Your Stars June 2016

GeminiAstrology divides up the twelve signs of the zodiac in different ways. The four-way split is into earth, water, fire and air, the ‘elements’ of the ancient world, allotting three signs to each. The three-way division is into the ‘ qualities’ of Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable – roughly translatable as pushy, stubborn and freewheeling – with four signs sharing each quality.

In June the four mutable signs – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces – are under major emphasis, with planets in each forming a so-called Grand Cross, although, as one astro-wag remarked, there is nothing too grand about it. This configuration – which is made up of two interlocking oppositions – can be stressful, especially for birthdays circa March 5. June 5, September 7 and December 7.

In particular the Grand Cross bears down on those born with Sun in Gemini, who have been and still are handling Saturn in opposition, a transit that seems to bring issues, good and bad, to the surface. The number of Gemini politicians prominent in the news is striking. Here are a few:

Boris Johnson (b. June 19 1964) Currently bidding for leadership of his party.

George Osborne (b. May 23 1971) Currently bidding for leadership of his party.

Jeremy Corbyn (b. May 28 1949) Currently trying to convince his party he’s leading it.

Ken Livingstone (b. June 17 1945) Currently trying to convince everyone he’s not finished.

Donald Trump (b. June 14 1946) Currently bidding for presidency of his country.

One might also mention:-

Johnny Depp (b. June 9 1963) Currently facing divorce proceedings amid unsavoury allegations.

Clearly not all Gemini Suns are in such an ambitious, beleaguered or triumphant moment, your astrologer mentions this coincidence to illustrate how planetary cycles operate. Or, as Gemini musician Paul Weller (b. May 25 1958) put it on his last album, Saturn’s Pattern: ‘The planet’s old/Cut it right/The cloth is bold’.

This month’s key dates:

New Moon; June 5 at 3.00 GMT

Full Moon: June 20, 11.02 GMT

Midsummer Solstice: June 20 at 22.34 GMT.

At the last, sound the druid horns!

Gemini

Some birthdays are quiet affairs when you wash down the cake with a bit of fizz and then get on with your life. In 2016 that seems less likely than facing a major call on your career, property or partnership. The list of Gemini politicians and celebs in the introduction above gives you a flavour of the times; not necessarily good or bad – but challenging.

As you are likely tired of hearing, Saturn in opposition is a relentless and somewhat confrontational bundle of energies. Although the ringed planet is in rewind until August, it makes an almost exact opposition with the new Moon (and the Sun) on June 5; something of a karmic moment for whatever has been brewing up in the last nine months, not to mention events from 1986 and/or 2001.

This new Moon is further loaded with significance by Jupiter and Neptune, which sit at right angles to Saturn and Sun/Moon/Venus, making a so-called Grand Cross. It’s a potent combination that signals large scale change – even if that change is mainly in your outlook and your idea of the future.

Saturn is not just about challenge, it’s about rewards, especially with Jupiter involved, so hard-won prizes may tumble your way (you will have earned them). If you are trying to clinch a house move or property deal, the force is with you. Likewise if you are trying to shin up the corporate ladder, or end a relationship.

In all instances you will need reliable information. Neptune at one corner of the grand cross is an ambiguous omen – it may lend you glamour or deliver falsehood. You get way more clarity in the second half of June when The Twins’ ruler, quicksilver Mercury, arrives for a brief 17 day zip through your skies from the 13th. Be busy, be swift.

Venus is in your skies until the 13th, ideal for living it up, spending inappropriate amounts of cash and making come-hither eyes at some lucky contender. Your one-on-one relationships remain something of a puzzle. For some of you this is a commit-or-quit moment (Saturn strikes again), for others a time of unexpected arrivals (thank Prometheus) – and yes, that’s the sort of have it-both-ways forecast that sets the eyes of hostile sceptics rolling. Either way the weekend of June 18/19 – a full Moon in opposition – looks like a moment of high drama. Be in the spotlight but duck any confrontational talks. Happy Birthday.

Cancer

Whatever you are brewing up in private or behind the scenes – a project, an undeclared ambition, a secret crush – is highlighted in June and deserves all the energy you can muster in its pursuit. The new Moon of June 5 arrives in the hush-hush sector of your ‘scope, and while as much is true every year, this particular lunation is loaded with aspects and comes between two (count ’em) full Moons across the mind-body-spirit axis of your solar chart.

What your stars have in mind is mental clarity, spiritual inspiration and thorough (possibly exacting) physical fitness. A tall order to be sure, but until the midsummer solstice it’s your body and soul that calls loudest. Places of retreat and quietude may be the best medicine you can give yourself.

