The Summer Solstice this year happens on June 21 at 6:52 a.m. EDT. This is the moment when the Sun touches the Tropic of Cancer, and enters the sign of Cancer. Astrologers refer to this moment as the “Cancer Ingress” and cast a chart as the Sun hits 0 degrees of that sign. The chart is predictive for the upcoming three months. Here is this year’s chart, cast for Washington, DC, which is predictive for the entire country. Here is the ingress chart in a bi-wheel with the USA’s chart.

We’ll definitely be hearing from revolutionaries of all stripes over the next three months, particularly related to foreign affairs, higher education, religion, government, and big business. Even the economists will be calling for change, and undoubtedly the Tea Partiers will continue to wave their “Don’t Tread On Me” flag and use rifles as fashion accessories while random shootings by insane people become a weekly news item. So far, the Cardinal Cross has heralded a lot of destructive upheaval in the world — wildfires, civil wars, kidnappings, floods, earthquakes, transportation disasters, mudslides, shootings — but the main message of this celestial pattern, which is anchored by the profound and life-changing Uranus-Pluto square, is that we have reached criticality in the health of the planetary web of life. It is the under-reported changes and collapses within ecosystems, the rapidity of climate change, the insanity of those in power who ignore the crisis and conspire with their corporate cronies to extract every last drop of fuel from the body of the Earth, that exemplify for us the lessons of survival we are faced with.

On a personal level, connecting with community, on both a practical and a spiritual level is suggested and supported during this time. Both community gardens and community rituals can help focus, direct and ground some of the free-floating anger and anxiety that will be evident everywhere, as Mars opposes both Uranus and the Moon. The Moon rules the Cancer ascendant of this chart, and sits in the tenth house. A lot of anger will be directed at government and other social powers. Give some thought to your own part in the changes that are occurring — do you feel called to lead others toward needed change, or actively support those who are leading the way? Lead, follow, or get out of the way. It’s also a good time to carefully consider the spiritual principles you hold and think about how your life measures up when it is evaluated in light of those principles.

Politically, there’s a whole lot o’ shakin’ going on, as well as a whole lot of misdirection, deception, and attempts to throw glamours (the magical kind, not the magazine) at anyone who will stand still long enough to be ensnared. (You don’t need to be a consciously magical person to throw a glamour — if you doubt me, take a closer look at the entertainment industry. And yes, I do suggest that you might want to do a bit of magical work for clear-seeing, and remember to ground and center regularly. But, now, back to politics).

The Sun, which symbolizes the leader of a country, is in the twelfth house in this chart — a house of hidden things — conjunct a retrograde Mercury in Gemini. This suggests that Obama may be less visible than normal in some way, perhaps under extra security, or off on some kind of high-level retreat. In my post on the Spring Equinox chart “Walking the High Wire”, I said that Obama might find himself in the midst of a crisis of leadership and/or upheaval in foreign affairs during the Spring months, and certainly both the situation in Russia and in the Middle East have been political tightropes for him. But now, as Summer unfolds, deception, subterfuge and intrigue, particularly in foreign affairs (Neptune in and ruling the ninth house, with co-ruler Jupiter square the Moon and nodal axis) appear to be reaching epic proportions. The fact that people are deceiving and being deceived will probably become obvious — but that knowledge may not bring clarity. Watch for this pattern in your own life as well — a high-stakes situation in which deception becomes obvious, but truth and clarity are still elusive.

There is a lot of potential for violence in this chart, and sudden, surprising actions. Mars is in the fourth house, as it was in the Spring Equinox chart. As I said about that chart: “This is a classic signature for earthquakes and explosions (especially underground or underwater)”. And so it has been, with more earthquakes from fracking, a busy year for earthquakes in the Los Angeles area, and the deeply troublesome situation at WIPP, the nuclear storage facility in New Mexico where a canister of nuclear waste exploded in February, has been assessed as an ongoing, critical problem with, we are told, more explosions likely. Earthquakes from fracking (wait, can I say that? It’s against the law here in NC now to disclose the names of chemicals used in fracking). Anyway, earthquakes from whatever will continue to be an issue, and fires and explosions may be in the news as well. Sadly, it’s not unlikely that there will be more violence internal to the country — as in mass shootings. A positive manifestation of this Martian placement is taking diplomatic action to strengthen the foundations of your country, tribe or team. You might want to send some of *that* energy to your local, state and federal officials. The fourth house also rules weather, the land and agriculture — I expect we’ll see some major storms this quarter, and possible severe damage to crops.

With Saturn in Scorpio in the Mars- and Pluto-ruled fifth house, I am led to think that we might end up having some serious, sober discussions around security in our schools and — one can only hope — some action taken to make them safer. (You may say I’m a dreamer…) The fifth is also the house that rules the stock markets, and one of Saturn’s core meanings is contraction. The other stock markets house, the eighth, is ruled by unstable Uranus in this chart. Financial astrology is way too complex to base predictions on a single chart (if you want to learn more about it, the master of the topic is Raymond Merriman)  but I’d suggest keeping a weather eye on any investments in US markets.

Astrologers will notice that Pluto is in the sixth, within less than two degrees of the Descendant. It is also tightly quindecile a retrograde Mercury, sesqui-quadrate Venus, and, of course, still in a square with both Uranus and Mars. This could indicate military actions, possibly cloaked in some way. But given the potential for over-blown, public, emotional displays based in past/karmic events on the national stage that is promised by the loaded tenth house, those actions may not stay cloaked for long. More outrage over women’s rights, rape culture and the negative influence of patriarchy on all genders would also fall well within the frame of these aspects.

(Personally, I’m fresh out of outrage these days. I can only watch, gape-jawed, as people who clearly have no working moral compass cavort in the media, laying their hypocrisy, greed, ignorance and complete lack of empathy out for all to see. Outrage is futile in the face of profound mental and spiritual illness. We can only try to halt the destruction.)

Whatever happens, we’ll all do well to remember that when Pluto is involved, things that need to get destroyed are thoroughly pulverized. So it is essential to maintain a high level of awareness, to consciously release what needs to be released, and to be prepared to transform, clarify and rejuvenate what we choose to keep.

Uranus and the Moon will emphasize fighting for freedom, and the willingness to take risks for deeply held beliefs. Choose your battles wisely this summer, and remember that your thoughts and emotions have a profound effect on the world you live in. Many people will be having difficulty expressing their emotions verbally, so if you find your feelings getting hurt, pause, breathe, and try to intuit the person’s intentions, instead of fixating on their words. The intention may be loving even if the words are not. Or vice versa.

The sextile between Venus in her own sign of Taurus in the eleventh house and Jupiter in emotional Cancer rising in this chart gives me hope that there will be a focus on expanding love and caring within group situations. Do what you can to make that happen, OK?

So, the summer is looking interesting. And it will be made more interesting by the debut of my newsletter! I’m calling it (of course) The Changing Times. I’ll send it out each New Moon with a look at the New Moon chart, which is predictive for the month ahead. I’ll also notify you of new blog posts, include some tidbits on seasonal magic and gardening with the spirits of the land plus anything astrological, magical or metaphysical that I find of current interest. Two to three emails a month. You can sign up for it here. (All the pertinent vows about not sharing your email address have been taken.) I hope you’ll sign up — a newsletter without readers is no fun at all! If there’s anything you’d like me to cover in the newsletter, or in this blog, let me know in the comments section below (you need to login to leave a comment).

Looking ahead, mid-July appears to be a pivotal time, and I’ll be writing about that here shortly. Stay tuned!