Ruled by the Moon, Cancer is associated with the sensitive, receptive, feminine part of ourselves. The Moon is the fastest moving heavenly body in our night sky; hence Cancer as an archetype invites moment to moment Presence in the here and now, with its ‘moods’ ever- changing. We may be one moment deeply peaceful, at one with the quiet stillness of mid-summer with its pervasive warm light, enjoying the slowing down of Gemini’s busy pace; and the next, washed by a dark mood of sorrow, aloneness, or uncertainty.

With big changes in the realms of thought and cognition coming down the pike indicated by transpersonal planets Pluto in Aquarius and and Uranus in Gemini next year, not to mention Saturn in Pisces, learning how to expand our minds, and not believe everything we think—in effect rejigging our default paradigms—seems in order. And we should continue to expect the unexpected – a good phrase for innovative, “higher mind” Uranus, the higher octave of Mercury, Gemini’s ruler.

So in this respect, for this next lunar cycle we are still propelled towards learning and communicating (Mercury) about our shadow issues, our places of wounding. This is vital work, as our individual efforts contribute to the healing of the whole. The further we travel into knowing and releasing our shadow patterns, the more our energy, and courage, are freed up to be in service to life, as a joyful offering our gifts and skills.

In its own way, Aries energy also beckons us to new terrain. As a bold fire sign, Aries calls in change through unadulterated impulse, whereas Uranus rules higher mind (considered the higher octave of Mercury), so its changes are often in terms of ‘technologies’, with the invention of electricity being a classic one. Personally, it seems to me we can be poised at this time to call ‘light’ into our own lives, in unexpected ways, to work with new ‘technologies’ of thought, of how we process and respond to information and to others. Be on the lookout for light bulbs on your path!

The heart of the deeply Piscean flavor of now invites us to abide in not knowing, allowing the unraveling of old, solidified ways, “holding onto nothing,” so that we can come face to face with the Soul at our core, that part which cannot be lost, which connects us to all of life. For many, facing loss, grief, and breakage head-on are necessary initiations into this other-worldly archetypal process.

It seems to me that this tension between wanting to contribute to society, be part of something – whether a movement, a team, a cause, or a community—and wanting to be alone, in order to connect with oneself and the vast non-human world that exists outside the self, whether that of nature and the stars, or other planes of existence and ways of knowing, will be baked into the years ahead, with Pluto more fully ushering in the Aquarian theme since its second ingress in January. The Pluto ‘game’ of transformation, if you will, will be an Aquarian one.

Fittingly, patience is one of the primary qualities that Capricorn, and its ruler Saturn, apprentices us to. When we submit to the task, waiting with attentive openness for the dormant to arise, keeping the inward gaze which this yin sign invites, we will have met this Elder/Teacher energy with all of ourselves, and, with grace, reap its rewards come spring.

Sagittarius, in contrast, is after a transcendent, over-arching truth, which it aims to bring into Life by grounding it in our hearts and our seeing, after first encountering it in high places—whether these be a mountaintop, a meditation cushion, or a seat of higher learning.

In keeping with the theme, Water sign Scorpio’s season is indeed a time of going within, taking stock, and doing the hard work of facing our grievances and our grief. And it wants us to do so not in a rational way, as prior Air sign Libra would do, but with feeling. If this is hard for us to do, we mustn’t be surprised if life throws us a fireball or two to get us in the mood.

On the individual level, the invitation in this season of Libra, further emphasized by Saturday’s eclipse, is to get centered in our authentic, grounded self, while still considering the needs and input of others. With eclipses said to be times of change and release of the old, this could mean letting go of relationships that may have become dysfunctional, or at least shifting entrenched ‘pleaser’ or dependency dynamics through Aries courage and self-assertion.