Excitability is in the air. With trines and sextiles in fire and air signs dominating the astral conversation during this period conversations will be filled with inspiration and invention, popping from one subject to another like the illimitable stream of a Facebook newsfeed. As a counterpoint to the sparkling electrical currents spurring on chatter about anything and everything, there are also a couple of planets literally holding a single, focused space as they change direction, as well as methodological Saturn raising his profile by changing signs, so all that vigorously creative exchange of ideas may just find an anchor to drop it down into the depths of meaning and purpose. If not, that’s OK too because if nothing else, we may really enjoy these next couple of weeks, feeling lighter and happier than we have in a long time, and that is good news indeed. The one note of caution is to be aware of how the spontaneous energies of the planets speaking out at this time will impress upon us the impulse to speak and act in the moment without a filter. Inhibition has its place in our society as we learn to navigate relations with others in an authentic, emotionally intelligent way. The innocence of childlike expression that has not learned from experience still has its consequences. We need the freedom to express who we are; we also strive for order in a chaotic world. Anarchy reigns when the little self takes hold of an idea and drives it forward no matter what the downstream effect is on others. The more our being is put in service of our higher self, that which is connected to a Divine purpose furthering the growth of the collective, the less we will feel the need to push for self-centered desires – or get into a war of words, or worse, if our ambitions are thwarted.
Venus lights our fire when she enters Leo on June 5th. As the foremost artist of the sky, she steps out of the secure house and home life of Cancer to burst forth in Leo with her creative spirit and dramatic flair ready to take the stage front and center. The summer of fun begins here and now as Venus in Leo will delight in all kinds of gatherings where the art of play is the theme. Head to the beach and build sand castles, have an arts and crafts party for the kids, dance the night away under a starry sky, or if you are in the southern hemisphere make up stories to tell around a fire. In essence, tune into your inner kid and get creative because that is the quintessential way to have fun.
While Venus is in the mood to enjoy creating with others, she’ll make it responsible fun or perhaps a learning experience, as also on June 5th she forms an exact trine to Saturn in Sagittarius. The adventurer spirit of Sagittarius working through Saturn’s filter is likely to choose adventures with a practical function or ones that drill into us the abilities we need to climb any manner of mountain, slowly but surely, all the way to the top. Venus in Leo agreeably plugging into the taskmaster of the sky won’t mind adopting a conscientious approach to relating with others because she will want to ensure reliability and endurance are part of the equation. Saturn makes Venus willing to be serious in love, which means she will also be willing to face her fears about relationships in order to thrive in them.
A core time for cooperation unfolds June 5th through June 10th with a series of stimulating sextiles that, with a little effort on our part, should get us thinking and moving in fresh and exciting ways. These aspects also highlight a couple of longer lasting astral patterns that have been in effect for a while that are now intensifying into their climax. The faster moving planets involved in these alignments will touch off a larger theme by lining up into a complex configuration with the slower moving ones. The Sun and Mars, as discussed in the last AstroCast, have been travelling in tandem for the last few weeks and will continue to do so through mid-July. They are now within two degrees of each other so their archetypal powers of the King and the Warrior are merged into one courageous force of heartfelt desire, drive, direction and determination. Jupiter and Uranus have been dancing in a fire trine over the past year, with the third and last exact aspect occurring on June 22nd. They too are within the two degree range of exactitude and tightening so their energies are sufficiently locked in enough for us to feel the force of their raison d’etre – freedom. When Jupiter and Uranus come into significant contact, we generally gain creative and innovative ground in technology, science, the arts and/or philosophy, sometimes through surprisingly good luck (or as I like to call it, help from above). In our personal worlds, we may find our belief systems enthusiastically shaken out of their tired ways, or suddenly adopt an unbridled growth philosophy that quite literally requires lots of space to develop freely in whatever way we see fit, which can often be quite radical. During this period the Sun/Mars duo will translate the Uranus/Jupiter aspect at its exact midpoint thus fusing their strengths and purposes into one. The sextiles that the Sun and Mars makes to Jupiter and Uranus turn their ordinarily less urgent trine into a dynamic mini-grand trine that is more likely to coax than strong arm its way into action. Additionally, on June 10th Mercury’s sextile to Venus should instill grace and beauty to our interactions with others and amp up the desire to collaborate on all those innovative ideas being generated.
