The Flow! Week of June 20 – 26, 2010

The Flow is a weekly blog published to better understand the flow of astrological, celestial, and magickal energies for the week, and how best to use them.   It is intended for those with little knowledge of astrology. 

For newcomers, the idea is to consider celestial influences as part of a larger whole, or the Flow.  All too often, astrologers tend to write about astrological events as if each were an isolated specimen as if pulled out of the sky and analyzed by itself – and there is no dearth of astrological sites on the net that write that way.  Here, it is the movement and interactions that are important and form the basis of discussion.

If any of the material is unclear or unfamiliar to you, it is probably unfamiliar to others as well, please leave a comment and I will be glad to answer your questions. 

If you like what you see, please share it with friends!  If you would like to get email notifications for when The Flow! is updated, or have a private question please email me at skywatcher888@yahoo.com.  Thank you!

The Flow! is updated every Sunday.

Please note: all times are in the Pacific Timezone.

The synopsis for this week: Summer throws a tantrum

Before we get into the week’s events, I’d like to wish all the dads out there a Happy Father’s Day, and a Merry Litha to one and all!  Plus, a hearty shout out to all the Rainbow Warriors, I wish I felt well enough to attend Litha, and hope you all had a wonderful ritual!

This week is structured around two significant bookend events.  The week begins with the entrance of the Sun into Cancer, and ends with an eclipse of the Moon.

Litha is the sabbat (holiday) that celebrates the Summer Solstice, which this year occurs on Monday, June 21^st at 4:30am.  It is often referred to (famously by Shakespeare) as Mid-Summer, and stands opposite in the Wheel of the Year to Yule.

Wait, doesn’t the Summer Solstice begin Summer?  Then how on earth, or any other celestial body, can it be referred to as mid-Summer?  Well, before the Europeans began meddling around with the calendar in the 16^th century, Summer used to be thought of to begin at Beltane, the early May festival, and end at Lammas, the festival of early August.  In that sense, the Summer Solstice falls squarely in the middle of Summer, hence mid-Summer.

Litha and Mid-Summer celebrate the triumph of light.  The Sun is now at its highest in the sky.  Daylight in the Northern Hemisphere is at its longest and it will remain that way for several days, and then the Sun slowly arcs its way to the South.

Nature is abloom.  Many of the trees and flowers are bearing fruit, and the very earth feels alive with the throbbing thrum of the pulse of life.  It is a time of high magick, good divination, abundance, and fertility.  If ever the very air is to feel electric, it is now.  If ever there is a time to enjoy Nature at her fullest, it is now.  If ever we were to feel full of ourselves, it is now…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mid-Summer, Litha, and the Summer Solstice all mark the entrance of the Sun into the sign of Cancer.  Cancer, the crab, and the disease of the same name were all referred to by the ancients with the same word.  In Greek, the word was Kankeros, and is also the origin for the word canker.  The ancients thought the lesions and tumors resembled the markings of a crab, and so named it with the same word.

The story of how the crab got in the sky sounds fishier than Spongebob Squarepants cooking up a stack of crabby patties. 

Here’s the myth.  Hera had it in for Alcides, a child of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene.  She even had his birth delayed so his cousin, Eurystheus, could be born first and become king.  Apparently, while Zeus was off galavanting around greater Greece screwing every female that caught his eye, Hera got her kicks by tormenting Alcides.  Nothing could foreswear Hera making Alcides life miserable, not even when he changed his name to Herakles, meaning “Hera’s fame” or “Hera’s glory,” the very same dude that’s come down to us in history as Hercules. 

According to the myth, Hera made Herakles’ life so      wretched that he slew his wife and children.  Bad, bad, bad, even in those days.  Evidently, in these mythological times the Greeks didn’t believe in capital punishment (which would have made Hera jump for joy) or incarceration (which would have denied us the rest of the story), so Herakles trotted off to his rival Eurystheus for sentencing, and as punishment was meted out the celebrated forever and ever after, 12 labors of Herakles.  Yay for us, but no picnic for Herakles.

