Summer Solstice

Astro Doings May – June 2023

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

Hope you enjoyed the hybrid solar eclipse. It was spectacular online! May has the second eclipse of the pair – a lunar eclipse.  (They always come in twos, and sometimes in threes!) There’s a lot of fixed energy in May – read sustaining and/or stubborn, so things may seems slow to move forward.

May

Pluto is not so sure about this change of signs from Capricorn to Aquarius that happened in March. So, on May 1at 1:09 p.m. EDT, the planet starts its 5-month retrograde period. It will be at 00 Aquarius and will remain there for the whole month. Aquarius is an air sign, an innovator, destroyer of outmoded forms and stubborn—or sustaining—to put a more positive spin on things.

On the 14th at 11:17 p.m. Mercury ends his retrograde period at 50 Taurus, squaring Pluto. Taurus is an earth sign – and one of the most stubborn of the zodiac. Taurus is very practical with a “show-me” attitude, and Aquarius is the sign of the innovator, the rebel. So you can see how they might not get along too well! Then on the 17th Jupiter joins the party, entering Taurus, right on top of Mercury.  Don’t forget that Uranus is also in Taurus, so that’s three planets in the same sign. We call that a stellium – lots of stubborn, practical energy, but no one wants to change their mind!

Then on the 20th at 11:31 a.m., Mars enters Leo, another fixed sign. This time the element is fire, and it’s on the opposite side of the heavens from Uranus. Think teeter-totter. Balance? And everyone is ganging up on all that staid Taurean energy. Fire wants to get things moving – is enthusiastic and sometimes reckless – and earth is a great way to put fire out.

Meanwhile, on May 5th there will be a lunar eclipse at 140 Scorpio. Might just as well have all the fixed signs at the party! Scorpio is on the other side of the zodiac from Taurus and is a water sign. The water may soften Taurus some, and earth does provide boundaries for emotional water. The eclipse will last about four hours and is not visible in the US. (We have to wait until next April for a full solar eclipse to cross the US and Canada.)  If it impacts your chart, the impact will last approximately four months. This eclipse is about service and giving up old patterns that no longer serve us. 

The New Moon occurs on May 19th at 280 Taurus. The Sun enters Gemini (phew, not a fixed sign!) on May 21st at 3:09 a.m. Gemini is an air sign of changeable quality (mutable). Gemini likes to explore everything for about five minutes. It is the sign of the writer and the teacher.

June

Venus has been feeling left out of the fixed sign party, so she enters Leo on the 5th and is opposed Pluto, squares Jupiter and is next to Mars. Venus and Mars in the same sign can feel like walking with your shoes tied together, or it can feel like balance between masculine and feminine energies. 

On June 11th Pluto decides it’s had enough of this Aquarian stuff and backs into Capricorn, which is much more familiar. It won’t return to Aquarius until January 2024. Capricorn is an earth sign, rules the status quo and major structures. Pluto’s long transit in Capricorn, from 2008 when it first entered the sign to now, has contributed to major changes (or identifying the need for change) in many major institutions and systems. I believe Pluto’s return to Capricorn may finish any changes that weren’t made earlier and/or identify additional changes. These may look like more upheaval.

Saturn stations retrograde (moves from west to east in the sky from our perspective) on June 17 at 1:27 p.m. He’ll be at 70 Pisces. Pisces is a water sign that has a very difficult time managing on this plane. Saturn rules structure – he is the ruler of Capricorn – so it’s a challenge for him to be in the watery realm of Pisces. This may be a time to examine what we truly believe and ramp up our meditation practice. It’s an inner time for sure.

The Full Moon occurs on the 3rd at 130 Sagittarius. The New Moon occurs on the 18th at 260 Gemini.

And the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer, occurs on the 21st when the Sun enters Cancer, another water sign.

Enjoy the spring and beginning of summer!

Abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings May – June 2020

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone —

We have a couple of busy months ahead as the planets change direction and even a pair of eclipses!

