By Amy Elliott
— with Amanda Painter

On Thursday of this week the Sun enters Cancer for the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice; just five days later, Mars will station retrograde in Aquarius. If this year’s Cancer solstice has a message, it seems to be: no matter how troubling a situation seems, you can always try to make changes for the better.

At any rate, you have options. Therein lies considerable power.

A seasonal shift always brings an air of decisively ending one chapter and beginning the next. Particularly at the solstices, it can feel like the changing of a tide.

Solar analemma by the Temple of Poseidon in Athens, Greece. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

This year there’s clearly a good deal of apprehension as to what precisely might be ending, and what might follow on its heels.

The recent news stories emerging of refugee children crossing the U.S. border being snatched from their parents and locked up have been deeply horrifying for many to witness. (If you’ve not yet called your elected representatives regarding this, please do so; see the P.S. at the bottom of this letter for more info.) So, too, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ assertion that women fleeing domestic or gang violence do not qualify for asylum.

Mistreatment of vulnerable people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel in the U.S. is not new to the current administration, however, though it’s certainly been made worse; one silver lining of this unsavory presidency is its tendency to expose deep underlying issues, which can then be addressed.

That presents an opportunity to seek a more humane way of approaching policy in future, such as thinking of every human being as a neighbor and treating them as such, regardless of where they happened to be born.

The question of humanely addressing immigration and refugee issues is certainly not limited to the U.S., though. For example, Italy’s new Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, reportedly just blocked two additional rescue boats filled with refugees — just a week after the aptly named Aquarius was prevented from docking.

Speaking of Aquarius: another feature of this week’s astrology is Venus opposing Mars. Mars is in an interesting state right now, being close to its station retrograde next week in Aquarius, which lends the opposition greater significance.

If Mars retrograde in Aquarius represents the perils of tribalism and peer pressure, Venus in Leo perhaps offers a solution: appreciation of each individual for themselves, and loving them in and for their uniqueness. There is a choice presented here also; and a challenge to recognize how much more varied and delightful life can be when you refuse to conform to groupthink and allow your imagination free rein.

Relating to imagination, the third factor of note this week is Mercury in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces, which takes place a few hours before the solstice. With the obvious caution to stay grounded — which applies whenever Neptune is prominent — this has an inspiring feel, especially in a creative sense. Remember that every work of art begins with a vision, and a certain amount of audacity. Therefore, dream big.

It can be easy to forget things like inspiration, audacity and options when you feel like just one person against many, or you’re up against an established system. As the Sun enters Cancer this week, you may find yourself getting reacquainted with the many shapes that “taking care” can take; Mars and Venus seem to describe meeting that opportunity. You have it in you to meet it well.

P.S. In addition to asking those in Congress to pass a “clean” DACA Act, you can ask your Senators to support a specific bill: S. 3036, the Keep Families Together Act, to stop the separation of immigrant families at the U.S. border. Be sure to leave your name and ZIP code and tell the staffer you are a constituent. The Capitol switchboard number is: (202) 224-3121.