If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget it. This is real astrology. See the section above. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT).
Tomorrow is a busy day.
-- William Shakespeare
No SuperMoons this month, and no eclipses either: so it's likely there'll be no great shakes on the seismic front, no storms of the century, no supervolcano eruptions. That's not to say that all's quiet on the geophysical front, because there certainly will be some newsworthy disturbances in the seas and crust and skies of our home planet. (More on that later.) But nothing huge or historic seems to be brewing with Mother Nature. While also less than climactic, human nature appears to be a bit more volatile this month.
For one thing, there are several planetary stations in effect all month long. One is Neptune's retrograde station, when this gas giant comes to a seeming standstill in the sky, and then reverses its normal course of apparent motion. Neptune's retrograde began May 19, and will continue until October 26. More to the point, Neptune remains within a degree of its May 19 retrograde station at 17° 36' Aquarius throughout June. Also within a single degree of its June 5 direct station at 8° 56' Libra all month long is the gas giant, Jupiter. And then comes another of the outer gas giants, Uranus, which makes its retrograde station at 10° 46' Pisces on June 14, and also remains within a degree of that point throughout June (and on into early August, for that matter). All these giant planet stations have been in effect for all or most of May, at least; and continue throughout June, at least. There's an awful lot going on in the way of turning points for world civilization at times like this, and I've already mentioned some of the likely prospects . . .
Jupiter's station at 8° 56' Libra, as I've already mentioned, suggests advances in fuel cell, hydrogen and fusion technology; a disruption in fossil fuel production also looks likely. The rest of the world ganging up on China in some way wouldn't surprise me, and I'd expect leadership issues in Ireland and Italy to keep making headlines during this period. Important advances in understanding and using stem cells, genetic engineering and hormones, and in the cause and cure of auto-immune disorders, are also likely. And last but hardly least, Jupiter is always significant in matters pertaining to law, the courts, governments and religions: all these things will be more than usually newsworthy, as new precedents and initiatives set a course for future social and political structures. Some months offer little for pundits to pontificate about. June will not be one of them.
Neptune's retrograde station, as previously indicated, is likely a sign of developments that change the oil price structure. We're conditioned to think of things like this in terms of oil price hikes. But what about a sudden drop? Don't say it couldn't happen . . . but don't expect it to last, either. Spirituality, piety, other-worldliness, hypocrisy, illusions, delusions and deceptions, artistic triumphs: they all hit the heights of sublimity in June - or plumb the depths of depravity, as the case may be. Nothing that's ordinary and prosaic is noticed at a time when marvels and illusions come one right after the other.
The Uranus retrograde station at 10° 46' Pisces occurs on June 14 (the same day the Sun aligns with Pluto), and Uranus remains retrograde until November 15. Fans of the astrological notion of sign rulerships may attach some significance to what's called a mutual reception between the retrograde stations of Uranus in Pisces (Neptune's sign in the modern rulership scheme) and Neptune in Aquarius (Uranus' sign). I think nothing more than the stations themselves are needed to illuminate some of the major themes of human experience at work all month, from the mystical and illusory stuff of Neptune to the ideological purity of Uranus. It's not a practical, humane mix - and that's June for you, the heyday of the crazies and martyrs, the fundamentalists and the politically pure. Thank heaven there's so little momentum, otherwise there'd be lots more fire underlying all this smoke and mirror stuff.
Well, there is some fire. It comes at the end of the month, in the form of the Mars-Jupiter opposition at 9° 34' Aries-Libra on the 26th. This one will be felt from the 19th of June through the 4th of July, more or less - for at least as long as these two planets remain within a few degrees of their exact opposition. I mean fire both literally and figuratively, in this case: wildfires, building conflagrations, fiery crashes and all manner of flaming headlines; but also fiery acts by firebrand humans, people fired up over matters of principle, daring deeds (including athletic feats, equestrian and acrobatic derring-do, etc.) that are a hair's breadth - and sometimes, not even that - from ending in disaster. A good time to use all applicable safety equipment, and even then to remember that real stunt doubles arent daredevils - they've got this stuff down to a science, so don't try it at home.
Self-righteous anger and overwhelming force are typical manifestations of human behavior under the Mars-Jupiter alignment - individually as well as collectively. Sectarian violence, revenge, religious victims and perpetrators, churches and schools, courts and other government buildings . . . and a megadose of hatred directed toward giant corporations. Not a good time to be a frontman, a figurehead, a lightning rod . . .
It's said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that's a prominent theme in events that unfold as Mars opposes Jupiter. Not a good time to be in Iraq or any place else that self-righteous fanatics believe that the end justifies even the most horrific means. Anyone living around the longitude of Mexico City in the western hemisphere, or Delhi in the east, may be uncomfortably close to the fiery manifestations of the Mars-Jupiter alignment. Other areas of heightened risk, if the astro-locality of this particular planetary configuration is any indication, include an arc along the northwestern edge of South America, up through the Caribbean across Hispaniola and on to Iceland, and from there across northern Scandinavia, down through Russia, across Western China and Eastern India, down through Indonesia to western Australia. Another risk zone includes another arc through Iceland, but plunging sharply from there down through West Africa and then up and over the south island of New Zealand. It's not as though the rest of the world gets off scot-free, but these may be particularly prone to the fiery manifestations of this Mars-Jupiter alignment.
