From our earthbound perspective, as we watch the Sun on his apparent path around us, he reaches the fullness of his heat during the Summer. Today, actually this morning at 12:25 AM Eastern, the Sun moved into the cardinal sign of Cancer, heralding the Summer Solstice, the height of his annual golden reign over the sky. In the Northern hemisphere there’s no question that we’ve left behind the experience of freshness, newness, and possibility that Spring brings, as we achieve the high point of our journey living life through the fullness of long, hot days.

The word Solstice is derived from the Latin “solstitium”, and means “the sun stands still.” So I like to think of each Solstice, both Summer and Winter, as a moment when we pause, take stock, reflecting on our connection and experience to our own “hero’s journey” which is symbolized by the Sun. In mythology the characters at the center of all hero stories are “solar characters.” In astrology, the symbol for the sun is a circle with a dot at the center, and from a personal perspective the circle represents the perfection of life around you, and the dot is you. Each of us has the Sun somewhere in our birthcharts, meaning that it is our birthright to live as a solar hero, or a golden child – at the center of the perfection of life surrounding us. The path to that experience is called the “hero’s journey” in which we live our life experiences with consciousness, moving ever closer to ourselves as the rightful center of our own lives. For some, this journey might be challenging and fraught with fear, obstacles, and challenges. For others it may be easier… but whichever is your experience, it’s a perfect day to pause and reflect on where you are in your own “hero’s journey.”

What can be helpful in that reflection is to understand the energies available to us in this particular Solstice, which I like to think of as being the “background energy” informing the entire season. This morning’s Summer Solstice astrological chart shows that taking action on our beliefs may be somewhat challenging, but also supported by the Divine – and if we take the challenge we may be rewarded with the wisdom that the task accomplished brings. (Mars in Cancer applying to the square to Jupiter in Libra. Mars in Cancer applying to the trine to Neptune in Pisces.) This energy creates the impetus we need to allow our inner Divine nature to inform and support our quest for wisdom through right, if perhaps challenging, action.

There is also emphasis on analyzing our ideas, and allowing our curiosity to push us into new ways of thinking, and communicating whatever we come up with. Through these new ways of thinking is a potential kernel for healing a wound, or wounds – perhaps wounds around playing the victim, loss, needing redemption, or feeling outside the realm of God/Spirit/Universe/Wholeness. (Mercury conjunct the Sun, both in a square to Chiron.)

With the Mars/Jupiter emphasis, there are other ways that we might see this energy manifesting: pushing beliefs on others, courage of our convictions, the conquering spirit, ambitious aims, the need to travel or “go far,” a pioneering spirit, daredevil actions, righteous vindictiveness, the “means justifies the end” mentality, gambling or taking risks toward an ideal. There are many ways to combine the energy of Mars and Jupiter, but consciously choosing to elevate your actions with optimism and grace is one of the finest, and a good choice to strive toward.

Happy Summer Solstice everyone!

Summer Solstice 2017 – Sun moved into Cancer at 12:25 AM Eastern / Drawn from Atlanta, GA