After a long and treacherous Winter and Spring, Summer comes like a balm to sooth and heal our wounds. And although we will not be without our challenges, there is a decidedly different tone to this 1/4 of the year of 2013. For those of us lucky enough to be living where bombs are not flying over head, the summer reminds us of what is most important. In those areas of the world where they are
not so lucky, there is a fight for survival at the most basic levels.

The Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is heralded by the Sun’s movement into the sign of Cancer. Cancer is a deeply emotional archetype. It is said in esoteric astrology that the sign of Cancer is the way into incarnation while Capricorn, is the way out. Looking at some of the images associated with those signs give us a clue to this as Cancer is the sign of Mother Ocean and Capricorn, Father Time.

When the Sun moves into Cancer, the path through each degree has been already trod by both Mercury and Venus, which at the time of the Solstice are just out of an exact conjunction at 22 degrees of Cancer. The planet of the Heart (Venus) and the Planet of the Mind (Mercury) are on the same page in the sign of emotional security and family. So we know in our heart and minds what our needs are around this security. And this does not just mean our own family or clan,
but the family of Man/Woman as well.

Besides the already trodden path of Cancer by Venus and Mercury, the Sun also meets up with two planets that are waiting to welcome the Sun into their little party. And those planets are Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces, which are in a flowing trine to each other. This creates a Grand Water Trine between the Sun, Saturn and Neptune. The Sun brings illumination to the necessity for healing and forgiveness.

Yet, as always, there is more to this story. We cannot forget that the sign of Cancer is part of the Cardinal Cross (Aries, Cancer, Libra & Capricorn). And as such any planet that moves into Cancer, moves into the cross hairs of the Pluto, Uranus first quarter square, which has been the driving force of the massive cultural shifts we find ourselves in.

So as the Sun moves into Cancer and later when both Jupiter, the planet of expansion, and Mars, the planet of aggression also move into Cancer, each one in turn will become part of a Grand Water Trine and a Cardinal T-square. This creates a real force to heal and dissolve structures that are impeding our evolution. None of this really bodes well for emotional security however.

Ultimately the lesson of Cancer is that emotional security resides within us, no matter the circumstances we see around us. Fostering a sense of emotional self-reliance is the real lesson of Cancer. There will be lots of challenges and lots of opportunity to feel and heal and move on.

May your summer be blessed with love and joy, even if we find the tears flowing. After all, to quote one of my favorite Goddess songs, “we all come from the Goddess and unto her we shall return, like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean….

Many blessings!