What is happening in the stars?
What is happening in the stars? The global transits are usually what people mean when they ask this question. The planetary movements going on right now can be thought of as the astrological weather. Sometimes they don’t seem to affect us much, other times we feel them quite dramatically. And every now and then world events shake foundations ways that brings people to astrology in droves, as happened in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice protests coincided with the rare and intense Pluto-Saturn-Jupiter conjunction near Galactic Center!
Follow the current transits with this planner. If that feels like too much, try just following the moon cycles. They’re easy and will add richness to your experience of the sky. There are also guides for going deeper with the transits and tracking your own personal cycles (at the end of this planner), and lots of astrology between here and there!
We see astrology as the art of exploring the archetypal correlations between the movements of the planets and human events. If you follow along long enough, you will learn to see archetypally, peel back the veil of insight, understand the human conditon a little better, and perhaps gain enough freedom through insight to make more satisfying choices.
Post questions in the comments and we’ll address them in the podcast. Subscribe to the newsletter for updates when we publish new podcast episodes where we might have answered your questions 🙂
“The stars are like letters that inscribe themselves at every moment in the sky. Everything in the world is full of signs. All events are coordinated. All things depend on each other. Everything breathes together.” – Plotinus
Where Are The Planets This Month
June 20 – July 22, 2021
☉ Sun: Cancer
☽ Moon: Waxing gibbous in Scorpio → Full Moon in Capricorn → Last Quarter Moon in Aries → New Moon in Cancer –>First Quarter Moon in Libra → waxing gibbous in Capricorn. This moon cycle highlights the Householder Cross (also known as the Cardinal signs).
☿ Mercury: 16Gemni14 Rx – 6Gemini07 Sx – 18Cancer44.
♀ Venus: 22Cancer40 – 00Virgo41. ☪Venus Evening Star 3rd Gate: July 12, 2021 18°29′ Leo 07:14 AM EDT
♂ Mars: 5Leo54 – 25Leo27
♃ Jupiter: 2Pisces11 Sx – 00Pisces36 Rx
♄ Saturn: 12Aquarius52 Rx – 10Aquarius58 Rx
⚷ Chiron: 12Aries40 – 12Aries55 Sx – 12Aries54 Rx
♅ Uranus: 13Taurus23 – 14Taurus27
♆ Neptune: 23Pisces11 – 23Pisces11 Sx – 23Pisces00 Rx
♇ Pluto: 26Capricorn10 Rx – 25Capricorn26 Rx
Views of The June Solstice Sky
View of the June Solstice Sky from Stellarium https://stellarium-web.org/ This is the view without atmosphere, you can’t actually see the stars near the Sun in real life.
View of the June Solstice Sky from In-The-Sky.org https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210621_07_100
Are You In the Hot Seat?
Do you have personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars), angles (Asc, MC, IC, Dsc), Nodes,
- or Pluto at 24-27° Capricorn, Cancer, Aries, or Libra? You’re in a Pluto transit.
- or Neptune at 20-23° Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius: You’re in a Neptune transit.
- or Uranus at 11-15° Taurus, Scorpio, Leo or Aquarius: You’re in a Uranus transit.
- or Saturn at 7-13° degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio: You’re in a Saturn transit.
- or Jupiter in later Aquarius or early Pisces: You’re in a Jupiter transit.
For more on the planets, see “Planetary Archetypes” in the Transit Guides.
Planetary Alignments
All of the planets begin this month in a pattern called a “bowl,” aligned in half of the sky. They rise one after the other in the east after sunset to stretch across the sky over the course of the night – with the exception of Mars and Venus which appear in the west at dusk and set an hour or two after sunset. The outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) are spaced nearly equidistant from each other (Uranus deviates by about 10 degrees) from Capricorn to Taurus. Furthermore, several planets within the pattern are holding long-lasting precise aspects to each other (see more below for Saturn square Uranus, Saturn sextile Chiron, and Pluto sextile Neptune). The effect is rather like booths lined up at a convention in which transiting planets pass from one booth to the next. You’ll see this happening most strikingly with Mars and Venus in June and July, but the sun, Moon, and Mercury all make the circuit.
☤ Hermetic Mercury – Once a year, Mercury aligns with the sun on the North Node (near the solar eclipse) while moving retrograde. The retrograde solar conjunction has always been spoken of as the beginning of the Mercury cycle – a seed time. But while working to develop the materials for this planner, a number of numinous and revealed truths emerged, which led us to conclude that this short phase of Mercury is the Hermetic Mercury, a transmitter of timeless knowledge about how the universe works! The nature of the revelation seemed in keeping with the nature of the archetype, following the nature of synchronicity upon which astrology hinges. It also felt like a very good time to launch an Astrological Planner!
What this means for you: Right now is a great time to delve into any area of universal knowledge, to seek insight, to find your own revelations. Information coming through right now is very progressive and aligned with your personal growth or path in life. This phase lasts until either June 18 or June 21 (this is also an area of speculation, tradition has it at June 18). As Mercury emerges into the predawn morning sky, it will virtually stand still from June 21 to 23, though technically it begins to move direct on June 22. That makes this short period while not yet moving direct in the morning sky another special time. I am speculatively calling it the Investigator of Knowledge, able to pull out the golden (living) threads in any body of knowledge. When it turns direct in the morning sky near the North Node, it becomes a messenger, bearing the good news until it leaves the area of the North Node around July 5.
Mercury in the morning sky turns direct conjunct the North Node –Mercury turns direct on June 22-23, allowing communication and transportation issues to begin to behave “as expected” along contractual lines, rather than in the received transmissional lines of Mercury retrograde. Planetary alignments with the nodes tend to stay in range for months and to exhibit a wider orb (~ 15 degrees). Mercury and Venus have been hovering near the North Node since the beginning of May, and now Mercury remains, in the sign of its rulership, Gemini. Mercury in Gemini aligned with the North Node powerfully highlights conversations, communications, and transmissions of knowledge that are progressive, growth-oriented, and further Life Purpose and personal evolution. Mercury leaves its conjunction with the North Node around July 5 on the day of its greatest elongation (distance from the sun) in the morning sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, the period of days around the elongation is the best chance to see it, though it’s still tricky to see. Look for it in the predawn hours in the East in early July. You might get to see it with the very last sliver of moon on July 8!
