On the summer solstice the sun sits at it's highest point in the sky. It is the beginning of the summer season and the longest day of the year. The word solstice comes from the Latin 'sol' (sun) and 'sistere' (to stand still). This is due to the fact that, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher in the sky on each successive day, but on the solstice day itself it rises an imperceptible amount compared with the days before, therefore appearing to stand still before it reverses direction in its north/south path (declination).
The solstice is celebrated in many parts of the world and by many cultures. It appears to have its roots in paganism and the druids celebrate it as the marriage of Heaven (the Sun king) and Earth (Mother Earth).
This year the summer solstice arrives at 6:46am (5"46 universal time) on June 21st. The chart appears to be separated into two distinct halves. Most prominent is a pattern that involves the Sun, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron and the MC (midheaven). The Sun is positioned in the 12th house opposed by Pluto in the 6th and tee squaring into Uranus, which sits on the MC. The Sun will find it difficult to shine in the 12th for this is hidden space and there are secrets abound. The opposition to Pluto, itself a secretive planet, could well see a cover up brewing, though the square to both from Uranus with its position right on the MC will more than likely disrupt, in a very public way, any attempts to do this. Because the opposition is in the 12th (institutions) to 6th (health and service) house, it is possible that the NHS or the Civil service will be a factor in this.
The Sun also makes a dissociated trine to Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron in the 8th house which itself aspects the Uranus/MC by an exact semi sextile. The conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune can be great for spiritually evolved persons but not so good for those who have addiction problems for Jupiter expands whatever it touches and Neptune rules not only the spirit but also bottled spirit and drugs. There is a tendency towards excess, but while the impulse of expansion which Jupiter brings may encourage people to reach beyond their actual capabilities, when mixed with Neptune there may well be a distortion of what they feel regarding their own abilities which makes succeeding rather difficult. Faith and trust, which is the positive side of this combination, is a lovely quality but when taken to extremes can be blind faith. Placing confidence in everyone invariably leads to disappointment, because in the current reality there are many who would take advantage of others’ gullibility. Considering that Neptune also represents deception and that this pairing is found in the 8th house of shared resources in the UK, this can be representative of the exorbitant amounts of expenses claimed by politicians from tax payers money for their own personal use. With Chiron conjuncting the pair, a healing can come out of this with new guidelines on what politicians can and cannot do with 'our' money and a dismissal of those who have abused the system. Also with Uranus on the MC making an exact semi sextile to the trio I think we have not seen the end of shock revelations about those in the public eye.
Interestingly, there is also an exact conjunction of the Sun to the asteroid Vesta and another exact conjunction of Uranus/MC to the asteroid Juno. Vesta rules amongst other things spiritual truths, cultural values, and a pressing conscience which, when conjunct the Sun in the 12th house would indicate a devotion to a higher truth. Juno is representative of marriage and partnerships and with it sitting so close to Uranus, these partnerships would be anything but conventional, and, due to its presence on the MC this could be made very public. Will we see more regarding taboo subjects being brought to the fore?
The rest of the chart involves a pattern that contains the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. There are two exact conjunctions, one of the Moon and Mercury in Gemini and the other of Venus and Mars in Taurus. All four are located in the 11th house, the place of the social collective, political groups, unions and alternative ways of living. The blending of the Moon and Mercury may well see people intellectualizing their feelings regarding aspirations, hopes and meditations on the future of the world at large, whilst Venus and Mars in a close trine to Saturn may well be the saving grace of the chart in that people, male and female alike, look to each other for solutions through the power of the collective.
History repeats itself because nobody was listening the first time.
