Highlights of the incoming solar cycle include sign changes for Mercury, Venus and Mars, retrograde starts for Saturn and Neptune, and two full Moons. Two full Moons seem fitting for astrology’s Moon-ruled sign. It all gets underway on June 20th when the Sun settles into the nostalgic, nurturing waters of Cancer. Sensitivities are heightened and intuition runs strong when planets traverse the cardinal water sign. In 2024, emotional tides will surge higher than usual and psychic insights will deepen when the Sun, Mercury and Venus trine Saturn and Neptune in fellow water sign Pisces. Mercury will trine Saturn on June 26th and Neptune on July 2nd. On the 2nd Venus will trine Saturn and Neptune on the 11th. And the Sun will trine Saturn on July 10th and Neptune on the 21st. While Saturn sets boundaries and constrains, Neptune is boundless and diffuses. The fluctuating currents in these alignments, especially those on the 2nd and 10th -11th, are in line with the ever-shifting tides of the zodiac’s crab. The Moon changes signs every two to three days, and it is associated with the sign’s moody disposition. Underscoring the lunar connection, this Cancer Sun cycle will see some noteworthy new and full Moon phases.
Carrying the momentum of summer solstice celebrations from the 20th forward, the first of the two full Moons under the Cancer Sun, will take place on June 21st, at 1º Cap 07′. July 5th’s new Cancer Moon, at 14º Cancer 23º, comes on the heels of Saturn turning retrograde on June 29th followed by Neptune on July 2nd. Again, the push and pull character of the Saturn Neptune dynamic is at play again. This year Saturn and Neptune will be trining the planets in Cancer. In 2025, both will move into combative Aries, causing contentious squares to planets when they pass through Cancer. Soaking up the good vibrations while they’re flowing is encouraged. Finally, July 21st’s full Moon at 29º Cap 09 ′ is set against a dramatic celestial backdrop. Ahead of this full Moon, the Mars conjunction to Uranus will be exact on July 15th and Mars will sextile Neptune and enter Gemini on the 20th. Events on the 21st include a beneficial Venus sextile to Jupiter, a blockbusting Mercury square to Uranus, and insightful trines between the Sun and Neptune and Mars and Pluto. Immediately following the full Moon, the Sun will ingress into Leo on the 22nd. If 29 degrees of Capricorn rings a bell, it’s because that is the degree to which evolutionary Pluto will be returning to when its present retrograde brings it back into the industrious sign on September 1st. The September 1st through November 19th transit will be the final pass of Pluto through Capricorn for 230 years. Before the planets set the stage for theatrical Leo, there are four weeks to revel in the start of summer, to frolic and splash in Cancer’s soothing waters and perhaps to imbibe an enchanted midsummer night’s dream.