Mars and Venus oppose Saturn square Uranus – from mid-June to mid-July Mars, and then joined by Venus for a few weeks in early July, transit the long-lasting Saturn square Uranus (below). During this alignment, which fades out by the time they meet on July 13, Venus and Mars confront systems of power and oppression (government, social rules, corporate power, perhaps parental-father) or grim reality (the cold hard wake-up call, condemnation, final judgment, endings, deaths) while simultaneously standing at cross-purposes with rebellious or liberating impulses that are trying to disrupt those systems, to solve problems in radical novel and emancipatory ways, or simply enduring chaos, disruptions, and unpredictable outcomes. Said in mythic terms, the God and Goddess each in turn confront the great god Saturn, Lord of Structure, Gravity, Time, Karma, receive aid from Chiron, Master Healer Teacher, and clash with Uranus, the Promethean Revolutionary before consummating their union. Anyone with Mars opposite Saturn, Venus opposite Saturn, Mars square Uranus, or Venus square Uranus natally will be especially activated by this alignment. Anyone with personal planets or Saturn around 7-13 degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio, as well as anyone with personal planets or Uranus at 10°49’ to 14°47’ Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio may experience turning points in their longer ongoing Saturn or Uranus intitiatory processes.
Mars trine Chiron – this alignment mitigates Mars’ harder confrontations with Saturn and Uranus but requires a bit more intentional action to access. Brings healing to those who take action, fight for a cause, standing up for themselves, and perhaps archetypal warrior or masculine figures. Assertive and vigorous action to address wounds, illnesses or limitations will encounter support and healing potential. Venus trine Chiron – from around July 3-11, Venus trines Chiron amplifying the healing potential to the difficult hard-edged Saturn-Uranus opposition and square. Anyone with personal planets or Chiron around 8-13 degrees Leo or Sagittarius is especially likely to feel this support during this window. Also, anyone with personal planets or Chiron around 8-13 degrees Leo is going through a Chiron transit at this time and may experience a brief burst of energy, effectiveness, and positive outcomes from actions taken.
Venus Evening Star 3rd Gate – Here in the Myth of Inanna, the Queen of Heaven reclaims her third center of power: traditionally associated with the third chakra or solar plexus, where the greatest cluster of nerves outside our brains resides, the seat of “gut knowing.” Venus makes its third conjunction with the waxing crescent moon in the evening sky since it emerged from the glare of the sun in May on July 12. The best viewing window will be the evening of July 11, in the bright hour of dusk. However, the evening of July 12 will also be a good time to see the bright star and crescent moon in the western evening sky. Anyone turning 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72 (a multiple of 8) this year is going through their Venus Return. If your birthday is sometime between mid-July to mid-August, this is likely your personal Venus Gate! Tune in and receive a direct transmission from this Venus Evening Star on July 11-12 and throughout the rest of the month. The Goddess, your personal capacity to attract what you love, is incarnating now at a deeper octave within you – open your arms wide to embrace her!
Venus and Mars in Leo – Venus as the archetypal feminine, principle of art and beauty, and our capacity to magnetize through our love and presence, spends most of the month of Cancer in Leo. It’s a cliché to call Leo the sign of royalty, but cliché’s develop because of how often they’re true! Metaphorically, that is. Venus will undergo its 3rd Gate Evening Star initiation and join with Mars in Leo, which Mars has been passing through since mid-June. Both will be exploring Leonian themes of self-love, charisma, star-power, creativity, radiant heart-centered presence which frees others to be themselves, as well as Leo’s shadow: the endless need to be seen, desire for fame to compensate for feeling small, narcissism, inflation, and greed. The Evening Star emphasizes reclaiming what was lost.
Venus and Mars meet in the Western evening sky this month in Leo, Mars drawing closer and closer to Venus until they make their exact conjunction on the morning of July 13 EDT at 20 Leo. Leading up to and following this beautiful alignment, they will spend a month within 10 degrees of each other ~ June 25-July 31. Their meeting in Leo suggests themes of high profile pairings and connections between the archetypal feminine and masculine such as celebrity weddings or famous love affairs. However, it should also be seen internally as the union of agency (how we identify desires and take action to fulfill them) and reclaimed love (Evening Star returns to what was loved and lost to now powerfully magnetize it). They unite around themes of radiant self-love and creativity, while reflecting on Leo’s shadow: the endless need to be seen, desire for fame to compensate for feeling small, narcissism, inflation, and greed.
Anyone who has been trying to figure out what they want so they can make a plan should find things coming together now! With a few caveats…
This meeting is often called the Rapunzel meeting because Mars and Venus spend a relatively short time together, after which the Moon (the Witch) joins them, and Mars quickly drops to the horizon to disappear into the glare of the sun (falls and is blinded by thorns). This Mars-Venus cycle doesn’t exactly follow the Rapunzel myth which we’ll look at in August, but Mars does definitely leave soon for its solar conjunction, which means that anyone who is feeling activated by this Mars-Venus cycle, anyone who is even now bearing down on figuring out what they want, should know that something about how or why they take action towards fulfilling their desires will probably need to undergo transformation. Mars is due to enter the Underworld in August. This is the archetypal shape of this cycle. It doesn’t mean you won’t get what you want. It means you’ll be narrowing in on how to achieve your goals in a way that aligns with your love while Mars undergoes its long passage lost in the glare of the sun. Mars in the Underworld dies to its old identity, and prepares to re-engage with the world in new ways.
