All Times Pacific: Astrology Report June 11-June 18
Friends, we have an important week of astrological events before us. Sunday Jun 11 retrograde Pluto returns to Capricorn at 2:47 AM. Since March 23 we’ve had a brief glimpse of Pluto in Aquarius, a placement that will last 20 years beginning in 2024. Pluto first entered Capricorn in 2008 when the world economy crashed and Obama was elected. Since then we’ve seen typical Pluto in Capricorn events: consolidation of power in old elites and especially old men, lock downs, plague, polarization and autocratic impulses in politics, a feeling that the world is stagnant, the ending of many familiar aspects of how things are done, weakness in institutions, and a pessimism that finds abundant justification.
Three months of Pluto in Aquarius brought shocking events. These changes of Pluto from one sign to another always seem to indicate more departures than usual. It’s as if the world is re-calibrating or the kaleidoscope of our collective experience takes a turn to a new view. Where in your life have changes happened no matter how you felt about them? This is typical of Uranus. The world will be very different by the end of the first decade of Pluto in Aquarius. These times will seem quaint. Advances in AI, medicine, and technology in general are already transforming how we do things but this is only the beginning. Approaching change with curiosity rather than apprehension can help us get best results over the next two decades.
Now we return to Pluto in Capricorn for the rest of 2023 and the early part of 2024. Will this feel like a claustrophobic pause before the storm? Will we feel relief away from the high pitch and torrent of change that was our Aquarian spring of 2023? This will be a good time for finishing up old business and letting go of the past, but also for preparing ourselves for Pluto in Aquarius by learning, practicing, updating and simplifying. Expect a Pluto in Capricorn grand finale. The many issues the world has faced since 2008 will be revisited, a test of how much we have learned. If we have learned and done at least some of the right things we can expect an easier time of it.
Also Sunday about half an hour later Mercury trine Pluto is exact. Spending time thinking about this Pluto shift is not a mistake. We can have deep insights. Research, intense conversations, reflections on endings and beginnings are called for. A minute later Mercury enters Gemini helping us to see both sides of any issue. 20 minutes before 9AM Venus square Jupiter is exact indicating a Sunday suitable for celebration. The danger is over doing things like eating, intoxication, spending, but with Saturn almost stationary retrograde it will be easier to find joy without excess.
Mon Jun 12 only lunar aspects are exact. As Kahlil Gibran wrote: “Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.” It’s a bit like a work week followed by a great vacation weekend. But it’s also the difference between living lives dominated by the expectations of others and instead living a life of spiritual devotion and creative passion. And then again we all tolerate kings in our psyches who demand we serve them when we could be free.
Tue Jun 13 Venus inconjunct Saturn is exact a minute before 3 AM. This aspect indicates that exhaustion, depression, stagnation could lead to sickness. All children of Venus including creative people may feel their responsibilities or other restrictions are too heavy to allow for creativity. In matters of romance the same applies. With Mercury almost square Saturn it’s easy to look at the cloud behind the silver lining. We tend to assess ourselves and others more harshly with this kind of astrological weather.
Wed Jun 14 only lunar aspects are exact. “I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations - one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it - you will regret both.” Who says Soren Kierkegaard wasn’t funny?
Thu Jun 15 Mercury square Saturn is exact. It indicates a time for learning, practice, meditation, simplification, organization, and giving the mind a chance to relax. With Saturn stationary retrograde in two days the Saturn side of the aspect is amplified. Weed your thought garden. Avoid wallowing in stagnant states of consciousness. Saturn can also indicate rewards for those who have worked hard for them. Saturn can be funny and fun. Like the Capricorns Elvis and Bowie. So make time for work and for some kind of enjoyable downtime.
Fri Jun 16 only lunar aspects are exact. As Wallace Stevens wrote: “The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself.” Saturn appreciates nature. Take time to take in the beauties of Spring turning into Summer.
Sat Jun 17 Mercury sextile Venus is exact at about 8:30 AM. This is a wonderful aspect for writing and communication but with Saturn stationary retrograde at 10:27 AM it may be a bit of a challenge to avoid feeling dour and to find the energy to be creative. Saturn stations are good for facing facts, assessing progress, getting rest. Those with strong Pisces and Virgo in their charts will benefit by taking it easy for a week or two. Slow down the pace. Get lots of rest. Meditate. The new moon in late Gemini arrives at 9:37 AM. Writers, composers, and editors may have grand results that convey Saturnian gravity. With Saturn stationary and Pluto back in Capricorn we will be feeling a little less Aquarian electric urgency and a little more Saturnian solemnity.
Sun Jun 18 sun square Neptune is exact just before 9 PM. The biggest threats to Father’s Day may be too much booze and ideology, but lunar trines to first Jupiter and then Saturn should provide an ideal blend of good feelings and moderation. The Jupiter Saturn sextile is exact tomorrow. Be guided by your feelings, by women, by your body, and your intuition. You may encounter an opportunity for greater well being.
The following Monday Jupiter sextile Saturn is exact. At the end of 2020 we had the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Great Conjunctions define roughly twenty years periods. The 20 year period we are in now is the first in Aquarius for centuries. This intensified the Aquarian Spring of 2023 as changes developing since December 2020 found a more suitable climate than Pluto in Capricorn. This sextile indicates a time when the activities in line with the Great Conjunction find favorable conditions. Jupiter is conjunct a fixed star called Hamal, traditionally associated with premeditated crime, violence and might makes right.
Current and upcoming indictments against a former president, the first in our history, illustrate Saturn’s by-the-book rule-of-law vs. Jupiter‘s oligarchal bluster. Don’t be surprised if this conflict drags on until Jupiter squares Saturn from August 2024 to June 2025, impacting the next presidential election. As the ancient Roman Cicero wrote: “Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.” That old adage the more things change the more they stay the same applies here. In our own lives Jupiter sextile Saturn is a good time to moderate our cynicism with optimism, but also a good time to ground our ambitions for success in any area of life by learning, by practice, mentorship, simplification, organization, and patience.
A good quote for this week captures our tumultuous times. John Muir wrote: “Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” Or as William Blake wrote:
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy.
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
In short, we can find time every day to appreciate the small wonders and beauties that teem around us. The incredible amount of work and cooperation it took to get a hot meal on our plate, and the plate itself, and the table it rests on. Strangers from all over the world have provided all that we see around us in our rooms and kitchens. Outside birds sing ancient songs as trees glisten in sunshine. Flowers of all colors and shapes bloom along garden paths. This is a good time to appreciate the little moments with those we cherish. Focus on the present.