Not that you have to be a hermit (though it’s an option!); ‘lucky’ Jupiter next to the lunar North Node holds something like the opposite meaning, emphasising supporters, allies, siblings – personal (rather than professional) acquaintances who can help you along the way. Also; teachers, mentors and (go steady!) gurus. Healing remains an ongoing theme this spring and summer.

One-on-one relationships, especially the long term variety, remain largely out the frame for now, though if you are a birthday circa July 8-9 you remain under the challenge of Pluto, which can be merciless (key word ‘can’).

For lovers and wannabe lovers, the outlook is sunnier, passionate even. Mars just reversed into your fifth house of joy, romance and free-loading parties, and spends all of June and July there (in Scorpio). Venus, goddess of attraction, arrives in your skies on June 18 for three weeks when you should make the most of what you got to get just what you want (as one soul singer put it); a make-over, a shopathon, a fabulous birthday party, a come-on to you know who.   But definitely not life as a hermit

Leo

Home is where the heart is, goes the old saying; whether that rings true for you is a question posed sharply by your current horoscope. Something appears to be going on with your domestic arrangements, even if it’s just the builders getting round to the kitchen makeover. With Mars reversing into your fourth house and resident there throughout June and July, your home life looks noisy – perhaps the way you like it.

Where your heart lies is a more debatable question, Saturn in long term residence in your fellow fire sign of Sagittarius has certainly been asking that question over the last twelve months, and, with two full Moons in Sagittarius this spring – one on May 21, the next on June 20 – there may a bit of needle involved in a major relationship. Best not try to resolve it during that full Moon weekend of the 19/20th –keep in mind that your love life promises to get a great deal hotter around your birthday.   If you are the creative stripe of Leo, Saturn favours all long-term endeavours; be relentless.

You may already be getting led happily astray by planet Prometheus, not least if you are an August 16 birthday or thereabouts. Single or happily shackled, June offers a delightful chance to indulge in the social circuit – the new Moon of June 5 is wildly in your favour for networking, seeing, being seen and acting in a vivacious, couldn’t-care manner (Venus is strong in the mix until the 18th). Thursday the 9th has charm painted on it.

Your career is under no huge emphasis this month (perhaps a bit of catching up to do), but money and cash flow are. Here, you can come out ahead if you pay close attention to details – not your favourite thing, but with the lunar north node and Jupiter in Virgo, your horoscope insists.

Virgo

‘Lucky’ Jupiter, the biggest planet in the solar system, has been the big player in your horoscope since your birthday. The giant planet is, after a few months in retrograde, finally trundling forwards again, making the next three months a terrain of fat opportunity.

Jupiter may be fortunate, but to get the most from its transit a parallel attitude of ‘I guess I’m just a lucky so-and-so’ is called for. Count your blessings, raise your sights, take a sporting chance, attempt more. With the lunar North node next to Jupiter this month your Virgoan strengths are those to lean on; a punctilious timetable, a filing system to swoon for, a fastidious diet, a discriminating mind – or as many of those virtues that you can manage. As for the vestal virgin role sometimes handed your sign; it’s your shout.

The giant planet is precisely aligned to the new Moon of June 5 at the peak of your ‘scope, making this lunation all important in terms of getting on in your career, being prepared to walk the walk and handle people in authority who, frankly, might make your skin crawl. This is where you show you can handle all-comers.

The waxing Moon in your skies over the weekend of the 11th is an excellent omen for work and play (though even the latter looks a touch serious). A possible snag, alluded to in previous forecasts, comes with Neptune in opposition; often a signal for disinformation and folks of shady character. Again, your powers of discrimination are your ally; be at your grittiest, not in ‘a scout’s duty is to serve’ mode. Helping – and helping to heal – are noted and admirable Virgo gifts, but just now, a little self-centredness will serve you better.

Libra

There is the outward Libran – confident, charming (unless in a snit), and keen to get on and get things done. Then there is the inner Libran – full of unnecessary regrets (‘What I should have said was…’ ‘The other colour was actually better…’). All humans suffer from a similar split of course, but the Scales swing oh so wildly for many Librans.

In June you are under a challenge to find the right balance – the crucial quality! The secretive, inner-delving side of your psyche is under major emphasis this spring and summer, (thank Jupiter and the North Lunar Node transiting your solar twelfth house), but this combination is less concerned with regret than with gestating plans for a future that arrives promptly at your birthday month, when Jupiter shifts into Libra. Keep that timetable jammed into your head as you ruminate, prevaricate and scheme.

