Highlights for June 24-30, 2019: What the Culture is Craving

What the Culture is Craving

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Because it suits our purposes

We like to believe that our rational minds will protect us from misadventure. We assume that if we’ve taken the right classes and subscribe to the right magazines and visit the right websites, we can’t possibly be deceived. But what we’ll be reminded of this week, as Venus in Gemini squares Neptune in Pisces (June 24, 2:59 am PDT), is that there are indeed “more things in heaven and Earth… Than are dreamt of in (y)our philosophy.” (And by philosophy, Shakespeare seems to have meant “science.”) Neptune has a reputation for clouding the issue, but that’s usually because someone is determined to cloud it; in fact, the truth is usually there for anyone to see, if only we’re willing to look. If it were simply a matter of paying attention, none of us could ever be deceived and Neptune would be out of a job.

We fall for things, usually, because it suits our purposes. Transiting Venus describes what the culture craves at any given moment, and in Gemini there is a taste for pleasing words, for wit and charm. But Gemini never lets the truth get in the way of a good story, and if we choose to believe something because we want it to be so, it’s not really fair to turn around and blame Neptune – or other people – for that.

Fish or cut bait

The Last Quarter Moon (June 25, 2:45 am PDT) is in Aries, a determined and – let’s face it – somewhat pushy sign. The Last Quarter is the moment of the month when our ambitions become keenly focused; how can we get what we want before someone else gets to it first? The Sun is in Cancer, a sign that usually prefers to get its way without appearing to do much at all; but with Mars also in Cancer, plus the Last Quarter Moon in determined Aries, no one is going to be rolling over without a fight.

This is the closing square in a cycle that began at the New Moon in Gemini, a sign known for its willingness (even eagerness) to entertain input from others. But at the Last Quarter Moon in Aries, it’s time to fish or cut bait; to assert your own point of view, and also to be willing to stand alone – sometimes to walk away from all that is familiar and comforting – while you’re doing it.

More of Yourself in Your Magic

Fire sign people everywhere breathe a sigh of relief this week, as Mercury breaks the current Cancer/Capricorn deadlock and moves into Leo (June 26, 5:20 pm PDT). Say what you will about Mercury in Leo – and it’s not considered at its best in this sign – it’s generally much more straightforward than Mercury in Cancer has been. Mercury is playful and creative in Leo, a sign that can’t help but risk singing its song to the world. Mercury in this sign is like the tarot’s Magician, whose table is laden with the tools of his practice – and every one of them can be used to perform the magic of expressing and being oneself more fully. So go ahead and bring a little more of yourself to everything you do; give it a little bit of flair, some razzle-dazzle.

It’s worth noting that Mercury will turn retrograde in this sign next week. Remember that creation emerges most effortlessly after REcreation: time off to play, to rest, and to relax from the vigorous kneading we’ve received from Saturn and Pluto in recent months.

What can I say? I like sextile aspects, which bring opportunity, and I like aspects involving the planet Uranus, because he’s sort of fizzy and unpredictable. The sextile between odd couple Sun and Uranus (June 27, 10:44 am PDT) sends a message similar to, if less urgent than the Last Quarter Moon: that sometimes, you must stand apart from your own and society’s expectations in order to be more fully yourself. Personal identity is challenged in an exciting way when these two planets meet; there’s the sudden awareness that, if you’ll only surrender preexisting ideas of yourself, you can become something more.

©2019  April Elliott Kent