Full Moon is in Capricorn on June 23.  What is a super moon?

 You’ve seen it on Facebook and the news. This full moon in Capricorn on June 23rd is a super moon.  That means the Moon will be closer to earth than it normally is.  The moon’s proximity to Earth will give us the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.  We can enjoy the beauty and we can soak up the energy of the full moon.  Hopefully it will give us insight into our hearts and minds.

Moon and Pluto are conjunct in Capricorn.  Sun and Jupiter are conjunct in Cancer. 

The Moon is sharing the stage with Pluto.  When these two energies join together we tend to get some intense emotions.  Pluto is about death and transformation so maybe some of us will have some cathartic moments during the two and one half days that the Moon transits the sign of Capricorn.  The Moon/Pluto duo opposes the Sun and Jupiter. Interesting!  Sun and Jupiter get together and create big ego. Moon and Pluto get together and throw a hissy fit.  Fortunately this strong opposition is contained in a Grand Trine (in the water element) between the Sun and Jupiter in Caner, Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio.  The easy flow of these planets in water should help tone down the ego and the intensity of old emotional patterns trying to transform.  The whole shebang forms what we call a “kite” formation.  If we can get that kite air born, we feel lighter and more optimistic.

The energy polarity of Cancer and Capricorn:  Mom and Dad

The Sun entered Cancer on Friday, June 21, at the summer solstice.  We have moved into a new season.  Where do we want to put our energy this summer? The sign of Cancer is associated with the home and with security.  What do you need in order to feel more secure?  The opposite sign, Capricorn, is about achievement and accomplishment.  These signs seem very different, but they are actually the parental polarity in the zodiac.  The Moon, the emotional barometer, rules Cancer.  The Moon is the mother so Cancer is associated with the caregiver and with nurturance and creative activity.  Saturn, the taskmaster who tells us what to do and where our shortcomings are, rules Capricorn.  Capricorn is the father.  Capricorn is associated with practicality, accomplishment, achievement, and with climbing the totem poll in the patriarchy. Both signs have elements of insecurity.  We must feel secure in ourselves before we can be creative and achieve something.  We all have gifts and talents to share with others.  While the Sun is in Cancer we should strive to feel more emotionally secure about our gifts.  When the Moon reaches its fullness in the opposite sign of Capricorn, we can envision how to share our talents.   Another way to think about the Cancer/Capricorn polarity is this:  Capricorn builds a container to hold the creative, nurturing energy of Cancer.  In its purest form, the full moon in Capricorn encourages us to build something out of our unique gifts because it is just the right thing to do!

Meditation from The Essene Book of Days 2013

The following Meditational words are from The Essene Book of Days 2013 by Danaan Parry.  It’s a fitting meditation for the summer solstice and this full moon in Capricorn:

“With the electric limits of my aura,

My personal energy field,

I tap the power

Of the earth in summer.

The earth current flows in me

And strengthens my body

For the work that only I can do

As a channel for the Light.

I feel it shine in me.”

New Moon in mercurial Gemini

There are two ways to think about Gemini.  The first is fundamental:  Mercury rules Gemini.  Therefore, Gemini is associated with the mind, learning, communication, trade and travel.  Geminis are known to gather information and to chatter.  Gemini can be a teacher and Gemini can be a truck driver using a CB radio. Because of the connection with rapid moving Mercury, Geminis are easily distracted and find it hard to focus on one thing for an extended period of time.  They need diversity and they need to be on the go.  Gemini is mutable, changeable energy.

The new moon in Gemini on June 8^th sits close to transiting Jupiter in Gemini.  We will probably get together with friends or family, plan a trip or take a trip, have big conversations with someone, study something new or lay the groundwork for some heady project.  How we communicate right now is covered by where Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, is located.  Mercury (along with Venus) has moved on into the sign of Cancer, a water sign.  Our communication will be more emotional than analytical.  This new moon energy is good for communicating with family, partners, and loved ones. We can clear out relationship problems if we keep ourselves connected with our hearts as well as our heads.

Gemini, the Sign of the Twins

The second way of looking at the sign of Gemini is through mythology.  The twins,
Castor and Pollux go back to the Greek/Roman times.  Zeus seduced a mortal woman named Leda, who conceived twins.  Perhaps one offspring was the product of Zeus, the other the product of Leda’s mortal husband.  The twins were born from two eggs. One was destined to live among the gods; one would live among the dead.  In the end Castor is killed and Pollux, the divine one, finds too much suffering in being separated from his twin brother.  He asks to share his immortality with Castor.  They become united as the Gemini constellation.  In antiquity, this constellation was important to travelers and especially to sailors. Gemini, an air sign, is thus associated with the hope for favorable winds and safe journeys.

Think of Gemini as a black and white photograph.

The Gemini twins have one foot in this world and one foot in the other world--the world of the dead.  When we contemplate Gemini, we need to think about light and shadow.  It is easy to assume that we are all light and airy but in fact we all have our shadow that lives in the other world.  It takes little to trip the switch that opens the hatch to the shadow realm—to the dark side.  Perhaps Gemini is the best astrological example of Carl Jung’s theory of “complex” (unconscious material around a particular life theme or difficulty).  While the Sun is visiting the sign of Gemini, we can let the Sun shine on our shadow (our unconscious complexes).  There is nothing wrong with having a shadow but the shadow becomes menacing when we fail to become conscious of it and when we neglect it.  With big planet Jupiter finishing up its one-year visit in Gemini (Jupiter enters the sign of Cancer on June 25^th), we have time to look at our shadow.  There is still time to study it, talk about it and heal it.  I think of Gemini as a black and white photograph.  Without the dark shadows the light would not stand out.  Without the dark shadows, there would be no depth or mystery to the image.

Twin Flames, another Gemini theme

The theme of twins is huge.  It would be hard to exhaust the subject.  Think about the profound connections documented between identical twins that often report knowing what the other is thinking and feeling even when separated by geography.  In recent times we have the subject of twin flames or twin souls.  Many people want to be reunited with their other half.  There is a longing to connect with a missing part of our self.  Perhaps we are hoping that finding our twin flame will ensure our soul’s immortality, just as Castor and Pollex are united in the heavens.  Is that twin flame another person or is it a sacred marriage of wholeness in the self?

The impact of water on Gemini

Gemini days are deeper this time around due to a grand trine in the water element: Mercury & Venus in Cancer connecting with other water energy…Neptune and Chiron in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio.  I can’t help it that I dove deeply into the meaning of Gemini.  That’s what water energy is for.  We can feel the touching love of the Gemini twins because of the water surrounding them!  And how difficult it must be to BE a Gemini!  A Gemini individual must be looking for his or her twin, looking for someone who will totally understand and bring completion to who he or she is, and looking for that one soul who will never abandon the union.

As we go through these Gemini days that last until June 21^st, when the Sun enters Cancer, there will be less emphasis on the chatterbox Gemini and more attention to deeper knowledge gained through traveling to “the other side.” 

“A large archaic volume reveals a traditional wisdom.”  The Gemini steps into another world seeking seed knowledge and growth.

From An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformation and its 360 Symbolic Phases by Dane Rudhyar