Chart for the Summer Solstice, 2012

by Lynn Hayes

image by Visual Alchemy.  The Summer Solstice (northern hemisphere) occurs in the tropical zodiac at the exact moment when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer.  This coincides with the longest day of the year and the most fertile season in agrarian cultures in the northern hemisphere.  (Of course for my Aussie and Kiwi friends as well as those in southern Africa the seasons are reversed and the Summer Solstice occurs in December with the entry of the Sun into Capricorn.  If you’re curious about astrology in the southern hemisphere, check out this article.)

Cancer is the sign of nurturing and is ruled by the Moon, yet at the Summer Solstice the Sun is at its peak in its rulership of the sky.  Even when the Sun is at its most strong, its brilliant rays need to be filtered through the lunar light of emotion and instinct, symbolizing the need for the uniting of male and female energies in order for each to truly be expressed.

This Summer Solstice follows a New Moon in which the energies of the Sun and Moon are fused in a fresh new evolutionary cycle, and the New Moon was in Gemini, the sign of duality.  Are you sensing a theme here?  Dark and light, good and evil, Sun and Moon – balance and integration is the key.

That will not be easy during this Solstice season with Uranus nearing its first exact “square” alignment to Pluto.  This is a planetary cycle of change and transformation during which very little will be left unchanged.  We are birthing new paradigms now – any cultural dynamics that no longer serve the modern world will crumble and fall away.  This will lead to much fear and hysteria, but to get lost in fear is to miss the fine truth that the changes that occur now will serve the purpose of rebalancing the human experience.  In the midst of chaos and destruction new structures will be created that better serve the evolving human experience.

We also have a challenging alignment between Jupiter (expansion and faith) to Neptune (transcendent spirituality) that will peak on the 25th at the same time as the Uranus/Pluto square.  The Jupiter/Neptune square tends to promote spiritual (Neptune) judgement (Jupiter) and illusory (Neptune) ideals (Jupiter).  This can be a confusing time as we struggle to fit our belief systems and philosophies (Jupiter) into our values and ideals (Neptune), and if these are not in alignment an adjustment will be needed.  This is true not only for us personally, but for the global political arena as well.

The combination of these two challenging dynamics will make for a very interesting summer!  It’s time to let go of any attachment to ideas or philosophies and maintain an open mind, especially since Jupiter is in Gemini for the next year.  Our reality will be shifting and reframing itself as the old paradigms begin to fall away, and failure to recognize this will make it more difficult to adapt.  On the other hand, maintaining an observant and open perspective will bring new opportunities (Jupiter) for an enhanced connection with the divine flow of life (Neptune).

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