The Cosmic Story: July and the Sign of Cancer
With Summer Solstice just past, we’re already beginning to lose the light here in the northern hemisphere! While summer is just beginning for us, we’re entering the Yin phase of the year – with the declining light, we begin to shed what is no longer serving life.
The ancient Romans saw July as the Month to Savor what we have sown. It is a time when the fruits are ripening and ready to pick and enjoy. The abundance of our harvest refreshes us, but the cycle of the year is turning and we begin the slow decline of light and growth this month. The ancient Romans celebrated the death of Adonis in July, the young lover of Aphrodite, who is killed by a boar (the wild, primitive Mother). It was a time of gain and loss, but with the promise of rebirth to come. The women in both Greece and Rome would honor this god of growing and dying by planting red anemones which only last a few days, and by expressing their deepest feelings of grief as they mourned as a community and hoped for rebirth.
So July became a time to enjoy the abundance and beauty of life as well as acknowledging that after abundance comes decline and death.
The sign of Cancer
Astrologically, the water sign of Cancer symbolizes the Divine Mother’s womb out of which we birth our conscious emotional body and our home ground. As the second cardinal sign which begins with Summer Solstice, this season symbolizes a new cycle of emotional security (Mark Jones) that is vested inside ourselves rather than in the outer world.
Cancer is concerned with our family of origin as a matrix for our individual growth as a soul. Did we receive the emotional nurturing we needed as children to feel emotionally secure in ourselves? Or are we still looking for that security outside ourselves and from others?
Since I have a Cancer Moon, I have a strong connection to mothering (being a singe mother of 4 kids + the whole neighborhood!) and have had to learn to be emotionally secure in myself, since I wanted to raise good, conscious adults.
With my grown children scattered all over the world, I resigned myself to the thought that I probably won’t have grandchildren living near me. But something magical happened this year. Pluto opposed my Cancer Moon all last year, with the third pass on Christmas Day. I was alone last Christmas for the first time in my life and I felt it was time to give up my desire to have my children around me. A month later one of my sons told me he and his brother were going to buy me a house, so they would all have a home to come back to visit. I’m moving into that home in mid-July. Sending deepest love and gratitude to Michael and Gregory!
While I always hoped I was doing a good job as a single mom, you never know for sure. I guess Mr. Pluto gave me the thumbs up! This is just a reminder that heavy energy like Pluto’s brings us the evolutionary rewards we have earned.
Due to my move, this will be the only newsletter I publish until the end of July.
Cancer Astrology:
The Cancer New Moon occurs on Tuesday, June 28th at 7:52pm PDT/ 10:52pm EDT/ 3:52am GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Cancer Sun & Moon at 8* Cancer is: A group of rabbits dressed in human clothes walk as if on parade. It seems that all life stretches to grow in consciousness, imitating those mentors who seem to already possess what we want to learn. The image itself speaks to having some fun while we’re doing it.
This Cancer New Moon squares Jupiter in Aries, challenging us to be brave and to figure out what we really desire. And then we have to find ways to nurture ourselves with it.
Another big energy at this New Moon is the ongoing Saturn in Aquarius square to both the lunar nodes and to Uranus in Taurus. We have to stretch beyond what we’ve accomplished and push for more growth. We have to leave our old communal stories behind and create a new story that is inclusive and sustainable.
With the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade, as well as the equally stupid ruling on guns and religious schools, we are seeing the potential curbing of many of our civil rights here in the US. It is a call for all of us to engage in our government, which isn’t perfect but which we can make more perfect if we take our role as citizens seriously. We have to engage in our communities and bring our gifts and knowledge to them if we want change.
The other New Moon energy is Mars in Aries conjunct Eris, the warrioress who protects the truth of the heart. With the masculine doing energy of Mars, we can stand in our heart’s truth.
The Gene Key for this New Moon is #52: the shadow is stress (we can all relate to that!), the gift is restraint and the blessing is Stillness. Find that stillness within yourself and ask yourself: What do I desire most?
