Summer Solstice 2025
Summer Summer Summertime
The Summer Solstice begins on Friday, June 20, 2025, at 9:42 pm CST. In Western Tropical Astrology, Cancer season begins at the Summer Solstice, when the Sun has climbed up to its northernmost position at the Tropic of Cancer - have you ever noticed the Sun coming in the window in a more northerly direction around the Summer Solstice? Well, you will now. The Sun appears to stand still around the Solstice, and it is therefore a good time for us to also pause our activities for reflection, to enter a state of “being” as opposed to “doing”. Paul F. Newman’s Declination in Astrology: the Steps of the Sun contains some really great information about the Solar Festivals, and in it, he says that the actual days of Solstice were historically likely times to go inward and to connect with the Divine, with the raucous celebrations occurring in the days following. He also says that the Solstice is a time to light a candle, but not a fire. Well, folks, I’m going against that sage advice, because I love a good fire on the Solstice, especially in good company. And what better place is there to practice “being” rather than “doing”, than around a camp fire? No better place.
The astrology of this year’s Summer Solstice - like much of 2025 - has an element of clashing instability. The energy of Rudhyar’s “crisis of action” that we touched on in the last blog post (when mentioning the third and final Jupiter/Saturn opening square) remains, as the Sun at 0° Cancer is applying to conjoin Jupiter at 2° Cancer, thereby joining or highlighting Jupiter’s square to Saturn/Neptune in Aries at 1° and 2° respectively. The square aspect itself often contains the developmental energy of Aries to Cancer, so these themes of the challenge of making a self, the action of establishing yourself as a separate person from your family, and a reorientation away from dependence upon the past and toward establishing a more autonomous security through dynamic action is doubly emphasized here. Put simply, it is the energy of Becoming. With the social planets Jupiter and Saturn involved, it seems as though we are likely at a threshold not just within ourselves, but as a society. There may be a feeling or sensing that a new nebulous form wants to emerge, and the guardians of that threshold are being challenged by those emergent energies. There seems to be a call for dynamism in ourselves, or a call to action, if you will. With Saturn/Neptune in the mix, there are often boundaries that dissolve before our eyes, perhaps ensuing confusion, as the structures that have made us feel safe in the past are falling away or dissolving. If we want to engage those Neptunian energies during our reflections on the Solstice, the oceanic realms of the imagination are Neptune’s domain, so maybe stare into the fire or submerge yourself in some water and see what creative impulses, if any, reveal themselves to you in your musings. It may take some time for anything to surface into your conscious awareness, and it may come to you in a dream or dream-like state, as non-ordinary states of being are Neptune’s playground. To keep ourselves peaceful during this emergent growth period that naturally causes some discomfort, we can take a cue from mothers of toddlers the world over and teach ourselves to self-soothe as we establish our autonomy from our former bastions of security. Again, however, with Neptune in the mix, let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that we’re self-soothing, when in fact what we’re doing can best be described as escaping. Remember that the idea behind self-care is not necessarily doing the thing that is easy or convenient, but doing the thing that will both enrich us and make us feel better after doing it. Ask yourself What can Today (State Your Name) do to make Tomorrow (State Your Name) grateful? An example: I know Tomorrow Kathleen is super thankful when she looks in the refrigerator and sees not just ingredients, but yummy, healthy meals that Today Kathleen has put together for her.
Mars is talking to just about every other planet in the Summer Solstice chart, so we will likely have easy access to any action we’d like to take towards reorienting ourselves towards autonomous security, and away from dependence on past comfort or security. There are not one, but TWO yods - for the astro nerds out there, let me break it down for you: One yod with Mars at 2° Virgo at the apex and Pluto at 3° Aquarius and Saturn/Neptune at 1° and 2° Aries as the base of the yod, and the other yod with Pluto at 3° Aquarius at the apex, and Sun/Jupiter at 0° and 2° Cancer and Mars at 2° Virgo at the base. The energy of the yod is restless - the planets influence each other in irritating ways, as they are all in different elements (Fire, Earth, Air or Water) and modalities (Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable), and they don’t fully comprehend one another’s expression of the planetary energies. However, if we as humans learn to handle the discrepant energies, accept the inevitable unrest in ourselves and in the world, remain flexible (even when things go wrong, as things going wrong can sometimes be a blessing in disguise), and be courageous enough to live our own lives while keeping our minds open, there is tremendous creative potential in the energy of the yod. With Pluto so prevalent in both yods, let’s don’t be afraid to ask ourselves the hard questions that maybe we don’t necessarily want to know the answer to.
The Moon rules Cancer, and has just entered Taurus as the Sun enters Cancer on the Solstice. The Moon in Taurus is making several supportive aspects in the Summer Solstice chart, including a sextile to Sun and Jupiter, a trine to Mars and an out of sign conjunction with Chiron in Aries. The Moon is also squaring Pluto, so we may feel or perhaps intuit the answers to those uncomfortable questions before we know them, or before we bring them fully into our conscious awareness.
The repeating themes of the Summer Solstice chart that may be worthy of reflection seem to be:
accepting the inevitable discomfort that accompanies growth and becoming
finding stability and security in new forms and in self
keeping an open mind and rolling with the not knowing of what the new form that seems to be emerging in our selves and in society will be
dynamic, courageous action toward living our own lives
All this while cultivating new and dynamic ways to self-soothe during the uncertainty of Becoming, on an individual level and on a societal level.
Chin up, friends, a real nice Cancer New Moon is just around the corner, it will be a lovely chance to take your Solstice Reflections and create some beautiful intentions with them.