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod) – Venus and Mars culminate their meeting sitting at the point of a Spike or Yod from the long lasting Pluto sextile Neptune. This aspect pattern operates especially from ~ July 15-22, and acts as a window during which you can choose to abandon this particular Venus-Mars quest. If this is not a personal Mars or Venus cycle for you, you do not have to ride the wave… If this isn’t necessary for you, spiritually or psychologically, you can let the wave pass you by…
Saturn square Uranus ~13 degrees Aquarius-Taurus (within 1 degree orb since the exact square on June 14, 2021, a long-lasting square within 5-6 degrees since January 2020). Richard Tarnas writes of Saturn-Uranus times that they are marked by “the exacerbation of tensions between authority and rebellion, order and freedom, structure and change…crises and the sudden collapse of structures, crashes and accidents, grim awakenings and sudden breakdowns, whether political, economic, or psychological.” (Tarnas, p. 222) Although major world events usually involve Pluto in the alignment, as was so in 2020, we can see the ongoing tensions between conflicting notions of freedom and authority, responsibility and rebellion in 2021: to mask or not to mask, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, to remote learn or in-person learn, political tensions, and on and on. By the way, during the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Saturn squared Uranus (within 4.5 degrees), joined by Jupiter (conjunct within 2 degrees), and Pluto (conjunct within 8 degrees). The Saturn-Uranus square lost the powerful amplifiers of Jupiter and Pluto by the end of January tapering off into May 2021. It will continue to pass in and out of 5-6 degrees of orb through 2022, although December 24, 2021 will see the last exact square of this cycle. Anyone with personal planets or Saturn at 7-13 degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio is undergoing a Saturn transit complicated by this Uranian square. Anyone with personal planets or Uranus at 11-15 degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio is undergoing a Uranus transit, likewise complicated by this Saturnian square. See Transit Guides for more.
Tarnas, R. (2006). Cosmos and psyche [E-book]. New York: Viking Penguin.
Saturn sextile Chiron ~12 degrees Aquarius-Aries (within 1 degree orb since the exact square on June 14, 2021, this sextile remains within 2 degrees during 2021. One version sees Chiron, the Bearer of the Sacred Wound providing ready support in the way of wounds, limitations, health challenges to Saturn in its efforts to restrain and harness the out-of-bounds emancipatory but sometimes rebellious and chaotic Uranus. Another sees healing salves applied to the superego or figures of authority. While a third view notes the trines made to Chiron by both Mars and Venus during their square and opposition to Saturn and Uranus, making Chiron an ally in confronting the tensions of the Saturn-Uranus square.
Neptune sextile Pluto – This aspect marks the Postmodern or Modern Era depending on your reference, from the end of World War II until 2037 (using a 5 degree orb). During this time, the world’s spiritual, psychological, and human developmental belief systems opened up and embraced a great variety of forms. Previously hidden esoteric knowledge can now be found easily online. Psychological language and profiling have become part of the common vernacular. Its very long lasting nature makes it hard to see, but we will get to experience life without this gentle sparkling influence within 15 or 16 years.
Questions?
Post them below or email katy at katymorikawa.com.
Astrology Planner
June 2021
20 – SUNDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 11) 25°13’ Libra – 9°43’ Scorpio
⦿ Jupiter stations retrograde at 02°11′ Pisces 11:05 AM EDT
Sun 0°00’ Cancer 11:25 PM EDT, The June Solstice
The June Solstice, known in the Northern hemisphere as the Summer Solstice represents the precise tropical zodiacal alignment of the sun at 0 degrees Cancer. This is experienced on Earth as the longest day of the year, and in extreme northern latitudes, people get to experience the midnight sun! People tell tales about the mind-altering affects of the summer solstice above the Arctic Circle 🙂
This point in space moves slowly over time against the backdrop of stars, 1 degree every 72 years, completing a full circle every 25,800 years due to Precession of the Equinoxes. This has given rise to the difference between Western and Vedic zodiacs, as well as the the notion of the Age of Aquarius. Shamanic Astrology assumes that practicing astrologers in every age update the zodiacal meanings for the time in which they’re practicing, using both intuition and observation to maintain astrology’s relevance in every age.
Right now, the Cancer-Capricorn axis is aligned with the center of our galaxy and its anti-center, having made the exact alignment in 1998. This points to now as a momentous time spanning the 144 years from 1926 to 2070! See the map of the June Solstice sky above for the stars near 0 degrees Cancer: the constellations Taurus, the Pleiades, and Orion are all in this general location.
The Cancer Archetype is one of the Housholder Cross, also known as the Cardinal signs, which square and oppose each other: Cancer, Capricorn, Aries, and Libra. The Housholder Cross is concerned with domestic and worldly affairs, and are dominant in our modern culture as the archetypes of family, social, and business life on many levels. They are pragmatic, present-time focused, and prefer action over ideas or experience.
Cancer is the archetypal Mother, nurturing, caring, tending the garden-children-animals, feeding, eating, loving, healing and responding to needs as they arise in an instinctive flow. It is the archetype of home and roots and family. Cancer is Queen/King of the Domestic sphere. Tradition has the crab as the symbol for this archetype, but this has become archaic and seems true only of unhappy wounded Cancer. After all, Cancer is the archetype of puppies and kittens and babies! It’s true that Cancer can become self-protective, unrevealing of its true feelings, and crabby! However, the symbol sure looks like a mother holding a child, doesn’t it? ♋
Like all of the Householder signs, Cancer can also be bossy and controlling, especially in domestic contexts. For comparison, the rest of the Householder Cross is: Capricorn the archetypal father and CEO, Aries the warrior and personal identity, and Libra marriage and society.
21 – MONDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 12) 9°43’ – 24°28’ Scorpio
⦿ Venus trine Neptune 23°11′ Cancer-Pisces 09:57:21 am EDT
This several day period is extended by the sun’s trine to Jupiter on Wednesday. It’s a nice window for love, beauty, art, spirituality and universal ideals of truth, justice, and the greater good.
22 – TUESDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 13) 24°28’ Scorpio – 9°23’ Sagittarius
⦿ Mercury stations direct 6°07’ Gemini Dx 6:00 PM EDT
23 – WEDNESDAY
🌕 Full Moon (Day 14) 9°23’ – 24°21’ Sagittarius – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as full for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (tomorrow).
⦿ Sun trine Jupiter 2°10’ Cancer-Pisces 6:11 AM EDT
⦿ Venus opposite Pluto 26°07’ Cancer-Capricorn 7:39 PM EDT
Venus opposite Pluto reveals deeper truths about what we love, what we own, our responsibilities and family bonds, perhaps asking us to choose or to claim or to digest something previously unacknowledged. Sun trine Jupiter helps to bring universal ideals of truth, justice, and nobility to the inquiry.
