time will be best grown and shared with others as nourishment reciprocated on a cellular level versus fleeting tokens of material benefits. The very little things in relationships will mean a lot.
CANCER
The Moon, your planetary guide is in Sagittarius transiting your sixth house of busy work, ailments and diversions as the Sun makes its yearly ingress into your first house of the body and presence. Not long ago, the Moon made a tense aspect with Jupiter in your twelfth house where you may have come clear about an absent minded behavioral pattern that has manifested as unnecessary upset, unforeseen labor or at worse, affliction to your health. Soon the Moon will form a kurt but constructive connection with uncompromising Saturn in your ninth house of conviction testing your patience when it comes to matters of dealing with the so-called “real world.” Meanwhile, in unison, the Sun, Mercury and Venus are passing through the early degrees of Cancer in your first house conjuring a delicate womb-like environment akin to carrying a precious egg that requires special care and attention. Trust you are establishing a new found focus where the nurturing of deep held desires for change comes with unexpected surprises as you’re evolving from bud to bloom.
LEO
Summer begins with the Sun, Mercury and Venus in Cancer transiting your twelfth house of hermitage and the abyss of the mind where things develop in cavernous silence. The Sun, your guiding planet, has recently separated from an intoxicating aspect with Neptune in Pisces transiting your eighth house of the very distant past where inherited memories may be stirred or forgotten. This is a time to be with your back to the world. To sit pensive in thought. Stare at cracks in the wall. Watch paint dry. Describe images in passing clouds. It won’t be a great time for being fully present for others but incredible for quietly profound revelations. Visibility is important but also comes at a cost and this summer initiates a time of understanding care for oneself in ways that can be complicated to ask for, as needs may have changed. The Moon who guides the grouping of planets in your twelfth house is in optimistic Sagittarius transiting your fifth house of pleasure, children and creative pursuits. A placement of fertile expression, the Moon here inspires reconsideration of how you’d like to be seen, heard and loved from the inside out.
VIRGO
Mercury, your guiding planet, adrift in cardinal water sign Cancer where it’s ability to rationalize as it prefers must instead rely on instincts and elemental flow. Of note for you this summer is the emotional underbelly of ambition and the critical final climb towards completion of a creative aspiration. This coupled with the social aspects of birthing ideas into fruition. Common values and shared beliefs among friends and colleagues shore a level of hushed confidence while you are not quite sure where the objective is bound. Balanced with quality and quiet time with friends, this summer makes biting off more than you can chew a possibility as Jupiter in Gemini is now transiting your tenth house of visibility and the articulation of your talents. Although the details may remain fuzzy, remain oriented towards the future while this fluctuating sense of overwhelm carries you on a course of its own towards a more meaningful understanding of your work, friendships and accomplishments. Temper any doubts by seeking and delighting in the company of trusted colleagues and dear affinities.
LIBRA
At summer solstice, Venus, your guiding planet, is not visible in Cancer, obscured by its close proximity to the Sun’s rays while transiting your tenth house of practice and recognition. This summer you may be considering your well-being in places of visibility; where you contribute your singular voice. Venus, along with the Sun is also with Mercury and all three are in a heart-to-heart aspect with an unyielding Mars in your eighth house of idling fears. Probe the periphery of your capabilities and note where you stall in frustration when you are not honestly walking your talk, or avoiding responsibility for short sighted comfort. Your astrology at this time warns of siphoning your skills and efforts into one specialty rather than beneficial growth from a jack-of-all trades approach. The spotlight you seek may come unfiltered, without glare or emerge from behind the scenes. Orient your ambitions within a framework that regeneratively blooms in a timeline and environment aligned with habits and rituals you feel comfortable with. Lean into the mystifying questions necessary to make that a reality.
