By Leo Knighton Tallarico
This week we move into the last quarter of the lunar cycle that began at the New Moon in Gemini on June 3.
The 4th quarter begins on Tuesday the 25th with the Moon in Aries square the Sun in Cancer.
So even though we enter the usually winding down quarter of the lunar cycle, the Aries Moon is wanting us to take some kind of action or at least to begin to empower ourselves in some way.
The 4th quarter of a lunar cycle is also about releasing, gathering, and preparing for the turn into the new beginnings of a new lunar cycle at the new moon.
And since the New Moon will be one on steroids, because it is a New Moon Solar Eclipse, the getting ready time has more intensity and importance than the usual 4th quarter of the lunar cycle.
Before the 4th quarter begins, however, Venus makes some significant moves.
On the 23rd Venus opposes Jupiter, a day before it squares Neptune. So there is some processing around relationship issues that needs to be addressed before the 4th quarter gathering, cleaning, and releasing.
This relationship processing is partly about getting a bigger picture view of relationship and how it fits into your life now. What are your priorities now? How much emphasis does your relationship and/or family have for you in contrast to your sense of life purpose?
Life will intensify appreciably beginning next week, as we then experience a Solar Eclipse New Moon in Cancer on Tuesday July 2. And 5 days later Mercury goes Retrograde on July 7. It will stay Retrograde until July 31.
And the second eclipse will be experienced while Mercury is still Retrograde, as it is a Lunar Eclipse Full Moon in Cancer/Capricorn on July 16.
That Lunar Eclipse on July 16 will at 24+ degrees of Cancer/Capricorn. That means both Saturn (17 degrees Capricorn) and Pluto (22 degrees Capricorn) will be in the signature of the Lunar Eclipse.
That adds intensity and meaning to the eclipse, but also makes everything feel more real, substantive, and transformational. Our ideas and desires to transform our world, which has been stirring for many years for many of us, now gets more real than ever.
It is time to get our hands dirty and contribute to this world in transitional crisis. Coming events will demand us to do this.
This Summer Eclipse Season, though powerful in itself, is just an appetizer for the main meal in January 2020 when Saturn and Pluto are exactly conjunct during another set of powerful eclipses.
The Cancer/Capricorn sign emphasis for both Eclipse Seasons, show us the need to balance the Father archetype (Capricorn) with the Mother archetype (Cancer).
Capricorn respects what you do, while Cancer respects who you are. Capricorn is more outer directed and Cancer more inner directed.
So we are getting ourselves ready to find a new balance between these differing societal values.
And in our culture here in the USA, there is a culture war going on between Cancerian Liberal values and Capricorn Conservative values. These two different sides have little connection between them nowadays.
Of course in a healthy world they join in union like a yin/yang symbol. But now they are largely at war in our society.
In general Women are getting more empowered and speaking their minds, and Men are learning to be more sensitive, empathic, and understanding.
As we as a culture are just learning to do these things, we are in many cases getting further apart from one another.
But we will join again in a more healthy and connected union (yin/yang symbol).
The real work is internal, where each of us needs to find both a healthy male and healthy female inside ourselves.
Carl Jung said that men had an inner woman (anima) and women had an inner man (animus). The condition of a man’s anima can be seen in the women he attracts to himself; and the state of a woman’s animus is reflected by the men she attracts to herself. And of course this changes through the years, as one develops a more healthy and integrated gender balance.
And of course now in our world, the whole idea of gender identification is changing, making the process more complicated.
But the point is that the inner work is so important now around gender balancing.
Women seem be ahead of men in gender balancing as society puts out a greater stigma against men integrating their “feminine” side.
Men must pick up the slack now, and get over rigid ideas of what it is to be a man.
So with this Cancer/Capricorn emphasis now, we will be challenged to integrate male and female in new ways.
The war between men and women now, or between conservative and liberal, is ridiculous and self destructive to our human family. Time for us all to grow up.
And events in the world will challenge us to grow and evolve, as these events get more and more challenging
There was almost a war ignited between the USA and Iran this last week over a large tin can of a USA drone being struck down as it supposedly entered Iranian space.
Trump did stop the attack dogs from attacking, but that conflict is far from over.
Remember Trump is a Sun in Gemini, and as such the twins have very different ways of being.
Geminis often have a “good person” voice whispering in one ear, as a “bad person” voice whispers in the other ear.
So Trump gives word to attack and then changes his Gemini mind.
Next week when the eclipses begin, we shall see what happens then.
Next week we will look at the Solar Eclipse New Moon and how it may affect the candidates and their natal charts. Next week are the first debates for presidential candidates. We will also begin to analyze the charts and chances to be president for the main candidates in the race next week.
Till next week,
Leo
I am working on getting a podcast out soon and before the Eclipses.
If you have not had a recent deep and psychologically based Astrology reading contact me at soulus@aol.com.
If you want a transit reading, which tells you what changes are blowing into your life and how long it lasts, contact me at soulus@aol.com.
If you want guidance on choosing good dates for weddings and other important events in your life contact me at soulus@aol.com
If you want transformational guidance with astrology readings and counseling, contact me at soulus@aol.com.
If you want astrological perspective and/or counseling for your changing life, contact soulus@aol.com