Anyway, labor number two for Herakles was to kill the Lernaean Hydra who got her jollies by killing the local sailors with her poisons.  So Herakles scampers off to kill the Hydra.  He tried cutting off her heads with a sickle, but as we all remember from mythology class, the Hydra was the creature who grew two heads back to replace one that was cut off.  Never the one to miss an opportunity to make Herakles life more miserable, while he is grappling with ever-multiplying Hydra heads, Hera sends down a crab to nip at his heels. 

Our hero dispatches the Hydra with fire, which cauterizes the Hydra’s heads thereby preventing them from multiplying, and stomps on the poor crab crushing it to itsy little pieces of shell and crabmeat.  After these fetes of daring-do, Hera comes down from the sky to the remains of the battle and feels so sorry for the poor widdle Hydra and crab she sends them into the sky.  Apparently so they can continue to torment nearby Herakles in the sky forever.

It certainly seems like somewhere in this story is a deeper story or two.  Why would Hera be so angry at Hera-kles?  Sounds like there’s a pre-Greek story here of a relationship gone awry.  And why would Hera send a measly crab when a shark, whale or other sea creature could have lunched on Herakles?  Mythic mysteries!

Anyways…

Cancer is the sign in which the light of the Sun is at its peak, and similarly is the sign of the height of the individual.  Cancer is personal and emotional.  Ruled by the ever-changing moon, it is the symbol of our inner, intuitive world.  Cancer can be moody, but there’s no one better if you’re in need of tea and sympathy. 

In the cycle of the zodiac, the purpose of Cancer is to focus the light of the Sun into each of our personal lives.  We see this in the sign’s need for security, solid foundations, and the creation of meaningful family relationships.  Nothing is more important for a Cancer person than to be able to identify him- or herself with a notable relationship to some part of life, be it family, community, country, or religion that provides them with security and meaning.  And it will defend what it identifies with – to the death. 

Each of these decisions in life consolidate its sphere and gives focus to its life’s energies to make them more powerful and effective.

The sign also has an intense need for personal freedom.  It is no mistake that the Declaration of Independence was both voted on and approved with the Sun in Cancer.  It MUST be free, otherwise its decisions in life are futile.  Circumspect what I can decide, and you limit what I can be.  It is the anathema of freedom.   No matter how important, or how meaningful a Cancer’s personal relationships may be, it INVARIABLY needs time to itself, to be free to do as it desires.  The rest of the world sees this as “crawling back into its shell” and being “crabby,” but nothing could be further from the truth.  It simply needs time to be free.

Esoterically, Cancer is the time of manifestation.  Cancer gives “birth to” our inner nature and our inner beliefs by manifesting them as our experience of the world in which we live.  In the previous sign of Gemini, we learn to understand our Selves better – who we are, what we’re about, and what it is we need to accomplish.  Cancer makes that all real.

So while we’re out there enjoying the bounty and abundance of nature, understand that it is all the manifestation of the very way the Earth itself is expressing its own inner nature.  And when we can understand the link between our selves and the Earth, we can truly use the time the Sun is in this sign toward making our own dreams come true.

The second major event of the week is the lunar eclipse on Saturday, June 26^th at 4:30am. All lunar eclipses are Full Moons and are also oppositions of the Sun and Moon.  Lunar eclipses occur when a Full Moon occurs next to either North or South Lunar Node. On Saturday, the South Node will be at 13 Cancer, and the Full moon occurs at 5 Cancer.  This is close enough for a Partial eclipse of the Moon.  For a preview of what it will look like, see the image below.

Astrologically, this is a very dicey event, and is the tantrum part of the synopsis.  On this day, the Sun (our Selves), Mercury (our Minds) are opposed to Pluto (Transformation, Power) and the Moon (our Emotions, Personality).  Furthermore, they are squared (tension) by Jupiter (Expansion) and Uranus (Unpredictability).

To add fuel to this fire, the Sabian Sign for the Moon is the “Indian Chief demanding recognition.”  Adding all this up, it looks very much like this is likely to be a time when people’s patience will run thin.  People are going apt to be very demanding, and very insistent that their rights are not being tramped. 