May 2020

May is a month of threes. It begins with three planets in Taurus, ends with three planets in Gemini and three planets start moving backwards (retrograde – no, not Mercury). In the beginning the Sun, Mercury and Uranus are in Taurus and at the end the Sun, Mercury and Venus are in Gemini. We move from a predominance of earth’s practicality (Taurus) to more air’s ideas and exploration of the mental realm (Gemini). It may feel like the pace has picked up, since Taurus is the slowest moving sign of them all, and Gemini wants to explore all there is – for just a little bit – before it gets bored and moves on to something else.

A word about retrogrades. Astrology is geocentric so it appears to us that at times planets move from west to east rather than east to west. We know that the planets don’t actually change direction, but it appears that way. Planets in retrograde motion tend to express more inwardly. It’s a time of inner work and the changes during that period may manifest when the planet goes “direct,” or starts moving from east to west in our skies. Of course, the “inner” will depend not only on the energy of the planet but also the sign the planet is in, which works as a filter through which the planet’s energy must express. Sometimes the “filter” helps the planet express and sometimes it’s more challenging. And how it impacts you personally depends on how this retrograde interfaces with your natal chart. There are a lot of retrogrades in May and June.

Saturn is the first of the planets to station retrograde on May 11 at 12:09 a.m. He’ll be a 10 Aquarius where he’ll remain for the rest of the month. (He backs into Capricorn in July.) Aquarius is an air sign and deals in novel ideas, destruction of old ways of thinking. It has a harder time expressing in stern Saturn, but Saturn can provide practicality to some of Aquarius’ more innovative (hair-brained) ideas. Saturn represents authority figures of all kinds, especially males, so your inner critic, your father’s or boss’ voice, might be very loud during this retrograde, which ends in late September. However, this may also be a period where you think through a new idea before implementing it. It may also be a time where you look at the changes you’ve made during the recent pandemic to see which of them you want to maintain even as things return to “normal.”

Venus stations retrograde on May 13 at 2:45 a.m. She’ll be at 210 Gemini. This is a fairly short retrograde period. She’ll station direct in June. Venus is the planet of love, the planet of relationship and the planet of beauty. In retrograde motion, she turns all of these inward with the idea to see them in ourselves as well as others. This can also be used as part of the integration of changes made during the pandemic to be more loving toward ourselves and open to new ideas (Gemini). I hope you’ve been joying seeing bright Venus in the evening sky last month and her dance with the Pleiades.

Jupiter doesn’t want to be left out of the fun. He stations retrograde on May 14 at 10:32 a.m. He’ll be at 270 Capricorn, next to (conjunct) Pluto. This is a very powerful conjunction, that has been going on (and will continue to go on) for a while. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, good luck, and optimism in Saturn’s sign (Capricorn). It’s sort of like walking with your shoes tied together. As I’ve written previously Capricorn is the sign of the status quo and systems we’ve developed to maintain this status quo. Pluto calls into question all of it, by looking deeply into the truth behind these structures. In retrograde, again, this could be a time to look at internal structures, ways of being and thinking that no longer serve you with the optimism (Jupiter) that the changes you make will be for the best. This conjunction falls in the house of values and resources in the US chart, and is next to natal Pluto, calling us examine what we value and how we use our resources both natural and man-made. This conjunction has been going on for a while, indicating the need for deep consideration about these issues.

Also on May 13, lest you get bored, Mars, the planet of war, self-assertion and a “me first” attitude moves into watery Pisces at 12:17 a.m. Mars is not at all excited to be in Neptune’s sign – all that watery, emotional stuff – yuck! How is a warrior supposed to deal with that? However, this can be a time of heightened intuition, which is water’s realm, which can be used to guide our headstrong warrior.

Mercury moves into his own sign, Gemini, on May 11 at 11:39 a.m. For the next 17 days, ideas will fly and there will be lots of conversations (chatter?). On the 28th he moves into Cancer and things may slow down a little. For those of us having trouble stilling our mind – monkey mind – this could be a challenging period. In any event there will be a lot of talk about the new ideas being circulated.