SCORPIO
Your planetary guide Mars, in Taurus, is transiting your seventh house of unions, where the sun sets and melts into the horizon. In fixed earth sign Taurus, Mars can be hesitant to change and instead circumvents inevitable complications in relationships of love, friendship or enterprise. Communication around topics of sustenance and care within those relationships may be of note this summer as Mercury applies to a smooth but potentially emotional aspect with Mars. This is a prime moment to approach difficult discussions that unravel pent up frustrations slowly rather than explosively. Tender and sore spots may be touched with care. Mars in an earth sign is best when it can enduringly take its time rather than making decisions or taking action in haste. You will have the other’s ear as Mercury is with Venus, who guides your partnerships in the emotionally reactive water sign of Cancer. Notice also where spoiled routines upheld for keeping the peace in a relationship have become a drain on its vitality. This summer is an auspicious time for turning stubborn and petty upsets in places you share with others into more spaciousness together.
SAGITTARIUS
On May 25th your guiding planet Jupiter entered changeable air sign Gemini, now transiting your seventh house of compromises. Jupiter in Gemini is approximately a one year span of time but specifically this summer you may feel drawn swiftly towards the exploration of partnerships or greatly broadening your scope of what relationships mean to you. Yearning, after a year of stalling desires in Taurus within your sixth house of toil, Jupiter now offers an abundance of possibilities in love and possibly, war. But as Mercury, who guides your relationships, is afloat in compassionate Cancer while transiting your eighth house of disintegration, it forms an ultimately friendly conversation with frustrated Mars in Taurus. There may be residue from the past that must be tended to carefully before you can move on from the numbing comforts of a waning mirage. From here on be mindful of your ability to commit wholeheartedly and for what honest to god reasons. Like a well formulated multiple choice question, there may appear to be more than one answer.
CAPRICORN
For some time, as your planetary guide Saturn has been in Pisces, transiting your third house of routines, thresholds and moving about like a busy bee perhaps it has felt challenging to find a sustainable rhythm. As the Sun enters Cancer at summer solstice in your seventh house of relationships a focus on others who depend on you may reveal where those priorities other than your own have become a weight on your day-to-day flow. Your resourcefulness and ability to shine as well. The Moon, who guides your relationships is transiting Sagittarius in your twelfth house of chronic disappointments and things we prefer to sweep under the rug only to fester and resurface in more damaging circumstances. Your well meaning enthusiasm is a guiding light that others flock to but remember that you must keep your temple clean as well. As the Moon applies to an overbearing relationship with Saturn, this summer concentrate on holding your ground when others begin to take up an amount of space that chokes your optimism, withdrawing you further and further away from yourself.
AQUARIUS
As Saturn, your planetary guide continues its ongoing effort to focus effectively on matters that support your development of sustainable resources, your motivation to be seen and heard may feel mute; instead applied to means of survival. At summer solstice the Moon in gregarious Sagittarius transiting your eleventh house of friendships and the fulfillment of worldly desires is applying to a tense but constructive relationship with Saturn in said second house of feeling resourced. This summer would be a worthwhile time to flex and open your heart a bit for the opportunities to love and care for friendships who bring levity and pleasure into your life. Avoid the tendency to feel trapped when truly seen by others who bestow trust, hope and blessings over your reticent dreams and aspirations. Be also aware of where you withhold your creative genius, concerned there is not a bottomless well of riches to be shared. Saturn will soon station retrograde, initiating a time when your most valued asset in life may be the ability to create the conditions necessary to nurture mutual growth within and alongside relationships.
PISCES
Jupiter, your ruling planet recently entered Gemini, now transiting for approximately one year your fourth house of homeland, family and their origins. Weighing doubts over a sense of place for the following year may be of great interest to you. In Gemini, Jupiter in the fourth house may over prioritize practical matters of what homelife means to oneself. Awash in possibilities, and perhaps involving a significant other, defining a sense of place or connecting to a lineage of family or chosen people will be of debate as Jupiter makes its way through this foundational portion of your birth chart. As Jupiter is also the guide of your tenth house, themes of prominence and destiny will layer into the equation. Would you like to remain a big fish in a small pond? Or, accepting your blessings, go deeper not wider in the place you are situated. Jupiter promises growth regardless. Is your lifestyle rooted in a place you feel truly a part of its landscape and customs or does the unease of outgrowing its edges keep you feeling and acting small? Like an orchid who has outgrown its pot, consider pruning your roots for certified stability or transplanting them, encouraging voluminous growth.