Happy Summer Solstice or Not?

Maybe not so happy. The Summer Solstice chart for 2018 set for Washington, DC has Neptune in Pisces prominent conjunct the MC, the highest point in the chart.  It is in a Grand Trine configuration with Mercury in Cancer and Jupiter in Scorpio.  Neptune at the highest level is about spirituality and being one with God.  We can only hope.  Most often Neptune is involved with illusion and delusion.  It can indicate the fraudulent and misleading.  Mercury is all about communication and transportation.  Mercury is the news media.  Jupiter brings growth and expansion ruling higher education, the law, religion and philosophy.  It can bring overconfidence, exaggeration and promising more than can be delivered.  With this configuration imprinting our summer days it would be wise to stick to that old adage, “don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.”  Be ready for smoke and mirrors and now you see it, now you don’t.

Venus and Mars oppose one another across the 2^nd/8^th house axis.  In a Mundane chart this axis is about money and debts owed and owed to the nation.  Income tax, tariffs and budgets will need attention.  Jupiter is in this pictures as well.  Jupiter in the sign of Scorpio brings debt and interest rates into the picture. 

A few days after the Solstice that 8^th house Mars goes retrograde.  Mars goes retrograde about every 2 years.  Mar is the warrior, the athlete and the initiator of action.  During retrograde periods our initiatives don’t turn out as expected. This is not a good time to start a love affair or a war.  Your sizzle will most likely fizzle.  Mars is retrograde from June 26^th until August 27^th.  Mars will square off with Uranus twice during the summer season.  While retrograde on August 1^st and again when direct on September 18^th as the summer closes.  This is a volatile and explosive aspect which can manifest through natural causes, i.e. volcano or earthquake or through human action.  Either way, it’s not pretty.

 Mercury retrograde overlaps this period from July 26 to August 19^th.  Mercury is retrograde a couple of times a year and it is especially important during these periods to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.  Scheduling mishaps, delays, and unexpected snafus require the ability to make adjustments at a moment’s notice.  Be especially vigilant during the periods when both Mars and Mercury are retrograde.

Into this mix are the summer eclipses.  The first one on July 12^th is a Solar Eclipse in Cancer.  The eclipse point opposes Pluto in Capricorn.  Pluto rules terrorism, guerilla warfare and issues of power and control.  This eclipse may act as a trigger for Plutonian energies.  The accompanying Lunar Eclipse on July 27^th has retrograde Mars conjunct the eclipsed Moon.  This is not a warm and fuzzy aspect. Mercury is now retrograde.  A Lunar Eclipse with Mars and Mercury retrograde fosters a knee-jerk reaction.  Emotions are awry and information is not clear. The final eclipse of the season is the Solar Eclipse on August 11^th in Leo.  Echoes from last January and the 2017 summer eclipses reverberate as issues and events from that time resurface raising questions and bringing pressure to bear in the search for solutions.

Saturn in Capricorn sits on the 7^th house cusp.  This is the house of partnerships and open enemies.  Saturn calls you to duty. Whatever it is, Saturn makes you face it.  The Sun in Cancer opposes this Saturn from the 12^th house.  The Sun is symbolic of the Head of State.  In the 12^th house it points to something secretive going on.  Saturn, the opposition, exposes those secrets. 

Uranus in a grand trine with the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres reminds us that the women of the world are waking up, speaking out and running for office. Women and children and how we treat them will a major theme over the summer.

There is a lot of energy in this Solstice chart which reflects the turbulent times we are in.  Real fake news is a real problem.  If you want the truth, you’re going to have to dig for it.  And if you find it you will find that some would rather believe the lie.  Neptune’s influence has many looking through rose-colored glasses believing what they want it to be, not what it really is.