I posted a portion of this article on my Facebook page.
Summer may begin on June 21st in the northern latitudes, and winter for my friends down under, but the June Solstice occurs when the Sun enters Cancer in the tropical zodiac. This year’s June solstice occurs on June 20, 2020 at 5:43 pm EDT and will be followed shortly thereafter, at 2:41 am EDT on June 21st, by a solar eclipse at the New Moon in Cancer. For thousands of years, humans have celebrated these solar events, as well as the equinox balance points, as major turning points of the year. The solstices mark the extremes of the positioning of the Sun relative to the Earth and serve as a portal for the energies of solar conscious to penetrate through the mist of human illusion.
The symbolism of an eclipse is connected to the Nodes of the Moon – points in the sky where the path of the Moon crosses the path of the Sun. Because the lunar nodes are connected to fate and destiny, eclipses do often have a fated quality and a sense that something in the life is being exposed or released. At the solar eclipse, the conscious intentional energy of the Sun is blocked by the lunar instincts and deep feelings. Because the Sun and Moon are both in the emotional sign of Cancer, this focus on feelings and instinctive reactions is heightened even more. And with Mercury (mind and communication) also in Cancer, our thoughts (Mercury) are flavored with feeling and less objective and rational than we may be comfortable with.
All New Moons, whether an eclipse or not, are a time of new beginnings. The New Moon in Cancer seeks to connect us to our emotional roots – family, or the family that we create for ourselves. Many of us have chosen our own clan and have created new family linkages, and these are extremely important to the development of humanity. The more aware we become and as our wisdom becomes deeper and broader, the more we need to share it with others rather than stay comfortably protected in a womb of safety.We cannot master the world (Cancer’s opposite sign of Capricorn) until we connect deeply to our emotional heart and allow it to soften rather than build up a crusty shell that defends us from hurt but also prevents the flow of love. Cancer urges us to feel deeply, to connect with and nurture our tribe and our loved ones, to learn to be vulnerable yet protected.
A lunation (or syzygy as they are also called – a New or Full Moon) becomes an eclipse when aspected closely by the lunar nodes, and in this particular eclipse the Cancer New Moon is conjunct the North Node, newly in Gemini, which advises the heightened emotions of the Moon to seek out the information (Gemini) which will be able to inform and educate the emotional reactions, and then communicate these feelings and ideas to our tribe. Mercury is retrograde, along with four other planets, and we may find ourselves reaching back into the past in order to re-form a more balanced and integrated future.
We are all at a turning point in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. Under this powerful solar alignment the power of consciousness and vision is electrified and our intentions today will have an even stronger effect on our tomorrow.
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Doesn’t this solstice mark Midsummer and Midwinter, and not the start of the seasons? Here in the Southern hemisphere, the days will be getting longer now – hooray!
But what I like is best, is the gradual return of the light.
Typically we think of the June solstice as the first day of summer up here in the north, and each of the four solar holidays corresponding with the beginning of a season: autumn at zero Libra, spring at zero Aries. Google tells me though that in Australia your winter actually begins June 1 and doesn’t correspond to the solstice.
[…] We are in the eclipse time, the time when the Moon obscures the light of the Sun and the sky goes dark except for a ring of fire that will be visible only in a narrow band that runs through central and northeast Africa, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, northern India, and southern China including Taiwan. These areas of the world may be more significantly affected by the eclipse in terms of seismic activity and eruptions of various kinds, including Covid-19. If you missed my article on the eclipse you can find it here. […]