I’ll be honest, I don’t even know where to begin. It’s definitely not the time for some dry, classical astrological interpretations. I feel it is my responsibility to address the current events in our nation and our world. Covid-19, the death of George Floyd, the National Guard being called out, protests over institutional racism, and the political travail of the current Administration of the USA. It’s a lot to address in an astrological newsletter, but I feel astrology must be useful or be relegated to amusing horoscopes in your local newspaper. It’s not my nature to just state repetitive interpretations, and let real-world events pass on by as if they had no relationship to Astrology. They have a definite relationship to Astrology.
I encourage everyone to re-read my 2020 report for some background on current events.
6/18 Mercury goes Retrograde @ 14 degrees Cancer, goes Direct 7/12/20, and is out of the post-retrograde shadow 7/26/20
I’d normally remind you all to read communication carefully, and to expect communication to be delayed. By now, all I can say is do a search and find what I’ve written about Mercury retrogrades before. Mercury has 3-4 retrogrades a year, and I generally regard it as a time to reflect on the direction of our lives. A period to correct the ship so to speak, and make adjustments once Mercury goes Direct. That’s good advice. It’s nice.
But, we are not experiencing a normal year, nor normal transits. This retrograde is entirely in the sign of Cancer, and I’m going to warn everyone to watch out for communication that triggers extreme emotional responses. The active Pluto influence will create an intensity, and the Mercury retrograde in Cancer will trigger extreme emotions concerning your life experiences. That will include the life events in our country/world.
If you hear something on the news that excites you, check out an additional news source. One that you trust, or one that is not your usual source, but is still trusted. Stay informed, and do not let old emotional response rule your behavior and/or communication. This retrograde in particular, is one where we have to be accountable for our own emotions and how we use them in communication. We must strive for some discipline when it comes to emotional outbursts. This is communication that will only add to the confusion and chaos we are experiencing in real life.
If there is a difference of opinion with others, or groups, strive to use your emotions to understand their communication. Learn to listen during this retrograde, and then strive for compassion. We must all make this effort. We must all develop the discipline to use our communication in the most compassionate and effective manner. Mercury Retrograde will not make this easy, but this is exactly the time to look within, and understand that compassion and discipline is not the responsibility of someone else. It begins with the individual.
If our health officials tell us how we must navigate the pandemic, listen. Emotionally rebelling against circumstances that we don’t like will not change the circumstances. We must all do our part for our own health, and the health of everyone else. Life matters. Staying alive matters. Learning to adjust to these realities is not only the right thing to do, it is the only thing to do.
Politically, I need to state that I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. That all people have the right to peacefully assemble and protest. Once Mercury is retrograde in Cancer, there will be even more excitable conversations regarding which rights are more important. Beware of being pulled into long drawn out debates that cannot be resolved in one conversation. Protest is one thing, but arguing with relatives and friends is another. Engage in purposeful and emotional protest and communication if you desire, but try to avoid old arguments with friends and family that are exacerbated by the retrograde.
If possible concentrate on activities that trigger emotions of compassion and love. Go to church, call friends you have missed, share your emotions of love with family and loved ones, hug your pets, bake some bread and share it with family, but mostly keep yourself centered in your love and compassion as much as possible. Feel that during this retrograde.
There is a poem I learned when I was in school. I must have been like 10 years old, and it made such an impact on me. It’s called “If” by Rudyard Kipling. There is a line that is really relevant to Mercury Retrograde. [Actually the whole poem is, but I’m gonna keep this as brief as I can.]
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
During this Retrograde in particular, ‘don’t give way to hating.’
One important note, try to avoid scheduling important events during a retrograde. If you are picking a date for a wedding, a party, surgery, etc., do not pick a date while a personal planet is retrograde. If you must choose a date during this time, be cautions and pay attention to details. It’s not a disaster if you plan during this time, but you must pay attention to all facets of the event.
6/21 Sun enters Cancer [Beginning of Summer]
In keeping with the theme of this Newsletter, I’m going to avoid another description of the Sun transiting into Cancer and go for something new. It’s easy to repeat [and maybe add something] what I’ve written before, but these times deserve more attention.
As previously stated in the Mercury Retrograde section, Cancer is an emotional sign. The Sun entering Cancer brings us to the growing period of the Zodiac. Cancer initiates the summer season of growth. This is the section of the Zodiac where all living things begin to grow and mature. Children, plants and animals, all manner of life grows to maturity during summer, and Cancer is the sign to begin that process and to nurture it to a healthy maturity.
