Time to cherish all that we hold dear at the Cancer Solstice
Dear Reader,
I’m writing to you on the day of the Solstice with a heart full of color, sweetness, and song. I’ve been loving the warmth of sunlight on my belly, the sweet scent of phacelia blooming on my balcony, the bright blues of the sky, and the comings and goings of birds feeding their young.
What are you noticing in your world?
How are you experiencing this time of year?
Sun standing still
The end of June features a major seasonal turning point in the yearly cycle of the Sun. At the Summer Solstice, the Sun enters the sign of Cancer in the tropical zodiac and marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with the Sun reaching its highest point in the sky.
This year, the precise moment of the Sun’s ingress into Cancer fell on June 21st at 4:43 am Central European Time. It opened a few day window, when we’re invited to pause and “stand still” with the Sun to receive its warmth and wisdom deep in our own hearts.
Summer Solstice is the “Full Moon“ and “midday” of the year, when everything is illuminated and life is at its fullest expression. It’s the time of year when we’re bowing to the Sun and joining in gratitude for the generous, life-giving gifts of our home star.
Guided by the Sun in Cancer
The beginning of summer coincides with Cancer season (June 21st – July 22nd), when the Sun is moving through the sign of the crab. Cancer is a cardinal water sign, the temple of the Moon, and the exaltation of Jupiter, and it signifies a season of initiating close connections and care.
Cancer is the nurturer of the zodiac. It helps us to remember and cherish all that we hold dear. It gives us permission to open our hearts and to let our hearts go out into our worlds. For when we nourish ourselves, our worlds, and one another with gentleness, sweetness, care, kindness, and warmth, we create lives that we enjoy to live in.
I recommend listening to this little podcast episode by Susan Piver on “Five Suggestions for Primordial Confidence”. I loved the reminder of these five practical ways in which we can tend our personal world with love and appreciation so as to support a sense of confidence, upliftment, and wellbeing in our lives.
Are you a child of Cancer season, having been born during this time of year? Or do you have placements in the sign of the crab other than the Sun?
If so, how does it inform your way of being in the world?
What makes this Cancer season special
For the first time in twelve years, the Sun in Cancer is copresent with Jupiter, the planet of wisdom and growth, who moved into the sign of its exaltation on June 9th and will stay here until June of next year. Jupiter in Cancer amplifies our need for nourishment and care and helps us strengthen our bonds, expand our hearts, and widen our circles of compassion.
For the next year, Jupiter will be activating a new house in our birth charts for abundance and expansion. To find where this is landing for you, turn to the house in your birth chart containing the sign of Cancer. The areas of life signified by your Cancer house are where you’re invited to support your wellbeing, be generous with your love and care, and deepen your sense of meaning and purpose.
For more insights into your personal relationship with Jupiter in Cancer, look back in twelve-year increments at the previous times when Jupiter was in Cancer: June 26th, 2013 – July 16th, 2014; July 13th, 2001 – August 1st, 2002; July 31st, 1989 – August 18th, 1990, and so on. Journal about what was going on in your life during those times:
What comforted and nourished you?
What made you feel on purpose, on path?
Are you ready for summer?
How are you arriving in summer?
What is being illuminated?
What is lighting you up?
How are you nourishing what you hold dear?
What are your heartfelt summer wishes?
You can take the questions in this post on your walk or into your journal, your dreamtime, or any other kind of creative or contemplative practice, either solo or with others. I hope they tickle you and help you weave yourself into the magic of summer.
Until next time...
I very much look forward to writing to you again during Leo season, which coincides with the middle of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and heralds a time of creative energy and expression. This year, the Summer Cross-Quarter falls on August 7th at 7:52 am CET (find your local time here).
As always, you can find the exact dates and times of all eight seasonal stations of the Sun in this little table here. I hope they make it easier for you to align yourself with the seasonal shifts of the year.
In the meantime, I’m wishing you gifts of gentleness and care wherever you are!