The Sun moves into cozy Cancer on June 21, 2015, which also marks the Summer Solstice. When the Sun is as far north from the equator as it gets, it crosses the Tropic of Cancer and it is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Ruled by the Moon, a Water sign, Cancer tends to the extremes of sentimentality and of being territorial. While the Sun moves through Cancer our focus is on home and family matters. Now is the time to have that family get together and barbecue. In Cancer, the Sun is more reserved, sensitive, somewhat shy and intuitive. The Sun's life-giving warm rays are more focused on the inner workings of the self; who we are, what we desire, who/what motivates all rooted at our hearts and the emotional side of the self. The cardinal sign of Cancer represents our roots, our family, the past, the home and our emotions. We are reminded of our roots and to connect/re-connect with family, biological or otherwise. We are feeling life very deeply now so say what you need to say to clear the air and get relationships back on track. We have an help with this task since Neptune has been Retrograde since June 12th and can help clear away some of that relationship debris. Neptune is the planet of illusion, it clouds our vision and allows us to delude ourselves. However, when Retrograde we are much more tuned into the vibes around us. The rose-colored glasses come off allowing clear vision. We become acutely aware of the issues and the truth that was eluding us. This is a time when we can see the dividing line between fact and fiction, reality and fantasy. Mars lends his energy to assists as well when he moves into Cancer on June 24th. This is transit bring enormous energy for you to use to focus on security, especially of family and property. Use with caution, as Mars can be explosive.
Sun enters Cancer
This year on June 21, 2014, the Summer Solstice, the Sun moved into Cancer. Cancer, a Cardinal sign, is ruled by the Moon and belongs to the element of water. This brings an important point as the Moon has no light of her own. She can only reflect the light that's given to her by the Sun. This quality of reflection is a central factor in the Cancer archetype. Cancer claims exclusive rights to the Moon, both sign and planetary ruler termed, “cold and moist” in nature. Understanding the essence of that phrase reveals a lot about the complex sensitivity that lies beneath Cancer’s thick, crustaceous shell. In Cancer, we enter the world of emotions and feelings, as well as needs, intuition and the ability to bond with another human being. The rational Gemini self-awareness leads readily into Cancer's intuitive self-reflection and its personalized, feelings-based assessment of life. We now enter the realm of the non-rational, not necessarily irrational, but that which does not adhere to conventional logic or cause-and-effect.
In nature, water has no shape of its own, no taste or color. It needs other materials to be observed. Feelings and emotions are like invisible forces made perceptible by external events that cause internal ripples. Our feeling state can be affected by internal psychological dynamics and includes emotions, but also includes the intuitive senses. You can have a “feeling” about something without necessarily having an emotional response to it.
As children, we are very open. We freely express our emotions, from delight to contentment to primal rage. We learn to consciously identify our feelings by observing how we react to various situations and sensations. As we mature, we develop a more complex repertoire of feelings. Our first experience of being emotionally affected by others is our family, initially by the mother or mother-figure. Whether we experienced our childhood as nurturing, supportive and safe, or as painful, erratic and dysfunctional, our internal emotional growth tends to take on the shape of the environment in which it grew. It is here we first learn how to nurture and be nurtured, to bond and be separate, to be an individual and yet be part of a larger whole, i.e., the family. Unconscious dynamics which are passed down from generation to generation also have their roots in Cancer and the 4th house. Hence, Cancer also governs family, childhood, mother, our ancestry, and the past in general. As infants, we learn how to bond with another person, usually the mother first and later we begin to distinguish between where we stop and others begin. Our initial symbiosis with the mother-figure, combined with our subsequent ability to separate ourselves, matures into a capacity for empathy. The roots of our needs and behaviors in adult relationships are found deep in our Cancerian past. The archetypes of Aries, Taurus and Gemini form the foundation of the Self in its own right. Although Gemini brings us a conceptual experience of others through information and environment, Cancer involves an experiential, deeply personal encounter with others. In Cancer, it is enough to return to our roots and past to discover the dynamics which enabled us to grow into the person we are today. If we try to go forward without knowing where we came from, we risk becoming aimless, reckless and disconnected.
Mercury Retrograde in Cancer and Gemini
From June 7th until the 17th, Mercury will be in Cancer. The challenge will be to think clearly when all these emotions are coming up and all we can do is feel. All of our emotional insecurities will rise to the surface and this Mercury retrograde can make us feel like we could easily loose it and emotionally explode. Family issues that we thought we had dealt with will come back again. Old wounds will resurface to be hopefully healed once again on an ever-deeper level. The essence of Cancer energy is to learn emotional self-reliance. To realize that no matter how "bad" or "good" our relationships may be, no matter what gender we are this lifetime, it is still our own responsibility to take care of our own emotional needs. No matter who we think is "hurting" us it is just the mirror to help us to greater levels of emotional self-relating. So this Mercury retrograde will help us determine where in our emotional relationships we need to relate to ourselves better. This is the time period to realize our deepest emotional fears and insecurities and face them, to mentally listen inwardly on how to do this.
Then from the 17th to July 1st, Mercury will move into Gemini. Gemini Sun Signs and people with this sign prominent in their charts will be especially prone to introspection. Gemini is a Mutable Sign, so the other Mutable Signs, Pisces, Virgo and Sagittarius will also be effected. With Neptune Retrograde as well, the coming weeks will present a tricky time. Bear in mind that, although luck could well be on your side, there are no guarantees that you will make proper use of the information, ideas, or activities you experience. Reality will probably not manage to intrude, as inspiration and instincts rule the day and there is little choice but to reconsider our personal views and opinions about life. We receive, however, an opportunity to gain insight into our own ego. Your imagination and intuition can prove useful, by putting you in the right place at the right time. Mercury retrograde in Gemini tempts us to leap into something new and untried, or to escape to some other place. Although Gemini is the sign of the mind and of communication, this period can see us swamped in a mass of detail, especially if matters that should have been completed in the past return to haunt us. An unduly fluid state of mind can lead to indecision and confusion, mainly through a breakdown in communication. Judgments are unclear and fickle, and it's hard to know good value when you see it. Frustration arises in connection with information and ideas that come your way. Resist the temptation to take offence at criticism, especially if it wasn't meant to be taken personally.