This week the Sun, newly in Cancer, forms a square to Chiron in Aries. Sun-Chiron aspects suggest a discussion about the ways in which self-expression is damaged, stunted or actively resisted by forces in society and psyche.

Jim Morrison, Sun square Chiron poster child.

Sun square Chiron happens twice a year (the conjunction and opposition each happen once a year). The aspect on Thursday, June 27, is the second time for this Chiron in Aries cycle that the Sun has made a square to Chiron in Aries; the first was a year ago.

If you were listening to a client with Sun square Chiron, you might hear some version of the story about how their father was hobbled by some force they could not control: maybe they were really an inventor or an artist but were trapped in some other role in society because they had to work to pay the family bills.

The client would also be discussing their own experience. This is how charts work. A point like the Sun will often describe something about father, and then also describe how the owner of the chart experiences their own self-expression.

The Sun refers to what is often called the “masculine side.” Juan Revilla once wrote that the Sun in our chart is where we seek our glory. Take a close look at the Sun in your chart and ask yourself how you go about doing that.

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Whether they know it or not, people all over the world are witnessing an event that perfectly illustrates our current high-pressure, confrontational astrology: the slowly growing beat of war drums as Saudi Arabia joins the U.S., Israel and the U.K. in blaming Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. The astrology in question: Mars in Cancer opposite the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn — with extra intensity added by a Full Moon in Sagittarius.

Photo by Enrique Lopez Garre.

These events are occurring in a week that ends with the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere: the solstice, when the Sun enters Cancer to begin the new season.

That occurs on Friday, June 21, at 11:54 am EDT (15:54:07 UTC) — bringing the emblem of consciousness into contact with the early cardinal sign planets. That is Aries Point territory, coming with a reminder to notice how the personal intersects with the political/collective.

Even though the official word from the U.S. government is that it does not want a war with Iran, does the energy around this event feel like that to you? Without getting into all the reasons how certain people in power might benefit from armed conflict in a region known for its tinderbox qualities, this is an issue we all need to notice carefully.

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This week, Mars in Cancer comes into range of opposing the Saturn-Pluto conjunction. I’ve been writing about this for weeks, such as in this article, and this one. And Friday, I released a video that offers another take on the aspect pattern, and gives some of its history.

Detail of a mosaic of Mount Sharp, taken by the Mars Curiosity Rover last year. Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. View in full here.

With all of that said, I want to offer one thought this week, as Mars comes back into focus, in a series of transits that will last till the Cancer solstice.

Nothing says “individual will” quite like Mars in Cancer. This is the emotionally driven element of will, at once passionate and yet cyclical in nature (like anything in Cancer). The ancient rules of astrology say that Mars is in “fall” in Cancer, meaning that it’s irritated, it stands out, and can be extra-strong despite the discomfort.

Mars now makes a series of three oppositions to major elements in Capricorn. Beginning this week, it is conjunct the Moon’s north node and opposite the Moon’s south node. This contains the key to the aspect pattern.

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The Last Supper by Leonardo DaVinci, painted 1495-1498.

Monday’s New Moon is in Gemini. One of its distinctive features is its location in the United States chart on the relationship angle. The suggestion is that there is some news, development or at least the need for attention focused on this aspect of our lives.

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We’re now in the last quarter phase of the Moon; it is waning toward the Gemini New Moon, which occurs in about a week. Before we arrive, Mercury makes an opposition to Jupiter, exact on Thursday. This happens once a year, but this year it’s rather special — each planet is in a sign it rules: Mercury in Gemini and Jupiter in Sagittarius.

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The Pleaides cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.

Tuesday morning, the Sun ingresses Gemini, with Mercury close behind. The Mercury-Sun conjunction forms a fraction of a degree into Gemini at 9:06 am EDT. There is an elegance in Mercury aligning with the Sun in the first degree of Mercury’s own sign, and this gleams out of the chart.

Be aware that until then, the Sun is void of course, making its way through the last degree of Taurus. The Sun and Mercury will form a conjunction to Alcyone, the primary star of the Pleiades, which has different connotations in traditional and New Age astrology.

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This week, the movement of Mars begins a new phase of astrological history.

Here is an idea to work with, if you strive to understand astrology. In every era, there are slow-moving patterns of planets that take a long time to form, and hold their positions for years, and sometimes for many years.

Then there are faster-moving planets — anything from Mercury out to Jupiter, and sometimes Saturn, that can get into the pattern. This might last a few days, a few weeks, some months or even a year.

It would not be oversimplifying to say that in reading a chart, to really see what is happening, it helps greatly to study the dialog between the slower-moving points and patterns, and the faster-moving points.

The slower-moving patterns, which include points such as Chiron, Neptune, Pluto, and Eris — what are sometimes called outer planets — can be enhanced, personalized, and brought closer to the realm of human experience and sensory experience. This involves what the inner planets represent, as compared to the slower-moving outer ones.

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Quotation on Journey Truth’s refrigerator.

Just a reminder — I am taking it easy today, in honor of the Beltane holiday, and I’ll be back with a new Planet Waves FM either Tuesday or in one week.

Saturday, May 4, was the Taurus New Moon, at the midpoint of that sign. Saturn and Pluto are now retrograde in Capricorn, which seems to be taking off some of the pressure of the impending conjunction, exact Jan. 12, 2020.

Uranus is now in the discovery degree of Chiron, 4 Taurus, with the Sabian symbol, “The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” (That is the source of “Rainbow bridge between the inner and outer planets,” used in the title of an early book on Chiron). This is bringing out the Uranian aspect of Chiron — the quest for transformation, rather than an emphasis on inner healing.

Uranian energy tends to externalize Chiron, which may be helpful at this stage: you are invited to get out of your head and explore your feelings, and the world around you. This is particularly helpful where Taurus is concerned; influences associated with that sign have a tendency to get lost in their own sauce.

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