Each of us, as this week progresses is likely to feel that “enough is enough” and that some of the issues with which we have had to bear are no longer tolerable.  It is apt to be a week in which decisions are made, for better or worse, to take action and let the chips fall where they may.

My advice, then, is to be careful.  Be as circumspect as you can.  Be as nice as your nature and own patience will allow.  If you must act, take as many considerations into account as you can before engaging your plans, or you may set something in motion that could later mow you down.  Remember, words have consequences, and bitter words are all the more difficult to swallow if you are forced to eat them later!

Sunday, June 20^th

No major aspects.

Happy Father’s Day!  It is likely to be a nice day for dad to relax in his proverbial hammock and just take things easy.  It’s a great day for saying nice things, and making your feelings known in a nice way.  No one is likely to feel very motivated today, so it’s good for rejuvenating, recovering, and getting some much needed rest!

Monday, June 21^st

Sun enters Cancer at 4:30am

Moon enters Scorpio at 5:14am

Sun squares Uranus at 5:28pm

Look for people to be more moody and emotional today.  Very few people are happy when the Moon goes into Scorpio, and with the Sun in emotional Cancer, the smallest thing is apt to set others off.  Tempers are likely to be taut, and feelings run high.  As the afternoon wears on, people are likely to get more and more irrational.  If you can keep your head, you’ll be ahead of the game!  Try to stay calm.  Try to stay focused.  Try to focus on what’s real and not what’s flying around inside your head.   You’ll be happier later if you do!

Tuesday, June 22^nd

No major aspects

Tuesday is very likely to be a carbon copy of Monday, except that people are less erratic, so it should be easier to stay out of trouble.  Still, be alert for strange things that pop out of people’s mouths.  They’re mostly reporting what they believe, but what that is may be wildly divorced from reality.  Stay grounded, and have your strangeness radar on at full power!  Also, try to avoid making a major purchase today and tomorrow, you may be signing up for something a bit big for your budget.  With tomorrow’s square between the Sun and Jupiter, our confidence is likely to run ahead of our means for the next couple of days.  Be wise, be thrifty!

Wednesday, June 23^rd

Sun squares Jupiter at 6:21am

Moon enters Sagittarius at 11:10am

Both of these aspects should combine to make Wednesday a vastly superior day to either Monday or Tuesday.  People’s moods should be lighter, happier, and much friendlier.  Instead of hunkering down in defensive personal castles, people are more open and gregarious.  Sagittarius is one of, if not the most outgoing sign of the zodiac, and Cancer gives it the emotional confidence and surety it needs to meet people convivially without feeling the need to be defensive.  If you have schedule an important meeting, this is the best day of the week to do so.

Thursday, June 24^th

Mercury squares Saturn at 9:25am

Mercury trines Neptune at 11:34am

Don’t expect to get much work done Thursday morning.  Thursday afternoon is liable to be slightly better, but it’s likely to only be the difference between worse and bad.  Mercury square Saturn often produces delays, obstructions, and miscommunications.  And Mercury’s trine to Neptune isn’t very helpful, even though it’s a more harmonious aspect.  It is a configuration that entices people to avoid difficult thoughts and avoid making decisions and engaging in activities that are more emotionally enjoyable instead.  So, look for a morning of scrambled communication and uncooperative computers, followed by flights of fancy and daydreams.  A good day to watch the World Cup instead of working!

Friday, June 25^th

Mercury enters Cancer at 3:32am

Mercury squares Uranus at 9:37am

Sun opposes Pluto at 11:53am

Moon enters Capricorn at 7:21pm

This is not likely to be a fun day.  People not only say strange things, but they act and do strange things too.  It’s like everyone is walking around like they are possessed by evil demons.  Feelings run high.  Thinking runs with feet in blocks of cement.  Lots of things may be said today that are later regretted.  If you’ve been saving up a day for taking a vow of silence, today would be the perfect opportunity for it.  If you don’t have to say a word today, you’ll thank yourself later.  Think.  Speak.  In that order!