24 – THURSDAY
🌕 Full Moon 3°27’ Capricorn 2:39 PM EDT
Full Moon (Day 15) 24°21’ Sagittarius – 9°14’ Capricorn. We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as full for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday, today, and tomorrow). Rising at sunset, the full moon is inherently dramatic and inspiring. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the first full moon after the June Solstice is the Strawberry Moon. At this time in history, this full moon is located very close to Galactic Center in the Milky Way, in the constellation Sagittarius (aka the Teapot). Over the next week until the last quarter moon, the moon will rise later and later after sunset until the last quarter moon rises at midnight.
25 – FRIDAY
🌕 Full Moon (Day 16) 9°14’ – 23°53’ Capricorn – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as full for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday). Find the moon after midnight tonight to mark where Pluto (invisible) lies.
⦿ Neptune stations retrograde 23°11’ Rx 3:21 PM EDT – The outer planets spend about a third of their time in retrograde, appearing to move backwards against the stars as our orbits catch up and pass each other. This time, Neptune joins Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in retrograde. Chiron will turn retrograde in July and Uranus in August. These are times to develop an understanding of the underlying principles of evolution related to the archetypes of the retrograde planets.
26 – SATURDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 17) 23°53’ Capricorn – 8°14’ Aquarius
⦿ Saturn square Uranus moves out of 1 degree orb 12°37′ – 13°37′ Aquarius-Taurus but remains within 6 degrees through most of 2021 and 2022.
27 – SUNDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 18) 8°14’- 22°09’ Aquarius – find Saturn and Jupiter on either side of the moon after midnight.
⦿ Venus enters Leo 12:27 AM EDT – Venus as both the archetypal feminine, the principle of art and beauty, and our capacity to magnetize through our love, spends most of the month of Cancer in Leo. It’s a cliché to call Leo the sign of royalty, but cliché’s develop because of how often they’re true! Metaphorically, that is. Venus will undergo its 3rd Gate Evening Star initiation and join with Mars in Leo, which Mars has been passing through since mid-June. Both will be exploring Leonian themes of self-love, charisma, star-power, creativity, radiant heart-centered presence which frees others to be themselves, as well as egotism, narcissism, greed, and the excesses of celebrity and privilege. In the Evening Star phase, coming to wisdom about these archetypal themes is emphasized.
28 – MONDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 19) 22°09’ Aquarius – 5°39’ Pisces – The moon and Jupiter will rise close together just before midnight.
29 – TUESDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 20) 5°39’- 18°42’ Pisces – late tonight (tomorrow) the moon will be near (invisible) Neptune
30 – WEDNESDAY
🌗 Last Quarter Moon (Day 21) 18°42’ Pisces – 1°22’ Aries – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon at last quarter for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (tomorrow).
July 2021
1 – THURSDAY
🌗 Last Quarter Moon 10°14’ Aries 5:11 PM EDT
Last Quarter Moon (Day 22) 1°22’ – 13°42’ Aries. We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon at last quarter for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday, today, tomorrow). The last quarter moon rises at midnight and appears overhead at dawn. It sets at around lunchtime. Between now and the New Moon, the Moon will rise progressively later after midnight until the balsamic (last crescent) moon rises in the east only a short time before dawn and is primarily visible during the day. The rounded edge of the last quarter to waning crescent moon faces east.
⦿ Mars opposite Saturn 12°20′ Leo-Aquarius 09:08 AM EDT
2 – FRIDAY
🌗 Last Quarter Moon (Day 23) 13°42’ – 25°47’ Aries – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon at last quarter for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday). The moon high overhead at dawn aligns near (invisible) Chiron
⦿ Mars trine Chiron 12°51′ Leo-Aries 04:41 AM EDT
3 – SATURDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 24) 25°47’ Aries – 7°41’ Taurus
⦿ Mars square Uranus 13°54′ Leo-Taurus 09:39 PM EDT
4 – SUNDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 25) 7°41’- 19°29’ Taurus – the moon in the predawn sky is near (invisible) Uranus.
⦿ Sun square Chiron 12°52 Cancer-Aries 11:38:59 AM EDT
5 – MONDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 26) 19°29’ Taurus – 1°16’ Gemini
⦿ Mercury at greatest elongation west (farthest from the sun in morning sky)
⦿ Earth at aphelion, its annual farthest distance from the Sun at a distance of 1.02 AU.
⦿ Sun sextile Uranus 13°58′ Cancer-Taurus 03:14 PM EDT
6 – TUESDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 27) 1°16’ – 13°07’ Gemini
⦿ Venus opposite Saturn 12°01’ Leo-Aquarius 12:36 PM EDT
7 – WEDNESDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 28) 13°07’ – 25°03’ Gemini
⦿ Venus trine Chiron 12°54′ Leo-Aries 04:09 PM EDT
8 – THURSDAY
🌑 New Moon (Day 29) 25°03’ Gemini – 7°09’ Cancer – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as new for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (tomorrow).
⦿ Moon conjunct Mercury 25°13′ Gemini 00:20 AM EDT
⭐ The Moon and Mercury conjunct today and you may be able to see them in the predawn sky, rising in the east at 04:08 EDT about an hour before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 10° above the eastern horizon before fading as dawn breaks around 05:10 AM. If they are visible, the moon will be the barest sliver of the last crescent!
⦿ Saturn sextile Chiron moves out of 1 degree orb 11°54′ Rx – 12°54′ Aquarius-Aries but remains within 2 degrees until the end of the year.
⦿ Venus square Uranus 14°04′ Leo-Taurus 03:25 PM EDT
9 – FRIDAY
🌚 New Moon 18°01’ Cancer 9:17 PM EDT
New Moon (Day 1) 7°09’ – 19°25’ Cancer. We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as new for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday, today, tomorrow). Generally the moon is invisible or “new” during a 3 day window on either side of the exact conjunction with the sun (at 9:17 pm EDT). Over the coming days, the Moon will become visible in the late afternoon and dusk sky as a waxing crescent in the western sky, setting soon after sunset. The waxing crescent can be recognized by the time of day it appears (afternoon to early evening) and by the direction its rounded edge faces: westward.