The Sun moves into Gemini on May 20th at 9:49 a.m. and the New Moon occurs the next day at 20 Gemini. The Full Moon occurs on May 7 at 6:45 a.m. She’ll be at 170 Scorpio.

June

Thought May was busy? June is just as busy! Three planets change direction and we have two eclipses.

So, let’s start with the two eclipses, lunar and solar. Neither will be visible in the US but depending on where they occur in your chart, you may feel their impact to a greater or lesser degree (or not at all).

The prenumbral lunar eclipse occurs on June 5th from 1:45 p.m. to 5:04 p.m., a little over three hours. The Moon will be at 150 Sagittarius. So those with placements around 150 in Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo and/or Pisces, the other mutable signs, may feel the impact of this eclipse more than others. A lunar eclipse deals with service to others and an ending of an era in the way you’ve been dealing with the energy of the impacted planet. The influence of this eclipse will last about three months.

Eclipses come in pairs – sometimes in threes, as this one does. The third eclipse (lunar) will occur in early July. The solar eclipse in June occurs on the Summer Solstice, June 21. The Sun will be at 00 Cancer. The eclipse will begin at 11:45 p.m. and will last about 6 hours. Solar eclipses occur at a New Moon, so the Moon will also be at 00 Cancer, and generally represent new beginnings. However, as we all know, new beginnings can be jolting at times. This eclipse occurs very close to the Sun in the US Chart (and Canada’s) so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Attention all those with placements in early degrees of Cancer, Capricorn, Aries or Libra. The influence of this eclipse will last about six months.

OK, now planetary changes.

Everyone’s favorite retrograde – yep – Mercury’s second retrograde of 2020 begins two days before the solar eclipse (June 18) at 12:59 a.m. He’ll be at 140 Cancer. These retrogrades last about three weeks and are wonderful times to repair, regroup, retreat and do some inner reflecting. The energies of both May and June seem to be guiding us into a rather reflective period, both personally and globally.

Two days after the solar eclipse (June 23), Neptune stations retrograde (starts moving from west to east) at 12:31a.m. She’ll be at 200 Pisces. She’s been in Pisces for quite a while now – likes being there, she is said to rule that sign. This retrograde ends in late November. Neptune rules fog, illusion, compassion and redemption – quite a list! This retrograde can be used to deepen our relationship to all that is greater than ourselves. Neptune rules the sea and wants to merge with something greater than itself. The search for this “something” will move inward during this retrograde period, providing a different perspective. Of course, there also may be a lack of clarity, as Neptune also rules fog!

Venus ends her retrograde period on June 25th at 2:48 p.m. She’ll be at 50 Gemini with an easy flow of energy (trine) to Saturn in Aquarius.

I should also mention that Mars leaves Pisces (phew!) and enters his own sign, Aries on the 29th. He’ll be very glad to be in Aries, the sign of the warrior, impulsive, headstrong and sometimes reckless. He will be in a challenging relationship (square) to the Sun and the only planet in fire, which may mean he’ll work extra hard to be sure you notice him.

A busy two months in the heavens! Have a wonderful May and June!

Peace, Margaret

Astro Doings May-June, 2019

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

May and June are pretty quiet, so I am going to give an update for both months in the same blog.

May

A pretty quiet month astrologically. No planet changes direction. Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto continue their retrograde motion that they began in April. The air element still does not have a lot of representation, even after the Sun enters Gemini on May 21 at 3:59 a.m. Mercury also enters Gemini, a sign that he rules, on the same day at 6:52 a.m. Gemini likes to sample, flitting from one thing to another, to experience as much as possible, without delving into any one thing deeply. The sampling is done in the realm of ideas and to some extent people, whom he finds fascinating for about five minutes. Otherwise, the outer planets are in fire (Jupiter), earth (Saturn, Pluto, Uranus) and water (Neptune). Venus joins Uranus in Taurus on the 15th at 5:46 a.m. Mars adds to Neptune’s water when he enters Cancer also on May 15 at 11:00 p.m. Water and earth work nicely together energetically and are considered to be “feminine” in their nature – sustaining, holding and nurturing. The question is without much air and fire to create new ideas or ways of doing things is this emphasis on feminine energy sustaining old ideas or patterns? May’s New Moon occurs on the 4th at 140 Taurus; Full Moon on May 18 at 270 Scorpio.

