AstroCast: June 3 - 18, 2013

**Times where noted are Pacific Daylight Time.  Degrees where noted are rounded to the nearest whole degree.

Help is on the way!  An undercurrent of sympathetic energies unfolds this summer as a counterpoint to the intensity of the more confrontational era-changing Uranus/Pluto square.  We could call it the Summer of Support.  OK, that’s not as sexy as the Summer of Love but this is one summer when probably all of us could use the extra hand from heaven reaching down via a series of grand water trines.  The ongoing trine between Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces connects to Mercury and Venus as they travel together in Cancer to create this fortunate configuration.  In general, the 120-degree trine aspect facilitates coordinated operation of the respective planetary energies involved.  Connect three of them together and you get an equilateral triangle, one of the strongest and most stable structures in geometry.  Esoterically, the archetypes represented by the involved planets have the most robust support possible to work towards the same goal.  One reason for the cooperative nature of the trine is that the planets involved are always in the same element – in this case water, which represents the subtle nuances of feelings and engages the soul into our experience of life.  At their functional best, planets operating through water signs open us to a greater awareness of the potent life force within.  Intuition is much stronger under this condition, even if we aren’t fully conscious of it, because it can bypass the mind’s analytical filter and still get through to our awareness.  Intangibility isn’t a problem, and may even become an asset as we come to understand that what is most important in life isn’t what we perceive through the physical senses.  Above all, a heightened sensitivity gives us greater access to how we truly feel about things.  Under the influence of the Saturn/Neptune trine, we may be more focused on finding a healthy balance between our physical and spiritual worlds, which will lead the way to not only seeing attainable dreams emerging from the deeper layers of our consciousness, but also the practical steps needed to manifest them.

The first grand water trine happens on June 3rd and the second on June 7th, when first Mercury then Venus reach the 5-degree mark in Cancer and simultaneously trine Saturn at 5 degrees Scorpio and Neptune at 5 degrees Pisces.  These faster planets will move in and out of this compassionate formation quickly so whatever manifests may simply foreshadow the more potent grand water trine happening in July when Jupiter segues into Cancer.  Nonetheless, Mercury and Venus will have their moment in the spotlight to promote greater cooperation between friends, loved ones and families; governments and their people; and the nations of the worlds.  With cooperation comes agreement – treaties, truces, settlements and social pacts are possible under this alignment.  With Neptune turning retrograde also on June 7th, the archetype of Oneness will be pronounced.  Less than a couple hours later Mars in physical Taurus squares Neptune to ensure our desire is put in the service of our dreams.  By the time Saturn and Neptune have their second exact trine on June 11th (the first was last October, the last is next month) spirit and matter will reach the height of cooperation – we may even have some kind of personal experience of spirit infusing every molecule of matter in and around us and finally Know that one cannot exist without the other.

The Summer of Support finds some stiff competition for moniker of the season when first Mercury between June 7th-8th, then Venus between June 11th-12th, both in Cancer, touch off the other longer-term aspect in effect at this time when they enter into a T-square with the ongoing square between Uranus at 12 degrees Aries and Pluto at 11 degrees Capricorn.  This alignment is in cardinal signs, which have a tendency to experience the pain of birth before the joy of life.  Again, it could be just a foreshadowing of what may unfold in August when Jupiter does the same, but depending on the socio-political climate we each live under, these energies could push many of us into experiencing a Summer of Discontent.  The people are feeling pinched by the juggernauts controlling the purse strings of the global economy.  The youth of the world are especially vulnerable, as we’ve seen most recently expressed in their violent protests throughout Europe.  Will we see creation and innovation flourish as the need to be uber resourceful is pushed to the limit, or will an all or nothing stance favoring destruction take hold as we protest against those who seem to be oppressing us?  Uranus urges us to see the truth that will set us free.  Pluto’s occult power has the ability to regenerate, but that means death, symbolic or actual, is inevitable.  Mercury and Venus bring it home to how we perceive our world and how we relate to other human beings.  In cardinal signs, this may feel like an initiation.  Can we seriously question authority and still have the ability to learn from it?  The key is to be clear and authentic in our communication with others, flexible to ever changing situations and willing to look in our own backyard for answers.  As Mercury and Venus in Cancer turn on the transformational spigot of the outer planets, plunging us into other worldly places, memories may get kicked loose and in the process be exposed as the instigators of belief systems that no longer serve our purpose.

In the midst of these two strong planetary crosscurrents is the New Moon at 18 degrees Gemini on June 8th at 8:56 a.m.  With this annual conjunction of the Sun and Moon in the sign of the Storyteller, it may be a great time to journal all that happens during this new lunar cycle.  Whenever a notion strikes or you encounter something moving, type it into your smart phone or tablet – the best tools for always on-the-go Gemini who likes to get around as much as possible.  Even if old-fashioned pen and paper are the only communication instruments at hand, be willing to document – and share – the sights, sounds, and most of all the spirit of this summer.  Gemini’s ruler Mercury, known as the Messenger of the Gods, has the ability to travel between the world of us mere mortals here on earth and the celestial spheres where live the keepers of the divine flame.  Archetypally, it’s his job to integrate the two.  With Mars and Jupiter joining the Sun and Moon in Gemini, the drive to make connections is undeniable.  This lunar month may be all about weaving tales from the street to the stratosphere.

 Kicking off the summer with two contradictory themes of cooperation and revolution may seem at odds and engender a feeling that they may cancel each other out, but it is possible to perceive order in this chaos.  The transcendental nature of the outer planets is magnified into our conscious awareness when the self-actualizing personal planets venture through their veil and become the conduits for subliminal messages rising to the surface.  The logic to the particular timing of the supportive grand water trine and the agitating cardinal T-Square is this: if we choose to make positive yet radical changes in our lives the stars will have our backs.  Each of us is being given the opportunity to awaken the unique gift that is who we are.