Summer Solstice Eclipse

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Summer Solstice, Cancer Season begins, and Solar Eclipse today.

Today is Summer Solstice in the Northern hemisphere, the turning point when the Sun leaves Gemini and enters Cancer (2:44pm PDT), the longest day of the year when the light peaks and sun stands still (from sistere in Latin). This year we have an annular solar eclipse happening on the Solstice.
At 11:41pm we have a new moon and solar eclipse at 0º of Cancer. We recently had a lunar eclipse (and full moon) in Sagittarius on June 5, and we’ll have one more in this cycle, another lunar eclipse on the Capricorn full moon on July 4. Eclipses are always cosmic activators, shaking things up. They often bring about dissolution and collapse or initiation in the aftermath of an eclipse portal, bringing us transformation of some kind, revealing what has been hidden or occluded. As this cosmic power surge disrupts the natural flow, we can spend some time in meditation, contemplation, or reflection, listening within for any insights or understanding revealed. This eclipse is occurring alongside the North Node of the moon, bringing an element of rebirth and evolution as we are able to see more clearly into our shadows. Cancer is a cardinal water sign ruled by the moon. The Cancerian themes, exaggerated today as the sun enters the sign and there’s a new moon and eclipse there also, include ideas about home, place, roots, stability, family, ancestry, nurturing, and being nurtured. If you have your chart handy, look to 0º Cancer to see the area of general personal impact for you.

Mars in Pisces makes a connection through sextile to retrograde Jupiter in Capricorn, bringing a potential boost to confidence and courage, and positive, successful actions. Mars and the Moon make a square, which may intensify passions, conflict, and creativity. On Monday night Neptune turns retrograde in Pisces until November 28. As the planet of consciousness, Neptune rules psychic sensitivity and soul.

As always on Solstice, make a date with the sun, bask in the warmth, then at sunset say goodby as it sets and disappears to be reborn in the sky on Winter Solstice. Late tonight you can light a candle and offer eclipse blessings. Bow to the golden light that burns inside your own heart.

Black Lives Matter.
For my white readers, I recommend the work of Rachel Cargle and participation in her curriculum called The Great Unlearn, which you can find on her Patreon page (with membership as low as $5 monthly). You can also make a donation for her work at Paypal.me/rachelcargle. Follow @thegreatunlearn on Instagram. Additionally, see some of my past instagram posts on resources for anti-racism education.

L I T H A ☼ Summer Solstice

We’ve arrived at midsummer eve, an evening of flickering candles and divination, mugwort and deep dreams. June 21 is Summer Solstice (in the Northern hemisphere) or Litha - the pinnacle of the Light, the triumphant day of the Sun, the longest day and shortest night of the year. Astrologically Solstice is initiated when the sun moves into 0 degrees Cancer, which is exact at 8:54am. That same morning, dreamy Neptune in Pisces stations retrograde until November 27, and the July eclipses are coming soon. Solstice is a day of radiance and boundless light, a time to celebrate abundance and offer gratitude. The great and shining Sun reaches its perfection and fullness, and in a moment’s time we head into the dark half of the year. It will still be summer for quite some time, but we know that the light begins to wane and the darkness starts to build. This is the wheel of the year, turning once again… Our lives, when aligned with nature’s way, pulse in this same way.

We are in familiar territory; life is constantly shifting and changing, bringing beauty and challenges, and there’s always more. That is the promise of life: the promise that there will always be more, more of everything. It’s happening in our lives as well, the unfolding and releasing, invoking and establishing. There is a constant pulsing of life flowing, waxing and waning, expanding and contracting. The Great Creatrix blinking us into into being, disappearing us, and bringing us back again. Birth, death, rebirth. We have an intimate understanding of this experience living life as householders on a path, navigating the exquisite and terrifying, holding the midline of ourselves and our true spiritual practice.

Many are going through big changes at this time, some unexpected, and the enormity of the destabilization and confusion can be overwhelming. This is a time of immense amplification and acceleration. Some of you may feel like you’ve been startled and exposed, your shell cracked open, your paradigm shifting. Remember to tune into your intuition and trust. The creative intelligence of the Universe is reorganizing you and your life; this can feel uncomfortable, even unbearable, but through our dedication to our spiritual practices we are becoming more skilled at allowing every circumstance of life to take us into the primal power of our hearts. It takes time and in the midst of it it isn’t pretty, it doesn’t feel good, and sometimes there is nothing to do but let the feelings and energies wash over you.

FEEL EVERYTHING.

Try to stay rooted in your belly and bones, with your heart open in radical vulnerability, and hold on. Love yourself fiercely and allow your compassion to turn inward as a new practice. Make art with your tears and frustrations when necessary, dig your fingers and toes into the black earth to ground, and remember that you belong. More will unfold- there’s always more to the story.

On this Solstice, make a date with the Sun… bask in the warmth and relish the sunshine in the morning or mid-day or late afternoon. At sunset say goodbye to the Sun disappearing into the sea, to be reborn in the sky on Winter Solstice. The fullness of the light breaks into the beginning of the dark in its ancient way. You don’t have to craft an elaborate ritual to mark the occasion, and in fact heartfelt, contemplative presence is all that is necessary to honor this seasonal shift meaningfully. Late in the evening, light a candle and renew your commitments and offer your blessings. Bow to the golden radiance that burns brightly inside your own heart and vow to stay true to yourself.

♡,
KK
  

*I updated this piece- originally on the website and then published in 2015 on Yoganonymous.com. It is just as relevant now.

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