June

As far as the outer planets go, nothing changes in June, except that Neptune stations retrograde (i.e. moves from west to east by our perception) on June 21 at 10:36 a.m. She’ll be at 180 Pisces and will stay there for the rest of the month. The 21st also happens to be the Summer Solstice when the Sun enters Cancer at 11:54 a.m. Mercury joins the Cancer brigade on June 4th, so there will be three planets in that sign, which rules home, hearth, Mother, nurturing, including food. All this Cancer energy is on the other side of the zodiac from Saturn and Pluto, who continue to run together in Capricorn. This provides an opportunity for balancing earth and water — large structures such as corporations and governments (Capricorn) and individual needs for sanctuary (home) and nourishment (Cancer). Both the US and Canada are sun-sign Cancer countries, as a point of interest. In the US chart, Saturn and Pluto are currently in the second house of values and resources, both natural and man-made. June’s New Moon occurs on the 3rd at 120 Gemini (6:02 a.m.) and the Full Moon occurs on June 17 at 250 Sagittarius (4:31 a.m.).

Have a wonderful spring and beginning of summer!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

 

Astro Doings June 2018

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

In addition to the longest day of the year this month, two planets change directions.

Neptune, planet of illusion, fog, compassion and the higher octave of Venus, stations retrograde (astro-speak for stops and goes backwards) on June 18 at 7:27 p.m. EDT. She’ll be at 160 degrees Pisces and will remain there for the rest of the month. Those with placements around 160 may be more impacted by this change of direction. She is still in an easy flow of energy with Jupiter, who is retrograde in Scorpio (another water sign), and when the Sun goes into Cancer (the third water sign) there will be a grand trine in water. Emotions will be running high, and maybe water. However, Neptune retrograde also presents an opportunity to turn our compassion on ourselves, as we delve deeply (Scorpio) into patterns that no longer serve us. Neptune’s energy is unconditional love – we love because it is in the nature of love to love. I am reminded of the sermon at the royal wedding when Reverend Michael Curry said: “Imagine our governments and countries when love is the way.”

Mars, planet of energy, initiating projects and war, stations retrograde on June 26 at 5:05 p.m. EDT. He’ll be at 90 Aquarius, the sign of rebellion and destroyer of old forms of thinking or just old forms of anything. By the last third of the month, he will be the only planet in the air element, so the realm of ideas will not be as prominent. (There will be a lot of earth along with the water. Good thing – earth provides some boundaries for water and water softens earth.) Mars retrograde can provide an opportunity to break down old patterns of thinking (Aquarius) that have us stuck in a rut.

From the 13th on, when Venus enters Leo, there will be more fixed energy with Venus opposing (calling for balance, awareness of others) Mars in Aquarius. By the end of the month, Jupiter in Scorpio will make a fixed T-square. A square is a growth opportunity between planets in signs of the same quality, in this case fixed. Fixed energy sustains; it can be quite stubborn and slow-moving, but without it nothing would manifest. Attention those with fixed signs in your natal charts – a growth opportunity may be coming your way, especially for those with planets in the middle of the sign (100 to 200). And Uranus is in the fourth fixed sign, Taurus, but is still too far away to be a part of this fixed configuration. However, all four fixed signs: earth (Taurus), water (Scorpio), fire (Leo) and air (Aquarius), are dancing together this month.

