Another week of June and another week between eclipses, we begin with Mercury’s renewed efforts under the stars of Gemini, this time without the burden of Saturn in the mix. Things move forward, however slowly, and they change in their own time. The full moon in Sagittarius perfects on the 14th, opposing the Sun in Gemini and heightening our sense of how much is yet to be known in this universe (despite over-saturation, despite so much information at our fingertips).
While a square to Neptune in Pisces only echoes this feeling of unknowing, the moon’s trine to Saturn in Aquarius, which is retrograde, reminds us that sometimes taking a step back can show us the way forward — especially if the way forward is a path that needs to be cleared. Mars in Aries makes a conjunction to Chiron in Aries the following day, which can add a lack of confidence to the situation at hand. While it may feel tempting to either rush past or wallow in old insecurities, it may prove more fruitful to simply let them bubble up in their entirety and regard them with curiosity: When have I felt this way before? What did this feeling teach me? Was it true then? Is it true now?
These questions can create a scaffold for the rewarding work that arises when curious Mercury in Gemini makes a trine to intrepid Saturn in Aquarius the next day. A scaffold made only that much steadier and more needful when Venus in Taurus aligns with the north node in Taurus hours later. It may feel incongruous or destabilising to anticipate the Sun in Gemini squaring Neptune on the same day but it doesn’t have to be. We’re learning to imagine a future even when a future is not guaranteed; we’re learning to build something steady if only for the pleasure of building something and saying that we did.
Aries Sun & Aries Rising
A week that begins with a full moon in a fire sign is a week that bodes well for Aries placements. While the completion of a lunar cycle might have some Earthlings laid out, the Sagittarius full moon on the 14th reinvigorates you with a sense of possibility. Another path, another world, another way to do this thing called life is possible, especially if you can call in the brilliance and bounty of your community. Jupiter’s time under your stars is meant to have you feeling like this more and more — although the heavens know that optimism has a news cycle to contend with. As Mars brushes Chiron in Aries, old wounds are bound to be provoked. Give yourself space to be sad, to be angry, to feel it all — but try to remember that grief doesn’t have to negate your passion. You can choose life while feeling loss; claim the tear in your eye and the arrow riding wind.
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Taurus Sun & Taurus Rising
Perhaps Jenny Holzer said it best when she lit up the old Selwyn Theatre marquee overlooking 42nd Street in New York with the phrase, “It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.” The missive, part of a series titled “Survival,” made sense looming over the concrete jungle. But it also makes sense lit up over the world as it is — a world where media coverage of mass shootings, war crimes, and climate disasters makes human suffering banal — a cold and sharp world. Immersed in an environment where hardness feels like necessary armour, softness has a way of receding, if only to stay safe. But it’s our softness that makes up our humanity, our ability to hold and be held. Our softness is so powerful, we build a whole self around it, like the ark around the Torah. Taurus, what receded is not lost and can return. If anyone can find a way, it’s you.
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Gemini Sun & Gemini Rising
The Sun is out, the sky is blue, Mercury’s direct and, hopefully, so are you. Direct to the playground, direct to what needs doing, even if it doesn’t come together all at once — it’s coming. This week, Mercury returns under your stars and picks up where they left off — the unfinished manuscript, the dream job or the dream of a common language. And it’s not exactly all smooth sailing, not when (all-talk) Mercury has friction with (all-action) Mars in Aries on the 13th before the Sun in Gemini offers you a reality check with a square to Neptune on the 16th. But maybe the complexity is the point. Maybe the reality check arriving on the heels of the Sun’s trine to Saturn in Aquarius on the same day only serves to affirm what you already know: A change in perspective often comes with a beautiful view.
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Cancer Sun & Cancer Rising
Every time I think of the full moon, I think of a line from the poem “It’s Not a House, It’s a Woman” by Eli Coppola: “Lotsa coyotes out there/ howling for the moon, baby,/ but I never yet heard/ the moon howl/ back.” It’s a poem about distance and longing, when we choose it and when it chooses us. In the poem, the narrator is both the moon and the coyotes, a heavenly body that soundlessly submits to the cyclical nature of intimacy (attraction, repulsion), and a feral thing that howls in the light of it. Most Cancers know how to be the moon, but it can be hard to claim the coyote, too — the part that wants what it wants. Often, when the howl is stifled, unconscious habits (or compulsions) take over. In Sagittarius, the full moon casts a light on the fine details of your life. She reminds you that the small stuff is a potent part of the big spell. What habits do you bring to your intimate world? What howls do you harbour, fearing what they make of you?
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Leo Sun & Leo Rising
The Sun in Gemini is a Sun that can’t take itself too seriously, what with everything and everyone around him requiring an equal amount of inquiry and engagement. There’s an equanimity to the Sun’s affection and attention in Gemini, there’s a sense that things big and small lend value to the overall picture. It’s in your best interest to follow the Sun’s example this week, Leo, even when “the overall picture” isn’t entirely clear. Perhaps especially then. While it’s important to stay wary of small things that cast disproportionate shadows and large things that get underestimated, Mercury’s co-presence in Gemini lends temperance to your communications. With the optimistic tug of the Sagittarius full moon on the 14th, Leos everywhere can benefit from a little perspective, a break from their role as the main character, which even the Sun gets tired of sometimes.
