Urania's Well: Astrology for Changing Times


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Summer School: Lessons of the Solstice

b2ap3_thumbnail_summer-school.jpgThis is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.” ~ Walt Whitman

Astrologers call the chart of the Summer Solstice the “Cancer ingress chart”, and it is one of four cardinal ingress charts we look at every year. These charts mark powerful times in the turning of the cosmic wheel — when Sun enters zero degrees of one of the four signs in the cardinal modality  — and are considered predictive for anytime from 3 months to one year ahead, depending on technicalities I won’t bore you with. Personally, I see all these predictive charts as successive waves of influence, and so, for instance, the waves of the latest New Moon chart, of the last Lunar Eclipse, of the recent Solar Eclipse and Aries ingress chart, are all breaking on or close to shore right now, creating patterns in the shifting, tide-washed sands of our personal lives and our society.

So instead of giving a rigid timeframe, I’ll just say the wave of the Solstice chart is breaking right now, and it brings us lessons — personal, political and social — that will, if learned, help us ride it to shore with ease and skill. Skill is a key component of events in the months ahead — physical skills and, especially, interpersonal ones. Mars and Sun give a “my way or the highway” vibe to the gestalt, and diplomatic abilities will be badly needed.

Lesson One is: Be a diplomat. Remain aware of the feelings of others, and take some time to consider how you can say what needs to be said in a way that allows people to hear you without getting triggered into going on the defensive. Anger almost invariably puts people on the defensive, and no minds were ever changed when the brain is in a defensive state. Remember that anger is a weapon against apathy and injustice — it gets attention, but, like any weapon, will cut a swath of destruction if it is used indiscriminately. Think about how you can interact with others from a place of both strength and compassion. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Lesson Two is: Explore your Self. This is a good time to tune into your greater, more expanded Self, and see how your life is aligned with that part of you that is aware of your soul’s unique intentions and desires. Take a long look inside and be honest — who are you trying to please or impress? When and why do you repress your personal feelings and experiences in service of the demands of others, or to conform to social norms? When was the last time you really thought about who you are, what you stand for, where your boundaries are? How often are you operating under other people’s expectations for you rather than your own?

Lesson Three is: Don’t kid yourself. The potential for deception through others and for self-delusion is high right now, and you may want to pay close attention to any intuitions you may have about who/what you can and cannot trust. This is a good time to work on developing your intuition, and learning to discriminate between mental chatter and true intuitive insights. Sometimes people are puzzled about how to do that. It’s really pretty simple — practice.

First, practice listening to your own thoughts and feelings. Notice the thoughts, feelings and attitudes that lurk under the surface of whatever is holding the attention of your conscious mind. Notice the feelings you have in your body — a tightening of muscles, restlessness, a churning stomach, or perhaps a sense of rightness and groundedness. Allow yourself to spend some time with your thoughts and feelings and notice what comes up. Sometimes, you’ll just want to notice and not act, at other times, when it seems appropriate, you’ll act on an intuitive impulse. But whether you act on your intuitions or not, pay attention and try to determine whether the intuition was accurate. Journaling helps with this. Eventually, the "voice" of your monkey mind and the "voice" of intuitions from your deeper Mind will become more and more distinct.

Lesson Four is: Lighten up! The current chaotic atmosphere is not likely to settle down soon, and honing your sense of humor is a great way to help keep yourself and those around you emotionally balanced in the midst of change. Remember, not all changes are bad, and even those that seem bad at first often prove to be beneficial in the long run. Humor helps us reframe situations, and see them from a different, less threatening, and often more realistic perspective. Then again, sometimes even Jon Stewart can’t find anything to laugh about . But when you can’t laugh, a little courage and inspiration can help us deal with the chaos, and Stewart’s interview with Malala is a good place to find some. 

Now, let’s take a look at this chart from the perspective of our wider social and political circles. But first, a paragraph for students of astrology:

Astrologers: Find the chart here. Note Mercury ruling AC and MC in the Washington DC chart, strong in its own sign, with Mars in Gemini conjunct MC and Sun. Two tight squares — Mercury-Neptune and Moon-Saturn. They are maybe just a bit too wide to make a Grand Cross….but my guess is they are going to act like one anyway. So we have a Mutable/Fixed Grand Cross, Moon and Sun in mutual reception, Saturn and Pluto in mutual reception, and Mercury and Neptune square, each in their own sign. There is also a Venus-Jupiter conjunction trine Uranus, and Venus is tightly quincunx Pluto. One thing I really like about this chart is that both the fourth- and seventh-house cusps are ruled by Jupiter, which conjunct Venus in the social eleventh house, trining Uranus. But that Moon-Saturn square is rough. Let’s look a bit more closely at it.

