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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Uranus —> Taurus : A Seven Year Reign

On March 6, the planet Uranus finally left Aries for this lifetime and entered Taurus to stay for the next seven years. The last cycle of Uranus in Taurus was from 1934-1942. Uranus was in Taurus briefly last year to test things out but then retrograded back into Aries until now. The Aries cycle ends and as the new Taurus Uranus cycle gets underway, we may notice some significant shifts unfolding around us. Uranus always brings changes. As the maverick planet moves to a new sign, it also occupies another area in your chart and will bring a whole new set of circumstances to engage with (work to do). This is the planet of rebellion, liberation, disturbance, the erratic and eccentric.

When we reach 40-42 years old we experience a Uranus opposition (where the planet makes an opposition to our natal Uranus), marking and ending and beginning … which is part of a more complex journey that lands sometime between age 37 and 45, with not only Uranus but also Pluto, Neptune, and Saturn involved. This mid-life point is labeled the "mid-life crisis" because of the dramatic disruption and existential despair that can be felt at this time. And it is also the most significant and intense milestone in life that ultimately frees us and can lead to the discovery our most authentic self.

Uranus, the oddly tilting planet, is four times the size of Earth and it takes eighty four years to complete a journey around the Sun. It is a modern planet discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781. It’s the planet of the future, and also of electricity, revolution, upheavals, science. There’s a deep-seated and powerful force, a hidden purpose associated with Uranus. And the planet associated with electricity, lightning, and seismic activity has moved into fixed earthy Taurus; there will certainly be important implications for our planet in these Taurus Uranus years. The earth-focused realm of Taurus is stable, fertile, and also includes resources, wealth, the body, the physical, beauty, art, what we value. Ruling over the unorthodox, Uranus helps to liberate us, shake things up, stir up a rebellion. Uranus brings innovation and revelation, and will share its powers of awakening in all of the Taurus areas. This next seven year cycle will bring a new vibe or focus, new work to do, and new context for life to be enacted.

On March 5 the communication muse Mercury stationed retrograde in Pisces until the 28th. Mercury is air, quick and clear, and not the most comfortable in watery, occluded Neptune-ruled Pisces... While retrograde, the planet of intelligence will spend almost the entire month conjunct Neptune in Pisces, creating a dreamy and ethereal but also possibly overly indulgent (or self-medicating-y) landscape for us. Mercury retrograde cycles are perfect opportunities to slow the pace, remember, review, realign. Take a social media fast or reduction if possible, at least during Mercury's retrograde time - it also serves to limit the opportunities for misunderstandings, misreads, and mis-transmissions etc. The retrograde of the intelligence planet just as the new Taurus Uranus cycle starts could give us some down time to witness the new energies beginning to burgeon.

Uranus in Taurus will activate a different part of your chart now:

Aries rising - 2nd house Money, possessions, income, career, stability, finances, worth.

Taurus rising - 1st house Self, selfhood, appearance, self-interest, desires, style, temperament.

Gemini rising - 12th house Secrets, karma, closure, sorrows, rest, compassion, self-undoing.

Cancer rising - 11th house Friends, alliances, hopes and dreams, associations/groups, goals/objectives, cooperation , technology.

Leo rising - 10th house Career, success/achievement, material success, life path, parents, ambition, expressing your talents.

Virgo rising - 9th house Mental pursuits, higher education, travel, religion and philosophy, study, faith, discovery.

Libra rising - 8th house Death and rebirth, sex, surgery, shared resources, inherited wealth, taxes and debt, intimacy.

Scorpio rising - 7th house Serious partnerships, contractual agreements, marriage/life mates, adversaries, harmony, negotiations, shared goals.

Sag rising - 6th house Service, health and fitness, well being, pets, organization/clarity, co-workers, purification.

Capricorn rising - 5th house Sex, romance, art, passion, fame, fertility, children.

Aquarius rising - 4th house Home, parents, ancestors/roots/heritage, land, foundations, domestic affairs, what you keep hidden away/your emotional safe space.

Pisces rising - 3rd house Communication, technology, self-expression, family ties, daily travel, early education or study habits, community.

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Wishing you ease and grace, steadiness and triumph for this Mercury retrograde cycle, and the entrance into Taurus Uranus era.

If you or someone you know needs astro/occult support, sign up for a chart or planet report, transit report, tarot reading, or kosmic koaching. I also have handmade potions and tonics available from the Kosmic Apothecary. Email wildmoonwisdom@gmail.com.

Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle
Remedios Varo