Happy Summer Solstice friends! The solstice goes exact today at 5:44pm EDT, ringing in the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere as we rejoice in the beginning of summer. The ancients believed that the solstice was a time when the veils between the worlds thinned and this year we also have a solar eclipse on the night of the solstice, which happens about every 40 years or so, and adds a potent punch to this already magical time.

Let’s talk about the ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse which will start at 11:45pm EDT tonight, lasting till 5:34am, coloring the solstice energy. Solar eclipses occur during the new Moon when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, but are more powerful because the Moon darkens the Sun. In astrology, the Sun represents our core, the ‘I Am’, while the Moon represents our subconscious, the ‘I Feel’. It is easy to understand then, that during a solar eclipse, things that are normally hidden from us within the subconscious come up to the surface. Eclipses have a theme of revealing that which we were blind to or repressed. Add to this the energy of the five retrograde planets, including everyone’s favorite, Mercury who just went retrograde a few days ago, the planets are singing a song of ‘go within’ quite loudly.

2020 has been a testing year for us as a collective. We have had to come face to face with a world that is sick with the disease of separation and fear and selfishness. We have also had to accept that the collective reality that we have created is not sustainable and that if we don’t wake up, our future as a race is quite fragile. All of these lessons are very Saturnian in nature, and I have mentioned before in my previous blogs that we are under a quite Saturnian influence this year, which is interesting because the strongest aspect that this eclipse makes is a quincunx to Saturn in Aquarius. Astrologically, a quincunx aspect is considered neither harmonious nor an aspect of tension, but rather it indicates a potential that is difficult to realize.

In order to understand the effect of this quincunx aspect, we need to look at the signs and the planets that are involved. The Sun and Moon are in Cancer, forming the solar eclipse. Cancer is a sign of nurturing, of motherhood. Its essence is quintessentially feminine. This eclipse then, brings up the desire within us for security, to be held and nurtured. Saturn on the other hand, is in the sign of Aquarius, the sign of humanitarianism, brotherhood and sisterhood. The essence of Aquarius can be summed up in one word - freedom. So the quincunx between the solar eclipse and Saturn, creates the potential for us to experience freedom if we are willing to surrender to false ideas of security. It signifies that if we allow our intuition (Cancer and Aquarius both represent intuition, Aquarius in a mind oriented way and Cancer in a feeling, emotional way) to guide us, we will discover a deeper part of us that is wisdom, and then we can collectively allow wisdom to show us a better way to live our lives.

The other aspects that are influencing the solstice are Mars sextile Pluto and Jupiter conjunct Pluto (a longer term influence). Mars is also loosely squaring the eclipse, so we do feel the stirrings of the Martian active energy within us, and defiance of authority appears to be a continuing theme for us in the months to come, emphasized by the Saturn retrograde as it moves into Capricorn as a final pushback from stern and traditional systems saying ‘you must obey’ and the collective rising above that demanding justice, freedom and most importantly peace.

The fixed star that is closest in configuration is known as Betelgeuse. According to astrologer Vivian Robson, the star Betelguese on the moon brings the influence of “The use of power to improve the quality of life of the common people. Concern for one’s immediate environment and domain. In extreme cases, members of one’s tribe are sacrificed to ensure the continued dominance of one’s genetic family. Survival of the fittest.” So within our collective consciousness, we have to watch out for a tendency towards such indications. Betelguese is the bright red star in the shoulder of Orion, and for the Egyptians, the Orion was Osiris, the Sun-god. How appropriate then, for this fixed star to be close to the Solstice and the Solar Eclipse?!

One last note about the influence of Saturn on the solstice-eclipse. In Vedic astrology, when Saturn is asserting his dominance over an individual’s chart, the remedy given is often a Shiv Puja, calling on Lord Shiva to tame the influence of Shani or Saturn. Shiva in the Indian pantheon, is the destroyer of darkness and is the aspect of our being that is Still and Formless. So under this magical solstice night, connect to your Shiva nature so you can see a deeper reality that is beyond the Saturnian restrictions of your life.

A really strong theme of today’s solstice and solar eclipse combination is a call towards connecting with Mother Earth. As the planets urge us to go within, to find change from the inside out, our call to be held and nurtured can be answered by Mother Earth, by Gaia herself. A good meditation ritual for celebrating this solstice, is to attune your energy to Nature, by going for a walk, spending some time with some trees and flowers. Offer yourself up to the very elements that you’re made up of and let the ground carry your anxieties away. Then open your heart up to the loving arms of the Mother. She is selfless and giving and loves unconditionally.