⭐ Although Mercury reached its greatest elongation (distance from the Sun on the 5th, Mercury is at its highest altitude in the morning sky yesterday and today reaching a peak altitude of 14° above the eastern horizon at sunrise (New York, NY) – tricky to see, near the left horn of the Bull in the constellation Taurus. (Source:https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210705_11_100)
10 – SATURDAY
🌑 New Moon (Day 2) 19°25’ Cancer – 1°55’ Leo – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon as new for a 3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday).
11 – SUNDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 3) 1°55’ – 14°37’ Leo
⦿ Mercury enters Cancer 04:35 PM EDT
⭐ Venus Evening Star – 3rd Gate (the exact alignment is tomorrow morning, but the best viewing window will be this evening. Venus will be about 5 degrees east of the Moon along the ecliptic, with Mars another degree further east)
12 – MONDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 4) 14°37’ – 27°32’ Leo
☪ Venus Evening Star 3rd Gate
⦿ Moon conjunct Venus 18°29′ Leo 07:14 AM EDT
⦿ Moon conjunct Mars 19°09′ Leo 08:29 AM EDT
Sun opposite Pluto
13 – TUESDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 5) 27°32’ Leo – 10°41’ Virgo
⦿ Venus conjunct Mars 19°48′ Leo 09:32 AM EDT
Sun opposite Pluto
14 – WEDNESDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 6) 10°41’ – 24°04’ Virgo
Sun opposite Pluto
15 – THURSDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 7) 24°04’ Virgo – 7°39’ Libra
⦿ Sun trine Neptune 23°05′ Cancer-Pisces 04:49 AM EDT
⦿ Chiron stations retrograde 12°55′ Aries Rx 12:41 PM EDT – Chiron will be retrograde until December 19. The next five months are a good time to reflect on the evolutionary purpose and nature of mastery in the face of the Sacred Wound.
Sun opposite Pluto
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
16 – FRIDAY
🌓 First Quarter Moon (Day 8) 7°39’- 21°28’ Libra – We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon at first quarter for a 2-3 day window around the exact alignment (tomorrow).
⦿ Venus quincunx Neptune Rx 23°05′ Leo-Pisces 02:41 AM EDT
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Sun opposite Pluto
Venus opposite Jupiter
17 – SATURDAY
🌓 First Quarter Moon 25°03’ Libra 6:11 AM EDT
First Quarter Moon (Day 9) 21°28’ Libra – 5°29’ Scorpio. We honor an Earth-based experiential perspective which sees the moon at first quarter for a 2-3 day window around the exact alignment (yesterday and today). The first quarter moon appears high overhead at sunset and sets around midnight. It can be seen in the afternoon, rising in the east around noon. As with the waxing crescent moon, its round edge faces west.
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Venus opposite Jupiter
⦿ Sun opposite Pluto 25°33′ Cancer-Capricorn 06:46 PM EDT. Pluto at 19h51m20s RA, 22°34’S dec, magnitude 14.9, and 33.31 AU (Pluto ranges from 29.7 AU to 49.3 AU in its 248 year orbit).
⭐ Pluto rises at sunset at its solar opposition, and will be present in the night sky for most of the night over the coming months. Pluto is in a kind of full moon phase right now, bringing a full awareness of its archetypal constellation into the collective psyche. Read more about the powerful Plutonian archetype in the Planetary Archetypes guide. Pluto is also nearest to Earth right now, as is the case with all planetary solar oppositions, so this is the best time of year to see it if you have a large telescope. Pluto is at magnitude 14.9, and 33.31 AU (Pluto ranges from 29.7 AU to 49.3 AU in its 248 year orbit).
You will need a telescope with around 30 cm (12 in) aperture. It looks star-like and without a visible disk even in large telescopes. Find it at 19h51m20s RA, 22°34’S dec in the constellation Sagittarius, between the Bow (aka the Teapot) and the large triangular shaped constellation Capricorn (aka the Stealth Bomber). You will find Saturn and Jupiter spaced relatively equidistant toward the east from Pluto’s location. (Source: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210718_13_100)
18 – SUNDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 10) 5°29’ – 19°43’ Scorpio
Sun opposite Pluto
⦿ Venus quincunx Pluto Rx 25°33′ Leo-Capricorn 03:48 AM EDT
⦿ Mars quincunx Neptune Rx 23°03′ Leo-Pisces 02:22 PM EDT
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Venus opposite Jupiter
19 – MONDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 11) 19°43’ Scorpio – 04°08’ Sagittarius
⦿ Mercury square Chiron Rx 12°55′ Cancer-Aries 10:52 AM EDT
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Sun opposite Pluto
Venus opposite Jupiter
20 – TUESDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 12) 04°08’ – 18°41’ Sagittarius
Venus opposite Jupiter
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Sun opposite Pluto
21 – WEDNESDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 13) 18°41’ Sagittarius – 3°16’ Capricorn
⦿ Venus moves into Virgo 08:37 PM EDT – The Goddess takes on a more sober mood in Virgo. She turns from the celebratory phase of the end of high summer to the more focused detail oriented work of bringing in the harvest. Virgo is associated with Spider Woman, is the archetype of tending the web of life, and of sacred mediation (priests, priestesses, ceremony), of the healing arts and indeed any detailed system of applied knowledge, computers and programming, behind-the-scenes orchestration, service, and Sacred Work. Even if you don’t have Venus in Virgo or any planets in Virgo, while Venus is passing through this sign, you can attract what you love more readily by a more serious and focused approach to detail, service, quiet work behind the scenes, and ceremony which takes as real the connection between heaven and earth and between all members in the web of life.
