June is really a time of relative quiet, serenity after the rush of sprouting and leafing and flowering and before the fierce heat that drives towards maturity and seed. June’s very air can be as sweet as the wild strawberries that grow in the middle weeks, sweet as clover, sweet as honeysuckle. A sweetness that could be cloying, but somehow isn’t, perhaps because it is still a new sweetness.
–Hal Borland (Borland County)

We are poised on the threshold of a new season, that magical time between spring and summer, between lilacs and roses when the days are long and lush, the air soft and fragrant and the whole world is pulsing with new life. It is often around twilight, the most elegant time of the day, when day and night merge like two rivers and the stillness itself is a song. It is then that a sense of grace and deep tranquility descend and for a few fleeting moments, the world feels at peace and in prayer.

The Sign Cancer

Cancer is a water sign motivated by emotion rather than logic. It is ruled by the cozy and caring Moon which makes this sign sensitive, compassionate, romantic and domestic. That doesn’t mean Cancers aren’t driven or ambitious; born when the Sun is strongest, this sign possesses an understated power that runs deep; they move at their own speed, feeling their way through life. Cancer is associated with the Great Mother; this sign requires something or someone to nurture; a home, a family, a garden. The shadow side of Cancer is hiding behind the mask of the mother; taking care of the whole world and ignoring their own needs. For Cancers it’s essential to find a balance between giving and receiving.

The Cancer New Moon – June 23

Every month we have a New Moon; it begins in darkness and slowly emerges as a crescent. This is the moon of possibilities, of new beginnings; we plant a seed in the dark, moist earth and wait and watch as it grows into fullness. Cancer is a lush and fertile sign and during late June and July, the natural world is bursting with new life and fresh potential. But this New Moon has a strong undertow.

Shamanic Chiron in fluid Pisces plays a prominent role. The Wounded Healer makes a challenging square to the New Moon pulling us into the mysterious waters within. Although the square is out-of-sign it is potent since Chiron has slowed down (it goes retrograde June 30) and is within a few degrees of the New Moon. Mercury, the messenger, closely aligned with the Cancer Sun and Moon allows us to access our deepest feelings as well as our greatest fears and insecurities. Cancer represents our earliest memories and mothering. Chiron can awaken buried wounds or feelings associated with home or family. “Avoiding our sadness, we avoid our life,” said Marianne Williamson at a recent lecture. Don’t avoid your feelings; confront them, explore; become a detective of sadness; learn to be cozy in the chaos. In mythology Chiron was a beloved teacher and healer; he taught the sons of the great men and gods to be the heroes they were born to be. This New Moon can initiate a time of enormous healing and restoring. Perhaps like the song in the hit Broadway show, Dear Evan Handler, “You Will Be Found” and in doing so become the hero of your own life.

“Mars and Pluto obey the powers of earth and underworld rather than heaven.”
–Liz Greene