11:41 pm PDT June 20, 2020

  6:41 am UTC June 21, 2020

Solar Eclipse in Cancer at Solstice

Shadow Time

IT IS A fairly rare event to have an eclipse happen on the important date of Solstice. If we take the solstice chart as a “natal” chart for the next 6 months (until the next Solstice) the presence of a solar eclipse augurs a time of intense shadow work on a global level, but particularly for the US, since in two weeks, this eclipse will be followed by a third one in a row, a lunar eclipse on July 4, 2020. The last time there was a eclipse on Summer Solstice was in 2001. Three months later was 9/11. Before that, the last time there was an eclipse on Summer Solstice was 1982, when the US was in a great Recession, and President Reagan was supporting brutal takeovers in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Lebanon, and elsewhere, piling on the shadow material (and karma) for the US.

Eclipses always take place near to the nodal axis of the Moon. And they occur usually in twos, every six months. This month, however we have three, as if two aren’t enough. It’s almost as if the Universe has to make sure we’re paying attention by having a “bonus” eclipse on July 4^th. Since of course, this conjoins the Sun of the natal chart of the US, it heralds a major time of re-examination of the substructures and not-so-under-the-surface shenanigans of the corruption in the US government. This solar eclipse falls on the North Node, an event which speaks to our future, and the new beginnings which are already manifesting not only in the US but in the rest of the world as well. The July 4^th eclipse falls on the South Node, a time of exposure of our dark and nefarious past.

Soon, other astrological happenings will be forcing the issues — issues that are already on the surface, but will meet with quite a bit of resistance as the old guard tries to maintain their hegemony at any cost. Eclipses bring us exposure of the hidden elements of ourselves and of society, and with three in a row, we must be ready for intensity (already at a seeming peak) to be ratcheted up even more. The Saturn/Jupiter/Pluto conjunction this year warned us this would not be an easy year to navigate, and it’s far from over.

We now have Mercury and Venus retrograde, along with Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. This is another inward turning influence now. With the more personal planets of Mercury and Venus, our communications, the words we use and the contracts we’ve made, are under close examination. Our relationships often undergo some kind of overhaul during the more rare Venus retrograde. She is presently still fairly hidden in the skies from her rebirth a few weeks ago (See last blog) but has begun to reappear in the morning skies on June 15^th (for early risers). Most notably, the Moon will pass directly in front of Venus on Juneteenth (June 19^th). This is called an occultation; the Moon will eclipse Venus early in the morning before Trump has his rally in Tulsa, OK. Moon and Venus are the two planetary bodies representing the personal feminine within each one of us, and when they combine so exactly, this force may significantly polarize or in some way influence the events of that day. But also for everyone, since it takes place in Gemini, our minds and our hearts are basically being overhauled, in preparation for the big changes ahead.

Venus rules our values, our relationship to the inner feminine principles of caring, knowing we are connected to all things. With her rebirth, the oppressed peoples of the world are in a new beginning a recognition of what has been pretty much in our faces all along, but silence is no longer an option. Past karma demands that we connect with each other, look into each others’ eyes, make reparations, and see our selves.

Mars will enter Aries on the 27^th of June, and will remain in Aries, because of an upcoming retrograde period, for the next 6 months. Since Mars usually spends only 2 months in each sign, this long period of Aries emphasis will bring a great deal of activity and challenge to the status quo. And two days later, Jupiter and Pluto will make the 2^nd of 3 conjunctions the year. The first was April 4^th, and the last one will be the day after Election Day in the US. These are marker points for the sobering influence of the sign of Capricorn. Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, is exactly at an inconjunct (150˚) to this eclipse, showing us this is a time to adjust and learn, to stop, look and listen. Pluto is here to awaken us to what is real and true, and Jupiter’s expansive influence has far-reaching effects upon what we worship, what we value.

As the statues of those we were told to revere come tumbling down, so our deepest values, especially in the US, of what were fundamental to that world view, are also being undone. When Jupiter and Pluto merge again in November much of what this country has stood for will be exposed and on very shifting ground. Those charnel ashes, however will be the fertilizer that’s needed for a new beginning, not only in the US, but worldwide.