The Summer Solstice occurs on June 21 at 6:07 a.m. EDT when the Sun enters Cancer. Cancer is a water sign, mostly concerned with home, hearth and good food. The New Moon occurs on June 13 at 3:43 p.m. at 220 Gemini; the Full Moon occurs on June 28th at 0.53 a.m. EDT at 60 Capricorn.

Have a wonderful June!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings June – July 2017

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

June and July promise to be pretty quiet so I’m doing Astro Doings for both of them. I’ll be back for all the activity of a very busy August, including the solar eclipse on the 21st that is in the news already, because it will be visible in the US.

Back to June: Pretty smooth. Jupiter goes direct on June 9th at 10:04 a.m. He’ll be at 130 Libra and will continue his direct motion for the rest of the year. Also on June 9th, we’ll have the Full Moon at 180 Sagittarius.

Neptune, the planet of fog, illusion, compassion and redemption, goes retrograde at 7:10 a.m. on June 16th. She’ll be at 140 Pisces – her own sign – so we have the opportunity to turn all of her attributes inward. While the potential is there to increase our compassion towards ourselves, it may also prove to be time when we don’t see ourselves too clearly! Those with planets or other points on your chart from 10 to 200 Pisces, Gemini, Sagittarius or Virgo may feel this change of direction more forcefully.

The Summer Solstice, when the Sun enters Cancer, occurs on June 21st at 0:24 a.m. As you all know, it’s the longest day of the year. June’s New Moon occurs on June 23rd at 20 Cancer. In the second third of the month there will be a lot of planets in water signs: Sun, Moon, Mars and Neptune. Good thing Venus and Pluto are in earth signs to provide some boundaries, but emotions (water) may be running high. (This could also manifest as floods and/or a lot of rain.) Saturn and Uranus continue in an easy flow of energy in the fire signs, Sagittarius and Aries, respectively.

Everyone continues to do their thing in July – no changes of direction or other “doings.” Towards the last third of July, when the Sun and Mars enter Leo, (July 22 and 20th respectively) joining Saturn and Uranus in fire signs – there will be a lot of fire. Inspiration, volatility, brashness, and/or anger could be close to the surface.

July’s Full Moon occurs on the 9th. She’ll be at 170 Capricorn, conjunct (next to) Pluto, hopefully providing some practicality and/or stability.

Hope you all have a wonderful summer! And I’ll be back in August.

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings June 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

It’s hard to believe that it’s June already. Time seems to be moving at a breakneck speed! Here’s what the planets are up to in June.

Full Moon: June 2 at 12:19 pm EDT

We begin the month with a Full Moon, where the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of the zodiac. In this case the Moon is at 110 Sagittarius and the Sun is at 110 Gemini. This Full Moon calls us to balance gathering information (Gemini) and seeking truth and meaning (Sagittarius). We are bombarded by more information than at any time in history, but this easy access to data is not without cost to our nervous system. Data do not bring knowledge or wisdom per se, and we are increasingly become aware that our ceaseless, multi-tasking orientation is actually making us less productive. Focus is difficult to achieve as we flit (Gemini) in a restless search for meaning (Sagittarius).

So, what are we to do? The heavens provide some assistance in the form of a square to this Full Moon (perspective-changing, growth opportunity) from Neptune in Pisces. Neptune expresses herself very powerfully in her own sign, so this is a particularly strong square. (She also squares the Sun, Saturn, Mercury and Mars.) What Neptune encourages us to do is look beyond our multi-tasking, frenetic search for more of whatever, to the numinous, to the transcendent in our search for meaning and wisdom. To do that we need to slow down, focus inward, be quiet and find time in our day for meditation and contemplation. She invites to bring our world back into better balance between our busy-ness and our higher selves. As we all know, meditation helps us to stay present and to respond instead of react. So this is a time to ramp up our spiritual practice.