Saturday, June 26^th

Mercury square Jupiter 4:08am

Lunar Eclipse at 4:30am

The week that began with glorious Mid-Summer night dreams finally ends today.  We’re not totally out of the astrological woods yet, though things do improve as the day progresses.  It’s not a bad day for doing chores, going outdoors, or accomplishing tasks you’ve been putting off for a while.  Let everyone out there bounce off the walls, just try to keep your ship on an even keel and steady as she goes!

Next week The Flow! celebrates it’s first birthday!  Be sure to check back next week for some treats!

That’s it for this week, folks…have a great week!

 

 

The Flow! May 9 – 23, 2010 (special edition)

The Flow is a weekly blog published to better understand the flow of astrological, celestial, and magickal energies for the week, and how best to use them.   It is intended for those with little knowledge of astrology.  For newcomers, the idea is to start with the slowest moving forces, as they are the most foundational, and work up to the swiftest, as they are the most fleeting.  If any of the material is unfamiliar to you, it is probably unfamiliar to others as well, please leave a comment so that any questions might be answered. 

If you like what you see, please share it with friends!  If you would like to get email notifications for when The Flow! is updated, or have a private question please email me at skywatcher888@yahoo.com.  Thank you!

The Flow! is updated every Sunday.

Please note: all times are in the Pacific Timezone.

Greetings faithful friends and fans of The Flow!  This will be a special two-week edition of the Flow!   published just slightly tardy.  Regular weekly updates will resume on in two weeks on May 30^th.

The synopsis for this special two-week period is See-saw at the edge of the world.

We are about to experience a colossal cosmic event with the opposition of Jupiter and Saturn on May 22^nd at 10:38pm.   This event occurs fairly regularly at 20 year intervals, and has significant impact on our economic cycles.

Jupiter is the principle of expansion, growth, opportunity, grandeur, and throwing money around like there’s no tomorrow.  It is big, big, big!  Big-hearted, and has big dreams.  It supersizes hopes, dreams, McMansions, drinks, and fries.  It never saw an economic bubble it didn’t like.  But like steroids that also might fall under Jupiter’s domain, there are risks associated with unfettered growth, and some of the aftereffects of the burst of a bubble can be painful.

Saturn, on the other hand, is abstemious, focused, disciplined, miserly, and watches over each penny as it is spent or earned, always balancing the books with every carefully noted transaction.  While Jupiter may expand, Saturn constricts and contracts, and watches over every contract to ensure the terms are met.  Saturn does not spend on credit.  Credit is the invention of Jupiter.  Saturn spends only on what it must, and in a manner it knows it can trust.  When Jupiter’s bubbles break, Saturn is there to sweep up the mess.

Right now, Jupiter and Saturn are moving at opposite ends of the zodiac.  Jupiter at the very end of Pisces, and Saturn is right at the very end of Virgo.  Jupiter is swiftly speeding headlong into Aries, and will cross the line into that sign on June 6^th, sparking a whole new economic cycle of growth.  Saturn, as a much slower-moving planet, will not reach its next sign of Libra until July 21^st, and it will usher in a new cycle of balance, order, justice, and transformation.

Astrological oppositions are odd affairs.  Sometimes one planet gets the upper hand, only to give way to the influence of the other planet.  Astrologers like to think that they do so until a balance is reached.  But actually, I believe that especially between Jupiter and Saturn is that what we are witnessing is the transition from the transition from an economic model that we have had at least since the Bush years of the turn of the millennium that gave rise to the various economic bubbles that have burst, and the birth of a new era that is more controlled, more balanced, and more fair. 

Jupiter’s entrance into Aries virtually ensures that the birth of this new economic order will be swift, energetic, headstrong, and fiery.  Stay tuned to this blog for future reports on its development!

But that isn’t the only major astrological event ahead for these next two weeks.

On May 11^th, at 3:27pm Mercury goes direct.  YAY!!!  This has been one of THE MOST difficult Mercury retrograde periods in recent memory.  During this time, we have had nothing but delays, disruptions, mis-communications, computer glitches, and a host of mechanical and human bizarreness.  I will not weep its passing!   Usually, retrograde periods are marked by backwards behavior of all sorts, but this one has felt like going backwards in glue.  I’m sure it will take time for us to shake off all the remaining effects of this retrograde time, but the real world couldn’t return fast enough starting on Tuesday.

