by Robert Wilkinson
The Summer Solstice occurs June 20, 9:24 pm PDT, June 21 at 12:24 am EDT, 5:24 am BST. It's the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, said to be the time at which "free will" acts more powerfully than any other time. It is a point of decision, and kicks off Summer, the season of work, play, productivity, and lots of sunshine for those of us up north. If you're "down under," remember to have a little compassion for us up here when December 21, the Winter Solstice, rolls around and we're freezing while you're enjoying the beach! What follows explores elements we all can expect to experience over the next 3 months, regardless of where we live.
Today is the end of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the end of Autumn in the Southern. If you’re wondering how I reconcile the seemingly opposing energies between the hemispheres, when you’re done here please take a look at The Mirroring of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Year Cycles in Astrology. It may help readers “down under” see how the important points of seasonal change, though opposite in physical manifestation, actually have similar challenges at each point of shift.
The Solstices and Equinoxes are excellent times for looking at what began in the past 90 days, whether new growth or signs of what is ending, what is emerging and what has slipped down the timestream. In any case, the Solstices are points of radical reorientation, whether toward emotional self interest in the Northern Hemisphere or personal power in the Southern.
The next 90 days are in any case a time to decide, consolidate, express, stabilize, and work toward what will shift at the Autumnal Equinox (or the coming of Spring if you’re down under.) The charts for the Summer and Winter Solstices provide guideposts for the symbolic and actual weather that will follow in the 90 days after those points in time, just as charts for the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox each show what will follow in the period after those points in time.
The Pluto Factor Past and Present
This is the ninth Summer Solstice with Pluto in Capricorn. After many years of being an important factor in the Solstice and Equinox charts, Pluto has now moved on and is not the powerhouse it was. For several years it was extremely important in in the charts at every change of season, since Pluto in early Capricorn was squared by the Sun at the Spring and Autumn Equinoctal points, and opposed the Sun at the Summer Solstice point for a number of years. These are very dynamic aspects that released a lot of energy, and either blocked or propelled events.
Although the Sun is no longer in conjunction, square, or opposition to Pluto during these changes of season, in previous Solstice and Equinox charts Uranus has been in close square to Pluto, showing very volatile Plutonic energies in play. In this chart the square is no longer in play, and has moved into a off-and-on trielftile (11th harmonic) aspect, which I explain in the Lunation articles.
In this chart, Pluto is still a significant factor due to the trines made by the Moon and Venus at 19 and 16 Taurus respectively. As the Moon also makes biquintiles to both Jupiter and Saturn, we have 3 points of a Five Pointed Star/Great Quintile ahead of us! Add the wide forming Mars square Jupiter and opposition Pluto, and we also have a Cardinal T-square throwing the void into mid-Aries, showing the energy we need to use to keep everything integrated the next 90 days.
Given the Solstice and Equinox charts show the weather patterns to come, and this one is very close to the Superior conjunction occurring about 10 hours later, I’ll be posting the specifics in the Superior Conjunction article about the various aspects in play between the outer planets.
Decan and Element Distribution and the Solstice Jones Pattern
This Summer Solstice chart shows 1 planet in the first decan of their sign, 6 planets in the second decan of their signs, and 3 planets in the third decan of their signs. This indicates a three month period of activity involving a heavy emphasis in the emotional, social, and cultural areas of life, with the rest of the focus on and individual-mental and spiritual areas of life, with a slight emphasis on the actional-material areas of life. As with last year’s Solstice, Earth trines ground the action.
The planets are again in a Bucket Jones pattern after a lot of recent shifting between a variety of different patterns. This energy will predominate over the next 3 months. As I gave you at the last New Moon,
The Bucket Pattern and how it worksThis Lunation is still a Bucket Jones pattern, since Jupiter is far enough away from the nearest planet to become a nozzle for the focus of all the other planetary energies. Since the “handle” of the Bucket involves the sign Libra, that energy helps us focus the energies of all the other planets.
A “Bucket Pattern” is a type of planetary spread with all the planets in about half the signs with one outside that span wide enough to be a handle. The energies of the occupied half are focused through the “handle,” or “nozzle,” in this case Jupiter, termed the “focal determinator.” The handle, or focal determinator, represents the way to greater effectiveness, the cause to be embraced, the lack to be filled, or the way to use the total energies of this time in a focused manner.
