Solar Musing
The Summer Solstice marks the point where the Sun is at its apex, its greatest power, the day is the longest and night is the shortest. This apex has been building since the Winter Solstice, a return of the light, slowly but surely. Gemini Season really marks the crescendo, and this year has had quite the pop with Mercury, the ruler, back in his home sign and distant enough by degree to the Sun to be at his all time best. This Gemini season is in true form, social, innovative, talkative, people and place oriented. Maybe you have started traveling more during this season, found yourself meeting up with friends more frequently, greater ease at making friends and seeking out new social circles or activities. Gemini season marks the brightest light of the light half of the year.
On June 21, the Sun peaks as he crosses over the boundary of Gemini into Cancer. This is the Sun’s longest arc, and from here on out at 10:59 am ET the descent into darkness begins. And yet, this also marks the first day of summer and Cancer season, which we associate in the northern hemisphere with long, bright, steamy dog days of exponential growth and stimulation. We don’t associate darkness with the Summer Solstice, and this is ok. And yet, Cancer’s planetary ruler is not the Sun, but the Moon. The Moon, as we know, is a reflective light of the Sun, not an original light. For us to see it here on Earth, we need it in position to the Sun, and it refracts it phases back to us by the solar light it gathers.
Why did the ancient astrologers assign the Moon and not the Sun to Cancer? Well let us start first with the concept of the “Thema Mundi”, which is a Latin translation of the Greek phrase “kisumu genesis”. Thema Mundi translates to the “Nativity of the Cosmos” or often referred to as the “Birth Chart of the World.” Hellenistic astrologers and their philosophies in regards to the cosmos and creation, believed even our world has a personal birth chart, a unique moment of conception. It is this birth chart that midwifed the concepts we now use as domicile and exalted rulerships when we study birth charts. This chart takes in account the planetary placements and speeds relative to the Sun and the Moon. It is the two great luminaries, from which all creation would not exist for it not be the Moon, the feminine yin principle associated with creation, women and birth amongst other things, and the Sun, the masculine, yang principle that actively sought order to the creation and provided structure and insight.
Set your intentions for the next half of the year.
The Thema Mundi serving as a birth chart of the cosmos, or possibly even called the “Nativity of God” placed Cancer on the ascendant, the rising sign. This placement of Cancer was referred by the ancients as the “Gateway of the Soul”, where the spirit descended down from the divine source and transformed into matter in this realm.
The ancients in the northern hemisphere noticed the peaking of light and then the slow descent built into the Sun’s trajectory. They also noticed in ancient Egypt, the flooding of the Nile occurred each year at the hottest point, July, when the fixed star Sirius was rising just before the Sun in the morning. This rising aspect gave way to the Egyptian new year, and this would put Cancer on the eastern horizon.
The Sun, the father, has associations with the godhead and spirit, it is the constant light that moves precisely each day, never changing speeds or directions. The Sun sets order to the cycles of the seasons and guides by day, and marks the turning of the wheel each year. Yet it is the Moon, the mother, that is closer to us in this realm, the sublunar sphere. The Moon rules the night, and it regulates the weeks and months. This reflective light, the Moon, is said to guide us humans more personally on a daily basis, fluctuating our moods, our minds, our fortunes. The Moon then would rule the first house of this world, and the first house is assigned to matters of mind and body, health, psychology, vitality. It is the house that points to new beginnings, birth and creation.
Leo, the next door neighbor of Cancer, is assigned the next great luminary, the Sun, and side by side we have the Queen and the King, the Mother and the Father, seated next to one another on their domicile thrones in their own temples, overseeing the dualistic nature of mankind. From there, all visible planets flank these two by planetary speed, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and the furthest planet observed at the time, Saturn.
In the sweetest sense, we have mutual reception between the Sun and the Moon today, the King and the Queen, with the Moon in Leo and the Sun in Cancer. The two great luminaries, conspiring of cooperation.
When spirit drops into matter, and Cancer is the rising sign ruled by the Moon, it is the Moon that oversees the matrix we all swim in daily in our physical form. Perhaps spirit came to experience this world from another perspective, a different sensory perspective. When each one of us is born, we too descend from spirit into matter, with our own rising sign that lends insight to how our personality may take shape, what broad experiences we may encounter, and our general vitality here in human form.
Spirit descending into matter at the time of the solstice, may we reflect on this in our own lives during this climatic period. What is spirit manifesting right now in your life? What is showing up in form that is speaking to your heart? Where is your soul being directed?
This week holds helpful transits this week,including Mercury and Mars aspecting one another in a helpful sextile on the 21st. The Sun is also set up in a beautiful position at the solstice, with her queen the Moon in Leo, enclosed by the two benefics, Jupiter and Venus. Perhaps a deeper venusian wisdom is coming through, comforting us on our own solar journey of our spirit in this world. We all have a personal path to explore and experience, and I like this signature for a beautiful summer ahead, as we slowly descend into the dark half of the year.
Humans can never look directly into the Sun, and yet the Moon allows all of our viewing pleasure. It is the Moon that gives us an indirect route to glimpse the nature of the Sun. During Cancer season, spend a little time viewing the Moon in meditation in reciprocation to know your Sun. The Sun in your natal chart points to clues where your own soul purpose lies, what is trying to ultimately manifest in this lifetime for you. It lends clues to life purpose and personal development. The Moon unfolds the mystery of the soul manifesting in form. Conspire to know your own soul.
Have a lovely summer season!