Insights for the Month of Cancer

A Mercury retrograde month:
Alignment is preferable to anxiety.

June / July 2020

June 20
Sun enters Cancer: 05:44 PM EDT
Mars sextile Jupiter             

https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-conspiracy-myth/?_page=2 Conspiracy myth: Eisenstein.

Use pictures: ladysmantle and peony, doggie flowers.

We made it to the half way mark of one of the strangest years ever. Summer begins with the longest day, here in the north, as we tilt toward the Sun. Half way through this difficult year we might explore Cancer themes from our newly acquired pandemic perspective. Cancer means one thing to those who feel secure and something quite different to those who don’t. It can indicate a creative productivity leading to nourishment for many. We are happy to give when we feel secure. When security is lacking, when productivity is impossible, when there is no hive, we feel needy. Consider the intensity of a new mother’s full breasts and her baby’s empty stomach. (Cancer is the ruler of these parts of the body.) A wailing baby is hard to ignore. The desire to feed the baby is powerful, natural. These two sides of nourishment create a lasting bond and becomes the prototype for bonding throughout a life. Dominator culture has done everything in its misguided power to sever this bond. The result being that some eat and some starve and we can’t always feel the bond between. It seems that this is a really good time to do what we can to repair this broken bond.
Don’t be afraid of the moments when you feel good. Our willingness to slow down enough to listen to all states of being opens the doors to change.

June 21
New Moon: 00 degrees of Cancer: 02:41 AM EDT
It’s kind of auspicious to have a New Moon so very close to the summer solstice. A New Moon in the first hours of summer promises a new start, possibly aimed at feeding the hungry. It’s a time worthy of real consideration regarding how you want to spend the second half of this strange year. Let your intention be about need: Paying attention to your own genuine needs (not wants) and being aware of  your ability to meet your own needs as well as others. From this kind of intention radiates good things.

June 23
Neptune stationery retrograde
So much has been lost, washed away in a flood of confusion and insecurity. If you’re willing to live with uncertainty it might at least be interesting. If you need control, go bake some bread.

June 25
Venus stationery direct
The Great Goddess of Love and beauty, having gone through her ordeal (which down here in the ‘below’ seems to have been the murder of George Floyd and the rage and grief it has let loose on our planet). She is well into her return. Look  In fact she has been returning since early June, to a changed world. As the story goes she is now ready to claim back her throne and take her rightful place. We laud her determination, her commitment. And you? What have you to claim as your rightful place, given what we have witnessed during this time of descent and return? How have your values been transformed? What’s left to want?

June 27
Mars enters Aries
Mars will be in Aries for many months as it retrogrades back and forth in its own sign. Mars is the planet of aggression, assertiveness and pure vitality: The singular self-starter. In Aries these qualities are amplified. I guess we’ll have to see how this expresses itself in the lives of humans but it’s a sure thing that we are embroiled in a moment of righteous rage about systemic brutalities in our civilization. Plain as the color of your skin, the gender of your body, the resources you do and don’t have at your fingertips. It’s a wild mess, one that must be cleaned up if we are to move along into that vague, promised land of the Age of Aquarius.

June 28
Mars sextile Saturn
Off to what could be considered a good start, Mars reminds us to consider the benefits of discipline, commitment, excellence. This aspect will only happen once in the journey of Mars through Aries. A good day to think/act strategically about how you might accomplish your goals over the next 6 months.

June 30
Jupiter conjunct Pluto
Sun square Chiron
Mercury sextile Uranus
Sun conjunct Mercury retrograde
A busy day in the ‘above’. Pay attention to possible benefits that could come from the spin cycle we have been dealing with. What have you had to let go of that you might be well rid of? If there’s change to be made, make it, but not before pausing and reflecting deeply on how the past loves to repeat itself. Consider how these changes you’re hot to make might not be changes at all if they simply repeat patterns. Then what? What really can and should be changed? Given the theme of ‘crumbling infrastructure’ that we all can see you might think less about the appearance of change and more about the fundamentals. Changes of heart or perspective matter. Change at the core changes everything.