We are in the midst of a planetary transformation of human consciousness. Each one of us is important to that transformation. So do the work and find your center. Stay grounded in your body – we are here to embody spirit. That’s where you’ll find your emotional security. And if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it.
The Capricorn Full Moon occurs on Wednesday, July 13 at 11:38am PDT/ 2:38pm EDT/ 7:38pm GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 22* Cancer is: A young woman awaiting a sailboat. What are you longing for? Where is spirit sending you? What new experiences are you opening to?
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 22* Capricorn is: By accepting defeat gracefully, a general reveals nobility of character. I would hope that some of our world leaders would actually have this nobility of character. Defeat, just like ‘failure’ is only momentary. It’s what we do with it that matters. Maybe it's time to get on that sailboat and explore new ideas, new places, new people.
Moon over Cancer Waters
This Full Moon is engaging all the outer planets and a few inner ones.
The Capricorn Moon is conjunct Pluto, mirroring his ongoing disintegration and transformation of our society. The Cancer Sun is conjunct Mercury and Ceres, asking us to consider what makes for a better, more emotionally secure world. The Full Moon also squares Eris in Aries, continuing to fortify us with the bravery to stand up for our heart’s truth.
This Full Moon also has a beautiful connection to Neptune in Pisces, helping us encompass the whole world in our hearts. And it is in a mentally invigorating connection to Uranus in Taurus, opening us to Mother Nature’s evolutionary genius.
The Gene Keys for this Full Moon are:
1. For the Capricorn Moon, #61 – the shadow is Psychosis (either disenchantment or fanaticism), the gift is Inspiration and the blessing is sanctity (entering the Unknown).
2. For the Cancer Sun, #62 – the shadow is intellect, the gift is precision, and the blessing is impeccability (a bow to don Juan!)
I’m reading Jane Goodall’s book, The Book of Hope: A survival guide for Trying Times. I’ve been told that listening to the audio book is even better, since Ms. Goodall narrates it. She tells countless stories about the good work people are doing to restore the environment. Nature is resilient and if we allow Nature to teach us how to do it, we can restore what we have sullied.
So stay hopeful, which mean get to work on what you hope will happen!
Both Saturn and Pluto are already retrograde and Neptune is about to join them on June 28th. When planet go retrograde, they work on an inner level. So work on your dreams, play with your imagination and sort through the delusions that hold your mind captive.
Jupiter will go retrograde on July 28th at the Leo New Moon. I’ll be writing about that in my next newsletter.
We certainly live in trying times, but we chose to incarnate now. This is what all the past years have brought us to – a clear and present danger that we have to face. Call on Eris, the warrioress who defends our hearts, to give you courage and strength. Do not fall into despair. You don’t have to do it alone. Find your tribe and work together to create a better world for us all.
Summer blessings,
Cathy
Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faith
Every
summer
I listen and look
under the sun's brass and
even
into the moonlight, but I can't hear
anything,
I can't see anything --
not the pale roots digging down, nor
the green stalks muscling up,
nor the leaves
deepening
their damp pleats,
nor
the tassels making,
nor the shucks, nor the cobs.
And
still,
every day,
the
leafy fields
grow taller and thicker --
green gowns
lofting up in the night,
showered with silk.
And
so, every summer,
I fail as a witness, seeing nothing --
I
am deaf too
to the tick of the leaves,
the
tapping of downwardness from the banyan feet --
all of
it
happening
beyond any seeable proof, or hearable hum.
And,
therefore, let the immeasurable come.
Let the unknowable touch
the buckle of my spine.
Let the wind turn in the trees,
and
the mystery hidden in the dirt
swing
through the air.
How could I look at anything in this world
and
tremble, and grip my hands over my heart?
What should I fear?
One
morning
in the leafy green ocean
the honeycomb of the
corn's beautiful body
is sure to be there.
~ Mary Oliver ~
(West Wind)
