By Amanda Painter
One way to read the planets right now is that they are all about relating and relationships. But what if you’re not in a capital-R ‘Relationship’ currently? That’s okay: as a human being, a great part of your existence is concerned with relating to others in a wide variety of roles — work colleague, friend, sibling, parent, child, etc. — in addition to lover/partner/spouse.
Sparklewater, a few days before the solstice as Venus entered Cancer. Photo by Amanda Painter.
Plus, there’s always your relationship to yourself in all your various facets. That is, how you think and feel about your dreams, fears, desires, self-esteem, your history, your plans for the future.
It’s the ways you navigate challenges and opportunities, the stories you tell yourself about them, and how those stories make you feel. I’m not talking about self-absorption or narcissism. More like, the more clearly you can relate to yourself, the more clearly you can relate to others.
Currently, the Sun, Mercury and Venus are clustered in Cancer. On one level, this suggests domestic, family-oriented, mother-child and caring/caretaking themes and energy. You might be noticing this in your inner experience as well as in your conversations and impulses (such as to bake, clean the house or have a heart-to-heart; yes it’s cliché, but clichés exist for a reason).
Yet those three objects in Cancer are making some very interesting and potentially provocative or compelling aspects to other planets around the zodiac wheel.
The first of those is a grand water trine between Venus in Cancer, Mars in Scorpio and Chiron in Pisces. A grand trine connects planets in the same degree of all three signs of one element (in this case, water) with a sense of flow and harmony.
‘Emotional awareness’ is the phrase that comes to mind. Chiron brings the awareness piece; Venus and Mars add the relational element, especially with regard to sexual or romantic relationships (and there may be an element of ‘family’ involved). The water signs are all about emotion.
What are you emotionally aware of right now? What is asking for your attention, empathy, receptivity and action? What do you want out of it? Or, more to the point, how do you want to feel in a particular relationship situation? Trust your intuition.
There can be a kind of whirlpool effect with grand trines. If you’re noticing that your creative or sexual desires, some past sore spot/issue/pattern, and your ability to offer and receive caring seem to be feeding each other in a big ol’ circle, what’s the way out of the circularity and into constructive action?
That’s where the other aspects to those three Cancer planets come in.
In a nutshell: be open to surprises; be willing to air out what has stalled or reached a plateau; be curious and willing to discover what has been secret. Speaking in ‘I’ statements and listening with compassion can help to keep things clear, gentle and more likely to open out into new understanding, rather than triggering the impulse to close up and hide.
Again, this relates to your interpersonal relationships — but also to yourself. You might be surprised how often people ‘hide’ things from themselves. Then again, you might not; denial is a popular vacation spot (and no, I’m not talking about that river in Egypt…).
The aspects offering the nudges to dig (or dive) deep and surf the unexpected waves are the Sun and Mercury opposite Pluto in Capricorn, and Venus square Eris and Uranus in Aries. Mercury exactly conjoined the Sun on Wednesday; their respective oppositions to Pluto are both exact today, almost eleven hours apart. Venus squares Uranus today in between the oppositions. It all can be taken as one event.
Essentially, it’s okay to recognize that someone you’re close to and care about has changed; it’s okay to show others the ways you’re changing and growing and cycling through phases, too. It’s okay to experiment, to shake up routines, and to shift your attention from something that hasn’t been working so you can focus on something new that just might do the trick.
It’s okay to let love and caring (and desire) lead you. Fear just keeps you in denial — complete with metaphorical crocodiles. Surely you can think of a better trip to take with your hard-earned time on this planet, and all of this beautiful energy.
Attention anyone with a Cancer Sun, Moon or rising: Eric has recorded the audio portions of your birthday reading for the next 12 months — nicknamed The Cancer Illumination Kit. You can access them by ordering now; the video will be released after July 4. Not familiar with Eric’s audio or video readings? You can listen to last year’s reading here, as a gift.
Ah – what a gorgeous piece, and photo (this one goes on my desktop!), dear Amanda – so helpful, as am really trying to surf quite big waves at the moment. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Lizzy, and good luck with those waves!
Thank you Amanda; this is beautiful. It pulled at me to read it through, as I snuggle just a few more minutes on my day off. This energy came for me with the new moon it seems. Eric spoke of it also in his last PW TV. I keep trying to re-direct and stay my true course; the “soreness” keeps wanting its say. It is incredibly helpful to gain this understanding, to be a part of Planet Waves! Born with the moon in Cancer can sometimes mean the waves are bigger than me – insight is a game changer in the best way!
“the “soreness” keeps wanting its say”
That is such a great way to put it, Dorothy! And I suspect Chiron supports us in giving that soreness its voice — but then we also need to get to its root, acknowledge whatever old pain it is, and notice that we are still afraid of it. It can be tricky to remember that hearing it and speaking it is not the end of the process; then we get to figure out ways to heal it — to recognize how we are not the same person we were when we first experienced the soreness, and so we do not need to let our fear of it run the show. Or that perhaps it has something new to tell us about how we are or are not relating to another person, and then show the path to a new way of relating.
Thank you Amanda; understanding is key!
Surfing the waves indeed! My Cancer 1st house, which contains natal Saturn retrograde, has been SO busy with planetary energy! Add that Mars turned direct on 5th house Venus, & Pluto transiting 7th – well, all kinds of material is surfacing around past relationships, requiring some really focused emotional archaeology/recovery work. Things I had no idea were connected are turning out to be interwoven & I have to track the threads before I can tie up the ends. Sometimes, in the thick of it, I really wish I could skip the hard work, but I’m old enough at this that I know it’s worth it. A vacation to denial does appeal, but one still has to come home, right? So not going there.
Thank-you, Amanda, for your help in navigating my unexpectedly rough seas. Looking forward to some calm when more of the work’s been done.
“Things I had no idea were connected are turning out to be interwoven & I have to track the threads before I can tie up the ends. ”
Isn’t that so often the way, Bette?
Good luck with your archeology; I’m grateful to know this piece was of service. And yes: Saturn does seem to get more manageable, but he’s so rarely the life of the party…
P.S. I should add that transiting Saturn’s hanging around my 6th house sun, & will station direct conjunct it next month. I’m getting more comfortable with him, now that I’m older, but his “just do the work & do it well, & finish it, too” nature can feel so tedious.