There is good news this month: lots of it. Mercury and Venus stay within a few degrees of each other all the way from June 20 through their June 27 and July 9 conjunctions at 29° 26' Cancer and 13° 32' Leo respectively, until they finally get beyond a few degrees separation on July 17). This is a sure sign that the spin doctors, publicity people, ad writers and all manner of Pied Pipers and sweetly singing sirens are cranking out more self-serving PR than a battalion of triple Virgos working overtime can fact-check. (Mercury and Venus move from conjunct Saturn to opposite Neptune, after all: somebody's trying to put lipstick on a pig, you can be sure of it.) When the authorities tell you they've got the bad guy, or they have the situation well in hand, don't you believe 'em. They're whistling past the graveyard. At least the entertainment is good - the parties, the jokes, the dances, the films, the plays, the songs and the sweet little lies. The best thing about entertainers is that we know going in that it's an act. As for that date who promised to call . . . well, forget about it. Carpe diem, baby!
The rest of June's notable planetary patterns tie in closely with the major lunar cycles of the month, and it's high time to address those. The month opens with the Moon's northward crossing of the celestial equator on the 1st, signaling a brief upsurge in storm and seismic activity through the 2nd: Richter 5+ earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, strong storms with heavy precipitation . . . the usual. A more substantial cycle of disturbances in Earth's atmosphere and crust extends from June 3 through the 9th, in association with the new moon at 16° 16' Gemini on the 6th, as well as the Moon's north declination maximum on the 8th.
While I don't see anything in these celestial factors to indicate widespread catastrophe, even a local disturbance can be a big deal if it's your severe storm, your mudslide or your earthquake. Of course, some locales are more vulnerable than others; places with a history of seismic activity being a prime example. But there's virtually no place on Earth beyond the reach of severe weather. So keep an eye on the sky, and have your emergency preparations honed just in case. Maybe especially if you'll be in some of the astro-locality hot spots for this particular new moon: near the longitude of Anchorage, Albuquerque or Brasilia in the western hemisphere, or Istanbul, Bombay or Alice Springs in the east, for starters; not to mention several curving arcs that run across Northern Scotland and Scandinavia out over Russia and down through China, Malaysia and Australia from about Darwin to Melbourne; plus one from west Africa through Central Europe and across Russian to Sapporo, Japan; as well as one that runs up from East Africa through the Middle East and into Russia. These aren't the only vulnerable zones, mind you. But they look suspicious.
A brief return to more or less normal weather and seismic patterns should set in after the 9th, but the pace picks up again starting on the 14th, in advance of the Moon's southward crossing of the celestial equator on the 15th. This eases up early on the 17th, but until then, a flurry of strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation will be newsworthy; along with a surge in moderate to severe seismic activity (including Richter 5+ quakes and volcanic eruptions).
The full moon at 0° 51' Capricorn on the 22nd anchors what appears to be the most significant signal of geophysical disturbances all month. In effect from the 19th through the 25th, this geocosmic stress window includes not only the full moon itself, but also the lunar south declination extreme (also on the 22nd) and the lunar perigee (closest approach to Earth) on the 23rd. In addition, it falls within days of the Uranus station, and well within the effective period of both the Mars-Jupiter opposition and the rolling Mercury-Venus-Saturn conjunction. This is a confluence of celestial configurations that suggests the greatest risk all month for strong storms, heavy rain and snow, high winds, floods and mudslides and high tides - and of course, earthquakes (Richter 5 and up) and volcanic eruptions. Not a good time to schedule outdoor events, unless you've got backup arrangements handy. If traveling, plan for weather delays.
I'm not saying to crawl in a cave and wait for the 26th to come out. I'm saying to be prepared. And as always, this applies no matter where you'll be at the time, because the factors involved are planetary in scale and planet-wide in scope. That said, astro-locality mapping points to a few zones of possible particular vulnerability. These include the approximate longitudes of Anchorage, Caracas and the easternmost tip of Brazil in the west, plus Ankara, Beijing and Melbourne in the east; as well as a pair of arcs sweeping on the one hand through the western US and Canada across the Atlantic through Madrid and Algiers to just south of Madagascar and then curving northeasterly from there to cross New Zealand; and on the other hand through southern Scandinavia and Eastern Europe down through the Middle East. There's yet another arc of apparent risk, that plunges almost due south from western Greenland down through Buenos Aires to reemerge on the other side of the world east of Perth running northwards through Manila, Taipei and Shanghai.
Weather and seismic risks aside, don't forget that this falls within a period of tension at the individual as well as collective levels. People tend toward rash, hasty, harsh and even nasty impulses at times like this, so keep your wits about you and your guard up.
Last but not least this month comes another short burst of storm and seismic extremes from the 27th through the 29th, associated with the Moon's northward crossing of the celestial equator on the 28th. Apart from the up-tick in disturbances of Earth's crust and atmosphere, this turbulence comes as Mercury and Venus are still closely aligned with Saturn, and the Sun stands 90° away from Jupiter: a dip in the markets, but not a disaster.
SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)