On Thursday, May 13^th, at 6:04pm, we have the New Moon of Taurus.  I suppose because they are not visible, unlike Full Moons, New Moons have no names.  But if I were to give this new moon period a name, I’d call it the Jewel Moon.  The place in Taurus that this New Moon will occur, is symbolized by a Jewelry Shop.  Yes, it’s true that all sorts of jewels are to be found in a jewelry shop, and perhaps we will be lucky enough to experience a gem of an event happen during this moontime.  But the true meaning of the jewelry shop isn’t so much that of obtaining a bauble or two, but of understanding the value of those things in our lives most dear to us.  And that can be the greatest jewel of them all.  Because whether it is relationships, careers, goals, or dreams, once you know how much they means to you, you can better understand what it will take from you to make the most out of them.

On Monday May 17^th,  we have both a square between Venus and Jupiter at 3:57am, and a sextile between the Sun and Jupiter at 5:41pm.   Astrological squares are spats, but a square between Venus and Jupiter is like fighting with marshmallows.  Considering the early morning time this one occurs, it is likely to add a bit of good natured one-upmanship to your dreams.  So, if you dream Sunday night that you tell your boss to go to blazes, you have this aspect to thank for experiencing such a delightful fantasy!  The Sun-Jupiter sextile could provide us with a new opportunity, a more hopeful outlook, or get an important task or project finished.  People should be more cooperative, more willing to work together, and more easily understand each other’s point of view.

On Tuesday, May 18^th, we have a hodgepodge of aspects.  At 1:18am Venus squares Saturn, and we feel sluggish, cranky, and dour.  After Monday’s good feelings, late Monday night – early Tuesday morning leaving feeling like we gorged on Chinese food for dinner and are hungry for more.  The best thing for this aspect, is a warm glass of milk, or fine wine, and head to bed without taking your mood too seriously because the rest of the day is likely to be an improvement.  At 3:14pm, we have a trine between Venus and Neptune helping us unwind any tensions experienced earlier in the day, and topping the day off is an excellent trine between the Sun and Saturn, giving us the resolve and determination to wrap up the day’s work well, make significant progress on important projects, and a feeling of having accomplished far more than we feared heading into the day.

Wednesday, May 19^th, is another hodgepodge day of mixed aspects.  The day gets off to a start in which virtually anything strange can happen, as the Sun squares Neptune at 11:16am and reality takes a vacation.  So don’t be surprised if you feel like you suddenly stepped into the set of Alice in Wonderland.  People are apt to behave strangely, have strange thoughts, and otherwise act like they’re auditioning for the job of clown.  This is compounded by another bizarro aspect between Venus and Uranus at 12:42pm adding to the circus-like antics of the day.    Just about the only people who seem to be able to hold on to their heads, hands, and other parts of their anatomy are Tauruses and Capricorns as Mercury comes to their rescue with a trine to Pluto at 11:44am in their signs.  If you find yourself wandering around the hall with a quizzical look or your head in your hand, look for the nearest Taurus or Capricorn, they’ll be to put you back together lickety-split.

Also on Wednesday, Venus enters Cancer at 6:05pm, trending people to feel less attracted to the technical, analytic and abstract, and be more compassionate, understanding, and sympathetic.  It’s time to put away the iPad, and take out the cookie dough.

Thursday at 2:46pm, the Sun sextiles Uranus, adding a bit of spice, novelty and originality to the day.  Sextiles to Uranus often bring out our more adventurous, eccentric side so it’s a good time for experimenting with something new, brilliant, or exciting.  While perhaps not potent enough of an aspect to make you want to start jumping out of airplanes, it could be a good time to break out of stale routines and old habits you’ve been trying to change.

The last astrological aspect of note is the entrance of the Sun into Gemini at 8:34pm on Thursday, May 20^th.  Happy Birthday Gemini, and much more to come on that when the Flow! returns in two weeks.

Have a great couple of weeks!