Dr. Jones states “the Bucket type indicates a particular and rather uncompromising direction in the life effort.” This pattern gives “interest in a cause,” with executive tendencies that will adapt allegiances to maximize results of the effort. He says “the Bucket type at its best reveals the real instructor and inspirer of others, and at its worst the agitator and malcontent.” This is the larger planetary pattern within which we’re all trying to do what we do.
We are also told this pattern is more about finding an effective release for energy within social settings, but also about the individual imposing their patterns on society rather than adapting to what is there. It’s about focused intention. So all of us can expect some sort of focused attention on the house where we have 14 Libra.
As an aside, Jupiter has at some point been the nozzle for a Bucket pattern for the past 4 years. It was the handle when in Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra, giving us a long run of learning how to focus all the other energies through Jupiter. So it’s the same handle, but with a different expression each year during those parts when Bucket patterns happened.
Of importance is that Saturn leads the occupied span in the Bucket. This indicates that we’re all approaching our daily existence through the filter and lessons of Saturn. While things can be heavy with this placement, as I offer in my book on Saturn, it’s also the gateway to perfecting your personality and taking command of your life.
While it leads the occupied span and continues in its extraordinarily favorable trine to Uranus, look at your "response-ability," to see what you can do, or need to do, or need to learn to do, to anchor the new life that is opening. Saturn leading the occupied span in a strong Fire trine to Uranus (closing the span of outer planets) shows we’re all cultivating heart strength, heart power, and wholeheartedness in our lives.
This is a very favorable time to understanding how to innovate what is established, how to stabilize the new, and seeing that in linking “the above and the below” through recent crises, we are experiencing the “blessings that come after the death of useless things.” Find the right rhythm of adjusting to the new conditions, see things from the widest possible angle, and you’ll know what to do after you “see the rainbow.”
On this Solstice, we see 3 planets in Water, 2 in Air, 3 in Earth, and 2 in Fire. That makes this a balanced season, with an emphasis on feelings and practicality, with a strong inspired interactivity in the background. It’s a good balance between hot and cold, so shouldn’t get too extreme unless the Cardinal T is activated.
Dispositors, Aspects, and the Lunar Influence
In this chart, we find Mercury, Venus, and Neptune in their home signs, with the Sun in the sign ruled by the Moon in Taurus, ruled by Venus. Mars is also part of the Venus chain, as are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. This makes Venus the strongest dispositor for all the energies of the next 90 days, with Mercury and Neptune standalone final dispositors of themselves.
With the Moon at 19 Taurus, we will all get focused through our ability to face the future, and stabilize seed ideas that come forth after mental purifications and we let new “light and air” into our minds. Allow the natural spontaneity to come forth when you understand the old ideas cannot confirm your new conditions of existence. This can help us get simple clarity about many things in the actional-personal realm.
The Moon rules Cancer, so it's the ruler of the Sun. In this chart we find the Sun and Moon are in a Balsamic phase, indicating the next 90 days are totally future oriented, with a realization of the potential that comes forth at the end of old ways. Stay alert to future oriented ideas, as well as those revealing a future you hadn’t imagined.
In the Solstice chart there are a huge number of extremely important forming and just separating aspects showing the recent past has been very intense for many. All the aspects are virtually the same as in the Superior Conjunction.
For now, the most significant aspects include Moon novile Mercury and the Sun, septile Mars, biquintile Jupiter and partile separating biquintile Saturn, bielftile Neptune, and trine Pluto; Mercury is semisquare Venus, conjunct the Sun and pulled into a wide conjunction with Mars, and is biseptile Jupiter; Venus is semisquare the Sun, vigintile Uranus partile separating sextile to Neptune, and trine Pluto; and the Sun conjuncts Mars, biseptiles Jupiter, and widely tredeciles Neptune.
We also see Mars square Jupiter, trine Neptune, and opposed Pluto; Jupiter is quintile Saturn, is widely opposed to Uranus, is exactly quincunx Neptune, and square Pluto; Saturn makes no forming aspects to planets outside it orbit, and Uranus is in semisquare to Neptune.