This is the essence of the energy that the Suns brings us in the sign of Cancer. We want to expand, grow, and develop into who we were meant to be. This process is not just for children, it is for each of us to use this energy to continue to grow, and develop our own talents to nurture and encourage others to grow and mature.
Cancer is a wildly underestimated sign in my opinion. Seen my many as just too emotional, I believe the cardinality of this sign brings a strength that is often just under the radar. But, this is the sign of that mother who lifts a car off her child to save their life. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, do not get in the way of the person or thing a Cancer is protecting, because you won’t live long enough to even regret it.
Applying this transit to our current events, well, I’d say prepare for a more intense and emotional month regarding all the areas now plaguing our society. People generally say things heat up in the Summer, and they are right, but not so much because of the actual ‘heat’. It’s because of the energy of the Sun being expressed through the cardinal sign of Cancer.
It is an emotional time, and the Sun brings us a time when protection, nurturing, and remembering the past—good or bad. Given the times we are living in, try to avoid remembering old grudges and hurts that cannot be solved now. On the other hand, remembering thigs that CAN be resolved or improved now is a good way to use the Sun’s energy while in Cancer.
Connections to family are front and center right now, again for good or bad. Try and re-connect and use the nurturing energy of Cancer to solve problems with family members and to just let them know you care. Remember it is a difficult time for everyone, and that is an understatement of facts.
These are difficult times we live in.
6/25 Venus goes Direct @ 5 degrees Gemini, but will not be out of the post-retrograde shadow until 7/29/20. So, the effects of the Venus Retrograde might linger depending on your natal chart. As a brief note, some people will experience retrogrades of personal planets in the pre-retrograde shadow, and some continue to feel it in the post-retro period. There is no light switch that turns on and off with retrogrades, and all of it depends on your own personal natal chart.
Venus going direct should bring a sense of focus regarding priorities in life. While your priorities might have been a bit jumbled the last month or so, Venus was trying to figure out what she wants. Now that the retrograde has ended, Venus will have a better understanding of values, priorities, and goals.
This could also be a resumption of buying nice things you always wanted. Please try to avoid this if at all possible. This is not the year to spend recklessly or to go into debt. I think we can all see that the world is in a precarious situation, and we should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. In short, do not spend unless you absolutely must.
6/18-6/23 There is an overlap between the end of the Venus Retrograde and the Mercury Retrograde. From 6/18-6/23 both planets are retrograde. I don’t think the shadow periods are important here, but two personal planets retrograde at the same time certainly is important enough to mention. Please be careful with purchases, communication, and those close to you. Try and reduce your expectations from other, and instead offer to help them.
6/29/20 it’s important to note that the Mars transit and the Jupiter/Pluto aspects are significant on the 29th. This might be a day to really stay inside and try and enjoy a pastime that will keep you calm. It’s a Monday, so that might not be possible, but try. Frustration and a quick temper might not garner the results you’re expecting.
6/29 Mars enters Aries [and will be in Aries both Direct and Retrograde until the end of 2020.] [August – December Mars will square Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn {not all at the same time thankfully} marking a tumultuous 6 months of Mars squares that we all need to be prepared for.]
9/9/20 Mars goes Retrograde @ 28 degrees Aries
11/13/20 Mars goes Direct @ 15 degrees Aries
1/3/21 Mars leaves the post retrograde shadow @ 28 degrees Aries
1/7/21 Mars enters Taurus
Remaining Mars Aspects during the year:
7/30/20-8/11/20 Mars Square Jupiter [exact 8/3/20-8/5/20]
8/14/20-10/11/20 Mars Square Saturn [exact 8/24/20-8/29/20 @ 26 degrees and 9/28/20-10/1/20 @ 25 degrees]
12/21/20 Mars in Aries square Pluto @ 23 degrees Capricorn
These Mars squares to Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto will be affecting you from late March through December. It will take up almost 3 entire seasons, leaving only winter unaffected directly by Mars aspects, but Mars will still be in Aries at the end of the year. This cannot be underestimated.
Mars is the ruler of Aries, and while Mars is at home in Aries, and Pluto is kicking up a fuss, we will not see much peace in our personal lives, nor in the world. Mars is the warrior, and in ancient mythology the god of War, but I am not saying there will be war. I can say [given the evidence in the world right this minute] that there will be strife. Something Mars knows a lot about, and has no sympathy for hardships we might have to endure.
This time in Aries, is not all bad, as placed here, Mars can be loyal, brave and unrelenting in its causes. It’s my opinion that Mars in Aries [and then the retrograde] will inspire the protesters, but also inspire responses to protestors. Mars can be reckless, and without organization can bring chaos. All the planet sin Capricorn should bring the organization and limit chaos, but it remains to be seen which POV will prevail. Will we have martial law, or will we have peaceful protests?
6/29 Jupiter will be exactly conjunct Pluto at 24° Capricorn. This is the second of three exact conjunctions this year between Jupiter and Pluto. Remember, Jupiter expands, and Pluto destroys in order to be re-born.
I have heard many astrologers say that this is a benign conjunction, but I do not agree. I think that Pluto is such a powerful influence, and has demonstrated its power since the beginning of the year, that I just don’t see Jupiter being able to turn all that into something good or nice. I think Jupiter will expand and join in the destruction because it is creative destruction. The death of old and outworn ways of doing things in order for a new way forward. It is death and resurrection, and I believe Jupiter will help that process, not try to stop it. Jupiter might soften it, but Pluto and its effects cannot be avoided this year. If I were to give a year a planetary ruler, 2020’s would be Pluto.
The last time Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto were this close in tropical Capricorn was 1894 BC.
For some context, 1894 was the first Sino-Japanese war and eventually resulted in Japan’s win and its rise to power. [Pluto is destruction and some new world order rising from the ashes.] Japan went on to become one of the 3 nations in the Axis, along with Italy and Germany in World War II.
There were several major fires in 1894 with many deaths, which I find interesting because of the literal “ashes’ connection. A few, but not all of the fires, were the Shanghai fire in March. Over a 1000 buildings were destroyed. In September, a fire in Hinckley, Minnesota killed over 400 people.
In July of that year President Cleveland sent 2000 troops to Chicago to quell the Pullman Strike. In September 12,000 tailors went on strike in New York City. There were more strikes that year, but I believe this was a turning point in the Labor Movement in the United States [change and a new world order]
Several Women’s Suffrage Organizations were established in Europe.
Dreyfus was arrested for espionage in France [The Dreyfus Affair].
These are but a few of the historical events of 1894, and illustrate the life changing events that informed later generations.
Jupiter Conjunct Pluto really cannot be looked at without also looking at the Saturn influence. Because of this, the year itself takes on some special significance. Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn transiting through Capricorn will bring lessons of maturity and responsibility cultivated through acceptance of natural cycles of change.
The combination of Jupiter and Pluto can incite extreme ambition for personal power, yet their transit through Capricorn along with Saturn means that we will need to adjust aspirations to contend with the limitations we face concerning material resources and available time and space. The difficulties or crises we endure will bring revisions in what needs to be nurtured and developed—and what needs to be shed and let go. I think we can all see that the pandemic has caused us all to do just this—adapt and contend with limited resources. I believe this will continue throughout the rest of the year.
Because Jupiter expands anything it touches, power and the abuse of power will also be expanded. Depending on how you handle power itself, will dictate the results of your efforts. This is a karmic year of sorts, and doing the right thing matters. If you are kind and ethical, Jupiter will bring kindness and moral results. If you act in a ruthless, extreme, self-righteous or obsessive way you are likely to face powerful forces acting against you. This could include trouble from superiors, government authorities, or the law. Again, I think we can all see that the death of George Floyd, the ensuing demonstrations in protest, and the government response is indicative of Pluto problems with authority.
This could be a time of large-scale achievement and success that makes you happy and content well into the future—if you conduct yourself ethically and morally. You face various forms of destruction if you act immorally and unethically. This is not the year to tempt fate. Remember that.
3/29/20-4/6/20 Jupiter Conjunct Pluto @ 24 degrees
6/23/20-7/1/20 Jupiter Conjunct Pluto @ 24 degrees
7/6/20-7/9/20 Jupiter Conjunct Pluto @ 23 degrees
11/8/20-11/13/20 Jupiter conjunct Pluto @ 22 degrees
Again, using a 3-degree orb Jupiter conjunct Pluto will be influencing you from:
3/10/20-8/2/20
10/15/20-12/5/20
Well, this turned out to be a longer Newsletter than I usually write. I hope it is informative and useful. I stress the nature of this year, and hope that in stressing that, it is not frightening. I don’t mean to frighten anyone, but I do think it is my duty to inform. I can’t in good conscience just give a ‘sappy’ or ‘nice’ horoscope style report. Things are moving fast, and people’s lives are being torn apart. I need to inform regarding how long these influences will be upon us, and when they will recede. That is more useful than “You are an Cancer, and you are emotional”. The time for simple explanations is over.
As always, I appreciate all of you and hope you will continue to read.
~ Cait
