’Tis the season of forward momentum. With three eclipses and a solstice before the first week of July, the time is prime for future thinking. The summer solstice, translated to “sun in stillness,” marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Pagans celebrated with bonfires that I choose to believe included ecstatic drumming, hallucinogens, compulsory nudity and flower crowns. For a less flammable, more socially distant celebration, the solstice sunrise will be live-streamed from Stonehenge for the first time in history.
The solstice also ushers in a changing of zodiac rulership as mercurial Gemini makes way for the moon-driven season of Cancer. The solstice stillness and transition from masculine to feminine presents an opportunity to balance those oppositional energies within ourselves. Nude bonfires recommended, but not required.
Gemini
May 21 to June 20
Where did you learn your insecurities, Gemini? I’ll double down on the bet that your negative narratives are born from slights taught by a society that has never understood you. Quiet your mind and quell that chorus of outside commentators. Through a hard reset, positive affirmations and a generous dose of self-love, you can rewrite the story you tell yourself.
Notable Gemini: Miles Davis / May 26, 1926
Cancer
June 21 to July 22
In this season of eclipses, people
of the crab are in need of reminding that the only direction is forward, forcibly if necessary. In the words of Mary Engelbreit, paraphrasing a Viking parable, “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.”
Notable Cancer: Courtney
Love / July 9, 1964
Leo
July 23 to Aug. 22
End your contracts with at least one person or situation that’s siphoning your precious lion blood. I can’t tell you which one, but I can tell you there is one. There can be no emotional bartering or second-guessing. Without quick and decisive action a thorn in the paw will leave you with a lasting limp.
Notable Leo: Slash / July 23, 1965
Virgo
Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
In the Major Arcana of Tarot, Virgo is represented by the Hermit. While the card points toward the solitary nature of Virgo folk, it also reflects your self-sufficient, outsider mentality. Just as the hermit is driven to the forest to procure his own needs, so too must Virgo retreat to their own internal wilderness to find a path to wholeness. In the weeks ahead, trust what you already know; your own way is the only way.
Notable Virgo: Paulo Coelho / Aug. 24, 1947
Libra
Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
Theodore Roosevelt advised, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Rough talk for Libra ilk, you who lament choices, neurose outcomes and impede progress with endless weighing. Heed Teddy, do anything so long as it is not nothing.
Notable Libra: A$AP Rocky /
Oct. 3, 1988
Scorpio
Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
Surrealist artist and fellow Scorpio Dora Maar was the lover and muse of painter Pablo Picasso. She condemned the work that she inspired, lamenting, “All portraits of me are lies. They’re Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar.” I offer this anecdote, scorpions, as a reminder that you can’t trust even your most intimate relations to see you as you are. Control your own canvas.
Notable Scorpio: Margaret
Atwood / Nov. 18, 1939
Sagittarius
Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
Poet and fellow archer Paul Celan wrote, “There was earth inside them, and they dug.” I believe he was suggesting there is no richer soil than your own interior, Sagittarius. I beseech you to excavate, burn the underbrush, and ready yourself for the imminent planting of potential.
Notable Sagittarius: Jim Morrison / Dec. 8, 1943
Capricorn
Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
Capricorns adjust easily and eagerly to the weight of added burdens, be it responsibility or bench pressing. The trouble is, your dogged determination often operates as a kind of yoke, making it hard for you to consider why you are carrying what you are carrying. I urge you to weigh what weighs on you and consider what could be cast off. The lighter the load, the easier the road. Notable Capricorn: Louise Bourgeois / Dec. 25, 1911
Aquarius
Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
Pay particular attention to the ways in which you are interacting with social media and information at large. As Oscar Wilde sagely observed, “You are what you read.” What words are you ingesting, what images are you absorbing, what company are you keeping, water bearer? You are more malleable than usual during this current period and what you consume will inevitably shape what you defend.
Notable Aquarius: The
Weeknd / Feb. 16, 1990
Pisces
Feb. 19 to March 20
Normally placating Pisceans are experiencing the passionate influence of Mars in their sign. The planet of confidence and drive, sexual and otherwise, visits Pisces once every two years. Your mission is to harness this power to create the reality that until now has existed only in the ether of your daydreams. Speak boldly, act bravely. Do not waste the fire you’ve been given.
Notable Pisces: Kurt Russell / March 17, 1951
Aries
March 21 to April 19
Honorary Aries Lao Tzu warned, “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” In the weeks ahead be careful where you seek counsel and be wary of the opinions and influence of those who aim to confine or dilute you. In matters of the heart, avoid cages.
Notable Aries: Billy Collins / March 22, 1941
Taurus
April 20 to May 20
In 1832, French writer Honoré Balzac received a letter criticizing the portrayal of women in his latest novel. It was signed “The Foreigner,” and prompted a 15-year correspondence between Balzac and the noblewoman he eventually married. The lesson? There’s no telling what rewards a constructive criticism might reap.
Notable Taurus: Malcolm X /
May 19, 1925