At the same time comes the hugely favourable new Moon of June 5 to boost your outward-going (indeed, freewheeling) self. A new Moon in a fellow air sign (Gemini) conjunct your moody Venus ruler is always going to spell a few weeks of high jinks and if you can get your mojo in gear this one shouldn’t disappoint. Key concepts: circulate, be among dynamic, probably arty people (like yourself dahlink) and have a reach to distant places and contacts. See if you can wangle a social event on the 13/14th – the start of the week so perhaps not easy, but the planetary alignments are exciting.

Still a key player in your ‘scope – at least for mid-October birthdays – is Prometheus in opposition. Partnerships remain electrified, hopefully in a positive way but for some of you the so-called divorce planet may mean just that. Take nothing for granted.

The Full Moon of June 20 emphasises people who need help from you– there seem to be lingering cases of neediness – but with Sun and ruler Venus cresting your ‘scope at the solstice a few hours later, the rest of the month calls for Libra, the outward-going charmer, with the 23rd/24th and 28th sweetly starred for romance. Dance on.

Scorpio

To have one’s ruling planet in one’s sign is always a good omen, even when it’s moving (apparently) backwards, as Mars is during June. This suggests a second chance or two – a recalibration of plans at the least, another pass at a hot date at best. Mars draws to a halt on the last day of the month, then spends all of July galloping forwards, so you have a few weeks before you need to get properly impatient.

The emotional and romantic sectors of your ‘scope remain in fizzing form in any case. Jupiter and Neptune are very keen on social circulation, parties and general over-excitement, and with the lunar nodes (destiny points) tied into this pair at present, you may even find yourself thinking ‘This is Kismet’ as you gaze across a crowded room.

The new Moon of June 5, which is conjunct love goddess Venus, is also a promising prospect for your emotional life, albeit tempered by the cold stare of Saturn. There is, in short, everything to play for. The presence of the entity known as Black Moon Lilith in your skies, and its neat alignment with aforementioned planets, adds a dash of Scorpionic intrigue. Your astrologer claims no special knowledge of BML – a point in space, not an actual chunk of space rock – other than its reputation as Wild Woman, which, regardless of gender, sounds like your kind of thing n’est-ce pas?

June’s lunation reaches full Moon on June 20 (more of which in a moment) passing through Scorpio’s skies on June 16/17 – high energy days. The solstice, as always, means the Sun shifts into your fellow water sign of Cancer, helping to keep your motor turning at high revs. Venus’ alignment with Neptune on June 27 may bring an offer (business, romance, travel, whatever) you can’t apparently refuse but one you should nonetheless scrutinise hard.

Whether you use these obliging stars to further your love life, put some zest back into your marriage, or chisel a masterpiece is your choice, but do squeeze life’s lemon until the pips squeak. Any downsides? Saturn in your house of assets is unlikely to do your cash flow great favours, so if you live it up now, you’ll pay later, something to bear in mind at the full Moon conjunct Saturn on the weekend of the 20th.

Sagittarius

There is a joke often levelled at Librans, sign of the ditherer: ‘My indecision is final’. That epithet may have found a home with yourself over the last month, when planets changing directions may have reflected your own uncertainty about a job or, more likely, a relationship.

June looks a more conclusive time, thanks principally to the new Moon of June 5, which together with Venus opposes Saturn in your skies. Two weeks later, on June 20, comes a full Moon in Sagiittarius – the second in a month (the last was on May 21). Saturn represents stone-cold realism, so you should now know whether one particular alliance has run its course or still has legs. New Moons represent new beginnings, of course, so this could be the start of something big with someone you are serious about. What is difficult is staying straddled on the fence.

Full Moons are not usually the best time for showdowns (rush of blood to the head and all that) but at the weekend of the 19th it may prove unavoidable, with the talk planet Mercury bang opposite Saturn.

If you are footloose and fancy free, Venus in opposition can herald a head-turner or two, especially since Prometheus the awakener remains vibrant in your fifth house of pleasure and romance; a fat clue to get out the house and don your dancing shoes. All Gemini birthday parties demand attendance, with the weekend of the 11th looks promising.

Your ruling planet, Jupiter, has stopped dithering and is marching forwards in your career zone, alongside the destiny point that is the Moon’s North Node. This should supply a none too gentle nudge for you to take action with work matters, addressing any concerns to your most simpatico superior in a diplomatic manner (i.e. not as blunt as a Centaur can be!). Gently does it.

Where do you live and/or are planning to live? If you have a definite answer to that question, you are doing well.