By the time all this excitable energy is released, two planets are virtually standing still in their tracks and act as an undertow to the waves of energy breaking on shore. Mercury in Gemini stations direct on June 11th and as he turns around his energies become turbulent. Known as the “Mercury Storm” period, all things related to Mercury – the way we communicate, how we get around and connect with others (travel and event related activities), our nervous systems, and manner of thinking – comes under intense focus and if we’re not ready to handle the increased stimulus to our collective networks, then more than a few balls may be dropped. If we’re sufficiently prepared, however, we can develop greater capacity to handle all matters of life with success. Preparation in terms of Mercury matters begins with the mind, specifically by quieting down disruptive thought patterns that can easily be triggered when we feel overloaded and tend to derail all our most thoughtful intentions. The best medicine for the Mercury Storm is some form of meditation that focuses the mind in impartial contemplation of our thoughts rather than allowing those frequently negative or limiting thoughts to control us. Amazingly enough, this leads to tremendous freedom by creating the mental breathing room for us to manifest those brilliant ideas the Sun/Mars/Jupiter/Uranus configuration will be generating in overtime.
On that subject, Neptune can be an immense help. Having barely moved this past month, the planet that represents our spiritual nature and helps us tune into our individual part in the collective of all being, has been zeroing in on us finding our greater purpose as it relates specifically to that part of our individual natal charts he has been aspecting at this time. As he turns retrograde on June 12th, his influence is peaked in subtle ways. What has been pulling our thoughts out of focus on the mundane of late? What has been coming up in our dreams? Where has our relationship with self deepened and under what circumstances has our mind turned to the cosmos for answers? It does take effort to connect to the outer planets, and that correlates to how much of our lives are devoted to contemplating the bigger questions of existence. Neptune doesn’t reveal his mysterious ways to the feint hearted or the mildly interested. It takes a strong desire for purpose to actually find it.
If nothing seems to be happening yet, perhaps it will take the Sun finally catching up with Mars on June 14th to jumpstart our hearts into action. There’s a bit of a wild card effect at this time because at the moment of their conjunction, the Sun and Mars make no major aspect to any other planet other than to each other. Already a maverick by his own right, Mars now is solar powered, with a resilient spirit and body. Although in dualistic Gemini, this pair is generally a straight shooter, candid in conversation and decisive in action. Their networked frequencies peak at this time and as they begin to separate the build up of their powerhouse of energy may suddenly release. The leadership quality inherent in this aspect has the potential to shine forth, especially if there is a specific goal. Again, the Gemini influence will focus them on making connections. Perhaps their ultimate goal will be to uplift the espirit de corps of their various social, work and institutional circles to enhance the experience of gathering and sharing information as they forge new territory to keep it all so interesting!
Also on June 14th, retrograde Saturn returns to Scorpio for one last look at how he reshaped our sense of responsibility and commitment to intimate relationships and joint enterprises. Originally in Scorpio from October 12, 2012 to December 23, 2014, he now returns for a retread of the Scorpionic ground covered last December. If sharing the deepest parts of our nature, our personal resources or otherwise being vulnerable by virtue of opening up to or being reliant on another, is an issue it will probably come up at this time. Hopefully the strength of the Sun/Mars influence will make us fearless in examining where we need to step up even more with the ability to respond to the collective well of needs and desires. Being deeply involved with other successfully requires the mutual expression of authentic power without the need to control.
The New Moon on June 16th amps up the Sun/Mars conjunction that, although separating, is still less than a degree apart. Luna puts all her feeling into it as she reunites the energies of the Sun and Mars when she moves into position between them. The Sun/Moon/Mars trio in Gemini thus begins this new lunar cycle as a planetary three Muskateers with a surge of fighting spirit. In Gemini, they are more likely to choose dashing words over daring weapons and network their way though noble causes. Armed with detailed data, they are likely to zealously speak out the truth, endeavoring to defend and protect the underdog in any given situation. With the trio only aspecting themselves and no other planets, they run the risk of being insular in their approach so would do well to take an occasional pause from doing all the talking. In order to be truly noble, their mission for the month is to listen.
Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):
June 5th – Venus at 0° Leo at 8:33 a.m.
June 5th – Mars sextile Jupiter at 17° Gemini/Leo at 4:48 p.m.
June 5th – Venus trine Saturn at 1° Leo/Sagittarius at 11:23 p.m.
June 8th – Sun sextile Jupiter at 18° Gemini/Leo at 2:56 p.m.
June 9th – Mars sextile Uranus at 20° Gemini/Aries at 12:29 a.m.
June 10th – Mercury sextile Venus 5° Gemini/Leo at 5:52 a.m.
June 10th – Sun sextile Uranus at 20° Gemini/Aries at 2:30 p.m.
June 11th – Mercury station direct at 5° Gemini at 3:33 p.m.
June 12th – Neptune station retrograde at 10° Pisces at 2:09 a.m.
June 14th – Sun conjunct Mars at 23° Gemini at 8:56 a.m.
June 14th – Saturn at 29°29” Scorpio at 5:38 p.m.
June 16th – Moon conjunct Sun (New Moon) at 25° Gemini at 7:05 a.m.
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