“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” — John Steinbeck

The Astrological Highlights of June start off beautifully with Venus and Mercury going into their ruling sign’s. Finally giving them the chance to reinstate their full power and drive, after being stuck in the Retrograde cycle for most of the year.

Venus on June 7th makes her ingress into Taurus a sign of her rulership, after being Retrograde since late February. In her retrograde cycle she was challenged at a number of points by both Saturn (karma and reality checks) as well as being in the sign of Aries. A fire sign which gets quite heated for an earth and air loving Venus.  Venus’s ingress into Taurus allows Venus to breath and make good on all her plans and lessons that have been fighting to get air time since late February.  Venus, being stuck in this loop has seen lots of things being thrown around but not much traction for getting Venus things done !  Venusian pleasure will finally take centre stage and the pleasure of being able to do it will be twofold ! June 7th would be a lovely time to take a moment and celebrate it.

On the same day – Mercury who has also been stuck in the retrograde pattern this time in Taurus/Aries, makes its way into Gemini, the sign of its rulership. It to, like Venus has been stuck in a strange time warp, in a sign that it doesn’t really get along with. Mercury the trickster when Retrograde tends to play its tricks in the style of the sign its retrograde in. The Retrograde it has just come out of had the double doozy of being conjunct Uranus. The planet of the unexpected, change and revolutionary ideas. It can be Genius but it can also be chaotic. With Mercury’s ingress into Gemini – like Venus it gets to finally get some traction in a sign that shows off its, strengths, ideas, communication and technology;  finally moving forward, in a progressive way. Strong  foundations have been made after the Retrograde strengthening.

So with 2 of the most important personal and internal planets finally at their best positions all year,  3 days later Jupiter, the great giver of gifts and expansion also moves direct from its Retrograde in Libra. (Yes that’s how may planets have been retrograde over the past 2 months !). Jupiter finally goes direct conjunct or next to the Full Moon in Sagittarius, its ruler (party emoji).  Emotional cleansing of the Full Moon &  expansion, rebalancing and artistic growth with Jupiter Direct, The lessons learnt from the last 5 months, this is a nice reward. Jupiter likes to expand and make things bigger. Libra is all about justice, balancing the individual and the collective on artistic and egalitarian realms. It strives for a balance to all things both politically and artistically.  There might be a feeling of new equilibrium as Jupiter enters its last third of its transit of Libra. Make the most of this before the balance of expansion and ideas moves into a heavier and more underworld or internal sphere, with its entry into Scorpio in October this year.

Mars enters Cancer on June 5th. Yes that is 4 planets changing signs within a week. Brings down the tone a little bit. With all the energy shifts happening across a week, Mars’s entry into Cancer sees a bit of a slow down around all the other energies who are working in their optimal spaces. Mars – your power source as well as your ability to assert yourself isn’t so comfortable in Cancer. Cancer is Cardinal Water or the General of the Water signs, Mars a Fire energy, it ain’t so happy in Water. What Mars in Cancer does do is bring down the Mars fire and energy to bring it inward. There will be more focus on emotions and emotional wellbeing. A positive use of this energy is to work through any emotional blocks for feelings that you might have. Therapy would be really good to do right now if you feel it would help advance you. The negative side to this energy would be to be malicious or emotional manipulative to other around you. Being to needy or even having a few drinks before the emo beast arises and is unleashed. Mars in Cancer needs to be contained and to be aware of, as an energy before you decide to unleash any emo stuff onto other people. Always ask – where is this coming from. Is this the best way and time to express it. Mars in Cancer is intuition and emotions turbo charges – Especially around the solstice ! when things may feel other worldly. But it might not always come out as articulately as you think, as Mars and Cancer aren’t comfortable in each others spheres naturally.

Full Moon on 9th June in Sagittarius will be a stonker of a Full Moon. Conjunct or next to Jupiter its ruler going direct. Full Moons LOVE something to Bounce off and when its next to its ruler going direct, June 9th will be one hell of a night. The breath of fresh air from Venus and Mercury’s entry into Taurus and Gemini will really bounce off this Full Moon and it will be the break in the energy we have been waiting for, for months ! IF there is a Full Moon to celebrate this year, this would be it.

The Sun entering Cancer on June 21st signifies the Winters Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. With the New Moon occurring 24th / 25th of June trine Venus in Taurus, The Solstice will have a nice Venus influence emotionally connecting us to Venus / Solstice type things. Nurture,Food, Land, Nature, Relations with others and Health. The Solstices are naturally turbo charged with a thinning of the veils between the worlds. It’s also great natural re-set button. With June’s positive and strong beginning the Solstices will be a nice time to reset and look back on all the hard work done in the first 6 months of the year.

Post Solstice – Mars our inner warrior must get bored with all this wonderful resetting and re-evaluation and applies some action towards the end of the month.

As the month closes Mars’s gets up to its old tricks and starts to want to break out of the relaxed jovial setting. In the last week of June, It opposes Pluto and Squares Jupiter. Mars is an aggressor and accelerant, a get up and doer. When it opposes Pluto in Capricorn its emotional and intuitive slant in Cancer begins to awaken a beast in Capricorn the sign of Governance, Status and Power. There could be some internal or external power issues between power and your emotions. Or it could be a reassessment of what you think of as a status tool,  is it really emotionally serving you.

Mars squaring off to Jupiter might add some heat to this balancing act that Jupiter has just been able to stretch its legs on. The aggressive emotional assessment of what Jupiter has in play to keep everyone at bay, may come into question or is challenge. Perhaps from a personal perspective once again an emotional/intuitive assessment of what is Jupiter proposes internally or externally may come under the microscope, Head vs Intuition kinds of testings.

Overall June sees a releasing of lots of withheld energy and pressure, with things beginning to come around again.  The pleasure and ease we think things should be, begins to return.  The Solstice and Moons this month are particularly healthy and positive, feeding some great energy into this resetting time. As the month closes Mars may come in and throw a little tanty at the party. But hey where would be with out some Martial interference. Its nothing compared to what we have just been through for the past 6 months, right !

xx