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Virgo Sun & Virgo Rising
Mercury’s re-entry in Gemini bodes well for you, Virgo, even if it means that a shake up or two could be in the works (given Mercury’s tense aspects to both Mars and Chiron in the days that follow). In fact, a shake up might be just what the doctor ordered — especially if you’ve been going about things the tried-and-true way without seeing the results you’re after. Mars in Aries is known to be impulsive to a fault, but he can also teach you a great deal about trusting your gut and creating the opportunities you keep waiting on. And, while Chiron can def stir up some difficult memories, he can also remind you how much you’ve grown. Whatever arrives along with the full moon in Sagittarius need not be mere coincidence. It can be a cosmic challenge to trust your intuition even if it propels you into unfamiliar territory.
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Libra Sun & Libra Rising
As humans, we expect a lot from the moon. Perhaps it is because she’s so familiar, because her consistent presence feels guaranteed. When the moon’s astrology seems ominous — when an eclipse is on the way or a difficult aspect, we pin our difficulties to her. And, when the full moon appears good-tempered, when the stars alight just so, we beam up at her with our good tempers. In reality, most moons, including this week’s full moon in Sagittarius, are not one thing or another — they are complicated like all bodies are, especially in community with other bodies. Of course, just because something is complicated or bigger than you or subject to change doesn’t mean you should curb your expectations. The moon knows that expectations can be another form of prayer, of dreaming. Besides, what you see in the moon is what you see in yourself, what you invoke in her name, you invoke in your own.
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Scorpio Sun & Scorpio Rising
While your ruling planet, Mars, moves under the stars of Aries, making a conjunction to Chiron on the 15th, you may very well feel a heightened pressure to move things forward in your daily life and meet deadlines that seem to crop up daily like resilient weeds. Jupiter’s co-presence in Aries doesn’t exactly help in these matters, since the planet has a tendency to go big even when everyone wants to go home. It may be of some comfort that in the midst of all this movement, the full moon in Sagittarius can serve as a guiding light. While no lunation is fully equipped to be your scheduling assistant, the full moon in Sagittarius arrives just in time to steady your heart rate and your hand. Under her auspices, you’re encouraged to work with time, not against it. If you have time for everything, then what is most worth your time?ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Sagittarius Sun & Sagittarius Rising
Both astronauts and astrologers agree: There’s definitely something weird going on in the universe — and it’s expanding at an alarming rate. Astrologically, news of expansion at an alarming rate is not unrelated to Jupiter’s tenure in Aries and the signs Jupiter rules, like Sagittarius. And, while it might also be true that there’s always something weird going on — whether it ends up on human radar or not — it’s worth taking the old aphorism “as above so below,” to heart. Or, more concisely, giving yourself grace in the presence of overwhelming and extenuating circumstances. This may prove especially helpful with the arrival of the full moon in Sagittarius on the 14th, our first Sagittarian full moon unaffiliated with the shadow of an eclipse since 2019. It’s okay to opt out, to change your mind, or simply take a break without it MEANING something. Remember, if you’re moved to ask “Is this burn out?” you already have the answer.
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Capricorn Sun & Capricorn Rising
Capricorns have a reputation for getting a lot done and they’ve mostly earned it. In fact, many Capricorns find that much of their lives are spent living up to the image they’ve created for themselves. In some ways, this kind of ambition is fool proof; if you’re the artist and the editor, you need only please yourself. In other ways, satisfying oneself can be a stultifying task, especially when you’re prone to moving the goalposts of satisfaction. Most of the time, the tug of war between creative freedom and creative subjection works for you, inspires you even. But occasionally it can be like a circumscription that keeps your world smaller than it should be. If the latter feeling arises, try to remember: Your actions define what you’re known for, not the other way around.
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Aquarius Sun & Aquarius Rising
Saturn has been with you for quite some time now, visiting your stars in March of 2020 through July, 2020 before returning to settle in December of that year. Already at home in the sign of Aquarius, Saturn did what she does best — she got to work. At her best, Saturn, the planet of time, of boundaries, of fortitude, can teach you that discipline is another form of self love. At her worst, Saturn has a way of cutting away what isn’t working — whether or not you’re ready for the knife. As Saturn’s retrograde transit persists, she invites you to return to the drawing board and re-examine how your understanding of yourself and your community has changed since she began her tenure in your sign. You may find that if you reflect long enough, a cutting tool will appear in your hand and a dotted line where once you saw only permanence. ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Pisces Sun & Pisces Rising
The mutable nature of Pisces people can be deceptive, even to them. It can come off as overly amiable, easily swayed, amenable to a fault. How it comes off often has little bearing on how it goes down, however. What a Pisces knows how to do, despite all evidence to the contrary, is their own thing and there’s very little anyone else can do about it. Mostly because their agreeable bearing has a way of camouflaging their willfulness. This week’s mutable moon in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune in Pisces, encouraging you to get clear on this super power, when you use it and when it uses you. Applied to unfair power dynamics and civil disobedience, your shape shifting can change minds and worlds. But it can get tricky on a personal level: It can create false expectations; it can trip people up when all they’re trying to do is get close to you.
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