The quintile, biquintiles, tredeciles, and vigintile are all aspects of specialization, gifts, and various sorts of inner and outer unique events. The biggest curveballs are Moon septile Mars and Mercury and the Sun biseptile Jupiter, since these put various sectors at crucial forks in the road of the ongoing process of how they are playing out in the various sectors of our lives.
Moon septile Mars most impacts those with planets or points near 17-21 Taurus, 9-13 Cancer, 1-5 Virgo, 22-26 Libra, 13-17 Sagittarius, 5-9 Aquarius, and 26-30 Pisces. This series will be triggered by various transits over the next 90 days, showing crucial points in what this aspect is about.
Mercury and the Sun biseptile Jupiter is going to be a VERY prominent influence in the next season, since it is made from a “critical degree” to the nozzle of the Bucket Jones pattern. In this chart Jupiter is a great release mechanism, if we simply learn and adjust to the natural rhythm of the times, as I offered you in the recent article Jupiter Stationary Direct in June 2017 at 14 Libra – From Here We Move Forward.
These biseptiles will impact those with planets or points near 12-16 Libra, 4-8 Sagittarius, 25-29 Capricorn, 17-21 Pisces, 8-12 Taurus, 29 Gemini-3 Cancer, and 21-25 Leo. Wherever Jupiter is pointing in your chart, that process will become intertwined with your destiny in that area. You can see that the transits will trigger this configuration first, and then the Moon septile Mars shortly afterward.
Other Important Factors
The North Node shows us the line of greatest development is to see how our ideals have been made manifest in recent months, and/or get clearer about what we want and why we want it. We’re all moving into a growth pattern of greater heart strength, and seeing how blessings can only come after the death of useless things. Link “the above and the below” in your very existence, and you could find yourself beholding your Higher Self in natural radiant ways.
We have strongly favorable configurations at work in the next season. We have the Saturn trine Uranus which is activated by every transit through the late degrees of the Fire and Air signs. We have Mars trine Neptune, and Moon and Venus trine Pluto. Literally every planet from Saturn out has a trine, bringing in a harmonized wave of spiritual energy via the planets involved. And as an icing on the cake, every planet in the Cardinal T is harmonized by another planet.
We have the 3 points of the Great Quintile at work, which will bring unique circumstances and gifts to those with planets or points near 11-16 Libra, 23-28 Sagittarius, 5-10 Pisces, 17-22 Taurus, and 29 Cancer-4 Leo. If you have something in these zones, prepare to be delightfully surprised by events that will be unique to you, and a blessing to your individuality.
As always at this time in history, don’t get distracted by the craziness or irrationality in people and circumstances, and don’t worry if a lot doesn’t make sense. The septile and biseptiles require that we keep a sense of perspective and a healthy self-awareness so we’re not pulled where we don’t need to go, whether in action, feeling, or thought.
This is a time of continuing to drop everything from the past that is irrelevant or distracting, and move forward into the new direction already shown to us before now. We are learning to feel what is natural for us, so that we may enjoy life without wasting energy going to extremes. We are feeling our way into ideas that set a new standard, after which we must act. Once we’ve made the decision or done the action, then we have to figure out how we’re feeling or experiencing our lives based in that decision or action as a prelude to a new understanding.
Welcome to a season of transformation of action in the social and spiritual arenas of life through purifying our minds so that a new spontaneity can arise. This is “the turning”, with an acceptance of what has passed, and a practice period of using powers that are just beginning to be developed. Have a sense of humor when things get thickest, and remember that in our rehearsals, we actually quicken our process of acquiring skills we will use in the future.
Blend the old with the new, the established with the innovative, the structure with a unique form of individual expression! Open your hearts, practice radiant love, be as creative as possible, see how the flow is helping you adapt your desires and magnetism, and stay focused on the details of the plan. Much that happens now prepares the wave of harmonized grounded experience that will accelerate our growth in August and September.
Aum, blessings, and Happy Northern Summer and Southern Winter Solstice as we stand on the threshold of a new season of life! Let go of fear, let go of the past, let go of feeling stuck in old limitations, and stay focused on the blessings to come your way that expands your life.
© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson
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