Today marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and the day that the Sun moves from the outgoing socialite Gemini into the nurturing homebody Cancer. In fact it is the passing of the Sun into Cancer which marks the Solstice. At 4:38am Pacific Time (11:28am GMT) the Sun moved into Cancer and will stay there until July 23rd.

The watery sign of Cancer may seem like a strange one to be heralding in summer, but let’s think about it. The Sol is our soul, our ego, our potential, and that which we think of as being ourselves, which is why “sun sign” astrology can be a useful tool (though is not the end-all and be-all of Astrology). It is also where we shine and our conscious thoughts and motivations. The transiting Sun serves as a spotlight, illuminating everything related to the sign it is passing through in our lives and charts. As planets move around the signs each sign tempers and refines the one before it.

In Gemini the Sun highlights Mercury, duality, and social interaction. Gemini is a social butterfly: fun, flirty, and extroverted. All the social lessons and things we learned about ourselves in Gemini will now be refined by coming home in Cancer after the party to decompress. Gemini and Cancer both put a lot of focus on our external world and interactions with others but do it in a very different way.

In Cancer the Sun highlights the Moon, emotions, self-reflection, and family. Cancer is an archetypal Mother: nurturing, comforting, and wise. Cancer puts a focus on our personal and emotional interactions with others, not just the casual social interactions of Gemini. Our intention shifts from how we interact with others to how others interact with us and look for deeper connections with others.

This may motivate us to interact more or less with others, we could become invested in these personal interactions and go out looking for them or become a hermit for the month of Cancer, how it affects each of us individually depends highly on how Cancer looks in our own personal charts and what planets are in and aspected by Cancer. I can say that the Sun illuminating Cancer does put a special emphasis on how our emotional core selves (Moon) interacts with our conscious self and ego (Sun), however that might look for us as individuals.

Also important in this transition is the change from Mutable (flexible, indecisive) Gemini to Cardinal (active, pioneering) Cancer, making it easier for us to make decisions regarding our selves and personal interests. Sun in Cancer is creative and gets a lot done because of it’s Cardinal modality. It can motivate you toward great change, self-improvement, and renovation, and can mean an overhaul of life as we know it to become life as it will be. Isn’t that kind of summer in a nutshell and what those summer road-trip and “coming of age” movies are all about?

This is a broad look at the effects the Sun in Cancer can have. How you personally will be influenced by the Sun’s transit through Cancer will also depend on your birth chart: the sign and placement the Sun is in as well as the house and planet(s) you have in Cancer. To find out your own planet and house placements you can cast your own chart for free online. For a personal chart reading I am also available for consultations.

Today the planet Venus moves into Leo at 1:50am Pacific Time (8:50am GMT), saying goodbye to the soft romantic Crab and hello to the flashy bold Lion. It will stay there until July 10th when it moves into Virgo. In Leo Venus is free to express itself without limitation, a happy situation for Venus which likes little more than being able to openly express itself. The trap of Venus in Leo is being too big and giving away the self too freely without retaining anything.

Venus rules over the realms of relationships, art/expression, worth (both personal/self and physical/monetary), and values. As planets move around the signs each sign tempers and refines the one before it, so Venus in Leo takes the personal emotional lessons learned in Venus in Cancer such as the ability to open up and be true to one’s self and uses them as fuel to ignite it’s own exaggerated and flirtatious nature, expressing the self and the ego as effectively as possible.

Venus’ journey from solitary Cancer to outgoing Leo can be an abrupt change for those comfortable in the nurturing and emotional water sign or a welcome one to those more at home in the heart of the flame. In Leo Venus is encouraged to be bold, risky, and daring, but also risks a bruised ego in the process due to it’s larger than life nature. It doesn’t think, it acts, and can suffer the consequences later.

Because Venus in Cancer taught us about our personal relationships with each of the realms Venus rules Leo can then take that new knowledge and start expressing it to anyone and everyone who will listen.

There can be a tendency to overexpress or give away Venusian items during this time, including money and personal self-worth in the hope of gaining approval and recognition. Leo loves attention, approval, and recognition, and so any personal endeavors are often motivated by that subconscious or conscious desire. The bruised ego comes in when that desire is not met. Because of this personal relationships can become strained if both parties are looking for recognition but not giving any to the other.

When Venus in Leo is well-expressed it is done so by finding a balance between the Cancerian nurturing and Leo expressing, making sure you and everyone else is heard and appreciated. While not always easy to achieve, that is the work of Venus in Leo.

This is a broad look at the effects Venus in Leo can have. How you personally will be influenced by Venus’ transit through Leo will also depend on your birth chart: the sign and placement Venus is in as well as the house and planet(s) you have in Leo. To find out your own planet and house placements you can cast your own chart for free online. For a personal chart reading I am also available for consultations.