Venus opposite Jupiter
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
Sun opposite Pluto
22 – THURSDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 14) 3°16’ – 17°50’ Capricorn
⦿ Venus opposite Jupiter 00°36′ Virgo-Pisces 08:45 AM EDT
⦿ Mars quincunx Pluto Rx 25°26′ Leo-Capricorn 10:08 AM EDT
Venus and Mars quincunx Pluto and Neptune (Spike-Yod)
⦿ Sun moves into Leo 10:26 AM EDT
Sun opposite Pluto
Working with the Transits
How to Find Your Transits this Month
- Look at the transiting planets this month and note the locations by degree (number).
- Look at your natal planets, nodes, and angles, and note their locations by degree (see Transit Guides below). Find any transiting planets that match within 1 degree of any of your natal planets. Next, make note of any which match within 5 degrees. You may use the planner on the final page.
- Use the Chart below to determine the aspects. The 0-1 degree alignments are the most powerful, while the 2-5 degree alignments move into the background (sometimes adding emphasis or coloring to other transits).
- Advanced: Next, you can rank your transits by importance. This is a complex art, but we have created a guide you can use to get started: “Ranking Transits by Importance” below.
- A personalized transit reading by an experienced astrologer would give you information you can’t find here, but we encourage you to dive in and track the astrological transits for yourself. You are the best mediator of your life, and there is a richness and subtlety that comes with following the astrological seasons directly for yourself! Keep a journal (use the print version of this planner or your own journal), and enjoy the ride!
Transit Guides
Planetary Archetypes
☉ Sun: Life force, Life Purpose, vitality, Self, local representative of Great Mystery, solar logos, and site of Underworld catalytic transformation.
☽ Moon: Soul, family lineage, mother, parenting, nurturance, care taking, food, a place of deep inner comfort (this is where you go to recharge), thus typically a place of well-developed familiarity associated with the past, karma, your attachments.
☿ Mercury: Mind, intellect, communication, gossip, writing, speaking, pop culture, messenger, boundary-crosser, transportation, friendship; the deeper esoteric Hermetic, alchemical, and gnostic dimensions occur less often by natal configuration along the lines of Mercury’s phases).
♀ Venus: Love, magnetism, beauty, arts, archetypal feminine, the Goddess, your body, possessions, and the natural and created world.
♂ Mars: Agency, action, competition, fighting spirit, desire, archetypal masculine, the God, your ability to go get what you want.
♃ Jupiter: Universal ideals, generosity, faith, belief, religion, politics, higher education, expansion, grandiosity of spirit, facilitates spiritual growth. By transit, expands, amplifies, “biggie-sizes,” glorifies, elevates toward humanitarian ideals and cultural celebration, brings justice, truth, beauty of expansive vision. Strategy: Dream big, adopt great generosity, stretch forth your hand, seek win-win solutions in the real world.
♄ Saturn: Structure, hierarchy, control, time, maturation, physical laws of the universe, responsibility, restriction, judgment, cultural Super Ego, father, CEO, the rules, conservatism, stability. By transit, Saturn guides maturation (rights of passage), manifests in 3D, pressures a restructuring toward a greater functionality and alignment with Life Purpose, blocks and denies that which is not in alignment, and finally, crystallizes. Of course, on the way to all this ideal purpose, it often frustrates, depresses, blocks, and fills us with an overwhelming sense of unfairness and impossibility! Ha ha. Strategy: Focus, work on a solution to your problems which actually, believe it or not, exist right now (Saturn is just the strict teacher whipping you to action)! Consult experts, use logic, trial-and-error. Finally, commit to a course of action.
⚷ Chiron: Location of the Sacred Wound, key vulnerability which drives your authenticity, refines your soul spinning straw into gold. May never be “healed,” but creates a refined spirit, imperfection as a deeper kind of beauty. At its best, may be resolved at a higher octave in a state of mastery. By transit, Chiron wounds, makes ill, limits, grinds down the ego, but also educates, confers mastery. Strategy: surrender, be willing to be vulnerable, find what gifts you may in your illness or limitation, you will find your solutions only after you surrender.
♅ Uranus: Where you find intellectual and spiritual freedom, liberation, rebellion, innovation, brilliance, breaking of status quo structures and norms, alienation, estrangement, isolation from emotional warmth. By transit, Uranus strikes with sudden and shocking clarity, tears down the known, destroys, liberates, frees, overturns, enlightens, changes the game, surprises, breaks through. Strategy: embrace change!
♆ Neptune: Where you connect with eternity, universal love, ecstasy, with the timeless space of unity and the sacred, where you lose yourself for better or for worse, where your perspective blurs, where you seek dissolution, where you stumble into addiction, where you create illusions of exquisite beauty (as in art) or damaging delusions. By transit, Neptune inspires both creatively and spiritually, calls from across the timeless ocean, and if ignored, lays you flat so you can listen. Strategy: go with the flow, go on a Vision Quest, don’t expect your magical journey to outlast the transit. Do not sign contracts, buy or sell land, or make any major 3D decisions until after it’s over.
♇ Pluto: Where your psyche seeks wholeness by retrieving and transforming lost soul force from the unconscious, a process often but not always characterized by deep, intense, cathartic, even frightening and agonizing surprises. Always empowering, always ultimately enlivening. By transit, surprises you, often sneaks up and strikes from your blind spot just when you thought you had it all under control, overwhelms you so completely as to activate your deepest emotions, brings you into a direct experience of lost parts of yourself in a way that you have no choice but to integrate them, experiences can be very dark or very light depending on the nature of the denied and repressed content, but in the end leaves you more alive and empowered. Strategy: make a list of all your deepest hopes and fears and then rest assured none of those will happen; grab the bull by the horns and go for the ride!
☊ North Node: Destiny, purpose, spiritual growth, personal evolution. House position is more important than sign unless there are angles or planets nearby (planets within 15 degrees are part of the North Node). Early in life this may be dormant or severely underdeveloped, in early and middle adulthood, a site of chaos and mistakes but lots of learning and growth, and emerging in later adulthood and elderhood a place of focus, purpose, and competency.
☋ South Node: Lineage, past mastery. Early in life this may be an area of special talent or interest but moved away from as life progresses. Always available as a resource to draw upon. House position is more important than sign unless there are angles or planets nearby (planets within 15 degrees are included in South Node alignment). Planets in particular indicate areas of past mastery or talent. Sign tends to indicate karma, if any.
