We are witnessing the annual Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere today. This is accompanied by the movement of the Sun into the 90th degree of the 360 degree zodiac - the position we know as 00 Cancer or The Cancer Ingress. At present our planet has reached its maximum axial tilt which makes the Sun appear to have reached its highest declination north i.e., the highest point (latitude) when measured from the Celestial Equator. The current maximum obliquity means that the Sun measures as being +23.26 degrees above the imaginary equator line.You can read about declinations here
Interesting Factoid:
In the article I have linked to above the observant amongst you may note that the Sun's maximum declination is given as being 23.27 but I have said that it has reached its maximum declination at 23.26 degrees. What many people do not realise is that, like everything in the Universe, even the axial tilt of the Earth has a cycle. It is a 41,000 year cycle which takes the tilt (obliquity of the ecliptic) anywhere from 22.1 to 24.5 degrees. In 1900 the accepted axial tilt was 23° 27’ 8.26” but in 2000 the IAU gave it a new figure of 23° 26’ 21.448”
The Sun appears to stand still for three days now; yesterday, today, and tomorrow the 22nd June 2011. After tomorrow the axial tilt will slowly change and the Sun will appear to begin moving slowly down through the declination degrees until it reaches zero at the Equinox. At this point it will move into southern declination and move to -23.26 Here is a Declination Table for the Sun At the Equinox in late September, Spring will begin for our friends 'down under' whilst Autumn will commence for us.
Tip of the Day
Get your kids to place a little marker stick (or tall standing stone!) in the garden aligning with the position where the Sun rises and sets today or tomorrow and let them watch the Sun's travel away and back to these markers throughout the year. Then get them to read about Stonehenge and about the analemma It's good to get kids interested in the Universe around them!
In astrology we look at the two equinoxes and two solstices as being markers of the Cardinal Cross; each of the four junctures marks a transition point in the Earth/Sun cycle and therefore a corresponding transition point in nature and human consciousness. The two equinoxes are about finding balance and harmony, the two solstices are about standing still ( Sol = Sun, Sistere = to stand still) and recognising what changes we need to instigate; where have we gone as far as we can go with something or where do we need to change tack?
In the Wisdom Teachings this Solstice point is known as the Festival of Joy. In the Orphic Mysteries Persephone becomes transfigured as light purifies her mind and fills her blossoming heart* In the Arthurian Legends, this is the day that the Sun King holds his Court; the Knights (and Maidens) gather in the round (Arthur's Round Table) in a festival of joy and thanksgiving for light and illumination - hence lots of people at festivals around fires or in circles across the globe today and tonight.
It is said that a knowledge of astrology helps us to get into conscious alignment with the timing of God/The Universe and the inherent rhythms of life. So if the rise to maximum declination is the equivalent of an inbreath then now at this Solstice point it is time to pause and then slowly exhale! It's a turning point and again, symbolically, a switch from the mental machinations of the mind and logic (Gemini) to a period where over the next 30 days we concentrate on nurturing the emotional/feeling side of our Self as the Sun passes through the water sign of Cancer. By the time we get to the sign of Leo in late July we should have achieved full illumination and brought something to fruition as a result of merging our head and heart during this period.
Many people will be feeling this transition point very keenly today with much in a state of flux, as between yesterday and today Mars, the Moon and the Sun all change signs plus it is interesting too that the fast moving planet Mercury will be at + 24.51 during this Cancer Ingress. This is a position known as 'Out of Bounds' which occurs when a planet goes beyond the boundary of the Sun's maximum declination. It is symbolic of over thinking things or mentally feeling a little fried - or things going haywire. It particularly points to situations involving travel, communications systems and trade going awry. Trading on the stock market may be affected.
Mercury also has correspondence to all ball games: Golf, Tennis, Football etc. It also has correspondence to children, youths and schools. Mercury is the 'winged messenger' so messaging services, phones, computers, social networking sites, media outlets, postal services, airlines and all forms of transport could be at the forefront of the world news now or even for the entire next quarter. Virgo's and Gemini's will feel particularly highly strung this week.
Mercury is the lower octave planet of Uranus, the planet of technology and also the planet particularly associated with flight. Uranus is currently in Aries the sign of cuts, cutting back, cutting down or strikes. I notice that Virgin Airlines is facing a strike threat (and a plane crashed in Russia last night) and there is a burgeoning trend for the deactivation of Facebook accounts (Uranus in Aries). People are 'cutting and running'. This could simply be due to people feeling increasingly overloaded with information technology, messages, updates etc and realising they need to nurture (Cancer) their one to one relationships and home/family life over their virtual reality pseudo-friends .
Something I have been writing and warning about for many years now however is the increasing threat of damage via Solar storms to our computers and Satellite systems in 2011/2012/2013. Watch out for this at the forefront of the news this quarter. With Mercury out of bounds many communications/navigation systems may literally get fried!; I just googled it and the first story I see is this! Also watch out for an increase in Cyber attacks paralysing communication systems.
Here is the AstroMap (Geodetic) for the Cancer Ingress. This map shows the places in the World that are likely to be in the news for the next quarter through to the Equinox and Libra ingress.
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| Click to enlarge - Cancer Ingress Map |
More News
The Sun is in perfect trine to Neptune today. Neptune has correspondence to water. It therefore made me chuckle when I saw this headline:
Eight million gallons of water drained from reservoir after man urinates in it
Click on the headline to read the story
This one however was not so funny:
Oceans on brink of catastrophe
The Sun in trine to Neptune signals a time of increased telepathy and interests of a spiritual nature and it's a great day to listen to romantic music but Mars also forms an exact tense alignment to Neptune so watch out for unfocused energy and over emotionalism and avoid alcohol and drugs. Take much of what you read and hear with a pinch of salt too as truth flies out the window and deceit, fiction, fantasy and fears hold sway. Listen out for news about frauds and bankruptcies too. Sadly, more distasteful news about peadophilia and child abuse could also surface while Mars progresses through Gemini this month. Mars into Gemini also suggests we should all protect our lungs and watch out for Bronchitis, impurities of the blood, Pneumonia and injuries to arms and shouders and airborne toxins/viruses now.
Countries/Cities ruled by Gemini are London, Tripoli, Sardinia, Versailles, Flanders, Lower Egypt
Cordova, Lombardy. Those ruled by Cancer (Sun in Cancer) are USA, New York, Milan, Amsterdam, Manchester, Scotland, Northern and Western Africa, Istanbul.**
*The Pattern of Initiation in Human Consciousness by Francis Bacon Research Trust
** Raphael (1920)