Mercury Retrograde Ends: June 11 at 6:33 pm EDT

You’ll all be delighted to know that Mercury goes direct this month. However he will remain in Gemini until next month – a very long transit in his own sign. The good news is that this will favor all mercurial things: communication, writing, computers, and thinking. Also, Mercury was the only one in the Greek and Roman pantheon who could access all three levels (Hades, Earth and Olympus) without getting stuck anywhere. So he provides us the ability to integrate all three levels of our being as well. The bad news is that Mercury tends to flit from thing to thing to thing. Gemini hates to be bored, and so learns a little bit about a lot of things and then quickly moves on to something else “more interesting.” The square from Neptune, which will last all month, will provide some balance between Mercury’s speed and help us to carve out time each day to connect with our Higher Selves (and our Higher Mind). I believe that one of the reasons some tend to regard planets in retrograde motion as “bad” is that they disrupt our multi-tasking busy-ness and slows the out-of-control speed at which many of us live our lives. We get caught up in the everyday and lose sight of who we truly are. A retrograde planet, especially Mercury, changes the energy flow and invites us to re-tool our lives and re-flect on who we truly are. Some of us aren’t too sure we want to look inward – afraid of what we might find there.

Neptune Stations Retrograde: June 12 at 5:09 am EDT

OK, so if we didn’t get the hint about taking time to go inward, Neptune will help us along by changing directions at 90 Pisces. She will remain retrograde until November, so we have some time to integrate what she has to teach us about making a habit of meditation and of turning inward. Planets in retrograde motion tend to express themselves more inwardly as a general rule, providing the opportunity to make inward changes that express outwardly when the planet changes direction. Neptune’s time in retrograde motion may also assist us in better understanding our global water crisis, since Pisces is a water sign.

More Water: Saturn retrogrades into Scorpio: June 15

Saturn returns to Scorpio and will remain there until September. Saturn, the most spiritual of the planets of our solar system, has been working on our inner concepts of meaning and truth during his retrograde transit through Sagittarius. Now he moves back into the power sign – Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, planet of the underground, the unseen, the deeply transformative. Coupled with retrograde Neptune, the summer months provide an opportunity for us to come to a deeper (Pluto) understanding of our own divine (Neptune, Pisces) power (Scorpio). This is not power as the world defines it but quiet, personal, inner knowing – very feminine in its feel. Both Neptune and Pluto are feminine planets and water is a feminine element. Saturn’s re-entry into Scorpio strengthens his relationship to Pluto in Capricorn – they are in each other’s sign. This provides a very easy flow of energy, and Capricorn, being an earth sign, provides boundaries for water, which in turn softens earth so it can be more productive. Capricorn is the sign of the spiritual initiate in its highest expression. The inner nature of this summer’s planetary energies may make us feel less energetic or active than we normally think we should be during the summer months. This can be a time of deep transition for those who desire to take advantage of it.

New Moon: June 16 at 10:05 am EDT

This New Moon occurs at 250 Gemini and is joined by Mars and squared by Chiron (who is also in Pisces). New moons represent new beginnings and in Gemini these new beginnings have to do with how we think about things – what our attitudes are – and how those affect everything around us. With Mars in the mix we have an opportunity to rethink our definition of the warrior – to move from the warmonger to the spiritual warrior. Chiron helps heal with deep wounds of the patriarchy and in Pisces to bring more of the numinous, feminine inner knowing into our thinking. It can also signal a new beginning in how we communicate (Gemini) with one another, with the masculine and feminine sides of our own nature.

Yet More Water: Summer Solstice: Sun enters Cancer: June 21 at 12:38 pm EDT

The last third of June provides an interesting conflict between planets in fire signs (Venus, Jupiter, Uranus) and those in water (Sun, Mars, Saturn, Neptune). There will be one planet in earth (Pluto) and one in air (Mercury). Obviously fire and water don’t get along very well – in fact they’re “afraid” of each other. Water puts fire out; fire boils water into nothingness. This elemental tension will last through the first half of July as well. I believe we will feel this tension in the world at large. On a personal level, I think balance is the key and honoring the blessings of both elements for what they bring to us.

Have a great June!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret