By Julia Hultgren

The nurturing New Moon in Cancer on July 11 finds the Moon in its own sign. Applied to all of us, this is the holding tank for our group emotional state. When we think about the Moon in Cancer, there isn’t much room for finger pointing or name calling.  Consider the idea of all of us being in the same womb together being nurtured by the same mother. Gets kind of unsettled and crowded in here if we are unwilling to spread compassion from one to the other, permeating the entire space.  Too much angst among us and our mother grows toxic. This is the time for us to intuitively open to others in our sphere, get the vibe of the whole womb territory; and send our purest energy pulsing out for some moments of cherished oneness.

Our Cancer New Moon finds itself in an eclipse this month, which increases the essence of the energy.  Receiving assistance from Mars in Virgo, our task in compassionate oneness is supported by a good capacity to heal using an exacting ingenuity.  We are reminded to be particularly observant of those in the armed services in our prayers.

After settling ourselves into a compassionate realm of “oneness,” it’s time to turn our attention to the rest of the chart for this period. We already know how to perform the breast beating fury of communication regarding our excellence and honor, our superior strength and economic prowess. Some would say ad nauseum.  Instead, we are charged with learning to discern what is significant on the journey of soul progression, and what is not. How do we really access the divine within and around us?  If we continue to insist on issues involving our separateness, if we continue to feed arrogance, we’ve already experienced the consequences for that behavior. Seems like we should be smarter than that.

By the 22nd of this month, the Sun shifts into Leo and Saturn heads into Libra, and the birthing experience begins!  With buoyant vitality we emerge, all set to lift the veil of the old.  It is, after, all a new day.  With abundant energy and a wealth of newly engineered resources we set about developing this new identity of mass consciousness. Again, we are reminded of what we already know that balance in relationships is of the gravest concern.  And, we are asked to redefine ourselves using the context we developed in the first part of the lunar cycle: compassion, divine entreaty and the knowledge that we really are “one.”  We have tremendous access to the new and inventive, with the ability to husband resources.  There is a danger of being profligate spenders, but Mars joins Saturn in protecting the home front and the resources of the planet.

Expect to feel the balancing act of this lunar cycle as we learn to weigh and integrate seemingly disparate issues.  How do we develop personally while merging with the “other”?  How do we share resources equitably while caring for our mother?  Our seeming separateness is intended to serve the purpose of identifying and aligning each cog in the wheel of life, not personal aggrandizement and tyranny. We continue to learn that forgetting we are part of a single pulsing organism only feeds our peril.

Julia Hultgren has been a practitioner/student of astrology for over 30 years. She was an avid student of noted Chicago astrologer, Doris Hebel. In addition to basic astrology readings and charts, Julia reads and teaches planetary indications for soul mates, life purpose and monetary aspects. She also reads and teaches charts of relationships, called synastry. She is a graduate of the Weiss Institute, where she was professionally trained in Past Life Regression. She has been meditating for 13 years and has had many profound and happy experiences becoming reacquainted with spirit, while investigating altered states over the years. She has lived in Colorado Springs since 2001 with her husband and 4 children, has an MSW, and also utilizes EMDR, hypnosis and mediation in her practice.

By Rev. Whitney Wykoff

Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands).

For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky—that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change.

Solstice, from the Latin for sun stands still, in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°).

At the solstices the sun’s apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of summer solstice, around June 20 or 21, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day and shortest night of the year occur on this date, marking the beginning of summer.

At winter solstice, about December 22, the sun is overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn; this marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

For several days before and after each solstice the sun appears to stand still in the sky, its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day.

It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.

Litha comes from Saxon tradition — the opposite of Yule. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant.

At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks.

Midsummer Night’s Eve is also special for adherents of the Faerie faith.

On this night in County Limerick, Ireland, people processed up the hill of the faery queen Áine, whose name means ‘Brightness,’ and who is a goddess of the sun. They set light to bunches of straw and hay called cliars that they wave among the fields and grazing cattle to ensure good crops and healthy beasts. When the great fire is lit at the top of the hill, Áine and her faery tribe come out to join in the revelry.

This time is known in the Druid tradition as that of Alban Hefin – ‘The Light of Summer’ or ‘The Light of the Shore’ when the countryside around us revels in colorful and fragrant splendor.

At Alban Hefin the spiral of the year has expanded to its widest point and now the hours of light are as long as they will ever be. Then embarking upon the long journey back south, ending at Alban Arthan, the Winter Solstice, in mid-December in the Northern Hemisphere.

The full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives.

This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the “grand [sexual] union” of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, “newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon.”

LORE:

This is a good time to cull magical and healing herbs: fern seed gathered on midsummer’s eve can make one invisible; elderberries ward off enchantment from another; stonecrop, vervain, and yarrow are hung in special places around the house for protection against the evil eye and death.

The Christian religion converted this day of Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (like the Greek Demi-God Pan)

This is the time for the plucking of St. John’s wort (wort=herb), the golden, star-shaped flower that is first of all herbs to be gathered on St. John’s Eve. Called the ‘blessed plant’ in Wales, it is renowned throughout the Celtic lands for bringing peace and prosperity to the house, health to the animals and a bountiful harvest. It is cast into the midsummer bonfires in Scotland, and placed over the doors of houses and farm buildings for its protective powers. For these magical plants are filled with the energy of the sun at its peak, now transformed into green blessings for the human realm.

Taking a tincture of St. John’s Wort to bring in the energy and light of the full Sun makes more sense now!

Correspondances

Traditional Foods:
Garden fresh fruits and vegetables, sunflower seeds.

Herbs and Flowers:
Mugwort, Chamomile, Rose, Honeysuckle, Oak, Lavender, Yarrow, Wild Sunflower/Black eyed Susan, Daisy, Carnation, sunflower.

Incense/ oils:
Lemon, Myrrh, Pine, Rose, Frankincense, Red Mandarin, Pink Grapefruit.

Sacred Gemstone:
Emerald, sunstone, carnelian, citrine.

Special Activities:
An Ideal time to reaffirm your vows to the Lord and Lady or your dedication to following the old traditions.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/litha.htm

http://www.druidry.org/obod/festivals/hefin.html

By Julia Hultgren

With the New Moon in Gemini we have two choices: to learn a little bit about many topics, or to delve deeply into a few concerns close to our hearts.  We are at our most shrewd with the Moon in this placement and will not shy away from the discovery of   significant truths.  Our need to know is greater than our need to be thin skinned. Mercury joins the Sun and Moon in Gemini, so good thing we are all going through it together, as the truth you see and tell in others will be the truth they see and tell in you. Such a marvelous time for ownership of who we really are!

Chiron and Neptune are at the top of the chart on either side of our public presentation sector in Pisces. Water, water, every where!  What would the God of the Oceans have to say to the buff centaur representing collaboration between man and beast?–A little less man and a little more beast?–Right now our need to explain and criticize is getting in the way of true healing.  Remember to put a lid on the fear and sense of horrendous doom in your head and heart long enough to send the pure healing energy of white light down to the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere in the world where these earth/water eruptions are occurring.  Remember, if we stay conscious and build the bridges that are being requested by the fellows at the mid heaven, wellness will ultimately occur.

There is an opportunity for great benefits, albeit briefly. For a little while it looks like we can put together wide scope partnerships with those in foreign lands.  If ever anything could move quickly, the New Moon is the time to wrap up favorable collaborations with long reaching implications for growth. However it’s likely these healing factions will take the back seat to the overwhelming issues at hand, but will gain in strength over time.

So, the full lunar eclipse on June 26, promises upheaval in the earth/water sectors of the planet. Sound familiar? Saturn triggered this energy on January 12^th this year with the earthquake in Haiti. And then we have British Petroleum.  Lunar eclipses signify endings, with a big spotlight focused on events. This eclipse includes the total annihilation and rebirth energy of Pluto, so it is likely we will see a phoenix rising at some point, but not until all possible issues have been expelled and exposed.  While this mass expurgation is occurring on such a grand scale, remember the lesson this month is “as out there, so in here,” “as in you, so in me.” Pointing the finger is feels very safe until it comes right back to us. How is the gusher of toxins into the Gulf a metaphor in our own lives? What safeguards have we not taken?  Where have we been careless with precious resources? How have we allowed others to cut corners?  What slime ridden morality have we been in bed with?

I always promise that the solution to the problem is within every chart. And so it is! This one says rebirth and the shift of mass consciousness will occur through the meticulous rebuilding of foundations.  Never said it was going to be easy!

By Julia Hultgren

By the New Moon late March 16/early March 17, depending on your location, Mars will have been direct the better part of the week, making critical and mostly positive aspects to many planets for the last two weeks of March.  The languorous feelings many of us have been unable to shake of the last couple of months will slowly start picking up speed until finally we get back to where we left off energy-and-project-wise, by mid-May. Thinking back to the December Solstice, what needed review and contemplation in your life?

As though in collaboration with the spring time, our energies will slowly unfurl and open to the sun. The direct motion of Mars resumes in the sector of work and health, so it is likely jobs will begin making slow and steady improvement as will health care negotiations on a national front. At the equinox, look for a shot of java towards the things we most value, and the values we hold closest to our hearts, pushing us toward balance, as we reach balance between the days and the nights.  As a people, we are beginning to focus on the expansion of our individual selves toward the greater good. In the near months, we will begin to see innovative and unexpected solutions that are palpable to us and begin to grow them toward the future. We’ve had such a quandary this past decade, where we’ve been able to see the problems, but not necessarily how they relate to us in our daily lives. More and more, as we go forward, the energy, ideas and discipline necessary for putting these solutions into place will become available to us.

This month, there’s a reciprocal energy exchange between our unconscious and innovative selves.  We should be thinking of ourselves as Einstein’s and Edison’s, expecting the perfect answers to occur in our somnolent states. The ability to communicate these healing visions is granted as well.  By the full moon, our communications will be directed with ardent emphasis on values.  Also by the full moon, we’ll be feeling fully emotionally responsible for the morass we’ve made of shared resources, financial as well as environmental.  Again, the forward motion of Mars in the health and work sector will help bolster our egos as we begin to slog forward instead of backward.

We are still being asked to commit everything we have to balanced and cooperative action toward the greater good—it continues to be the overarching theme of the times ahead.  As with a compass needle, the emphasis will change periodically as we play out this theme in different venues, as we also gather nuance that will help inform our solutions.

By Julia Hultgren

With the New Moon in Capricorn on the 15th of January we may all be thinking, “so much to do, so little time.” This month our ruler is asking for an outward show of accountability.  The solar eclipse acts as a spotlight, beginning a cycle for the next 18 years.  This spotlight focuses on dignity, beauty and material resources, and reminds us not to squander or overlook that oh-so-precious resource, the resource of ideas.
 
Eclipses are the most potent change energy of the zodiac, and right now we are in the middle of two.  At last writing, the lunar eclipse in Cancer directed us to domestic water, and Mercury and Mars were headed into retrograde, reminding us that reflection and introspection are better for us now than charging blindly ahead.  When the January New Moon occurs, Saturn, the ruler of the chart, is stationary, poised to go retrograde. Mercury is also in a stationary position, collecting energy to go forward on the following day. Alone, either of these is occasion for great insight.  In combination, on either side of the solar eclipse, they hold particular augury.

Our messenger is in the huddle with Pluto, who is ready to talk. In the interest of going forward, Pluto wants a restoration of dignity and respect. When all is considered (and relevant parties are taking the high ground), Saturn in Libra has a ken for this, and along with dignity, adds balance, equal footing, and fair share to the list of conditions for the upcoming encounter. This seems like a simple game plan, and we would be smart to heed the call. We will need to have the conditions set and well exercised for when the Titans meet in the spring.

Meanwhile, both the eclipse and the north node of the moon are elevating Venus to first string where she joins the heavy hitters for this auspicious beginning of this 18 year cycle. Often Venus is relegated to the ranks of inconsequential players or designing the uniforms, just adding a bit of superficial beauty here, and some extraneous fluff there. Venus in Capricorn is not just some babe to be taken lightly, and reinforces the call for decorum, and respect for material resources. And, after too many gritty years, bringing grace and a code of honor to the forefront will be a relief to us all.

The New Moon groupies are hooking up with the eclectic third Titan, who is currently removed from the fray, partying on the sidelines. The luminaries shake off some of their Capricorn stuffiness, charging their aura with that special electric chemistry only Uranus can provide. It will become ultra cool to follow the rules.

And what of that retrograde Mars from last month? He’s off in the international finance and banking sector, minding his own business. But by the Full Moon on the 30th, we’ll be asking ourselves, “Who thought it was a good idea to leave that wild child alone?”

 Background

Julia Hultgren has been a practitioner/student of astrology for over 30 years. She was an avid student of noted Chicago astrologer, Doris Hebel. In addition to basic astrology readings and charts, Julia reads and teaches planetary indications for soul mates, life purpose and monetary aspects. She also reads and teaches charts of relationships, called synastry. She is a graduate of the Weiss Institute, where she was professionally trained in Past Life Regression. She has been meditating for 13 years and has had many profound and happy experiences becoming reacquainted with spirit, while investigating altered states over the years. She has lived in Colorado Springs since 2001 with her husband and 4 children, has an MSW, and also utilizes EMDR, hypnosis and mediation in her practice.

By Julia Hultgren

The December new moon in Sagittarius points to Mars in Leo at the top of the chart, just as Mars in Leo will be a compelling feature of the next few months as it turns retrograde at the Solstice and stays that way until March, finally returning to the beginning of the reversal in mid May.  Surprise, surprise, there are bad purchases being made on the international front with errant enthusiasm.  Perhaps it could be called recklessness?  Meanwhile, our planet needs healing, especially in the water element, requiring inventive, intuitive solutions.

 As with all charts, the solution is presented with the problem and this one is no exception.

Arrogant and expansive Mars in the international and philosophical sector is challenging the call for the localized, healing communication of the Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune conjunction across the sky, spending wildly while it does so.  

 As leonine Mars moves backwards, the presenting issues to be pounded out are first and primarily, multicultural concerns. With each ensuing new moon until Mars returns to its forward motion, the punch list of imminent demands for attention is reviewed. After multicultural concerns, attention will turn to banking, then a perusal of the resources relationships will supply. Finally, in March, it’s time to roll up our proverbial sleeves and get to work on completing the projects under construction.

 The tools in our tool belt are the best! The energies and the wisdom of the ancients are with us in every sector of this design project. Sun, Moon and Venus in Sagittarius give license for a jovial, energetic atmosphere. Jupiter in Aquarius teaming up with healing Chiron and Neptune is a call for grass roots to continue to inform over-reaching imperialism. And while Mars is challenging, it also is providing the bravado and energy necessary to complete these projects.

 Another big piece to our lessons this month is the opportunity to review the water supply of all domestic situations.  On a personal level, this can come symbolically through our emotional states, or it could literally be the potential for eruptions of the water pipes in our homes.  Here, surprise or unusual solutions could be the key.

 Last but not least in this eventful planetary month is the lunar eclipse in Cancer at the full moon as the year ends.  The accent again is on home and hearth and finishing projects.  By then, Mercury, too, will have begun its retrograde journey through Capricorn, requiring care and methodical attention in communication and short trips. It’s an auspicious beginning to 2010.  Plan time for reflection and rumination on the appropriate expenditure of energies, and the potential healing power of communications.  And don’t forget to call your mother!

 Background

Julia Hultgren has been a practitioner/student of astrology for over 30 years. She was an avid student of noted Chicago astrologer, Doris Hebel. In addition to basic astrology readings and charts, Julia reads and teaches planetary indications for soul mates, life purpose and monetary aspects. She also reads and teaches charts of relationships, called synastry. She is a graduate of the Weiss Institute, where she was professionally trained in Past Life Regression. She has been meditating for 13 years and has had many profound and happy experiences becoming reacquainted with spirit, while investigating altered states over the years. She has lived in Colorado Springs since 2001 with her husband and 4 children, has an MSW, and also utilizes EMDR, hypnosis and mediation in her practice.

By Julia Hultgren
The November 16 new moon in Scorpio will be leaning on all of us to draw cleansing energy into our lives; evaluating what must go and what can stay, what we want and what we will give.  Scorpio handles physical and emotional debris by tying up loose ends in a no-nonsense fashion, especially as it involves our relationships. Where this shows up for each of us depends on where Scorpio appears in our individual charts.  By the full moon on December 2nd every little issue will have been communicated, likely ending on a note of droll wit.

Also front and center are those heavy energies of our Karma King, Saturn, butting heads with the under-worldly Pluto. We need those hard hitters to create the change of the arriving new era, but it’s unlikely to reach the fervent pitch of 9/11 or Nazism, which were influenced by the same energies. Saturn is measured in Libra, longing for partnership, concurrently pacing possible Plutonian upheaval. While Saturn is yearning for balance, Pluto is in Capricorn, simultaneously “getting” the Saturnine lesson. Yes, values must shift, but let’s think of it as a slow and steady climb.  Plus Saturn only gets a few months rest from being called out by Uranus to change its staid and stodgy ways, and Saturn in Libra is tired of fighting.

The new moon makes a benevolent aspect to Uranus in Pisces, reminding the quarrelsome duo (above) that change is coming, like it or not, and they’d better get their acts together. That Piscean Uranus says, “Let’s play act it first, it will be fun and deliver us to the greater good!” Practice suits Saturn fine, but playacting is a stretch for our tired and stuffy friend. Pluto passionately wants to control the whole show, or he doesn’t want to be part of it! Luckily Neptune is also on the stage, bundling those fine higher energies of universal peace (think civil disobedience) with the call to Aquarian ideals of saving the world. We won’t be surprised if some great peace making deals show up at play practice in the near future, especially with that lucky, expansive planet, Jupiter, headed on stage next month.

Venus enters Sagittarius at the full moon, jockeying up to Saturn and Pluto, reminding them to make the play a fun filled adventure, with prospects for lightening up the scene. She’s loving the play, especially the idealistic parts. The heaviness is so yesterday, but everyone needs to remember to hold their code of honor near and dear. Lots of good energy for gettin’ ‘er done this moon cycle—should we all be sending positive vibes to the Middle East?