June 12th ~ 19th
Houses on the Achterzaan by Claude Monet
Laugh I tell you, And you will turn back the hands of time. Smile, I tell you, And you will reflect the face of the divine. Sing, I tell you, And all the angels will sing with you! Cry, I tell you, And the reflections found in your pool of tears will remind you of the lessons of today and yesterday, To guide you through the fears of tomorrow. ~ Suzy Kassem (Rise up and Salute the Sun)
Mercury is slowing for its retrograde station on June 18th.
But before we even get there we are suspended in time, engulfed in grief and stillness. Following last week’s Lunar Eclipse, both the Sun and Mars have dived into deep Neptunian waves. Not for forgetfulness, not into oblivion, but to simply be. When something becomes so saturated, you don’t even know how to feel, where to put all the feelings, the grief, the uncertainty. Even though there is still so much to do, it feels as if a part of the world is fading in order to make room for what we are to become.
What might I do? you may ask. But from a place of compassion and understanding. All the while internally processing all that has recently occurred. When Mercury stations retrograde, there will be 5 planets retrograde, letting us know that although there is still so much more to be done in the world at large, some of the most important work many of us need to do right now is within our own minds and hearts.
Jupiter and Pluto will be conjunct for the 2nd time at the end of this month. This time both Jupiter and Pluto are in their retrograde phases. When Jupiter meets Pluto as it is this year, we become that much more aware of the unequal distribution of power, wealth and privilege in society. Unfortunately we usually become all too aware of this inequality due to the unethical abuse of that power and privilege. When these planets are retrograde, we are being asked to dig even deeper beneath the surface: turning over the rocks, digging up the deep wounds, putrid and weeping beneath the surface, and facing them.
At these retrograde times we are not only needing to do so in society, in our governments and the structures of our world; we are also being asked to look within ourselves, and remove the creeping tendrils of bigotry and self-righteousness, tendril by rotten tendril. Dig out the scourges of racism, greed, fear and shame at their very root. Doing Pluto work is never easy. It demands absolute honesty for it to work. And requires us to confront the darkest and meanest demons trying to take residence in our souls. And these demons managed to insinuate themselves in a way that is both insidious and devious, so that we don’t even know they are there. That’s what makes it so difficult.
Confronting ourselves each year, and asking whether or not we are living up to our own moral and ethical standards, is some of the most important work we can do each year when Jupiter is retrograde. This allows us to evolve and grow. All the more profound is this work, when Pluto is here in tandem. We are being given this rare opportunity to take an evolutionary step forward en masse. It’s not easy. But even if only one person manages to shine a light in the dark, they have the remarkable capacity to raise all of humankind as a whole.
Mercury continues to retrograde through the water signs. This time in the water sign of Cancer. We are being asked to feel. To remember. To cry. To share our feelings. To support. To carry. To feed and nurture. To reminisce. Recall. Reconnect. To process. To explore what it means to belong. What family means. What it means to feel safe. What community means. To hold. What it means to take care of each other, and what it means to be a part of this human condition.
Mercury will be at almost 15º of Cancer when it stations for its retrograde phase. At its direct station on July 12th Mercury will be at 5º of Cancer. It entered Cancer on May 28th, and does not leave this sign until August 4th/5th. We are needing to do this Cancer work in our own lives, in our towns and neighborhoods and in society at large. Meanwhile we are in this space between the eclipses. We don’t yet know where this all will take us. But for now, we are being asked to pause, assimilate, and look within.
For next week’s horoscopes, click below: