The Solstice

Solstices occur between Equinoxes, and mark the point when the Sun enters the Cardinal signs of Cancer and Capricorn. In the Northern Hemisphere, this week's Solstice as the Sun moves into Cancer marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of Summer.

Solstices are a point for celebration. The differences between the signs of Capricorn and Cancer are many and nuanced, but as with all polarities, sometimes it is the similarities which can create the most apparent distance. When you look closely though, many opposite signs have a familiar essence to them and have more in common than it may initially seem.

The longest day of the year marks the onset of summer and symbolically we celebrate the abundant light and vitality of this time. The peak of the Sun's apparent journey through the zodiac brings potent warmth and nourishment to the world. Cancer, the sign of the crab, is also linked to maternal energy. Cancer is ruled by the Moon and when the Sun enters this sign it highlights our innermost needs which are often hidden beneath the shell we wear on the outside.

There is a deep connection between all that we associate with Mothering at this time of the year. The Solstice brings celebration for what we wish to see flourishing in our lives and brings blessings to what we are nurturing. The milk of human kindness flows abundantly under the solstice as the Universe brings us what we need for our journey onward towards our higher potential.

At the moment of the Solstice this year, the exact point when the Sun moves to 0 degrees of Cancer, it aligns in conjunction with Venus and Mercury. Just a few degrees separate these planets, indicating that our hearts, minds and spirits are acting as one. This is powerful cardinal energy. We feel inspired to do something about how we feel and to take action to bring about change in our world.

Solstice is a celebration of fertility. Plans and plants are blooming all around us.

With these planets combining their energy in the early degrees of Cancer, we are being cosmically encouraged to connect with our chosen family and to give thanks for the abundance in our worlds. There is plenty to go around.

Creative energy is flowing and celebrating our roots and where we come from allows us to nurture our plans for where to go next.

As the Sun moves into Cancer it guides us on how we can become whole. Acting according to how we feel and moving with sensitivity feels like a priority now, and we are focused on family and what brings us a feeling of home. Feeling like we belong, and that we are accepted for all parts of who we are becomes possible when we accept ourselves first and show ourselves and others appropriate kindness and care.

The Moon is waxing towards full in Sagittarius now. There is a tense kind of energy as she moves opposite Jupiter, in Gemini. Tension though, often gets things moving. This opposition brings us a push of good luck and fortune if we can be bold enough to move towards our future by taking a leap of faith. This alignment is like a dare, to communicate what we think is right or what we really believe in.

A square though, between the conjunct planets at the Solstice point and Neptune, at home in his realm of Pisces, brings us another challenge. It is asking, how do we reconcile what we need, with the need to immerse ourselves in seeking the truth? How can we push forward and create something new whilst honouring the illusions of the past?

The connection to Neptune heightens the impact of the sun's ingress into Cancer and, as Cancer rules over emotions, we can expect feelings to be running high. There is mysticism in this alignment and also a tension between boundaries. Neptune in Pisces pulls us deeper, seducing us into a world of wonder filled with mysteries. The Sun though, in Cancer with Mercury and Venus is quite comfortable staying home and acting sensibly.

To answer the cosmic query posed by this square we can look back at the relationship between Neptune, or Poseidon as he was known in Greek Mythology, and Helios, the Sun. In this chart, Poseidon, ruler of the sea, is challenging Helios' smooth passage as he pulls his chariot forward and brings the sun itself into Cancer.

Helios does not just rule the Sun. In mythology, he also oversees sight and oaths. What we see ahead, and the promises we have made are being supported by Cancerian energy now. Poseidon though, in his ever-shifting Piscean home, seeks elusive perfection. Ideal outcomes are rare in real life but Neptunian energy demands that we keep on dreaming. The Sun in Cancer is ready to do something, to move on. In this square, it may be hard to reconcile what we wish could be with the reality of what is being created.

There is a great temptation to martyr ourselves now to suffer what we may feel we cannot change. An inevitability which feels predetermined by undefinable forces.

But, another way of interpreting this ingress is through Helios's sister Eos, goddess of the Dawn. At Solstice she arrives earlier, ready for a long day at work and holds the power of calm which comes from being first on the scene. Eos holds great sway in this conversation too as she teams up with Hermes (Mercury, the planet of communication). The Goddess of the Sun and the messenger of the gods could find a way to appease Poseidon and to shine together as a force for good.

When we consider their close alignment with peace-seeking Venus too, happier times may be on the horizon. Eos's relationship with Aphrodite (Who in Greek Mythology is Venus's counterpart) is notoriously difficult. The story goes that Aphrodite was so jealous of Eos's relationship with Ares (The god of war) that she cursed Eos to fall in love with mortals. For us earthlings, having Eos on our side now is a blessing. And, with Ares (Mars) now in Taurus and connecting through a Sextile with Venus in Cancer following our hearts could lead to some lasting stability.

Hand in hand in Cancer these goddesses may yet be inclined to put their history aside and work together to nurture something more important into being.