Capricorn

Whatever is going on with you in the outside world – your working life, your travel plans, your spouse or declared partner – it’s what is hatching in private that remains a constant and central issue just now. Your undisputed ruler, Saturn, remains behind the scenes in your twelfth house, a place of contemplation and secrecy.

In June Saturn gets a lot of attention from other celestial bodies, starting with the new Moon of June 5, which accentuates your working life and acquiring a just balance in your mind/body/spirit axis. Any initiatives to locate or nourish your inner Goat (or rather, fish-tailed Sea Goat, a different creature to the flinty mountain-going breed) bring rewards. That Saturn also has attention from mystical, inspirational Neptune re-enforces the message.

Just as crucially, Saturn is conjunct the Sagittarian full Moon of June 20 – the second in a month (the last being May 21). This is a very odd full Moon, arriving in the very last gasp of your solar chart, a place of summary, completion. Your astrologer is reluctant to go New Age on you, but it is as if you are being asked to acknowledge your Higher Purpose on planet earth. This is a notion supported by Jupiter’s obliging position in the philosophy/religion oriented ninth house, where Jupiter is joined by the destiny point that is the lunar north node.

You are unlikely to spend all month in such metaphysical coils. Mars, as was pointed out in last month’s forecast, is busy reconnecting you with old chums and contacts you made earlier in the year. Jupiter brings international contacts and travel plans to the fore.

Once you are past the full Moon, i.e. the midsummer solstice, you have the welcome attentions of Venus from your complimentary sign of Cancer; useful for useful contacts, for possible lovers (if you are looking), and for making peace with folks with you are on the outs. The evening of the 20th could be A Moment, but any of June’s last ten days looks tickety boo.

Aquarius

Pleasure versus duty, romance versus career – your horoscope is somewhat split between these two warring imperatives just now, unless you are in a happy position where the two are much the same thing – an artist for example.

The good news is that the winner for the first three weeks of the month is the pleasure principle. The new Moon of June 5 raises sparks in your ‘scope’s zone of delight, creativity and courtship, especially since it is accompanied by the romance goddess Venus. The more Gemini birthday parties to which you can invite yourself, the better. With Saturn involved, some romances may wear a serious hue – notably for birthdays circa February 3; not necessarily bad, but questions of commitment may arise.

With any luck you can keep the party season rolling until after the full Moon of June 20 with the waning Moon of Friday the 24th nicely lined up in Aquarian skies. The imperatives of work look pressing by then, however. Mars, never a planet to pull punches, spends June reversing into your career zone to remind you of unfinished business from early in the year, and will spend July making sure you do it.

The full Moon of the 20th may also have something serious to say on the work front; a heavyweight colleague or a disgruntled boss may need pacifying; duck out of any major confrontation as this looks a squall rather than a war.

Much of the planetary action in the early part of June – the so-called Grand Cross (see introduction) pivots on the financial/assets and values axis of your ‘scope. It’s an ambivalent picture. Jupiter in your zone of shared assets (bank deals, mortgages, and suchlike contracts) promises a windfall or canny transaction, especially as the giant planet is accompanied by the destiny point that is the lunar north node. At the other end of the axis is Neptune and the south lunar node, a combination that can ‘borrow ‘ your credit card for a shopping spree. Vigilance called for.

The final week of the month offers you thye chance to crack on with your work schedule while maintaining a schedule with personal passions; hobbies, art, or the person who makes you feel so young, that there wonderful songs to be sung…

Pisces

Following on from the introduction to this month’s forecasts, a reminder that Pisces is a Mutable Water sign (the only one); hence you flow, at times a little too readily. Water is formless and needs boundaries.

In Early June you certainly have them. It’s a complex planetary picture with Pisces at one corner of the so-called Grand Cross. Neptune, the slow-moving outer planet that’s in your skies is stationary all month – definitely A Moment if your birthday is March 1 or 2. Hopefully Neptune has lent you glamour and gloss, its flip side being delusion and dissolution.

With a new Moon at the root of your ‘scope and a full Moon at the peak (the second in a month), plus Jupiter opposite, June cerrainly looks like a decisive moment, a point where you can no longer drift (another Neptunian theme) and must take action to ensure that you are on track with any or all of life’s major themes: home, career, partnership.

Saturn at the peak of your chart spells CAREER in capital letters, though the real crunch piint here comes in September, when the taskmaster returns to forward smotion alongside mars. Meanwhile you can’t be passive, especially arounf the 19th, when the full Moon makes your options clear.

Home, represented by the new Moon, looks an easier fix; spring clean, feng shui and hang fresh masterpieces imn your already beautiful Piscean Towers.

