☀️ The Solstice Pause
Hiya Friend,
How's summer treating you so far? I keep hearing this phrase, especially from the astrological community, that refers to the changing of the season as the "solstice pause."
Have you heard this too? ✨
Honestly, I mostly ignored it as just more pop culture astrology blah blah blah!
But then a good friend of mine said, "you know, it's ok to take a break and step back to reflect," and I realized, hmmmmm, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss this "solstice pause" quip. 🤔
Have you ever noticed that life has a sort of momentum to it?
We get stuck doing what we've always done and behaving a certain way — whether only in our thinking or also in our actions. Sometimes we're aware that we would like the dynamic to shift. Other times, it's exhilarating or we don't even realize that we're being taken for a ride.
I told my friend, "there's so much momentum, but I definitely don't have any control of it!" I imagined my life as a giant snowball hurling down the side of the Sierra! 😱😂
Is there anything like that in your life right now? If so, you've got at least two things working in your favor for taking a pause.
(You can read that post here if you missed it.)
Basically, Mars in Taurus is kind of magical because you can harness the energy in several different ways:
♉ To stoke up your own reserves to use later (reserve and conserve!)
♉ As a slow and steady plodding toward your goal a la Capricorn-style
♉ Or, by using the tremendous force of the running bull
Mars is in Taurus for almost the entirety of Cancer Season. Do you see how his various expressions can support you in taking a pause?
Secondly, Cancer is the sign of emotional processing. It's slow-moving and takes time to reflect, contemplate and digest life. It's the crab who tucks inside its shell and integrates life's travails until it's ready to re-emerge and have another go. 🦀
If you can relate to that human sized snowball hurling itself downhill, then I invite you to hold the vision that it comes to rest by landing in a soothing, peaceful hot spring.
There, it eventually thaws and melts (much like those of us enduring the California heatwaves). 🌀
Cancer represents rejuvenation via water, so being in or near water will definitely lift your spirits this month — and not just because it's hot.
Water is a potent transmitter. You can ask the lakes and rivers and oceans, or even the water in your backyard pool, to help you transmute any energies you would like to be different. 🌊
Here's a little contemplative exercise I use that you can easily replicate as your weekly contemplation:
I often visit the beautiful Yuba River, near my home, and perform a puja (offering). It's my own informal blessing that I adapted after living along the Ganges in India, where ritualistic pujas are performed pretty constantly.
You can use whatever you find freely in nature to create a small work of art — like fallen leaves and flower petals, feathers and mossy things — that acts as a physical representation of an intention or prayer. Meditate over it for quite some minutes. The puja is complete when you release your intention by sending it on down the river. 🌸
I'm sure there's other ways the astrology is supporting a pause right now, too.
For example, we have Saturn and then Neptune going retrograde this week. We're also in the lull between eclipse seasons. 🔱
But in the spirit of taking a pause, I'm going to conclude here and go enjoy some quality times with a friend. This is an abbreviated post sans forecast.
If you didn't already hear, I'm going to be teaching a class + workshop on planetary aspects for chart interpretation on Sunday, July 14.
The class will be a general overview of the five most important aspects — trine, square, sextile, opposition and conjunction — to help you better understand your own chart aspects, as well as those of others. 🪐
Following the class is a workshop to help you immediately implement your new knowledge.
💥 Here's what one of my students, Chip, had to say about studying with me and using astrology in his daily life:
"It's so incredibly validating. I've been able to make connections between my life and my chart that absolutely blow me away. There are countless examples where I've just had "AH-HA!" moment after "AH-HA" moment. I truly feel like I know myself so much better now after only a few months of studying with you. It's incredible."
If you're interested in joining us for this one-time online class + workshop, then please email me by clicking the image above and let me know so that I can send you all the details. 🤩
Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing week, my friend!
xo,
E
P.S. The next Astrological Guidance Circle will be Thursday, July 11. Will I see you there?