Asc Ascendant: Where the Eastern horizon intersects the ecliptic at birth. Personal identity, tends to manifest as a gestalt of both personality and lifestyle, sense of self, default reaction to events (the Ascendant is the cusp of the first house which is deeply instinctive and prone to reflexive action). Planets within 10 degrees manifest in the life at a top tier level of importance. The first house is one of the four angular houses which are also very prominent.
MC Midheaven: Generally understood as the noon sun position, this is where the ecliptic and local meridin (north to south line across the sky) intersect, usually not straight overhead (zenith) unless at lower latitudes at certain times of year. Often associated with career, this can be thought of more generally as your area of prominence, what you’re known for in the community at large, whether that’s your local community or the global community. Often people are known as their jobs or roles: doctor, police chief, mayor, but they might also be known as and activist, as so-and-so’s mom, or “that crazy lady at the health food store.” Planets within 10 degrees manifest in the life at a top tier level of importance. Some house systems always make this the cusp of the tenth house. The tenth house is one of the four angular houses which are also very prominent.
Dsc Descendant: Where the Western horizon intersects the ecliptic at birth. Relationships, partnerships in personal life and business, both I-thou and peer-related groups, diplomacy and cooperation are keys here, following more than leading, listening more than acting, at its highest potential here is where you can come to respect all places on the wheel and make space for all human experience. At its lowest, here is where you lose your identity and get dominated by the Other. Planets within 10 degrees are very important, though not as public as those on the Ascendant and Midheaven. The Descendant is the cusp of the seventh house, one of the four angular houses and more prominent overall.
IC Imum Coeli: Generally understood as the midnight sun position, this is where the ecliptic and local meridian line intersect on the opposite side of the Earth from you at the time of birth. Often associated with home and family, this can be thought of more generally as a deep place of inner connection, grounding, and centering within the psyche. You feel “home” here. It is more private, interior, and less visible than the other angles, thus planets within 10 degrees are important psychologically but might be less obvious to those who don’t know you in your private life. Some house systems always make this the cusp of the fourth house which is one of the four angular houses and generally more prominent.
Personal vs Outer Planets
- The “personal planets” are the fast-movers: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. We also include the nodes and angles (Asc, MC, Dsc, IC).
- The “outer planets” are the slow-movers: Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
- Jupiter is a special case. Read “Ranking Transits by Importance” for more.
Zodiacal Archetypes (Signs)
The zodiacal archetypes, also known as astrological signs, provide a rich and nuanced understanding of human experience, growth, and potential. You can spend a whole life learning the depths and layered meanings and multitude expressions of the astrological archetypes without ever casting a chart or learning astrology. For now, here are a few guides for beginning to work with them.
Modalities – There are three groupings composed of four signs which oppose and square each other. Because of this cross-like alignment, it’s handy to call them: the Worldly Householder Cross, also known as the Cardinal signs; the Cross of Sovereign Experience, also known as the Fixed signs; the Cross of Service to Spirit, also known as the Mutable signs.
- Householder Cross: Aries the Warrior guardian of the world order, Cancer the Nurturer guardian of the domestic sphere, Libra the Partner guardian of the social order, and Capricorn the Manager guardian of the public sphere.
- Cross of Sovereign Experience: Taurus the Embodied Spirit in love with matter, Leo the Star in love with being an inspiration, Scorpio the Jedi in love with wielding power and life force, Aquarius the Visionary in love with brilliant emancipatory thought.
- Cross of Service to Spirit: Gemini the Witness to thought transmission, Virgo the Precision weaver of the sacred order of things, Sagittarius the Seeker of meaning and far horizons, Pisces the Inspired receptacle of creative vision or mystical union.
- Note that these descriptions attempt to capture some of the core intent of the zodiacal archetypes, and don’t go into detail about their shadow or oppressed expressions, nor all the great richness and variety of their archetypal expressions.
Elements – The elemental nature of the signs may be more familiar: fire, earth, air, water. Remembering the elemental order will help you to remember the sequence of all the signs: fire, earth, air water – fire, earth, air, water – fire, earth, air, water – this repeats three times from Aries to Pisces. Say it outloud to yourself, it’ll stick in your head! I learned this almost 40 years ago and still use it: The spring signs Fire – Aries, Earth – Taurus, Air – Gemini; the summer signs Water – Cancer, Fire – Leo, Earth – Virgo, the fall signs Air – Libra, Water – Scorpio, Fire – Sagittarius, the winter signs Earth – Capricorn, Air – Aquarius, Water – Pisces.
What Are the Aspects or Angular Alignments? (conjunctions, trines, etc.)
☌ Conjunction 0° – direct trigger, unification alignment, blending of energies. Most important, together with oppositions.
☍ Opposition 180° – awareness trigger, highlighting alignment, full moon type energies, planets opposite the sun will be closest to the Earth at the opposition. Most important aspect after conjunctions.
□ Square 90° – conflict trigger, if – but – struggle – tension, structural alignment, meditate on the four major phases of the moon: New, First Quarter, Full, Last Quarter. Less important than conjunctions and oppositions, but still dynamic and activating.
△ Trine 120° – harmonious blending of archetypes, fortuitous potential requiring a bit more choice to engage (whereas the conjunctions, oppositions, and squares tend to force themselves into activation).
⚻ Quincunx 150° – difficult, lack of understanding, angle of separation or adjustment; used primarily with long-lasting outer planet transits.
⚹ Sextile 60° – help and assistance; used primarily with long-lasting outer planet transits.
Orbs (Windows of Activation)
Transits operate during an active window, called an “orb,” which peaks around the exact alignment, but which tapers off before and after the alignment in a wave of intensity.
- For faster planets transiting the natal chart, the period during the exact alignment and 1 degree to either side represents the peak. With outer planets, there can be 3-5 exact alignments over a several year period, and the start and end of this period would be the fully active window for the transit. The 2-5 degree window leading up to and following this period acts more like a background archetypal signature, sort of like a mood, which can emphasize or color other transits during the same period.