As pointed out in previous forecasts, your ruling planet Jupiter in opposition cuts two ways; either you are building a powerful alliance/liberating partnertship, or you are unshackling yourself (or being unshackled) from a relation ship. Liberation is the unifying principle in both instances; if your partnership imprisons rather than extends your freedom, then best it finishes; you may disciver you enjoy your new found freedom. That Jupiter is conjunct the northg lunar node this month – a point of destiny – raises the takes.

Once past the solstice things looks easier, with the Sun and venus in your fellow water sign of cancer; cue summer fun, high tea on velvet lawns, shooting home movies by the seaside, barefoot dancing at dawn, and similar Piscean pursuits. Enjoy.

Aries

The good news is that you have way more traction than in May, when a retrograde Mercury was spinning your wheels without taking you far. The season of jumping Gemini, along with a co-operative Mercury and a Jupiter that is back up to speed all signify good progress, not least with work matters.

Indeed, while Jupiter may not be lighting up the most dynamic zone of your ‘scope – the daily routine, in short – that the giant planet is conjunct the lunar north node (a destiny point) accentuates the advantages accruing from steady graft (and regular yoga).

The new Moon of June 5 also smiles on work matters, especially if you are in the media, the internet universe or education, publishing or other intellectual activities. That this new Moon is conjunct Venus – ruler of your partnerships – helps, and may even kindle a romance with a colleague. Mercury arrives here on the 13th to keep things lively and stimulating – issue instructions!

Opposite the Gemini Sun is Saturn and, on June 20, a potent full Moon close to the very apex of your solar ‘scope. This lunation has an air of completion to it, perhaps to do with an intellectual or creative venture or an international connection, hopefully a project coming to fruition. Thereafter the mood changes somewhat, as the season of Cancer brings family, hearth and home to the fore, hopefully in a less than dramatic manner.

The two planets that are most provocative in your solar chart are Mars and Prometheus. Mars, your red ruler, remains in reverse all month in Scorpio, a sign it also governs. It’s as if you are being required to re-evaluate some deep-seated emotional issues – especially events in play in February – and/or to tussle with sticky financial matters. You just have to slug through the mire – Mars moves forwards at the end of June and you should be in a position to do likewise.

Planet Prometheus remains the maverick in the pack. The eccentric of the solar system continues to break new ground and in the last week of June aligns with the so-called ‘dwarf’ planet Ceres and the deep-space body known as Eiris, not to mention a waning Moon in Aries. Promethean energies are make or break, sudden, unsettling and thrilling – this could be one wild make-over!

Taurus

You have endured – stoically no doubt – a retrograde Mercury in May, and the good news is that the quicksilver messenger planet is now back to speed , though in the Bull’s skies only until June 12, so whatever catch-upo you have to do – the missed calls, unfinished letters and what have you, get your skates on.

June is a month of contrasts, these being, crudely, Mars and Jupiter. The red planet is reversing through your complimentary sign of Scorpio, where it spent the first two months of 2016. Old issues are therefore to the fore – and not necessarily issues ofr people you would choose to revisit. That depends – Mars can represent a dashing romantic prospect or a ghastly moaner who won’t go away. Experiences in February should tell you which, but it seems there are alliances and partnerships (not necessarily romantic) that need clarity. Mars finishes its rewind at the end of June, so you need to be ready resolution during July.

Quite different is the spell surrounding Jupiter in your fellow earth sign of Virgo. Jupiter in your fifth house is one of the happiest transits astrology can summon up, signalling a time of fecundity, creativity, joy and laughter. Taureans are known for their appetite for all those and more and the next three months is absolutely the time to satisfy your cravings (steady with the pies) and slake your thirst for experience. It isn’t just a selfish thing – others will look, do look, to you to provide good times.

This brings us to the new Moon of June 5, which is conjunct your magic Venus ruler in your cash zone; a very positive omen for bringing in more of the folding stuff and filling the larder ready for a late birthday party. On the other hand here comes a full Moon, on June 20, that asks serious questions about the viability of longterm finances. Don’t panic – you will doubtless be able to answer back, but any plans to do with mortgages, bequests and loans needs the calculator run across them.

Once past the full Moon and the solstice a few hours later, a more obliging scenario prevail, with Venus in watery Cancer   suiting you just fine. Neptune – which is at a standstill all month in another water sign, Pisces, is also obliging, though you may like to question the credentials of anyone who seems overly helpful , especially if you were born very early in May. Don’t rule anyone out – but don’t take ‘em on trust either.