July 1
Sun sextile Uranus
Mercury retrograde square Chiron
Saturn, retrograde, re-enters Capricorn
Everyone should have a notebook for their best ideas. Over time you could check back and see which of them were actually useful. Uranus in Taurus wants us to go forward, to make changes, to get on with it even if there is breakage in the process. Revolution is its stock and trade. Taurus is about the economy, the earth and the real world. We don’t need to look in shadowy corners to see this principle at work in our world. Saturn wants us to be cautious and change as little as possible. Saturn wants change from within the systems already in place. The tension between them will be a major factor in 2021. For now we might take and make notes for later use.

July 5
Lunar Eclipse: 13 degrees Capricorn: 12:44 AM EDT
As we survey the landscape of the first half of 2020 there is definitely some wreckage. For some it is irreparable for others it may seem more like a shift than outright change. The Full Moon encourages us to see at night, to use a different kind of vision. It shows us, if we pay attention, how to avoid tripping over tree roots or falling into the well. Take a look at (your) life. What do you see in the dark that you might not see in the harsh light of day?

July 8
Mars square Mercury retrograde
A moment of calm reflective peace will end as predictably as anything else if that state of being is based on external conditions to hold it together. Mars disturbs the peace. It’s his nature. He shows us, sometimes ruthlessly, that which refuses to get swept under the rug. 

July 10
Venus sextile Chiron
What are the happiest, healthiest possible consequences to following your bliss? If there are enough of them then you must be on a good track. 

 July 11
Chiron stationery retrograde
Chiron is not a planet. It’s not even an asteroid. I’ve heard it called a planetoid as well as a comet. Back before November of 1977 it didn’t exist for astrologers because it wasn’t visible to astronomers. When a celestial orb pops into view it also pops into consciousness. So say the astrologers. Suddenly the awareness of the wounded healer, the mentor, the shaman standing on the threshold, revealed itself. Indeed the late 1970s was a time of great innovations in healing; some better, wiser and more useful than others, to be sure. And so we take note of where Chiron is and what it’s up to in the skies. In Aries the message is to pay attention to how the wounds and traumas of individuals affect us all. Our inability to see and use our wounds as doors to wisdom and compassion makes the world a dangerous place.

July 12
Mercury stationery direct
Sun trine Neptune
We breathe a sigh of relief when Mercury goes direct, but why? What do we think is happening? Time to move on? To get going? Ideally we might have spent this retrograde period reflecting on what we have and what we have to give as well as what we do and don’t need to get. Now is a great moment to give with all you’ve got because it does indeed take a village.

July 14
Sun opposite Jupiter
Mars square Chiron
If someone judges you but they aren’t kind it generally says more about them than you. If you’re the one hurling thunderbolts, beware. Everything we do that’s hurtful we do from the wounded places. It’s fairly ineffective to think we can make the world a better place by creating more wounds in a misguided attempt to settle the score. Which isn’t to say we should not name what we see and act to change it. To acquiesce to injustice feeds the festering mess of denial. It’s just true what the grade one teacher said, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’.

July 15
Sun opposite Pluto
There is a powerful energy alive in the world: The power of the witness. S/he who sees what is, has the power to change everything. Denial has led us to terrible injustices which ultimately must erupt like lava and spew ash across the sky which seriously dims the light of the Sun. Inasmuch as we have choices this is one we could make: To see or not to see.  

July 20
New Moon: 28 degrees of Cancer
Sun opposite Saturn
Some are tired, some are chomping at the bit. All are ready to move along. It matters when the moon is new that we give real consideration to our intention regarding the path we think we’re on. What conditions do you anticipate going forward? How do you plan to deal with them? What responsibilities can, can’t and must you take on? What does it actually mean to care?

July 21
Mercury square Chiron
People say we are not all in ‘it’ together if we aren’t all affected by ‘it’ in the same way. Although it is true that some have easier, safer lives than others it is possible to acknowledge this and show awareness by easing the suffering of others. Or not. Ever since humans began to live in a hierarchical, dominator based world where some have more than others, we have had to deal with the absurd lie that we are not all here together and equally deserving of food, shelter and care as well as freedom to express ourselves. It’s a mighty struggle to pretend otherwise.  Charity is like putting a band aid on a gushing wound. As things fall apart around the world we get a chance to build a better system. It may not look possible today but 2021 puts us squarely to that test. Are you ready?