- Conjunctions and oppositions between outer planets and other outer planets (universal, not natal transits) follow a wider orb. For Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune, 15 degrees generally works. For Saturn and Jupiter, 10 degrees tends to be more appropriate. Squares and trines use a smaller 5-6 degree orb unless other outer planet alignments are occurring in which case the orb can expand up to 15 degrees.
- Solar underworld cycles (solar conjunctions) operate during an approximately 10 degree orb.
Finding Your Natal Planets
Find your natal horoscope or use a free service online like astro.com to cast your chart. You will need your birth date, accurate birth time (preferably from a birth certificate), and birth place. Then write down the degree (number) and sign for each of these points. Download the printable worksheet.
☉ Sun:
☽ Moon:
☊ North Node:
☋ South Node:
Asc Ascendant:
MC Midheaven:
Dsc Descendant:
IC Imum Coeli:
☿ Mercury:
♀ Venus:
♂ Mars:
♃ Jupiter:
♄ Saturn:
⚷ Chiron:
♅ Uranus:
♆ Neptune:
♇ Pluto:
Use This Chart to Determine the Aspect when Degrees Match
| IF YOUR PLANET IS IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS CONJUNCT IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS OPPOSITE IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS SQUARE IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS TRINE IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS QUNINCUNX IN | THE TRANSITING PLANET IS SEXTILE IN |
| Aries | Aries | Libra | Cancer or Capricorn | Leo or Sagittarius | Virgo or Scorpio | Gemini or Aquarius |
| Taurus | Taurus | Scorpio | Leo or Aquarius | Virgo or Capricorn | Libra or Sagittarius | Cancer or Pisces |
| Gemini | Gemini | Sagittarius | Virgo or Pisces | Libra or Aquarius | Scorpio or Capricorn | Leo or Aries |
| Cancer | Cancer | Capricorn | Libra or Aries | Scorpio or Pisces | Sagittarius or Aquarius | Virgo or Taurus |
| Leo | Leo | Aquarius | Scorpio or Taurus | Sagittarius or Aries | Capricorn or Pisces | Libra or Gemini |
| Virgo | Virgo | Pisces | Sagittarius or Gemini | Capricorn or Taurus | Aquarius or Aries | Scorpio or Cancer |
| Libra | Libra | Aries | Capricorn or Cancer | Aquarius or Gemini | Pisces or Taurus | Sagittarius or Leo |
| Scorpio | Scorpio | Taurus | Aquarius or Leo | Pisces or Cancer | Aries or Gemini | Virgo or Capricorn |
| Sagittarius | Sagittarius | Gemini | Pisces or Virgo | Aries or Leo | Taurus or Cancer | Libra or Aquarius |
| Capricorn | Capricorn | Cancer | Aries or Libra | Taurus or Virgo | Gemini or Leo | Pisces or Scorpio |
| Aquarius | Aquarius | Leo | Taurus or Scorpio | Gemini or Libra | Cancer or Virgo | Aries or Sagittarius |
| Pisces | Pisces | Virgo | Gemini or Sagittarius | Cancer or Scorpio | Leo or Libra | Taurus or Capricorn |
Ranking Transits by Importance
Transits of Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto to personal planets, nodes, or angles are the most important of the transits and most professional astrology transit readings will only focus on these. Conjunction and opposition rank at the top, followed by square, and then trine. Outer planet transits to outer natal planets can prove important when combined with outer planet transits to personal natal planets.
Transits of Jupiter are trickier to weigh. They do not have the impact that Saturn transits do on the natal chart, despite the fact that Jupiter is the largest object in the solar system except for the sun. In fact, Jupiter is bigger than all of the other planets, moons, and asteroids combined! Use a 15 degree orb for natal transits, unlike other transits which use a 0-5 degree max orb. Where Jupiter shows up vividly is when it aligns with outer planets or adds its weight to a longer-lasting outer planet alignment. A perfect example is the “perfect storm” of 2020 when Jupiter joined Saturn and Pluto and remained within orb near them for the year. Jupiter can usher in life-changing periods, but tends to do so primarily in combination with other outer planet transits, as well as for those comfortable with Jupiter strategy: Dream big, adopt great generosity, stretch forth your hand, look for win-win solutions in the here-and-now.
Transits of Mercury, Venus, and Mars are also short-lived, lasting a few weeks (use a 5 degree orb). The exception is synodic phase returns, which are an advanced topic. Journal about events and moods during this window. As with the Sun and Moon, conjunctions are the most important, followed by oppositions, squares, and trines.
Transits of the Sun and Moon tend to be short-lived and often subtle, with some notable exceptions:
- When a conjunction from the Sun activates an existing longer-term transit either that you personally are experiencing or that’s happening globally, its influence can act like a significant amplifier for a week or two (approx 5 degree orb but focused intensely around the exact alignment).
- When the Moon does the same, the effect is more subtle but still noticeable. The orb of influence seems to mirror the Earth-based experiential perception of the moon’s phases which tends to separate them into roughly 8 phases of 3-4 days each. Similarly, the moon’s focus wave intensifies during a 2-3 day window around the alignment, with an emphasis on the applying (day leading up to the conjunction).
- The solar return during which the Sun conjuncts your natal Sun happens every year on your birthday. Some people work with the chart of that moment – the Solar Return chart – as kind of a snapshot for the coming year.
- Transiting solar oppositions to transiting planets are kind of special. Like the Full Moon, they highlight and magnify a planet. For all but the Moon, we are closest to that planet during solar opposition, so this represents a unique moment during the year when that planet will appear at its brightest to us. (Not applicable to personal transits from the sun).
- Transiting planets conjunct the transiting sun are also in a special phase, as they disappear in the glare of the sun during that time. Astronomers call this “occultation by the sun.” Invisible at any time of day or night, they can be thought of as entering the Underworld where they will pass out of the realm of consciousness and into the realm of visceral experience where intent and desire intersect with transformational forces. There are many mythic stories of death and rebirth which revolve around these Underworld phases. (Not applicable to personal transits from the sun).
- Mercury and Venus have additional unique phases of their cycles during which they align with the sun, such as the Gates of Venus. These will be explored separately.
Questions?
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