The Moon-Saturn square suggests intense ambition in service of ego. Combined with the confusing vibe of Mercury-Neptune, there is a strong possibility of a lot of underhanded, self-aggrandizing behavior. Simply do not take anything at face value over the next few months. Know who you can trust, and even with those people, look under the surface for the subtext. Sometimes people don’t even realize they are being misleading. Some will be deliberately deceptive, others are just confused.

As Saturn makes its last pass through Scorpio — by the Libra ingress chart of September 23rd it will have moved fully into Sagittarius — we are all being asked to face the parts of Self we have been avoiding and repressing, those parts we don’t like too much and try hard not to look at when they pop up out of our subconscious. Jung called this aspect of Self the Shadow, and suggested that we need to own the contents of the Shadow, accept and integrate it to regain our natural power and presence in the world. If you have been doing this Shadow work with Saturn over the past couple of years, this summer would be a good time to solidify some of the changes you have made through ritual, carefully considered changes in daily practice, re-charging of personal magical objects, and journaling. If you have not been doing the hard work of self-realization, you may find that the Universe is inviting you to reconsider through people and incidents that force you to look more closely at your inner realities.

We will all be looking at the cultural shadows of racism, misogyny, ecocide and economic injustice. Given the fear-based insanity and willful blindness of so many, it is important that we find the courage within ourselves to face these realities, and speak the truth of what we see. You don’t need to go out and climb a soapbox or start a blog, just “speak your truth quietly and clearly”  holding the intention to share your courage as well as facts and moral insights. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you don’t have influence. Truth and courage will ripple out into the zeitgeist and magnify in ways that are more telepathic than media-driven. But it starts with you.

On a lighter note, the trine between Venus and Jupiter in Leo and Uranus in Aries can be all about having fun, banding together, and if wild parties are your thing…go for it. If you want a touch of Summer Solstice magic and lore to help you celebrate, check out this post from Beth Owl's Daughter.

In the chart cast for Washington, DC (predictive for the entire US) this trine connects the eleventh and eighth houses. On one level, this can suggest forming groups and organizations that bring people together for larger, socially-significant causes. On another level, it can suggest a level of ease with political corruption, an acceptance that — given the rest of the chart — might lead to exposure and scandal.

If you know enough astrology to compare this Solstice chart with your own, see what houses in your natal chart are activated by the Solstice planets, and any aspects between the natal and Solstice planets to determine the cosmic classes that are on your schedule this summer. If you’d like to learn a little astrology so you can do that, I’ll be offering an introductory online astrology course later this year called Chart and Soul: Astrology for Yourself. To find out when I set the date and arrange to get the reduced introductory price, sign up for my mailing list, and/or like my Facebook page.

Solstice blessings to you all!

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Diotima Mantineia began studying astrology in 1968, taking classes from Zoltan Mason in New York City. For the next 22 years, she practiced astrology only for herself and her friends, continuing her studies while watching an increasingly humanistic, psychologically oriented, modern astrology blossom through the work of leading astrologers such as Noel Tyl, Liz Greene, Rob Hand, Marion March, Stephen Arroyo and Howard Sasportas. In 1986, Diotima began her study of Wicca and started reading Tarot, discovering that she is a gifted intuitive. In 1991, she began practicing both astrology and Tarot professionally. She majored in plant and soil science both in college and grad school, and grows much of her own food and "materia magica" on her land in the mountains of western North Carolina. Diotima’s personal spiritual path is rooted in the Western mystery traditions, the principles of Yoga, and a profound connection with the natural world. Wicca gives structure to her spiritual journey, and she utilizes shamanic practices for healing and to live in harmony with Nature. Over 15 years of studying Chinese martial arts has given her a deep appreciation of Taoist thought which has strongly influenced her magical and personal philosophy. You can find her at www.uraniaswell.com

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